There is no question that early adopters will struggle to find charging stations in the coming years. Until there is a charging network for electric cars, the demand for the vehicles will remain low at best. What should come first, the charging stations or the electric car consumers?

The city of London is taking action by attempting to include charging station policy that would require developments, both commercial and residential to include charging stations once the density of population breaks a pre-defined threshold. The city has also committed to public charging station networks to be matched by private investors and the national government.

In a recent panel hosted by ThinkLondon, the topic of conversation was an electric charging network that would be built as a open source model. In a conversation with one of the attendees, BusinessWeek quoted London’s climate change program chief, Padmesh Shukla with the following:  ”Using the open platform model, the idea is to help foster development of common standards, tools, and practices for charge point developers, ensuring that all charging stations can operate with all electric models and generally create an environment in which electric car companies can prosper.” 

Back home in the U.S., San Diego based company San Diego Gas and Electric is attempting an open-source model as well. According to BusinessWeek, San Diego Gas and Electric is working with the Renault-Nissan Alliance and multiple charging companies on ways to innovate a charging network that integrate with San Diego Gas and Electric’s grid.

It’s good to see that large cities like San Diego and London are attempting to build the infrastructure necessary to boost and retain demand for electric cars.

As a former Ad guy, I have always been impressed with the creative product that comes out of Crispin Porter+Bogusky. Their work includes brands like Burger King and Microsoft Windows. The latest from the Agency places the Jetta TDI against the Prius. The commercial is funny and meaningful, and does a great job articulating the benefits of the new Jetta TDI. It certainly struck a chord with me - all the noise with out sacrificing the MPG’s. Very cool. Enjoy!

Wow, what a tease! Discussions about the future of Tesla Motor’s Model S have really hit an all-time high in recent days, especially with the recent article in BusinessWeek. DrivePwr was excited to stumble on the recent article and thought it would be a good idea to blog this one out.

So, as you can see from the image above, Tesla Motors has decided to give a sneak-peak of the Model S, but I have to say that this is more than a simple tease. This is the epitome of everything going on with Tesla Motors, and I think with this photo and the recent news, the proof is in the pudding. I think one could argue they are losing their identity through the recent credit crunch and their internal firings. They have fired about 80 of their 380 people, and have further delayed the launch of the Model S. It looks like the launch, according the BusinessWeek article, will be delayed until 2011. Ouch.  Tesla Motors better get to work on the 1,200 back orders of their Roadster, or they could really find themselves in a tough spot.

All-in-all the loss of Tesla’s identity could force the company, who does zero marketing, to start investing in their reputation. If the the October 11th credit crunch holds strong, this could leave Tesla with out their Energy Department loan guarantees and could ignite a fire that will prove tough to put out.  Falling oil prices could sway the attention from Tesla Motors and force them to grab the spot light again. With that said, I’m not sure the teaser photo was the solution, but merely a band-aid.

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…]

Presidential Seal

Well, here we are coming down the home stretch of one of the most important elections of our life time. The everyday American is milling through the details of policies, debates, commercials, mud-slinging and everything in between.  With four weeks left in the election, all of us are searching for our personal “tipping point.” What will be your “tipping point?” In an effort to confuse matters even more, we the people of DrivePwr thought we would post some he-said-she-said of hybrid vehicle political landscape. Don’t worry we’ll keep it simple. We’ll give you a little of the “Straight Talking Express” and the “Change We Need” platforms.

First, let’s level the playing field by saying that both candidates are interested and committed to putting more hybrids on American roads.

McCain

Although McCain’s plan is not as thorough as Obama’s, McCain’s idea is ambitious and focuses on the everyday American to fulfill the void. McCain’s platform is really quite simple, he has called for a $300 million prize to the whoever can create a more efficient, scalable battery that will “leapfrog” the capabilities of the current hybrid and electric vehicles. “$1 for every man, woman and child in the U.S. — a small price to pay for helping to break the back of our oil dependency.” Who knows if the Manhattan Project type would really work, but a $300 million prize could spark some serious interest.

Obama

Did you know Obama’s friends use to call him Barry? Well, if not, now you know. I hope you don’t mind me referring to him as “Barry.” So, Barry’s plan includes an equally ambitious, maybe idealistic, plan to get hybrids on the road. First, according to Barry’s website, he wants to replace all White House vehicles with plug-in hybrids. So, watch out, we could have our first presidential EV convoy.  After he successfully converts the White House, Barry plans to set a mandate for half of all government vehicles purchased annually are plug-ins, all in the next four years.  Overall, Barry has a fairly robust energy plan that includes over $150 billion through 10 years to push his energy platforms and successfully put a million plug-in hybrids on the roads in seven years.  In addition to the 10 year plan, Barry plans to offer a $7,000 tax credit to enhance the purchase of plug-ins.  Finally, $4 billion in “retooling tax credits” for those who manufacture the vehicles to support the vehicles on the road and in repair.

Wow, so there you have it. A brief overview of from two candidates, both seeking presidential election.  I’m sure there more serious issues to hang your hat on, but we thought we would stay relevant and timely as we approach the next great election.