LAST DAY OF THE WEEK

As a reminder, all of the inFocus and Urban Mobility stories, videos, commentaries, and news items found this week on EV World.com's HOME page will be archived in our CHRONLOG section, accessed by the green bottom at the top of the page.

THE BMW I3 & LIGHT BULBS. A CONNECTION IN WATTS

The bottom line… change the most used incandescent light bulbs in your home and save more than enough energy to power your BMW i3 electric car, forever. That’s a bright idea.
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HAPPY BIKE-TO-WORK DAY

In many American cities, today is Bike-to-Work Day, a celebration intended to encourage more people to leave their cars at home and pedal to work, burning carbohydrates instead of hydrocarbons.
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THE “BLACK AGE” OF CRUDE OIL, NOW ENTERING HOSPICE CARE.

The world is now irreversibly in a fast pace transition to electric motive power with an ever increasing percentage of that electric power being created by zero emission sources such as wind, hydro and sunshine.
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Bike-sharing in America is enjoying rapid expansion, despite minor but often vocal public criticism, because of its many benefits, reports Earth Policy Institute's Janet Larsen in this second report on what is becoming a global phenomenon.

It would be too easy to assume that a car is faster than a bicycle, but you may be wrong, very, very wrong.

Protests Force Battery Maker to Abandon Plans for New Plant
The protests reflect concerns among ordinary Chinese about the environmental costs of economic growth.

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Maine Students Build Electric Racers
Rockport High School Electrathon team builds tiny three-wheeled racers capable of hitting speeds of 40 mph on 12V battery.

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Colorado Earns High Marks for Electric Vehicle Policies
Southwest Energy Efficiency Project identified 12 policies that address key barriers, including up-front costs and limited driving range of electric vehicles.

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H2USA Programs Aims to Increase Hydrogen Refueling Infrastructure
US Energy Department program involves wide coalition of energy and automotive companies to increase the current 76, mostly privately held, fueling stations.

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Electric Cars No More Sustainable Than Gasoline Models
N Nadir argues that when toxic battery production and coal-generated electricity is taken into consideration, electric vehicles are just as problematic as gasoline models.

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More Accurate Range Prediction Algorithm To Aid Electric Car Drivers
Abalta’s EOLAS-EV polygon-based algorithm integrates real-time on-board energy consumption and regeneration data as well as factors such as street slope and historic and real-time traffic data to provide more accurate mapping.

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Dealers, Legislators Conspire to Make Cars Expensive?
Neil Irwin considers Tesla quest to end the current status quo of independent dealership control over the retail sale of automobiles.

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Electric Cycle Sales Forecast to Increase Ten-fold in North America
Navigant sees sales of electric motorcycles and scooters in North America growing from 4,000 annually in 2012 to more than 36,000 in 2018, a nearly ten-fold expansion.

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When Will Tesla 'Bubble' Burst?
Washington Post's Steven Mufson uncovers the main concerns among short-sellers and analysts about Tesla's financial future.

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Tesla Plans Stock Sale to Help Pay Off Fed Gov't Loan Early
Buoyed by closing share price of $84.84, Tesla expects to sell as much as $830 million in shares and debt to be first to repay federal loan.

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Tesla Now Too Rich An Investment Option? How About Aerovironment?
Travis Holum sees the Monrovia, California maker of UAV drones and electric car charging stations as a 'hidden' electric vehicle play.

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North Carolina Aims to Block Tesla Sales
State Senate Commerce Committe votes unanimously to prevent its citizens from purchasing vehicles over the phone or internet, writes Chris Mullins on PolicyMic

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Porsche Asserts Panamera S E-Hybrid Is First Luxury Plug-In
With its electric driving mode, the Panamera's fuel economy rivals that of the Toyota Prius C at 3.1 L/100 km.

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Telsa Mauls Wall Street Bears
Short-sellers have been forced to buy $276 million (U.S.) worth of the automaker’s shares, creating the biggest rally in the Russell 1000 Index this year.

