E-Car Club Scores Funding Boost

E-Car Club, the UK's first entirely electric car club, has secured (£215,000) $330,000 worth of funding from angel investors. The additional funding will allow the E-Car Club to expand into eight new locations in London and South-East England during 2013. The club operates in partnership with local low carbon community groups in making e-cars available within the community.

The E-Car Club raised the funds via a leading crowd-funding site, Crowdcube. E-Car Club, the lowest emission car hire fleet in the UK, is currently completing a ten-month pilot project, partially funded by the Technology Strategy Board, to develop Car Club operations in partnership with local low carbon community groups. The funding raised will be used to deploy additional electric vehicles in up to eight new locations in London and South-East England during 2013, providing communities, businesses and local authorities with access to a car when they need one – without the high fixed cost of owning and maintaining a vehicle.

The pilot community in Wolverton, Milton Keynes has over 90 members using the five door Nissan LEAF cars for shopping and business trips, and for trips to visit friends and family.

"This new funding provides us with the capital to extend our operations and demonstrate the role both the Electric Vehicle and the Car Club can play in corporate and public transport strategy," said Christopher Morris, E-Car's development director.

Andrew Wordsworth, Managing Director at Sustainable Ventures and also Chairman of E-Car Club said, “Receiving £100,000 from 63 investors in E-Car Club’s crowdfunding round proved a real stamp of approval when looking for additional investment. The second round is a more traditional investment structure.

Luke Lang, Founder and Director of CrowdCube said, “It is great to see businesses like E-Car Club securing its next round of funding from more traditional routes after raising its seed investment on Crowdcube.  This is good news for E-Car and its Crowdcube investors as the company can further accelerate its growth and deliver greater shareholder value.”

Marc Blumenthal, serial entrepreneur and Angel Investor said, “E-Car’s innovative concept and its enormous growth potential, as well as its dynamic and professional team is what inspired me to invest in the company at an early stage. I strongly believe in E-Car’s future and am excited for what lies ahead.”

E-Car Club exclusively uses plug-in electric vehicles, allowing it to always offer customers the lowest emission fleet. Through focussing on providing sustainable transport solutions, the company has enjoyed strong stakeholder support ranging from Local Authorities to car manufacturers.E-Car Club was established in 2011 and launched full-scale operations in Autumn 2012. The company continues to benefit from  the early-stage expertise and the extensive network of Sustainable Venture Development Partners.

More than 31 million electric vehicles were produced, primarily in China in 2010 to 2012. The USA still has one of the lowest rates of electric-vehicle adoption -- but Elite Custom Electric Cars aims to change that by providing economical entry-level Electric City Cars.

Investment opportunities are also available via B-eco investment crowd-funding.

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Based in Florida, Elite-evs are faster than blue lightning but they can also be tamed to top speeds under 50 mph for resort community travel needs.

Ideal for town and retirement community travel
 see our Electric City Car Collection at e-cars.cc.

The future is here and it's Electric!

Join Us On An "Electric City Tour" Across The USA

We are building an electric car capable of cross-country travel for an "Electric City Tour" that will start in Orlando, Florida -- next summer. Here's a 5 minute video tour of some of the most picturesque sights to see across the USA. 

We want to promote "green energy" alternative-travel options by getting on the road to visit electric-car friendly tourist and travel destinations.

About 90% of our vacation will be all-electric green travel -- Using a fully recharged system to explore tourist and travel attractions. Then we will hit the road for another town utilizing a V-Twin engine-powered on-board recharge  and range-extending system (linked to the gas custom car's gas tank) that travels at 100 miles per gallon of gasoline.

In other words, we won't be stopping to fill up our gas tank every 400 miles -- In fact we will start with a fully recharged system every morning and we won't be switching on the re-charge system until almost miles into any full day of travel. 

There are currently 300 recharging stations in the Central Florida - Orlando area, including 30 fast recharge stations and recharge stations at all three major theme parks. There are recharge stations at more than two dozen hotels in Orlando, as well as recharge stations at the Florida Mall and two recharge stations in downtown Orlando.

