BMW's Mini-E All Electric Mini Worldwide Photo Debut. Click the above image to view more Mini-E pictures.

For some time now, many have been salivating at the inevitable possibility of an electric Mini, well BMW decided to give a small taste.  This should satisfy most (for the time being.)  UK auto website, Autocar.co.uk, got first dibs on details and photos galore on BMW’s Mini-E.

Not only is the Mini-E expected to have a range of up to 150 miles, on just 8-hours of charging, but it could have as much as 204bhp and 162lbs of torque.  Unfortunately, the Mini-E isn’t going mainstream just yet.  Although we may be seeing it in the U.S. as early as next year, only 500-1000 customers will have the opportunity to lease this vehicle.  Pre-selected customers in New York, L.A., New Jersey (humm?) and London will get first crack at these beauties due to their available electric infrastructure.

Of course, the Mini-E will be powered using the latest technology in Lithium-ion battery packs (totaling 573 lbs.)  The batteries push the single-stage helical gearbox, that are mounted conveniently where passengers used to be able to sit.  To add a little more juice, Mini decided to store kinetic energy used while breaking.    The plug-in is conveniently located where the gas cap used to be.

Curb weight starts at a mere 3229 lbs, and is fully equipped with interchange-yellow mirrors as evident in the photos.  Supposedly, there will be many other goodies to come so thats seperate from her siblings.  The Mini-E is already U.S. legal, and has been put through the ringer with crash testing.

Overall, we have to say we are proud of BMW, and Mini for taking a step forward and giving all-electric a try.

“This step will allow the BMW Group to gain an initial knowledge of how mobility can be achieved efficiently using purely electrically powered vehicles. Our task here is to combine the ultimate driving experience with an efficient electrified drive with practically no emissions”, underlined Dr. Norbert Reithofer, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG.

For all you iPhone’ers, Crackberry addicts and stylus grasping rejects..DrivePwr.com is now available on your mobile phone.  Its 100%  compliant with almost 99% of all mobile phones, and has been thoroughly tested using ready.mobi.

Every single one of our posts in full detail will be available on your phone, including images, comments and more. We will be adding features on demand as more of our readers start to browse around on their mobile phones.

We know DrivePwr is addicting, and you have to have us every second during the day.  But please, make sure and keep your eyes on the road.  Nobody likes those distracted drivers that run into things because they “like luv texting”

plz.

Click the above image to view the Tesla image gallery

Well, as they say “another one bites the dust.” I can hear the classic Queen song in my head as I begin writing the obituary of the former CEO, Ze’ev Drori.  In my mind, it seems like yesterday we were mourning the passing of CEO, Martin Eberhard.  I feel bad for the next poor bastard that steps up for the challenge. In the meantime,  Chairman Elon Musk will take over duties as the acting CEO.  In everyone’s mind, it seemed like Ze’ev Drori was going to be a good fit with Tesla Motors, but it seems “Extraordinary times require focus,” stated Elon Musk in his latest blog post.

“For this critical phase of the company, the scope of my role at Tesla will expand from executive chairman and product architect to CEO. With SpaceX now having reached orbit and about to enter it’s third year of profitability, I can afford to increase time allocated to Tesla.  Ze’ev Drori, who has made extraordinary progress with the company over the last year as CEO, will stay on the board of directors as vice-chairman and continue to help make the right decisions. It has been and will continue to be a pleasure and an honor working with Ze’ev.”

I guess he is referring to the tough economic times which are forcing young companies, like Tesla Motors, to tighten the belt.  Or maybe Tesla got too big for their britches? Either way, as John McCain would say “Change is Coming.” We’ll all just have to sit tight and wait for Tesla Motor’s next big reveal, the Model S sedan.

A step in the right direction for the UK?

In the early portions of World War II,  the U.S. government instituted whats now known as the Manhattan Project to combat the increasing threat of nuclear fission in the hands of Adolf Hitler.  So the question remains, how dire is our need to eliminate our dependence on foreign oils, and is it as crucial as the Manhattan Project? Some would argue, climate change is more dangerous than the threat of one crazed lunatic.

As the cost of oil and its impact on the environment and global economics becomes more evident and mainstream, we have watched private development and government initiatives come to light, and sometimes at the same time. So is this case with the “Low Carbon Vehicle Integrated Delivery Programme“, managed by The Technology Strategy Board as a 5 year program.  Funding begins in April of 2009, and will cover a variety of areas, including university based research and trialing and development options for low carbon vehicles.   As we watch countries like the U.K. invest over £100 Million in collaboration with private businesses, in what seems to be a near immediate source of funding, we can only hope that our U.S. government would at least MATCH the action the Brits have taken.

So (a little competition never hurt anyone) if we used the GDP as a guideline (the U.S. had a $13 trillion GDP in 2006, while UK was $1.93 Trillion), that would mean with a near 7:1 ratio, the U.S. should have… ohhh around $700 million dollars immediately available for research in lowering carbon emissions in the U.S, starting in APRIL. [click to continue…]

Toyota Yaris is #1 at MPG Marathon!

Toyota took top honors at the 2008 ALD Fleet World MGP Marathon, a 2-day, 400 mile cross-Britain test of fuel efficiency.  The Yaris diesel won with an impressive 84.66 MPG while the Aygo averaged 82.39 MPG to finish as the top gasonline combustion entrant. Second place in the overall category went to the Mazda 2 1.4 diesel at 84.58 MPG.

This is Toyota’s second year in a row finishing as best in class.  This feat is as much a testament to the engineers as it is to the two drivers, Andrew Andersz and Gary Luton.  Following is a re-print of Toyota’s press release. [click to continue…]

Click the above image to view the Chevy Volt image gallery

We all know the Chevy Volt’s range, we have heard it time and time again, 40 miles on one charge.  Well, two companies out of Ohio are working on doubling that number to at least 80 miles per charge.  Coupled with an ethanol or traditional internal combustion engine this range could make the Volt an even better “green” solution for GM.

How do they plan on tackling such craziness? Carbon nanofibers.  For the geeks out there, Wikipedia defines carbon nanofibers as

Cylindric nanostructures with graphene layers arranged as stacked cones, cups or plates. Carbon nanofibers with graphene layers wrapped into perfect cylinders are called carbon nanotubes.

In a nutshell, tiny fibers that you can’t see, that make the Volt go vroom.  The companies Applied Sciences Inc. and Pyrograf products have received $500,000 in investment from GM and another $1 million from Ohio Third Frontier. Applied Sciences handles the development, and Pyrograf is going to handle the production.  The 400-pound Volt battery will hopefully contain this advanced nano-technology, and make our lives a little happier.

Oh and by the way, Pyrograf is already the worlds third largest producer of nanofiber materials, and produces 25% of the world’s current nanofiber production capacity.