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Japan's SIM-Drive Reveals Prototype Electric Car
Known as SIM-CEL, the all-wheel drive electric car is capable of 202 miles on a single charge and can hit 0-62mph in just 4.2seconds.

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Hong Kong Welcomes First All-Electric Taxi Fleet
Besides putting some 45 BYD e6 electric taxis into service, the company also announced its e6 Premium sedan will also be for sale in Hong Kong.

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Ten Economic Pitfalls to Fossil Fuels
Garvin Jabusch examines the potential risks of society's over reliance on fossil fuels.

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BMW Chief Urges Fellow Germans to Set Aside Electric Car Angst
"we Germans tend to see more problems than opportunities, and it is no different with electro-mobility," Norbert Reithofer told shareholders.

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Volvo Ramps Up V60 Plug-In Production 90%
Volvo Cars will produce 7,600 plug-in hybrids in 2013 - and the 2014 target is 10,000 units.

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Vauxhill Ampera Wins Telegraph's Best Hybrid/EV Category
While 2013 Car of the Year went to VW Golf, the European twin of the Chevrolet Volt won reader favor over Prius PHV and Nissan LEAF.

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Nissan LEAF Electric Car Achieves 25,000 U.S. Sales Milestone
With worldwide sales now more than 62,000, the LEAF can be leased in the USA for $1999 down and $199 a month for 36 months.

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Is Tesla Planning to Introduce Battery Swapping?
Scrutinizing Tesla SEC May 10th filing, Thomas Fisher, speculates the company may be planning to introduce Better Place-like rapid battery exchange, in addition to its Supercharger network.

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XL Hybrids Partners On Class 3 Commercial Fleet Vehicles
XL Hybrids and The Knapheide Manufacturing Company will cooperate to offer installation of low-cost hybrid electric drive train for class 1 through 3 commercial vans.

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What We Learned Driving Our 2003 Prius For 10 Years
After 10 years and 115,000 miles, Scott Burns, recounts his family's experiences with their 'pre-iconic' 2003 Toyota Prius hybrid.

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1,000 Passenger Hybrid-Electric Ferry Goes Into Danish Service
Powered by 2.7MWh Corvus lithium polymer battery modules, the Princess Benedikte ferry refit represents the conversion of a former diesel electric ferry to a more fuel efficient, greener vessel.

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Tesla Model S Outsells Luxury Competitors
Model S outsells its closes luxury car competitors: Mercedes-Benz S Class, BMW Series 7, and Audi A8 in first quarter of 2013.

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Guess What? Electric Cars Can Be Profitable
After earning its first profitable quarter since its start-up ten years ago, analysts now expect Tesla to break even in the second quarter and turn a profit in the third and fourth quarters.

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GM Gives Used Volt Batteries A Second Life
General Motors and Swiss power-and-automation giant ABB created a 25kW prototype module from five used Chevrolet Volt batteries.

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Bicycle Lane in New York City Pays Economic Dividend
Local stores along 9th Avenue bike lane between 23rd and 31st streets have seen a 49% increase in sales, compared to an average of 3% for Manhattan as a whole.

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Defending Tesla's Rich Guy Business Model
Michael Levi argues that selling Teslas to wealthy people today may be the best way to get electric cars to everyone tomorrow; and, oh yes, help wean the US from its dependence on oil.

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Forbes India Test Drives New e2o Electric Car
While Deepak Ajwani found the Mahrinda Reva electric car a 'pleasure' to drive, its price and need to replace battery after five years is a deterrent.

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Rumored: Nissan Planning Halo Electric Hybrid Sports Car
Autocar reports that Infiniti is considering launching a halo sports car with a hybrid or range-extended electric drivetrain by 2016.

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Mitsubishi to Double Outlander Electric Hybrid Production
With its battery problem identified and reportedly solved, production of the plug in hybrid SUV will now ramp up to 4,000 units a month.