Want to rent and test-drive an electric car while on vacation? Orlando has teamed up with 30 hotels, and several major car rental companies in a first of it's kind program, sponsored in part by the National Electrification Coalition. 

Rent an electric car and vacation gas-free and pay nothing to recharge your electric rental car -- Details at Drive Electric Orlando.

If you would like to support what we are doing: Become a brand sponsor. To discuss GREEN TRAVEL SPONSORSHIP -- Contact Us.

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Based in Florida, Elite-evs are faster than blue lightning but they can also be tamed to top speeds under 50 mph for resort community travel needs.

Ideal for town and retirement community travel
 see our Electric City Car Collection at e-cars.cc.

The future is here and it's Electric!

Three Cities Are "The Most Electric-Car Friendly"

We are planning an "Electric City Tour" from Florida that, hopefully will take us to electric-car friendly cities and towns across the USA. 

PlugShare, the social network devoted to finding and sharing public charging stations, conducted a national census of the number of public charging stations in each major city in the U.S and concluded that Portland, Oregon and Dallas, Texas currently have the largest number of publicly accessible charging stations per 100,000 residents.

PlugShare attributes Dallas' high position on the list due to eVgo, an electric vehicle charging company based in the city.

Similarly, Nashville, Tennessee occupies third place with 8.2 charging stations per 100,000 residents because of a nearby factory, where the  2013 Nissan Leaf will be built. San Francisco Bay occupied fourth place, with 6.6 charging stations per 100,000 residents. Florida, that sees the environmental and economic value of electric tourism is pledged to dot the state with 500 recharge stations in the near future.

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Based in Florida, Elite-evs are faster than blue lightning but they can also be tamed to top speeds under 50 mph for resort community travel needs.

Ideal for town and retirement community travel
 see our Electric City Car Collection at e-cars.cc.

The future is here and it's Electric!

Exclusive Electric Customs by ELITE-EVS

We convert gas-guzzling vehicles into energy-efficient (E-Vs) electric vehicles that are environmentally-friendly, fast and fun to drive.

For more details: 
Contact Us. 

EV News: World Conference Takes Aim At Big Oil

Globally, fossil fuels receive 6xs more subsidies than renewable energy. Many of these companies make "excessive" profits and pay almost no taxes thanks to "subsidies," "research & development" and a k-zillion other corporate welfare tax breaks. The "market value" at the gas pump is also driven up by oil industry speculators. 

More than 1 million people who think this is absurd have added their signatures to a petition at  http://350.org/rio to tell world leaders meeting in Rio de Janeiro to end fossil fuel subsidies immediately!

Ending Fossil Fuel Subsidies topped the Rio +20 UN   World's Top 10 List to be discussed at Dialogue Days at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) at the Riocentro Convention Center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 16 to 19, 2012. An online public poll ahead of the conference was used to prioritize the dialogue schedule. 

"If we want to avoid the devastating effects of climate change, we need to reduce and limit the use of fossil fuels," was a new and very strong dialogue expressed at the conference. Many participants advocate stronger wording and a clear commitment to press the nations of the world to end subsidies

Nearly $1 trillion is given by governments every year to coal, oil and gas companies. Three years ago, the G20 committed to phase-out these handouts to "dirty fuel" industries, but they haven't taken any action since.

TURN THIS TRILLION GREEN: In preparation for an #EndFossilFuelSubsidies "Twitter Storm" set for all day June 18, volunteers with Avaaz and 350.org unfurled a massive banner on the Copacabana beach, calling on world leaders at the Rio+20 Summit to end the nearly $1 trillion dollars being handed out in fossil fuel subsidies each year.

During the four days of dialogue, non-government and non-UN agency representatives from civil society, including the private sector, scientific community, NGOs and other major groups have been discussing the most promising solutions related to sustainable long-term planning. They are engaged in an open and action-oriented debate on key topics related to sustainable development. Three recommendations emanating from each of the Dialogues will be conveyed directly to the Heads of State and Government present at the Summit.  

