LA Auto Show green car news

[KeiJidosha]

Was at the LA Auto Show when they opened Friday. I arrived early and was charged by 10:30 and moved to another spot. Only car there was a White LEAF. Same when I left at 1:30pm (still charging). BTW I put the orange cone in the third space next to the EV spots, so move it if you need to charge. Earnst and Young Garage on 8th was my backup plan. 4 ChargePoint J1772s that showed available. Flat rate parking on Sunday was $8 when I was there for CicLAvia last month.

 

[mwalsh]

Was at the LA Auto Show when they opened Friday. I arrived early and was charged by 10:30 and moved to another spot. Only car there was a White LEAF. Same when I left at 1:30pm (still charging). BTW I put the orange cone in the third space next to the EV spots, so move it if you need to charge. Earnst and Young Garage on 8th was my backup plan. 4 ChargePoint J1772s that showed available. Flat rate parking on Sunday was $8 when I was there for CicLAvia last month.

Cool! I would have done that to space three, had there not already been a car there. Hopefully when whoever it was moved out of the second space, they thought to take the cone off the City Reserved space and put it there too! That reserved space doesn't need a cone.

 

[JustinC]

I went to the show today, and I was really disappointed in the green car showing. I seem to remember last year being better with more EV (concepts) from more companies. BWM was the only one putting it front and center with the i8 and i3 concepts. Both are incredibly appealing btw.

Most disappointing for me was the Ford showing. They had the Focus EV and the C-Max Energy, which I especially wanted to see as a possible future second car to the LEAF. But not only did they have it locked up so you couldn't get a feel for the cabin, but they had no specs on it and no one representing it. It made me wonder if it was even a PHEV. In any case, seeing it in person made me realize how small it is, and it's not intended to be a family road trip car like I am looking for.

I did not see the Volv0 C30 EV, nor did I see the V60 PHEV that I was interested in.

I did not see the RAV4 EV.

I did not see the Audi A3 Etron. I did, however, see the same Etron Spyder they had last year. I'm tired of these lofty EV super car concepts that will never be seen on the road.

 

[JPWhite]

I did not see the Volv0 C30 EV, nor did I see the V60 PHEV that I was interested in.

The Volvo V60 is something that really interests me as well. I'd love to have one to replace my wife's Altima and supplement the LEAF. However any such dreams were dashed when I got the following response from Volvo a few weeks back.

Dear JP:

Thank you for your interest in Volvo.

Volvo Cars of North America has not announced any future plans for the introduction of
the V60 into the US market.

Please be assured that your interest has been documented and forwarded to management.

Thank you for taking the time to contact Volvo.

Regards,
Eve
Volvo Personal Shopper
[email protected]
1-800-550-5658

If you are interested, ping them via email. The more interest they see the more likely they will introduce it.

 

[JPWhite]

Most disappointing for me was the Ford showing. They had the Focus EV and the C-Max Energy, which I especially wanted to see as a possible future second car to the LEAF. But not only did they have it locked up so you couldn't get a feel for the cabin, but they had no specs on it and no one representing it.

I believe some Auto manufacturers are introducing EV's as a means to elevate the average mpg of their fleet as a whole. (Simply to comply with regulations). The Focus EV at $40,000 with a more powerful motor than the LEAF, tells me they are targeting the rich boy racer types, not families/mass market rollout.

 

[mwalsh]

I did not see the RAV4 EV.

I echo your sentiments about the show this year - last year was inexplicably better for the EV enthusiast. And it does make one wonder about the level of commitment from auto manufacturers.

Toyota was too busy hawking the Prius family this year. But trust me that the RAV4EV is coming, supposedly with much better specs than when first announced last year.

 

[Herm]

The Focus EV at $40,000 with a more powerful motor than the LEAF, tells me they are targeting the rich boy racer types, not families/mass market rollout.

and they still are losing $2k on each one.. not like Nissan that is making money on the Leaf (I hope).

