The Detroit auto show is of course partly responsible for the sudden explosion of interest towards plug-in autos, and I'm just going to link to a few articles. For my previous recent posts on this topic, go here, and here.
Electric-Car Firms Get Star Investors: discusses Kleiner Perkins' investment (with an assist from Al Gore) in Fisker Automotive, which is releasing an '09 luxury plug-in hybrid which has all the requisite performance attributes (50 miles before charging, 125 mph, 0-60 in 5.8 seconds). The article also mentions a couple other bigger names in this space including Tesla, and Shai Agassi's start-up
Closing the Power Gap Between a Hybrid's Supply and Demand: highlights AFS Trinity Power which has developed a prototype for a plug-in hybrid with pre-existing lithium-ion batteries and ultracapacitors which gets 150 miles/gallon.
Toyota Will Offer a Plug-In Hybrid by 2010: in an effort to outdo GM's Chevy Volt and Saturn Vue efforts, Toyota will be offering an entire fleet of plug-in hybrids, and extend the initiative to the Lexus line. Another take on these competing efforts is here.
A PHEV - EV Demand Curve: Meanwhile, AltEnergyStocks takes a look at the demand curve for mileage range by household, and comes to some interesting conclusions about PHEVs (plug-in hybrid electric vehicles) vs. EVs (electric vehicles).
Six Major Pre-Production Electric Vehicles Compared: and through the previous link at AltEnergyStocks, I found DIY Electric Car's very helpful grid comparison of electric vehicles. Although a couple months old, key similarities and points of difference are already beginning to appear.
And finally, there's been a lot of attention given GM's investment in Coskata, a cellulosic ethanol company still in pilot stage. As always, Earth2Tech was on the scene months ago, and has a great first-hand account of the technology and company.