Rio+20 Corporate Sustainability Forum: The Business Case for the Green Economy

The Forum on June 17th was a gathering of thoughtful leaders from business, financial institutions and governments to offer insight and vision on the opportunities and challenges of financing the transition to a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty alleviation.

"It's very important that we learn to do much more with fewer natural resources," said George Kell, executive director of the United Nations Global Compact. 

The UN Dialogues initiative was launched through a digital platform (https://www.riodialogues.org/) in order to provide the wider public a democratic space for discussion. The on-line debates on each of the ten themes of the Dialogues, facilitated by researchers from renowned academic institutions around the world, resulted in ten concrete recommendations that can be viewed and voted for in a public website (http://vote.riodialogues.org).

The Rio+20 forums were broadcast live and can be viewed at UN Webcast. 

It's All About the Battery

If electric cars are going to make a real impact, they have to meet a few criteria. The most important have to do with the batteries that make them go because that is where the technology is most vulnerabe. What should these batteries be able to do?

The batteries should be light enough for the average person to pick up without too much difficulty, and they should not take up too much space.

An electric car should be able to go 1,000 miles between charges or with the use of multiple batteries as long as they don’t take up too much space.

The battery should be able to charge quickly, perhaps, while you are eating lunch especially if you can only carry one battery at a time. It goes without saying, but here it is, anyway, there have to be plenty of places available to charge them not only at home but on the road as well.

Florida encourages electric vehicle travel tourism with more than 500 charging stations, including charging stations at Simon Shopping malls so you can enjoy shopping and dinner and hit the road with a fresh charge -- at no cost in many cases.

Is there anything to get charged up about as far as battery technology is concerned? Companies in China have developed batteries that will not need to be replaced for 10 years. And in the United States, under the direction of the federal Department of Energy, their Electrical Energy Storage in Transportation (BEEST) program is helping to fund companies that are working to advance battery development. So what is on the horizon?

If you have not heard of Envia Systems, you will, soon. They are working on a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that could cut the price of batteries in half.

The answer might be a new approach developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Under the guidance of Professors W. Craig Carter and Yet-Ming Chiang, a semi-solid flow cell is being developed. Using a special liquid in which solid particles are suspended, this mixture is propelled through the system.

The Battery500 Project, teams IBM, the Argonne National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest Laboratory, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. They are looking at a lithium air battery that creates a charge when heavy-metal oxides are traded with carbon and exposed to oxygen.

While it is important for car companies to continue to refine the design of electric vehicles, nothing much is going to happen until the batteries get where they need to go. However, it is only a matter of time until electric cars can deliver on their promise because the batteries that drive them are finally getting the attention they deserve. If you are waiting until the prices drop and the cars improve, you may not have that much longer to wait. 

Elite Custom Electric Vehicles offers this sporty custom converted electric Audi A8 sedan that travels 90% of the time as an all-electric vehicle for city commutes and around-town. For longer commutes and vacation travel, a click of the switch launches an on-board recharge range-extending power generator.





Evelyn Bradford is a freelance contributor to KeyInsuranceQuotes.com. She owns an electric car, enjoys the lack of fumes and can’t wait to see the technology improve.

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Based in Florida, Elite-evs are faster than blue lightning but they can also be tamed to top speeds under 50 mph for resort community travel needs.

Ideal for town and retirement community travel
 see our Electric City Car Collection at e-cars.cc.

The future is here and it's Electric!

Elite Custom Electric Audi A8 For Sale

This fine sporty electric Audi A8 sedan is priced at $59 to $79,000 and eligible for up to $12,500 in federal and state tax credits. It's all-electric for daily driving. But it also has an on-board recharging system and range-extending generator powered by a V-Twin engine that can be switched on for longer commutes. 

Think of the money you will save on gasoline and oil changes. Electric cars operate on batteries with a 10-year life and require almost no maintenance.  

