CALSTART Newsnotes - 10/18/2012

CALSTART Newsnotes of October 18, 2012.

There’s a lot of buzz about battery maker A123 Systems bankruptcy filing. Today the company is off to court seeking permission to remain in operation, pay employees, take care of key bills and taxes, and accept $72.5 million debtor in possession financing from Johnson Controls. Ni Pin is President of Wanxiang U.S. Operations, which is the company that previously bailed out the EV battery maker. The company is still interested in taking over A123 (and the business assets that A123 wants to sell to Johnson Controls are separate from what Wanxiang is targeting). Said Pin, “Bankruptcy court is like a filter that lets a dirty big boy covered with mud go through it and turn himself into a clean boy.” Hmm.

The chattersphere is rife with prognostications about the demise of the electric car. Thank you John Voelcker for No, The Electric Car Is Not a Failure, in the Christian Science Monitor. John’s responding to a U.S. News and World Report piece by John Lynch, a self-described researcher for the petroleum industry who asserts the demise of the plug-in electric vehicle based on 22 months of sales. John V. points out those sales have doubled over last year and could triple next year, but invites a broader perspective of factors that will contribute to PHEVs being the consumer vehicle of choice in 8-15 years. GM is doing their part to keep the momentum going and they have announced a $35 million investment to build the Cadillac ELR, a luxury coupe featuring extended range electric vehicle with Volt based technology.

Fiat is slated to start production later this year of the battery powered Fiat 500, but Chrysler and Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne, isn’t shy about asserting that natural gas engines are cheaper and more viable than PHEVs. Consumers who agree with him will soon have the option of purchasing Chrysler’s Ram 2500 HD CNG pickup. The truck gets 255 miles on CNG before switching to the 8-gallon reserve tank, extending the range to 367 miles. Republic Services is expressing their CNG love, too, by announcing that they are investing $25 million to enhance their fleet with 72 CNG collection vehicles that will operate in the St. Louis area. Nationally, Republic expects to have more than 3100 trucks running on alternative fuels by the end of 2015.

In Southern California more commuters are going to have the opportunity to access cash vouchers to purchase a folding bicycle to ride to bus and/or rail stops in Pasadena. FoldnGo Pasadena is a project of the LA County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and CALSTART. You can see photos of the cool Dahon bikes on the website. Connoisseurs of all things bike must look at the photos provided by Atlantic Cities of bikes bordering on the bizarre. Who can resist the larger than life unicycle in Shanghai or Santa Claus on wheels?

Until Tuesday,

Kimberly


Kimberly Taylor
Director Member Services
CALSTART