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How About Selling Electric Cars Like Mobile Phones?
Manufacturers should look at the deals available to mobile phone customers and offer similar options to people who want electric vehicles, suggests Oxford professor Dr. Louise Bunce.

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Norwegian Study Identifies Who Buys Electric Cars
Institute of Transport Economics in Norway concludes that the typical early-adopter of an electric vehicle is likely to be middle-aged male living in or near a big city who has a high income and education level.

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How To Cut Payback Time on Solar In Half: Add Electric Car
Kevin C. Tofel replaced his Acura with a Chevy Volt and shortened the payback on his 9.4kW solar PV system to just under six years.

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Nissan LEAF Is Second Best Seller in Norway in April
So far in 2013, the LEAF is the fifth best-selling car in Norway and since its launch, some 4,500 have been sold in the Scandinavian country.

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Terrafugia TF-X: Future Flying Hybrid Car?
Concept would operate similar to V-22 Osprey title rotor that is powered by electric motors.

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eFlow E-Bike Eats Inclines
Street-legal eFlow from Currie Technologies is powered by 500-watt electric motor and offers range up to 25-35 miles.

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The Genius of Tesla
Slate'Farhad Manjoo looks at the similarities between Tesla's Elon Musk and Apple's Steve Jobs.

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Is Mission Motors Back In the E-Cycle Business?
At one point, San Francisco-based Mission Motors abandoned its plans to roll out an electric superbike. Now it appears they've changed their minds.

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Johnson Controls See 'Micro-Hybrids' As Next Big Thing
Unlike hybrid electric motors produced today, micro-hybrids will operate at less than 60 volts; they also reduce the upfront cost of the hybrid.

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Ford Selects AeroVironment for Residential Electric Car Charge Stations
AeroVironment will provide turnkey installation of its Ford-approved 240-volt charger.

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Automakers Selling 'Compliance' Electric Cars in California
California's efforts to clean up its air means, for the time being, that car makers will have to absorb losses on their electric car sales.

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North Carolina Bill Seeks to Block Tesla-type Direct Sales
North Carolina Senate Bill 327 attempts to prevent companies like Tesla from selling cars directly to its customers.

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Toyota Motorsports Returns For Another Run At Pikes Peak Record
TMG EV is powered by a pair of electric motors producing 536 hp and 885 lb-ft of torque, giving it a top speed of 143 mph.

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1914 Electric Sociability Run To Be Recreated In Washington, DC
On Memorial Day – May 27, 2013 – drivers and fans will show up in Washington, DC, to celebrate the 99th anniversary of the Electric Sociability Run of 1914.

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Tesla News Gives Electric Vehicle Market a Needed Recharge
Elon Musk's unbridled enthusiasm apparently is carrying over not only to Tesla showrooms but to Wall Street where short-sellers got a rude awakening as its stock price soared over $20 in one month.

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Fuel Cell UAV Flies Record 48 Hours
Liquid hydrogen is three-times as dense at gaseous hydrogen at 5000 psi, giving the Ion Tiger UAV greater endurance.

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The Real Reason Tesla Survives
Forbes' Joann Muller dissects the success - to date - of Tesla, where other alternative energy vehicles programs have faultered.

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Hundreds Protest New Lithium Battery Plant in China
Songjiang district officials reassured peaceful protesters that factory will only produce cells and assemble batteries; no cathodes or anodes will be manufactured.

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Tesla Chief Elon Musk Quits Advocacy Group Over Tar Sands Ad
Mark Zuckerberg's FWD.us funded political ad praised lawmakers for backing the proposed Keystone XL pipeline and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

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Are Electric Cars To Blame for Falling Highway Fund Revenues?
Marc Lausier sees the looming $14,7 billion a year shortfall in the U.S. Highway Trust Fund as symptomatic of larger issue.

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