This custom Audi A8 electric conversion hybrid travels cross-country. A motorcycle V-Twin engine is used to power the onboard generator to recharge the electric cells while you travel. You can cruise at 40 - 70mph on electric batteries alone ninety percent of the time, without using one drop of gasoline.

But when you are leaving town and plan to travel more than 200 miles before re-charging, that's when the Audi's large power generator kicks in that also utilizes the car's factory gas tank to extend the car's range to 500 miles or more between gas stops.
Read More...

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Based in Florida, Elite-evs are faster than blue lightning but they can also be tamed to top speeds under 50 mph for resort community travel needs.

Ideal for town and retirement community travel
 see our Electric City Car Collection at e-cars.cc.

The future is here and it's Electric!

2013 Update on Sigma GTE Electric Car: 145mph 4.5 sec.

This custom electric Mustang GTE was originally designed, built and tested as a concept car prototype for a group of investors interested in manufacturing electric-converted custom designed vehicles for an international, mostly European market. It does 0-60 in 4.5 sec and cruises at 145mph and is now being offered by Elite Custom Electric Vehicles, an Orlando, Florida based company.

Major components like the front and rear differentials were sourced from Ford, and the GTE's entire cockpit was yanked from an older Mustang. Twin DC electric motors offer up about 100 horsepower each and provide all-wheel drive that blows away competition, racing against gas-engine cars.

The Sigma GTE was designed and built in South Carolina for Marcelo Lopes and a group of investors in Brazil. It was raced at 145 mph against gas-engine cars at Charolette Speedway and it held it's own without any problems.

The Sigma GTE is unique in many ways. It has both front and rear independent suspension drive systems and an electric motor that is capable of 200 hp and 300 lbs of torque each.

Unlike the Mustang that is a two-seater, the Sigma GTE was originally designed as a high-speed sporty sedan that could comfortably carry four adults. The electric supercar, with 144 volt lithium batteries will safely cruise at over 100 mph and recharge it's hybrid generator while sitting in traffic. It was hoped that mass production would bring the price of the Sigma GTE to below $35,000. 

But for now, the electric GTE has become more popular as a competition race car, a niche market we are happy to see growing worldwide.

The Sigma GTE and other custom conversion, competition race cars are offered by Exclusive Electric Customs - ask for more info. 

South Carolina is our testing ground because it is a decidedly automotive state: Home to BMW, Michelin, Timken, Cummins, and all the suppliers associated with them. The state also hosts the Clemson iCar International Center for Automotive Research Center. 

Proterra, an electric bus manufacturer located to Greenville, SC in 2010 and Proterra CEO David Bennett was named among Greenville's 50 Most Influential People of 2011 for his part in creating an estimated 1,200 to 2,000 new jobs in the area.

However, our sales division will always be based in the Sunshine State, Florida that hosts many of the big international custom bike and car shows. 

Plug In Carolina reached out to the SC Energy Office to secure $480,000 in federal funding to deploy quick recharge stations in seven cities across South Carolina that will connect tourists and other travelers to growing E-V recharge infrastructures in Georgia and Florida.  "Of course, every house and business has an electric outlet, so all states have an electric infrastructure," said Kase. "The Sigma GTE and all of the vehicles I build also have an on-board recharger and a universal plug that fits into any 110 or 220, or any E-V recharge station."

Florida is encouraging electric vehicle tourism with plans for 500 recharge stations in public places and Simon malls.

On top of saving thousands of dollars in fuel, both California and Georgia offer $5,000 state income tax credits in addition to the $7,500 federal credit to further encourage the purchase of electric vehicles. Follow this link for state and regional rebates and incentives.

This custom electric Mustang GTE can be custom built to order, within a price range of $33,500 to $68,000 depending on options. 

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Based in Florida, Elite-evs are faster than blue lightning but they can also be tamed to top speeds under 50 mph for resort community travel needs.

Ideal for town and retirement community travel
 see our Electric City Car Collection at e-cars.cc.

The future is here and it's Electric!