For more information in regard to the Kick Gas Festival 2009, the official website can be visited at http://www.kickgasfestival.com/ or email on pthomas@kickgasfestival.com.

Date: 12 October 2009
Venue: Barona Drag Strip
City: San Diego, California
Country: United States of America

If you have any questions feel free to contact Tom.  E-Mail:  info@santamonicanevclub.com

Web: www.SantaMonicaNEVclub.com

Toyota Prius 2010

ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORATION MAY USE ALTERNATIVE FUEL –

BUT NO LONGER IS IT AN ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLE

Majors in Auto Industry to Unveil New Vehicles at AltCar Expo 2009

SANTA MONICA (Sept. 10, 2009) – The 4^th Annual AltCar Expo returns to the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium for a two-day extravaganza of alternative transportation options, alternative energy sources and vehicle product reviews. AltCar Expo, presented by the City of Santa Monica, will be Friday and Saturday, October 2 and 3, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Admission is free and open to the public both days. Consumers will be exposed to what is new and now available on the market and able to experience the latest choices in Electric, Hydrogen, Biodiesel, Natural Gas, Propane, Hybrid, Plug-In, Ethanol and cycling transportation technologies. All alternative fuel options will be on display.

AltCar Expo includes a complimentary bike valet, an expanded bike area and the popular “Ride & Drive” lot where consumers can test the latest and greatest in alternative fuel vehicles with many of them available for sale at the show.

Alternative fuel major manufacturers present will include Honda, Toyota, General Motors, Ford, BMW and Nissan as well as small and new alternative companies like Wheego Electric Cars, Good Earth and Electrorides. Other exhibitors include Santa Monica Honda launching its debut as a natural gas Civic dealer and Ford’s Fiesta (which will be for sale in spring 2010) with its exceptional fuel efficiency delivering 40+ mpg with luxury features and already a devoted consumer following. Plus, the introduction of the NEV 1939 Roadster will be on display.

Several major manufacturers will preview new alternative energy vehicles, including the BMW E-mini and Ford’s Fusion Hybrid and (just coming to market) Transit Connect European-built small van.

“We aren’t just presenting ideas of the future, but rather showing that there are solutions available today that allow us to use less energy and reduce our carbon footprint without making big changes to our lifestyles.” said Rick Sikes, fleet superintendent for the City of Santa Monica and moderator on the Technology Review. This session will cover the newest alternative fuel and vehicle technologies.

Conversion companies for electric and natural gas including Vintage Hybrids will woo car buffs and cyclists will have popular multiple options of gear and bikes. Toyota’s newest Prius and the Good Earth’s Firefly are just a few of the new previews at the Expo.

Panel discussions on Friday will be “Focus on Fleets:” with the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA) and NAFA Fleet Managers participating. Other educational sessions will include some of the state’s top industry leaders and decision makers for future transportation planning and experts on tax programs for rebates and credits for alternative technology choices. Plus, the Expo doesn’t stop with transportation, as ecological footprint charting by Sustainable Works, E-Bikeboard mobility units and even a sustainable food café will be open for attendees.

Parking for AltCar Expo at the Santa Monica Civic is $8 for the day. For a complete schedule of industry expert speakers, exhibitors and energy panels visit www.altcarexpo.com or call 310.390.2930.

In addition, Austin Energy AltCar Expo & Conference will be held at the Austin Palmer Events Center January 15-16, 2010. Information on this Expo can be found at www.austinenergyaltcar.com.

