If electric cars are to truly emerge as the future of motoring they will need to find answers to some difficult questions including what can motorists do if there is a blackout?

The New York Times investigated this issue when one of its journalists interviewed Sven Thesen of Better Place – the start-up company which aims to create a network of electric cars that can be recharged at home or at work.

The journalist asked Mr Thesen about some of the potential pitfalls of this network such as what if she needed to go to the hospital in the middle of the night and her car battery was nearly drained?

To this Mr Thesen responded that your batteries won’t ever be drained down to zero – they will always have a certain amount of range. He believes that a midsize city will have two to two-and-a-half charge spots per vehicle at the beginning with one at home and one in the parking garage. A city would also contain a couple of hundred battery exchange stations.

So the journalist asked what if the battery was low and she was stuck in a traffic jam inching along?

To this Mr Thesen responded that this is “a fun thing” about electricity and the electric motor in that you won’t use a disproportionate amount of energy for travelling at low speeds.

So then, what if there is a blackout?

To this Mr Thesen points out that a disaster can affect oil as well as electricity and a lengthy blackout is unlikely.

Are you concerned about the potential pitfalls of electric cars? Do you think there are questions still to be answered? Leave a comment with your thoughts.

While a lot has been written about the long term viability of the General Motors (GM) brand in the US, what has often been overlooked is the impact on GM in Europe. Now it, along with the Opel Supervisory Board, has approved a confidential long-term plan for viability expected to be submitted to government representatives within days.

According to reports, the confidential document includes a funding request for €3.3billion in government support to German and other governments; €3billion in support for GM and €0.95billion in structural cost reductions.

GM has engaged its European labour partners to achieve $1.2billion in cost reductions which include closures/spin-offs of manufacturing facilities and the restructuring of its sales organisation to become more brand focused. It also has a sustainable strategy that may include partnerships with the German government and other European leaders. It hopes to resolve solvency issues before March 31, 2009.

Despite the restructuring and the struggling market, GM Europe/Opel has projected profitability by 2011. This after GM reported a net loss for 2008 of $30.9billion.

Renault-Nissan has furthered its commitment towards the development of electric cars by forming an alliance with UK company Elektromotive in the Partnership for Zero-Emission Mobility.

The aim of the partnership is to accelerate the installation of charging networks for plug-in vehicles. Elektromotive, which is a provider of electric vehicle recharging stations, has been working with French energy provider EDF Energy since 2007 to develop an electric vehicle recharging infrastructure, while Renault-Nissan has also been collaborating with the energy firm.

Now Elektromotive and Renault-Nissan have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on studying ways to promote the use of electric cars. They intend to share information on electric vehicle development and energy supply on a global scale. Together they will also undertake education programmes and develop incentive schemes with the hope of attracting more electric car buyers. Elektromotive will also purchase or lease vehicles from the Alliance.

Elektromotive has a storied history having been established in 2003 and installing its first Elektrobay charging post in Westminster in 2006. It has now installed more than 40 charging bays in London and a further 40 elsewhere in the UK.

Meanwhile, the Renault-Nissan Alliance is hoping to be a global leader in the development of electric cars with zero-emission initiatives already established in Denmark, Israel, Monaco and Portugal as well as the US states of Tennessee and Oregon, Sonama County in northern California and two Japanese cities.

Leading provider of automotive data, JATO Consult, has revealed more fascinating facts from its recently completed analysis of European automotive CO2 figures for 2008.

Key highlights of the report reveal that, FIAT has once again achieved the lowest volume-weighted average CO2 figure of Europe’s top selling brands at 133.7g/km, down from 137.3g/km in 2007. Peugeot sits in second place, the only other volume manufacturer to achieve a sub-140g/km figure, with an average of 138.1g/km. Citroen, its PSA sister company, is in third place at 142.4g/km, the only manufacturer to have seen a marginal increase since 2007, thanks largely to the introduction of new larger models into the market. The top five places are completed by Renault (142.7g/km) and Toyota (144.9g/km).

“Looking at emissions in the context of Europe’s best selling brands, the top ten places are held by the same manufacturers as 2007”, says David Di Girolamo, Head of JATO Consult.

”BMWs performance has been exceptional in achieving the highest overall reduction year on year given their product range, but viewed holistically, the entire industry has made significant progress. The average total reduction across the market is 5.3g/km, which in a short twelve month window is something the industry can be very proud of.”

JATO is also quick to point out that manufacturers are achieving reductions despite the factors that are often contrary to lowering CO2 emissions.

Di Girolamo continues: “Introduction of ever tightening safety legislation, and the demand for customer convenience and comfort features is increasing the weight and mass of vehicle structures. Against the odds, manufacturers are producing heavier, safer cars whilst still improving their environmental credentials.”

