Nissan's engineers were originally tasked to simply recreate the sound of an engine. But, says 30-year veteran noise and vibration expert, Toshiyuki Tabata:

"We decided that if we're going to do this, if we have to make sound, then we're going to make it beautiful and futuristic. We wanted something a bit different, something closer to the world of art."

The sound will kick in automatically when the car starts, and turn off at about 12mph (when tire noise is enough to warn pedestrians).

Of course, it's not the first time we've seen this sort of tech. Fisker Karma's electric car will use a similar system designed to sound "like something between a formula One car and a jet plane". That's cool and all, but I think I'd still take the Sci-Fi option. [Nissan via Bloomberg via LA Times]

The video above is the official promo for the concept vehicle, which will, sadly, never see a showroom. For more, see Jalopnik, which has up a gallery and oodles of facts and figures. [Jalopnik]

The numbers broke down to about $20 million in revenue and $1 million in profit. That $465 million is set to fund development of the company's first sedan offering, the $50,000 Tesla Model S. Not stumbling anymore, it seems. [CNN]

Batteries have been a bottleneck in consumer electronics for years now, and it's getting ridiculous. Think back ten years ago: you probably couldn't have imagined all the wild stuff you can do with 2009's smartphones, but you definitely wouldn't have guessed that their batteries would last less than two days. It doesn't make sense, and it's slowing things down—imagine what our gadgets could do if manufacturers didn't have to spend so much of their engineering efforts of reducing power consumption.

The problem is, truly new battery technologies require huge institutional investments, the likes of which most companies aren't able—or willing—to make. As Wired explains, we've been stuck for years, but maybe, just maybe, this 2.4-billion dollars will somehow transmute into a breakthrough battery technology that'll trickle down to our gadgets, rendering out DC adapters obsolete once and for all. Or, it'll just sink into some kind of giant corporate money hole, and we'll just have to charge our iPhone 5GS Nanos six times a day. We'll see! [WSJ]

Nissan's quick to separate its newest vehicle from the pack by detailing that the smiling face formed between the car's headlights isn't the only friendly thing about it:

Unlike internal-combustion engine (ICE) equipped vehicles, Nissan LEAF's power train has no tail pipe, and thus no emission of CO2 or other greenhouse gases. A combination of Nissan LEAF's regenerative braking system and innovative lithium-ion battery packs enables the car to deliver a driving range of more than 160km (100 miles) on one full charge.

Surprisingly, charging the LEAF doesn't take all eternity and you can be ready to go in less time than it takes to get a sunburn in the Florida sun:

Nissan LEAF can be charged up to 80% of its full capacity in just under 30 minutes with a quick charger. Charging at home through a 200V outlet is estimated to take approximately eight hours - ample time to enable an overnight refresh for consumer and car alike.

We'll know more about pricing of this zippy little thing as the LEAF gets closer to being on the market (around late 2010), but it's expected to qualify for an "array of significant local, regional and national tax breaks and incentives in markets around the world." Saving money and the environment? Maybe this eunuch of a car is worth it after all. [Nissan]

The different atomic structure of the battery and knowledge of nanotechnology are what make this battery different. They used "mesoporous carbon, a material that presents a highly uniform pore structure at nanoscale level," to allow for a more efficient design:

The team assembled a nanostructure of carbon rods separated by empty channels, sulfur was then melted to fill the tiny voids thanks to capillary forces. All the spaces were uniformly filled with sulfur, thus maximizing the surface area in direct contact with carbon and boosting battery efficiency.

We've been needing a new battery technology for awhile now, especially for electric cars, so here's hoping they can get these lithium-sulfur batteries into production as soon as possible and that they deliver on the possibilities we see here. If it really is capable of three times the batter life, we're talking about something like a 730-mile range on a Tesla, 20 hours on a MacBook, or half a week on an iPod, all without added bulk or expense! [Gizmag via DVICE]

The $500,000 system works a lot like a car wash, with your vehicle placed on tracks while machines remove and replace your battery. (The raised platform is only in this prototype for demonstration effect.) And it could get you back on the road a lot faster than plugging into a wall.

Of course, there are several reasons why such a station isn't feasible within today's infrastructure—namely that different manufacturers have different shape/size/capacity standards. Also, manufacturers haven't really designed hybrid/electric cars to have their batteries constantly removed. Should these issues be ironed out, we could see a future in the battery swap station. But hopefully, we'll get a battery technology that charges faster before we rip up our entire fuel infrastructure. [Wired]

The fortwo is a tiny, tiny car, and we're sort of surprised it took so long to be fitted with electric guts. But the Tesla-Smart version still only has a range of 100 miles, and promises to cost even more than the gas or diesel versions, which already retail for about $20,000. Our brothers at Jalopnik estimate this version will come in even pricier. It's got a ton of power, since it's featuring the same motor and gearbox as the Tesla Roadster, but in this kind of car we'd expect to see a little economy of power rather than superfast acceleration. [AutoblogGreen]

"Simply dock your iPod for a fun, cutting edge way to start up. Exclusive software designed exclusively for Peapod turns your iPod into a key. Both options are interchangeable and secure," reads the car manual.

Gimmicky? Sure, but it's a first, and is yet another example of everything and anything converging into one futuristic single mass communications device. The Singularity is near, indeed. Who knew it would look so adorable? [Autoblog Green]

The plan is as follows:

* The Department of Energy is offering up to $1.5 billion in grants to U.S. based manufacturers to produce these highly efficient batteries and their components.

* The Department of Energy is offering up to $500 million in grants to U.S. based manufacturers to produce other components needed for electric vehicles, such as electric motors and other components.