Here’s a list of the 2009 Exhibitors…

AC Propulsion
Action Products LLC
AFV Fleet Service
American Bicycle Security Co
American Custom Golf Cars
American Honda Motor Company
Balanced Footprint
Best Buy
Better World Club
Big Blue Bus
Bureau of Automotive Repairs
Cal Poly Pomona Formula Hybrid
California Energy Commission
California Fuel Cell Partnership
California Green Designs
C.I.C.L.E.
City of Santa Monica, Environmental Programs Division
City of Santa Monica, Green Building Programs
City of Santa Monica, Office of Sustainability
Clark Adams Co.
Clif Bar
Coda Automotive
Columbia ParCar
Coulomb Technologies
DAHON
Department of Consumer Affairs
Dynasty
E-Bikeboard
EcoLimo
EF9 energy systems
Electric Blue Motors
Electrorides
Enterprise
EV World
Ford
Gas To Electric Inc.
General Motors
Green Bay Group
Green Vehicles
Golden West College Design Program
Good Earth Electric Vehicles
Hi-Performance Golf Cars, Inc
International Environmental Solutions
Invest Green
Ken Grody Ford
L/E Electric Automobiles LLC
LifeSource Water Systems
Los Angeles County Bike Coalition
LUCE
Lucky Earth
Metro
Mini
NuTech-Energy Solutions
Plug In America
Prometheus Motors
Propane Council
Rapid Electric Vehicles
Rose Pedals Bike Weddings
Roush Industries Inc.
Santa Monica Ford
Santa Monica Honda
Santa Monica Spoke
Santa Monica Toyota
Segway
Skeuter
So. California Transit Advocates
Society of Automotive Engineers
Solar Santa Monica
Southern California Gas
SoCal Interscholastic Cycling League
sporteve
States Logistics Service Inc.
Studio MFT, INC
Sustainable Transport Club
Sustainable Works
The Bikerowave
The Electric Car Company of Long Beach
The Transit Coalition
Toyota
Valley Bikery
Vintage Hybrids
WeCar
Wheego Electric Cars
ZAP
Zigo

EVBeat.com will be there covering the 2 day event and will have a full report.

Click here to take action.

Clicking the link below could help reduce the 20% or more of our nation’s carbon emissions that come from personal transportation, and set manufacturers on the path to cleaner vehicles. Thirteen other states have already adopted the strong California standards, why shouldn’t the entire United States?

The opposition has their sights set on slowing this progress — arguing that statewide actions won’t work and claiming that automakers don’t need any encouragement to make cleaner cars. We all know what has happened in the past. We can’t let the special interests block this much-needed action. Your voice will make a difference. There’s not much time left in the public comment period — send your comment to the EPA right now:

Help leverage the success of California to solve the climate crisis and make the switch to clean, affordable, domestic electricity for transportation. California will pave the way for reductions in vehicle emissions all over this country and guide the industry to a cleaner and reinvigorated future.

Please tell the EPA today that we need to “plug-in” America with clean, affordable, domestic electricity

Thank you for your support!

Jay Friedland
Legislative Director
Plug In America

 If you have any suggestions or edits regarding electric vehicle types, please email us at info@evbeat.com and we’ll get the list updated right away.

Aptera Electric Car

Alternative Fuel Vehicle –  AFV : A vehicle that is run off of any form of alternative fuel, whether it is electricity, solar energy, ethanol, biodiesel, etc.

Battery Electric Vehicle – BEV : Battery operated Electric Vehicle.

Includes: Toyota RAV4 EV, Honda EV Plus, GM EV1, Ford Ranger EV, which are discontinued. New models include Tesla Roadster, Chevy Volt, 2010, Toyota Prius.

Bi Fuel Vehicle – BFV : A Vehicle that is able to store two or more different types of fuel and have the vehicle run off of one fuel at a time.

Electric Vehicle – EV: A vehicle comparable to the conventionally gasoline fueled vehicle, with the same fueling idea, except refueling is done through electricity and stored in a battery instead of a tank.

Flexible Fuel Vehicle / Flex Fuel Vehicle  -   FFV : A vehicle that is run on more than one kind of fuel stored in the same tank together.

Fuel Cell Vehicle  - FCV : A vehicle that converts hydrogen into fuel.

Full Function EV – FFEV :  Electric Vehicles that are similar to gasoline operated vehicles as far as being able to accelerate easily across town and on highways, but have the downside of being more expensive than its gasoline operated version and require large expensive batteries; however prices are coming down.

Includes:  Chevrolet S10e, Chrysler EPIC (Minivan), CommunterCars Tango, Elbil Norge Buddy, Ford Ranger EV, GM EV1, Honda EV Plus, Nissan Hypermini, Reva G-Wiz, Tesla Roadster, Think A306, ThinkMobility Neighbor, Toyota E-com, Toyota RAV4EV, Venturi Fetish

Hybrid EVs –  HEV :  A vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine and one or more forms of rechargeable energy.

Includes: Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid, Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid, Ford Escape Hybrid, Ford Escape Hybrid II, GMC Yukon Hybrid, Honda Insight (Discontinued), Honda Accord Hybrid, Honda Civic Hybrid (Discontinued), Honda Civic Hybrid II, Lexus GS 450h, Lexus RX400h, Mercury Mariner Hybrid, Nissan Altima Hybrid, Toyota Camry Hybrid,, Toyota Highlander Hybrid, Toyota Prius, Toyota Prius II (Discontinued)

Hybrid Vehicle – HV : A vehicle that uses two or more power sources, usually one being a fuel source like gasoline, the other being a form of electricity.

