Pininfarina EV

[TEG]

It was just their response to the concerns that the blind won't know when EVs are approaching. Rather than succumb to the noise makers of other manufacturers, they plan to use the "you can smell it coming" system.

 

[graham]

Due to... Battery Oder?

 

[TEG]

Or some other acrid acronym.


but seriously, we have nothing particular against the vehicle... Just making fun of the proposed name.

 

[vfx]

I'm sure we all know the Nova story.

 

[TEG]

Yeah, I had been contemplating the Mexican 'No-Va' when I read about the B.O.

 

[TEG]

Quality Weenie: Worst Car Names Ever
AskMen.com - Top 10 worst car names
Top Ten Worst Car Names | Chicago | Yelp
Top 5 Most Awful Embarrassing Appalling and Downright Dreadful Car Names Ever
10 Most Badly Named Cars Names Pajero , Pinto , Ascona Etc | Tech,Fun,This n That at www.Hem.com.np
The Top Ten Worst Car Names [Hi My Name Is] - Jalopnik

 

[dpeilow]

The Toyota MR2 always gets me (one for our French members).

 

[vfx]

Thanks TEG -a fun bunch of links. There are truly some terrible names there. Who would have thought there would be cars with genital names? Both sexes!

These names are OK with me:
Mirage
Prism
Intrigue
Explorer, Expedition, Excursion,

 

[TEG]

The Toyota MR2 always gets me (one for our French members).

In the US it is "Em-are-too" or "Mister-too" so no confusion there.
I gather the French see it as "Em-ehr-deu" (Merde)...

GM got some flack for calling the EV1 prototype the "Impact".
(I gather they changed the name after they were done with crash testing!)

 

[dpeilow]

Did Pininfarina see this thread?

Bluecar by Pininfarina

 

[dpeilow]

Again, looks like they got the message: Pininfarina on the charge | Auto Express News | News | Auto Express

Design firm Pininfarina has demonstrated just how serious its plan to become an independent car maker is. It used the Geneva show stands to pull the wraps off its new supermini – the BO concept, now badged BlueCar. This production-ready machine is a development of the study seen at last year’s Paris show. Pininfarina claims it remains on track to launch the all-electric model in 2010 – at a price of less than £15,000. Developed with support from French investor Bollore, the car uses advanced Lithium Polymer batteries, and has a range of 155 miles.

 

[vfx]

Blue Car?!!


Maybe they have been paying attention too much!

 

[savuporo]

Pininfarina/Bollore Bluecar

Hey,

Little unnoticed by the english-speaking press. Mitsubishi i-Miev launched, Subaru Stella as well, now Pininfarina/Bollore are taking orders for their BlueCar as well:
Bluecar by Pininfarina

Some more reports:
Energy Harvesting Journal: Bluecar uses electrodynamic/photovoltaic harvesting
( French )
Le Figaro - Automobile : Voitures électriques: le contre la montre des constructeurs
Voitures électriques : les projets qui vont sortir des cartons - Actualité France - Economie - Radio Europe1

 

[dpeilow]

The Toyota MR2 always gets me (one for our French members).

Another funny car name...

Etron is apparently French for turd.

 

[Serge]

Supposedly

Bolloré has reportedly decided to hurry up and get the Bluecar ready for 2010... Vincent Bolloré says the first cars are going to be manufactured in March and will be delivered in June.

Corporate website expands on the plans a bit:

The Pininfarina BLUECAR, is therefore not a mere concept car but a forerunner of the vehicle which will go into production in Italy at Pininfarina starting from 2010 with the first units. Production on an industrial scale will take place between 2011 and 2017, with forecast output by 2015 being about 60,000.

 

[felix the cat]

Pininfarina Newsletter

Dear Sir, Madam,

You are one of the very first to have expressed your interest in our electric vehicles and we want first of all to thank you very much for that.

Presented last year at the Geneva Motor Show, the first BlueCar, designed and developed in collaboration with Pininfarina, is expected to be delivered in the course of next summer.

A milestone was reached on 24th September of this year, with the inauguration in the company of Jean-Louis Borloo, the French Minister of State for Ecology at Ergué Gabéric near Quimper, of the plant that will mass produce the electric Lithium Metal Polymer - LMP - battery, which will equip the BlueCar and the Gruau electric Microbus.

As you know, the battery is the key to the success of electric cars. This battery uses a lithium metal and polymer film technology. Developed by the researchers, engineers and technicians at BatScap, a subsidiary of the Bolloré Group, it provides electric vehicles with high levels of performance and is safer under operating conditions than the lithium ion battery.

We are delighted to be able to send you, as one of our future clients, the brochure that we published to mark this inauguration.

A second LMP battery plant was inaugurated on 27th October, near Montreal in Canada, thus gradually bringing the total production capacity up to tens of thousands of batteries per year. We will be providing you with more information on that soon.

In the meantime, we are on hand to answer any queries.

Yours faithfully,

Bolloré Group

 

[Serge]

As you know, the battery is the key to the success of electric cars. This battery uses a lithium metal and polymer film technology. Developed by the researchers, engineers and technicians at BatScap, a subsidiary of the Bolloré Group, it provides electric vehicles with high levels of performance and is safer under operating conditions than the lithium ion battery.

GCC has a scoop on those batteries

The lithium-metal-polymer cell is a laminate of four ultra-thin materials:
* A cathode composed of vanadium oxide, carbon and polymer to form a plastic composite.
* A metallic lithium foil anode that acts as both a lithium source and a current collector.
* A solid polymeric electrolyte created by dissolving a lithium salt in a solvating co-polymer (polyoxyethylene).
* An aluminum foil current collector.
To obtain optimal conductivity, temperature of the battery must be maintained between 80 °C and 90 °C, according to BatScap.
The 410 V BatScap battery pack has a capacity of 30 kWh, and peak power output of 45 kW. Gravimetric energy density is 100 Wh/kg, and volumetric energy density is 100 Wh/L.

 

[malcolm]

Well they're still taking pre-orders but it seems to be for rentals, not purchases.

http://www.bluecar.fr/en/pages-accueil/default.aspx

 

[Doug_G]

Today I ran into an engineer from Bathium, a Quebec company that is part of the Bollore Group. Apparently they're building the Lithium Metal Polymer batteries for the Bluecar. I hadn't heard of it before (guess I missed this thread). He said that the car will be coming to market in 2011, but will be launched exclusively in Europe. He also said that their battery packs are 30 kWh.

I asked him about the range of the car, and he said, "100 km or so". He wasn't from the car side of the business so he might not know the correct answer, but I might have expected 200 km given the performance of the Roadster's 53 kWh battery.

Doug

 

[EVNow]

The BLUECAR is a compact and elegant town car with four seats, five doors and an automatic transmission. Its L. M. P. battery gives it a range of 250 km between charges

http://www.bluecar.fr/en/pages-presentation-voiture/default.aspx