The Lincoln MKZ concept that debuted in Detroit earlier this month gave us an olfactory tingle in more than one place after the display started inexplicably smoking in front of us much to its presenter’s chagrin. Despite all that, the MKZ wasn’t the hottest Lincoln design to make the scene.

Instead, the car that’s still capturing imaginations is the 2025 Lincoln Continental EV concept, pictured above. It’s the brainchild of two undergraduate students from Lawrence Technological University in Michigan.  Colin Bonathan and Jeeho Cha are a part of the transportation design program at Lawrence Tech and started on the project last summer. According to the school, Ford liked the concept so much that they decided to get behind it.

Beyond the fact that the student’s concept got exposure at the NAIAS, there isn’t any word on the likelihood of it passing the imaginary phase, though Bonathan did base the exterior on concrete figures like a desired wheelbase length and other components.

GALLERY: 2025 Lincoln Continental Concept

[Source: Lawrence Tech]

Google is all about advancing technology in order to improve our world and lifestyle, and it appears that they also support any other company that’s pro-technology.

The massive search engine turned all-things technology firm was given the keys to the first Ford Focus electric vehicle off the assembly line.

It’ll be interesting to see if Google will be going domestic in continuing to develop their autonomous vehicle technology that’s currently taking place on Toyota‘s Prius. There’s probably a better chance that the electric Focus will be making its way as a Google Street View vehicle though, spying on us and taking unsuspecting photos without wasting a drip of gas or polluting our world.

The day that a fleet of self-driving electric vehicles with Google plastered across the side of them doesn’t seem so far off.

[Source: Engadget]

Initial estimations for electric vehicle sales may have been a tad too optimistic, as a new report is coming out that EV sales may total half of what was originally expected by 2025.

It’s probably too early to tell given human nature – who would have thought the Prius would be a hard to get vehicle – but Morgan Stanley now expects electric vehicles to account for 4.5-percent of total auto sales in 2025 instead of the initial 8.5-percent figure.

Automakers are still optimistic however, Renault-Nissan still expects electric vehicle sales to account for 10-percent of the global market by 2020.

The skepticism towards the originally inflated figures comes from the fact that without government assistance, electric vehicles will be too expensive to meet those forecasts. Electric vehicle sales are currently heavily subsidized by various governments but that’s not expected to last.

Analysts believe that sales will increase once the battery technology on electric vehicles becomes less expensive, but that’s not expected until 2025. We’re a little more optimistic though, given how technology has improved exponentially over the years.

GALLERY: Nissan Leaf

[Source: Left Lane News]

An automatic transmission defect initiated a recall for 2011 Ford F-150, 2012 F-250, F-350,F-450 and F-550 pickup trucks.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the 16,091 examples of Ford trucks may suffer a problematic brake shift interlock switch. This defect may allow the transmission to shift out of park without the need of engaging the brake pedal.

NHTSA recommends this recall because this hazard could cause a driver to accidently shift the vehicle out of park, launch the truck, and increases the risk of a car accident.

Recalls will begin on December 19th. So far, no incidents have been linked to this issue.

The electric mobility pod from Chevrolet called EN-V will be shown in its latest form at the Tokyo Motor Show from Nov. 30 to Dec. 11.

The EN-V, which stands for Electric Networked – Vehicle, made its world debut in 2010 at the World Expo Shanghai, and is designed to solve congestion in heavily populated city centers. The idea is that a small personal vehicle will take up less space on the road, will be easy to park and won’t pollute the environment either.

The EN-V will be part of the “Smart Mobility City 2011″ display, which will highlight other mobility solution vehicles from around the world.

So far, there are no plans on putting the EN-V into production.

Over the past 60-years, Volkswagen has produced delivery vehicles, which have been used around the world for various purposes, from delivering mail to emergency services.

Gathering all the knowledge they have learned in this field, Volkswagen has now come up with a new concept van which they think will be the future of delivery mobility.

It’s called eT! and it’s a fully electric van, which uses electric wheel hub motors to power it along. A zero-emissions delivery vehicle will certainly go a long way in cutting down on pollution in city centers.

The eT! can be operated semi-autonomously in certain situations also. With their “Follow Me” feature, the van can follow the delivery person as they go door to door. It even has a “Come To Me” command feature which will have the car come to its driver.

The eT! can even be driven via using a joystick controller on the passenger side of the vehicle. This way, the delivery driver can drive the vehicle without having to walk around every time to get to the driver’s seat.