 

[KeiJidosha]

I went to the show today, and I was really disappointed in the green car showing....

I echo the disappointment. RAV4, C30, 500, and Spark EVs all announced, but M.I.A. LEAF, i3, i8, and Fit were barriered off like Fukushima Daiichi. ActiveE, Focus EV, C-Max Energi, and A3 e-tron were lock-outs. Only the Mitsubishi i, Chevy Volt, and Coda were contact EVs.

 

[mwalsh]

Only the Mitsubishi i, Chevy Volt, and Coda were contact EVs.

You mean only the Mitsubishi i and the Coda were were contact EVs.

 

[evnow]

Most disappointing for me was the Ford showing. They had the Focus EV and the C-Max Energy, which I especially wanted to see as a possible future second car to the LEAF. But not only did they have it locked up so you couldn't get a feel for the cabin, but they had no specs on it and no one representing it. It made me wonder if it was even a PHEV. In any case, seeing it in person made me realize how small it is, and it's not intended to be a family road trip car like I am looking for.

Could you see inside Energi - for eg. the trunc and see whether it was flat (or had protruding batteries) ?

 

[JustinC]

I don't recall anything protruding in the trunk, although it was hard to see inside.

They were all about the new Escape, which looked nice enough. I am not sure where there is room for the C-Max Hybrid in the lineup with the more American Escape Hybrid right there.

Based on what I saw, they're not wrong to be ignoring the electrics in the back at the LA show. I was the only one interested in them for the 15 minutes I was in their booth. All the other Angelinos were drooling over the Flex and Expeditions. Lots of families with lots of kids.

 

[KeiJidosha]

Could you see inside Energi - for eg. the trunc and see whether it was flat (or had protruding batteries) ?

Locked Energi and Focus EV had a "Cargo Cover" installed so you could not see in.

 

[evnow]

Based on what I saw, they're not wrong to be ignoring the electrics in the back at the LA show. I was the only one interested in them for the 15 minutes I was in their booth. All the other Angelinos were drooling over the Flex and Expeditions. Lots of families with lots of kids.

Manufacturers need to develop the market - since the market is so fickle (depends on the gas price that week).

 

[Boomer23]

For those who couldn't make the LA show, here are the EVs and other electrified cars that I found most interesting.

Tragically, in my opinion, the LEAF was on a raised display with no cars to sit in or touch. Crazy for a production car that's on the roads in many states, including, of course, this one, and with demo cars at dealers. There was a peppy young man giving a well rehearsed talk about the LEAF. I asked him why there were none to sit in. He said "You're asking me? I don't make those decisions", which of course was true. I had a good long talk with a couple of guys my age who were very excited about the LEAF. They said that it was the most interesting car they had seen at the show. Too bad Nissan didn't put one on the floor for them to touch.

Of course, there were several Volts on display and available to sit in. There was also information posted on the Volt signage about the new 2012 Volt engines that will qualify the Volt for car pool lane access.

DOK-ING XD from Croatia: 33 kWh battery, all electric BEV, two or four motors, Dual scissor doors, Kevlar/Carbon Fiber body on aluminum frame, Three-seater with driver in center and two rear passengers. Possibly coming to the US in 2013 starting at $40,000 (I have no idea if that is before or after gov't incentives, or even if there is any truth to this figure). Cordoned off at the show and no opportunity to even sit in it.

BMW i3 Concept: Carbon Fiber passenger cell, 30+ kWh battery, rear drive, full BEV and/or extended range with a small ICE. Lots more searchable on the web about this one. Cordoned off at the show and no chance to sit in it.

BMW i3 Concept

BMW i3 Concept

BMW i8 Concept: Plug-in hybrid super car. Cordoned off at the show.

BMW ActiveE field trial vehicle based on the current 1 Series Coupe. Contains many of the electric drive components destined for the i3. Car was locked at the show.

Some specifications from the BMW ActiveE display.