Light EVs – LEV : Ranging from electric-assist bicycles to heavy electric scooters and motorcycles, LEVs are the most affordable types of EVs.

Includes: E-Max Electric Scooter 190L, EVTAmerica R-20, Ikoo Scooter, Oxygen Cargo, Vectrix Maxiscooter, X-Treme Scooters XM-5000Li, ZERO X (All in production)

Low Emissions Vehicle  - LEV : The rating for selling lightweight vehicles that was established in 2004.

Neighborhood Electric Vehicles – NEV : A battery charged EV with a given amount of speed of up to 25 mph in designated neighborhood areas. Great for small communities.

Includes: Columbia ParCar Mega, Dynasty IT, GEM E4, Miles ZX40S, Miles ZX40ST, Zenn Standard (all in production)

Plug In Hybrid EV – PHEV :  A vehicle with the same electric engine as a hybrid but with batteries that are recharged by being plugged into any electric power source, as well as a wall socket.

Partial Zero-Emissions Vehicle – PZEV : A vehicle with a 15 year warranty and zero evaporative emissions to meet the SULEV tailpipe emission standards.

Super Ultra Low EV – SULEV : Using various techniques the SULEV produces minimal air pollution because if its gas electric hybrid vehicle design.

Transitional Low Emission Vehicle  - TLEV : The rating for selling lightweight vehicles that was phased out in 2004.

Ultra Low Emission Vehicle – ULEV :  Along with the Super Low EV, emits very low levels of air pollutants. It can also qualify for tax advantages because, according to the Air Resources Board of California, USA, it emits 50% less pollution than a new model car released the same year.

Zero Emissions Vehicle – ZEV : A vehicle that produces no tailpipe emissions, no evaporative emissions, and no emissions from gasoline refining or sales, according to California’s Air Resource Board which also produced the standards for the SULEV and PZEV.

Actually, the really focus of Mother Nature’s thanks should be directed towards the US credit crunch, which has directly led to the downtown in the US and World car markets.  The amount of carbon emissions spewed into the atmosphere has yet to be officially determined but if car sales are down 40% so far this year, that means 40% fewer tones of carbon dioxide will be emitted into the atmosphere from gas vehicles. The other benefit of this downturn is the emersion of the electric vehicle market.  GM and Chrysler are asking for over $17 Billion in funds while Ford is not asking for anything. An estimated 3,800 auto dealers will go out of business in coming months. This is definitely bad for America but we will find a way to restructure our econonmy. Car unit sales fell below 1 million/month for the first time since 1982.

GM has plans to produce 24 hybrid and electric models by 2014. Better late than never!  It’s ironic that the first electric car was manufactured in 1832, even before the first internal combustion engines.  These first electric cars were considered to be better since they were silent and produced no fumes but didn’t take due to battery technology. We’re seeing many new electric car manufacturers pop up every day from small funded companies to highly capitalized companies like Tesla. It’s Roadster Sport is available now goes from 0 to 60 in less than 4 seconds. Sure, it’s costs over $100k but not to worry, the Chinese are coming with the BYD e6 and will be selling its electric car in the US for around $15k by 2011. We better write our government officials and automakers asking for electric cars now and cheaper.

It’s not all bad for the US car makers. There is a major shift in consumer buying habits and that is to seek out environmentally friendly vehicles. Everyone wins in this scenario….the environment, the car makers, dealers and especially the consumer since they will be saving money on gas.  Electric cars are a bit more expensive right now but that will change very soon. The major US car makers had their chance to be in front of this wave of electric vehicles but chose not too so that’s why so many smaller companies are set to take over the market or at least play a big in it. 2009 is going to be a tough year for everyone but 2010 is set to be a major paradigm shift in self transportation throughout the world.  Let’s just hope that people don’t forget to car pool and ride public transportation. Remember, these electric cars still have to be manufacturered.

We had the pleasureof meeting the folks of Jungle Motors at the Go Green Expo this past weekend at the Los Angeles Convention Center.  They are based in San Juan Capistrano and hybrid models such aa the Prius to fully electric.  They also convert gas cars to 100% electric and they do with some pretty cool cars i.e. Porsche 911.