While Microsoft and Ford‘s previous collaboration, MyFord Touch, drew significant criticism from users as well as from Consumer Reports, their latest product promises to be a big hit. Designed for the new Ford Focus Electric, the MyFord Mobile app has earned the International CES Best of Innovation Design and Engineering Award in the software and mobile applications category.

Thanks to the MyFord Mobile app and its use of Microsoft’s cloud computing technology, drivers will be able to keep track of when utilities switch to lower off-peak charging rates so that a charging schedule can be coordinated to minimize electric bills and the Focus’ cost of ownership. MyFord Mobile’s network can monitor the rate schedules of Utility services and transmit that data back to the vehicle via embedded cellular connectivity so that it will trigger the charging process only when the rates fall.

Thanks to navigational data and can also assist in locating the closest charging stations along the driver’s route. It will calculate whether the vehicle’s range can reach the station with the currently available charge and design multi-stop, plug-to-plug journeys to keep drivers from getting stranded.

Available on smartphone platforms Android, Blackberry, and Apple iOS, the MyFord Mobile app, “is designed to help Focus Electric drivers maximize their gasoline-free driving in a worry-free, low-effort way. Drivers can take advantage of information stored off-board to automatically charge their cars at the lowest possible cost and reduce range anxiety with plug-to-plug route planning,” according to Bill Frykman, of Ford Connected Services Product & Business Dept.

Frykman adds, “We’re honored CES has recognized our efforts to use the latest connectivity and cloud technology to augment the capabilities of the car to promote greener driving.”

If your cell phone has ever run out of battery power midday, you know how frustrating it can be to charge on the go. Imagine having to do the same for your car.

Driving an electric vehicle (EV) means you’re always thinking about when and where you can charge next. At current charging times that can be significant - DC fast-charge systems on the market today need 30 minutes to achieve an 80 percent charge.

Nissan’s Leaf is one of the EVs available on the market today, and thanks to a recent tech development the automaker hopes to change charging times for the better.

According to a report, researchers at Japan’s Kansai University working with Nissan engineers sped up the charging process by tweaking a capacitor using tungsten oxide and vanadium oxide instead of the usual carbon. The result— a 10-minute charge.

The faster charging process allowed the capacitor to retain almost the same capacity and voltage as lithium ion batteries and appeared to retain durability during charging and discharging tests.

In light of their latest achievement, the same researchers hope to alter the capacitor’s structure to further decrease charging times to three minutes. If they can achieve their goal, charging times will be on par with average fueling times for gasoline vehicles.

The same report also mentioned that while this development will help bring such technology to consumers faster, it probably won’t be widely available for another decade.

[Sources: PaulTan.org and cnet.com]

Earlier this week at the Frankfurt Auto Show, Infiniti released teaser sketches of their upcoming Nissan Leaf-based Infiniti electric sedan concept.

As if that wasn’t enough to stir the press, Nissan’s global communications chief Andy Palmer informed the media of an upcoming Infiniti mid-engine electric sports car as well. The car will use many of the technologies found in the Nissan Leaf Nismo RC, which was on display at the New York Auto Show earlier this year. Elements in the Leaf Nismo RC that may be applied include a full carbon fiber tub and a rear-wheel drive layout.

As far as powertrain is concerned, the concept coupe is likely to use a range extender application where although the wheels will be driven by electric motors, a hyper-compact petrol engine will be a source of energy generation (similar to the Chevrolet Volt).

Last but not least, Red Bull Racing, the Formula 1 team sponsored by Infiniti, will likely lend its experience with KERS (kinetic energy recovery system) for the concept’s development as well.

Expect to first see the Infiniti electric sports car concept at the next Geneva Auto Show. The production car is aimed for 2014, released alongside of the upcoming Infiniti electric sedan.

[Source: Motor Authority]

Mercedes-Benz unveiled its second-generation B-Class at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show along with a concept for an E-Cell version of the front-wheel drive compact sport tourer.

The new B-Class is almost two inches shorter than the previous version yet has more leg room thanks to a lowered floor. The seats are also more upright but still offer a lot of head room.

European customers will have the choice of two new gasoline and two diesel options, all with ECO start/stop. The turbocharged 1.6 liter B 180 offers 122 hp while the B 200 version offers 156 hp. The 1.8 liter diesel options include the B 180 CDI with 109 hp and the B 200 CDI with 136 hp. B-class models will come with either a 6-speed manual transmission or a new 7-speed dual clutch transmission.

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