Vehicle Manufacturer Group Performance

The 2008 report coincides with the target for European manufacturer groups to achieve an average CO2 figure of 140g/km by 2008 as previously agreed by ACEA with the EU. Even though the target has not been achieved by the whole car market, the average for 2008 was 153.7g/km, both FIAT Group and PSA Peugeot Citroen appear to have managed this target on schedule. A new target of 130g/km has been set by 2015.

JATO’s analysis is conducted on 21 countries of which 19 are EU member states and is extracted from a full report that studies volume-weighted CO2 emissions by country, segment and brand, whilst also providing an in-depth analysis of the effects of CO2-friendly vehicle technology and CO2-based taxation regimes across the individual markets.

GM’s Volt electric car may be too expensive to operate to threaten hybrid successes such as the traditional Toyota Prius model, Bloomberg.com report.

A study by the Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh concluded that rechargeable vehicles with an electric range of around 40 miles like the Volt is; “not cost effective in any scenario.” The study compared costs and driving performance of new plug-in hybrid models such as the Volt and or the new Prius compared to the traditional electric and hybrid models such as the original Prius model.

Although the study did not cite the Volt model by name, it suggested that models with lighter, cheaper batteries, such as a  plug-in with 7 to 10 miles (11 to 16 kilometers) of electric range or a conventional hybrid could provide the best mix of price, faster charge times and efficiency.

“Forty miles might be a sweet spot for making sure a lot of people get to work without using gasoline, but you’re doing it at a cost that will never be repaid in fuel savings,” Jeremy Michalek, an engineering professor who led the study, said in an interview with the publication.

While plug-in hybrids aren’t in mass production, the U.S government is encouraging the burgeoning by providing $25 billion in low-cost U.S. Energy Department loans to manufacturers of electric and hybrid models.

GM defended their model;  “40 miles, based on all the data we’ve seen, covers roughly 78 per cent of consumers in the U.S. and is the best option” for reducing gasoline use, said spokesman Robert Peterson told Bloomberg.

Although the price for the Volt model is not yet set, a  battery big enough to propel a car for 40 miles, such as the 400-pound pack for Volt, may cost $16,000, the publication reports. The Volt is expected to be available in the U.S. market by late 2010, with GM originally aiming to sell the model for less than $30,000.

TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk is to launch its very first edition newsletter on Tuesday, March 3. Visitors to the website can sign up to receive the newsletter in advance on the left-hand side of the news page, just under our current poll (don’t forget to vote!)

A weekly newsletter will then be released every Tuesday, containing the news highlights of the week, including the very best developments in green cars, relevant events and new features, keeping you up-to-date with the exciting world of  green cars!

The newsletter is absolutely free to receive. Please let us know what you think and what you would like to see in the newsletter. All feedback is welcome, please leave a comment below.

The Campaign for Better Transport has welcomed the news that the A57/A628 Mottram-Tintwistle Bypass has been rejected for funding and therefore cannot be built until at least 2016.

The road scheme, which had been plagued by substantial cost escalations, would have gone through the Peak District National Park and parts of the North West. But council leaders in the North West have now decided not to fund the road.

Roads and Climate Campaigner Richard George said,

“This controversial bypass was the stuff of nightmares and it’s great that council leaders have kicked it into the long grass. National Parks are supposed to be places of great natural beauty, not convenient places to build a dual carriageway. Local people fought tooth and nail to save the National Park and stop this road from being built. For them, this is more than just a stay of execution; it’s the beginning of the end for a terrible road that never should have been suggested in the first place.”

“People now need real solutions for the traffic problems in the area, especially heavy lorries rumbling past people’s front doors. Traffic controls, lorry bans and reopening the Woodhead rail line should all be considered and could all be delivered before 2016.”

The A57 / A628 Mottram-Tintwistle Bypass was originally to cost £90 million in 2003; by 2008 this had risen to £315 million.

National rules could soon be implemented for greenhouse gas emissions according to White House officials, a move that has been backed by both car manufacturers and some environmentalists.

The Obama administration has been meeting with car companies and green groups, as well as representatives from California, which is still waiting to see whether a federal waiver for it to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles will be granted, in order to broker a deal on the issue.

The hope now is that a unified national policy can be established although officials are keen to point out that this does not mean the administration is attempting to usurp Congress’s role in regulating CO2 and other emissions.

The administration is hoping to pass cap-and-trade legislation which is believed to be superior to a regulatory approach using the Clean Air Act.

If passed this legislation would create new revenue for the Federal government.

Car manufacturers meanwhile are backing the idea of universal fuel-efficiency standards even if they prove to be stricter than the current goal of 35mpg by 2020 – California wants a standard of around 42mpg.

The most important thing for car manufacturers is certainty and consistency, according to Greg Martin, General Motors’ Washington spokesman. This would clear the burden of having to deal with “a patchwork of standards” state by state.