Here’s a little more of what they do….

-Gas to 100% Electric Conversions- Your car or ours

-Gas to Electric/Gas Hybrid Conversions- Improve your MPG

-Hybrid to Plug-In Hybrid (PHEV)- Charge at home and save $$

-Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid Conversion- 2004 to 2009 models

-Lithium Iron Phosphate (LifePO4) batteries and Motors

*Coming Soon Plug-In Hybrid Conversions for-
Toyota Highlander
Lexus
Ford Escape
Toyota Camry

You can check them out at www.junglemotors.com

Another hybrid specialist company is Luscious Garage in San Francisco.

Plug In America’s Inaugural Parade – A Huge Success! Sunny skies and the sound of electricity filled the air on Saturday, Januarary, 17th in Santa Monica, CA.

With 100-percent participation, Plug In America pronounced its inaugural plug-in parade a total success, confident that President-Elect Obama himself will hear the message the event’s participants sent: America needs one million plug-in vehicles by 2010 and 10 million by 2016.

All 74 freeway-capable vehicles that signed up for the 2-mile parade through downtown Santa Monica showed up for “Inaugural Parade West, Plug In, America!” Electric Vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) participated in the Jan. 17 event. See the full list below, followed by speaker line up. More coverage here: http://arcwire.org/content/view/102/1/

“It was astounding, even for us in the movement , to see ‘old-time’ RAV4 EVs—one of which had some 160,000 miles on it—parading beside prototypes from Ford and Mitsubishi, beside four Tesla Roadsters, beside a 50-ton truck and a PHEV school bus,” said Plug In America spokeswoman Zan Dubin Scott.  “We even had an all-electric Hummer H2. The moral of this story is that EVs can meet any need.”

Roughly 250 drivers, spectators and supporters attended the parade, preceded by a press conference next to the City of Santa Monica’s 40-kW solar carport equipped with EV chargers.  Edward Kjaer, director of electric transportation for Southern California Edison, said that nobody should think that plug-in technology isn’t ready.

“It is so ready,” Kjaer said. “The country is ready, the market is ready, the people are ready and news flash, the technology is ready.”

Southern California Edison is testing the two prototype vehicles it brought to the parade: a Ford Escape PHEV and a Mitsubishi iMiEV.

“Journalists and bloggers continue to ask if there really is a market for plug-ins, now that gas is back to $2-per-gallon,” said Plug In America co-founder Paul Scott. “That question was answered unambiguously yesterday at this history-making parade.  Those in attendance, like Americans nationwide, would tell anyone, ‘yes, we all want to drive on renewable electricity instead of on foreign oil. Just sell us the cars!’ “ 

Vehicles that attended the parade:

Made to be EV or PHEV:

40 Toyota RAV4 EVs

4 Tesla Roadsters

1 Solectria

1 Balqon 50-ton truck

1 eBox by AC Propulsion

1 PHEV school bus by IC Enova

1 PHEV Dodge Sprinter Van

3 Zero Motorcycles

1 Brammo

1 prototype PHEV Ford Escape (in testing at SoCal Edison)

1 prototype Mitsubishi iMiEV (in testing at SoCal Edison)

2 Phoenix SUTs

1 SolarCity SolarTaco (only gas car, affixed with solar panels)

2 Vectrix

2 Chevy S-10s

Conversions, All EV except where stated:

3 PHEV Prii, converted by Plug In Hybrid/Andy Frank, Plug In Conversions Corp and EnergyCS

1 Jeep by REVConversion

2 Porsche

1 VW Jetta by AC Propulsion

1 Ford Escort

1 Hummer H2

1 Miata

1 Geo Metro

1 Suzuki

Speaker line up from the event:

·         Chris Paine, director, “Who Killed the Electric Car?”

·         Ed Kjaer, director of electric transportation, SoCal Edison

·         Kevin McKeown, Santa Monica City Councilman

·         Jordan Howard, Youth Leader of Green Ambassadors

·         Sen. Fran Pavley, California state senator

·         Paul Scott, Plug In America co-founder/board member

Plug In America is leading the nation’s plug-in vehicle movement. The nonprofit organization works to accelerate the shift to plug-in vehicles powered by clean, affordable, domestic electricity to reduce our nation’s dependence on petroleum and improve the global environment. For more information: http://www.pluginamerica.org.