Does something look a bit "off" about this picture?

Honda Fit EV. It only comes in this color. The rest of the body looks identical to any Fit that you see on the roads today. Lease only. Car was cordoned off at the show.

Cadillac Converj EREV Concept: A Cadillac coupe with a version of the Voltec powertrain from the Volt. Cordoned off and unavailable to touch.

The most interesting thing about the Coda display, the battery case and mechanical components on display. Far more interesting than the cars themselves. The Coda cars WERE available to sit in at the show.

Mitsubishi i with "woodgrain" trim. This was the only "i" that was on display, I think. Odd choice. See next picture for close-up detail of the "woodgrain".

Ahhh, wooden circuitry. Probably a weight saving feature???

A two-door EV concept based apparently on the Mitsubishi i. I hadn't heard of this one before. No name for the car was posted and no information. You're looking at the rear of the car, I think...

Oh yes, there is the front end.

And the Fords: The Focus EV. Locked up so that you can't sit in it, with the cargo cover in place inside the hatchback so that you can't see the battery lump taking up the cargo space. Nice looking car, though.

Ford Focus EV. Like I said, nice looking.

Ford C-Max Energi plug in hybrid van-thing. Nice looking, not very large, no data yet on all-electric range, as far as I know. As I looked inside the locked car's windows, I wondered if there was any benefit of this car over a LEAF, except extended range. The inside didn't look like it would be any more useful than a LEAF. Five passengers and a smallish cargo area. I guess that the cargo area is bigger than the LEAF's.

Ford C-Max Energi rear view.

Ford's Level 1 EVSE.

Ford/Leviton Level 2 EVSE.

Inside the Ford/Leviton Level 2 EVSE, the wall plug.

 

[TomT]

Yes, my friend and I had the same reaction when we visited the Nissan booth (which, by the way, looked pretty chintzy)... We actually did find a Nissan rep to ask and were told that "since the Leaf is in such short supply, we could only free up one for the show." I pointed out that this is really no longer the case and even if it was true, why was the vehicle not on the floor like all the other single vehicles in their display so that people could touch, feel and sit in it as well. He muttered something about "too many people possibly damaging it" at which point we moved on. Compare this to the three Volts that were on the floor at the Chevy exhibit, wide-open for all...

By the way, I was able to get close enough to confirm from the VIN that it was a 2011 production version vehicle, not a prototype.

Tragically, in my opinion, the LEAF was on a raised display with no cars to sit in or touch. Crazy for a production car that's on the roads in many states, including, of course, this one, and with demo cars at dealers. There was a peppy young man giving a well rehearsed talk about the LEAF. I asked him why there were none to sit in. He said "You're asking me? I don't make those decisions", which of course was true.

 

[Herm]

That iMiev concept is very distinctive looking, it would sell I think.

 

[1051]

Thanks for the pictures Phil,

 

[TomT]

Both myself and my wife agreed that we wished they had used the styling and form of the new 2013 Escape for the C-Max as we found the Escape much more attractive. And they are the same global C platform after all... We are looking to replace our other vehicle with a crossover next year and still haven't found anything we really like. The new Escape comes closest but is available as an ICE only, albeit a nice ICE (Ecoboost)...

They were all about the new Escape, which looked nice enough. I am not sure where there is room for the C-Max Hybrid in the lineup with the more American Escape Hybrid right there.

 

[GPowers]

Great photos, thanks for taking the time to put it all together.

 

[evnow]

Ford C-Max Energi plug in hybrid van-thing. Nice looking, not very large, no data yet on all-electric range, as far as I know. As I looked inside the locked car's windows, I wondered if there was any benefit of this car over a LEAF, except extended range. The inside didn't look like it would be any more useful than a LEAF. Five passengers and a smallish cargo area. I guess that the cargo area is bigger than the LEAF's.

How high is the seating ? That's all that my wife cares about.

Energi essentially will be the same size as Focus - but 5 inches taller.