With oil prices reaching record levels for the year—and potentially heading higher—the prospects for electricity-powered cars is also on the rise. Deutsche Bank said prices could surge to $100 a barrel in the next two quarters if the US dollar continues to weaken. Rising oil prices alone are not enough to ensure the future of electric cars—but there are clear signs of a massive transition to plug-in hybrids and electric cars.
Major car companies are working on ways that plug-in cars will communicate with the electric grid. Ford, Nissan and Volvo have displayed their visions. We spoke with Greg Frenette, Ford manager of battery electric vehicle applications, to learn which driver controls are essential and feasible—and which charging technologies are more fantasy than reality.
Ford Motor Company has developed an intelligent charging system that previews how its production vehicles will interact with the grid. The unnamed system enables all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle owners to restrict charging to when electricity prices fall below a certain threshold, or even "when the grid is using only renewable energy such as wind or solar power," according to Ford.
No longer an amorphous concept, Nissan’s electric car can now be stacked up against other hybrids and plug-in cars for its look and feel, features, and likely cost. The reviews from the blogosphere—usually an irreverant crowd—were mixed.
Alan Mulally, president and CEO of Ford, pledged yesterday to form an alliance with the Edison Electric Institute to work on plug-in cars. Speaking at EEI’s annual convention in San Francisco on Thursday, Mulallly outlined his company’s path toward high fuel-efficiency, which included—but by no means was limited to—electric vehicle technology.