When accountancy firms think green, they’re normally pondering lots of US money – but in this instance, international accountancy and consultancy firm Deloitte has caught the green car bug.

In a bid to bolster its sustainability credentials, the company is rolling out a green car scheme with all employee vehicles to be of the low emission variety.

It states that company cars are now being offered to all 12,000 employees nationwide – and all of these vehicles will have emission levels of 120g/km of carbon dioxide (CO2) or less.

Deloitte has become the first company to offer such a scheme to its employees and should reap the reward of new company car tax rules that are scheduled to come into effect from April that provide favourable treatment for greener vehicles. The firm hopes to reduce carbon emissions for both the company and its employees.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), with the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) and the Department for Transport’s Act on CO2 campaign, has today launched a van buying guide  to help buyers understand the environmental impact of a vehicle, providing individual van buyers and drivers top tips on van choice and use to help cut costs and CO2 emissions.

The van buying guide is part of a wider DfT project looking at van CO2 emissions. It is designed to inform individual and small fleet buyers on issues that affect their van’s environmental impact.

The aim is to ensure that buyers consider their usage requirements rather than simply choosing the van with the lowest published CO2 figure. It also emphasises the clear link between emissions and fuel consumption – a big part of a vehicle’s running costs. With the potential move by government to tax commercial vehicles on the basis of  CO2 emissions, in the same way that car’s are currently taxed, the environmental consideration for commercial fleets is increasingly coming to the fore.

The guide entitled ‘Right Van Man’ is available to download for free from  www.smmt.co.uk.

The new guide, offiicially launched at SMMT’s headquarters Forbes House in London to the gathered media also showcased some of the most fuel efficient vans available to van buyers; Citroën Nemo SensoDrive, Iveco Daily Agile, Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Eco-Start, Modec Zero Emission van, Vauxhall Combo EasytroniC and theVolkswagen Caddy EcoFuel.

Speaking ahead of the launch, transport minister Andrew Adonis said, “Vans already make up around 15 per cent of road transport CO2 emissions in the UK and emissions from vans are rising faster than from any other mode of road transport, as more and more use is made of them. Encouraging greater use of green vans on our roads through initiatives like this will go a great way to help reduce emissions. We are also pushing ahead with our £20m programme to use public sector spending power to lead the way in developing lower carbon vans that will appeal across the board and so help kick start the market.”

The Volkswagen Caddy EcoFuel will be the only compact van to be powered by CNG (compressed natural gas) available in the UK when it goes on sale this summer. There are two key benefits of operating a CNG-powered vehicle,  it offers lower, cleaner emissions and reduced fuel costs (CNG is approximately 50 per cent less than diesel).

The greatest environmental benefit of using CNG as a fuel is the dramatic reduction of exhaust gases; for example, compared to the equivalent TDI engine carbon monoxide (CO) emissions are over 50 per cent lower, nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions are 97 per cent lower, and there are zero particulates.

Citroën, the first LCV manufacturer to offer the ultra clean particulate filter on its vans also showcased  its low emission commercials. With CO2 emissions from just 113g/km, Citroen achieves impressive fuel economy from its commercial vehicles. The C2 Enterprise van has CO2 emissions of 113g/km, while the Nemo 1.4HDi SensoDrive van has a CO2 figure of 116g/km and the Nemo 1.4HDi manual 5 speed van-119g/km.

All Citroën HDi engined LCVs can also run on up to 30 per cent bio-diesel without any modification, delivering a further reduction in CO2.  Andthrough its Ready to Run special vehicle programme, Citroen offers the UK’s widest range of dual fuel (petrol/LPG) vans.  These Powershift certified conversions by Nicholson McLaren Engines deliver the benefits of London Congestion Charge exemption and CO2 emissions reductions of some 10 per cent.

Citroën’s ‘Airdream LCV programme’ reassures customers that any vehicle carrying the Airdream logo meets one of the following criteria; either it has CO2 emissions of less than 120g/km or it  is fitted with the diesel particulate filter system (DPFS) or it meets Powershift Band 4 standards. Additionally Airdream vehicles are also manufactured in an ISO 14001 certified factors and are designed to be 95 per cent recoverable (recycling and energy recovery) at end of life.

Robert Handyside, Commercial Vehicle Operations Manager, comments, “Citroën fully supports the SMMT’s launch of the Van Buyers Guide to publicise LCV CO2 figures.  The company has one of the UK’s most technically advanced, most comprehensive, most fuel efficient and lowest CO2 LCV ranges available.  As part of its successful strategy of being a low CO2 vehicle manufacturer Citroën was one of the first to make LCV CO2 figures available.  Citroën’s commitment to low emissions is reflected by its Airdream programme.”