* The Department of Energy is offering up to $400 million to demonstrate and evaluate Plug-In Hybrids and other electric infrastructure concepts — like truck stop charging station, electric rail, and training for technicians to build and repair electric vehicles.

All good news.

Another thing I've realized? After the last few months of $792 billion bailouts and an additional trillion dollars of various other cash infusions, and an additional trillion dollars going to AIG's janitorial staff, $2.4 billion just doesn't sound like a significant amount of money anymore. [Physorg, Whitehouse.gov]

Palmer, who touched down at UN climate change talks in Poznan, Poland, said the feat proved that solar power was a viable alternative to carbon-based fuel sources. Though to do what Palmer did, you'd need to drive a tiny three-wheeler tugging along a solar array almost as big as the car itself.

While the car probably needs a major redesign (and perhaps some more solar panel breakthroughs) to even inch close to becoming a regular on highways, it did disclose some promising technology. The car reached 55mph speeds and could travel for 300km on a single charge. Through the 17 months on almost non-stop driving, it only broke down twice.

Though this car's adventure is over, Palmer's not ready to give up eco-driving yet. He's planning a trip with six vehicles around the world in 80 days (ha!) that would draw power from hydro, geothermal and wind energy. [BBC]

The wheels, while still in development over at Michelin, already have a vehicle ready to receive them. Called the Heuliez Will, this tiny tot from Opel doesn't look like much, but it has it where it counts, and might produce an offspring that, in a galaxy far, far away, makes the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs. Or requires no gasoline to run. Probably the latter.

Even more impressive is the notion that in-wheel motors would free up space in the front or rear of the vehicle. This model also eliminates the need for other notorious space hogs like transmissions and exhaust systems. More room means more freedom for tomorrow's automobile designers, and cooler cars for we consumers. (*fingers crossed* anyway).

The target price for the Opel right now is about $24,000-37,000, which puts it in line with the upcoming so-called savior of Detroit, the Chevy Volt. Testing on the Opel has already begun, with an official consumer roll out expected by 2011. Active Wheels are also expected to come standard on the Venturi Volage sometime in 2012. [Michelin via Treehugger]

Naturally, a project this vast isn't going to be cheap—$1 billion is a lot of money to burden the taxpayers with. Fortunately, that won't be a problem because the project will be funded with an incentive plan directed at companies who install the chargers. Building permits will also be expedited to help move things along. Better Place will also be working with Renault-Nissan to distribute electric vehicles in "much the way telecoms distribute cellphones. Customers will subscribe to drive a certain number of miles and get an electric vehicle at a discounted price. Better Place will own the battery."

Better Place already has similar systems in the works for parts of Europe, but getting a foothold in the US will be their biggest challenge. As San Francisco mayor-extraordinaire Gavin Newsom put it, the goal is to “make the Bay Area—and eventually California—the electric vehicle capital of the US”. [Better Place via Mercury News via Treehugger via DVICE]

The Tesla dealership is quiet as a cage of sleeping panthers. A pack of the electric Roadsters, in varying degrees of gray, are strewn across the show floor looking like 120mph standing still. I imagine most of them are waiting for a venture capitalist to pick them up and take them from meeting to meeting for the rest of their uneventful lives. But outside is a bright blue one ready for the 10 minutes Tesla and God have handed me. This is my long awaited drive in the Tesla Roadster.

Studying her lines, it is clear to me this car has Lotus DNA, even though the car is much cleaner and classically beautiful-looking than any bug eyed Elise or Exige, and more technologically advanced than the submarine Lotus James Bond drove in The Spy Who Loved Me. The British car maker helped to design the aluminum chassis, which weighs less than 200 pounds, and they handle early stage manufacturing. Tesla stresses that the Roadster is not just an electric Lotus, and it shares no more than 10% of the parts. Much more thought went into this car to simply dismiss it as such. But Tesla's engineers did choose to work with Lotus for a reason, the same reason why most auto journalists consider the Elise one of the last pure sports cars around and a great deal. The low-power, lightweight car is simply one of the best handling and thrilling drives out there, described as some as a street-legal go-kart, and I'd agree that it's one of the best driving experiences I've ever had. With shared genetics, this is perhaps the best way to judge the limits of electric performance as compared to their gas counterparts.

It's rare that Tesla lets people drive the car without a company copilot, so we'd be tailed by a Lexus chase car since I'm sitting copilot to Tim Ferriss, the guy who set up this ride, for the first shift. Starting the car is silent, and we kept trying to turn it over because we're idiots. If you don't step on the gas accelerator, there is no idle; the car does not move forward even when your feet are not on the brakes. When Tim takes off from the lot, before I hear road noise and wind, I hear the odd purring of the transmission, which can almost be described as turbine-like. With one gear and no engine noise, it's surprisingly hard to gauge speed except by the pressure applied to the headrest by the back of your skull, the churning in your stomach or the unintended roller-coaster face of your passenger. Looking at the speedometer would be idiotic at these rates, in local traffic, but somehow we make it to about 60 for brief bursts on our way to the highway.

Zero to 60 is rated at 3.9 seconds by virtue of the electric motor's 248 HP and 280 torque. By comparison, it bests the fastest road-legal Lotus by a 10th of a second, but the power-to-weight ratio is on par with the standard Elise because the battery pack brings it to 2700 pounds (over 700 pounds heavier than the Elise). The key here is that the car doesn't have to take the time to switch gears, and electric motors deliver 100% of their torque at start. That power curve caused some problems earlier in two previous transmissions, which were being destroyed after a few thousand miles. To overcome that problem with the latest, more durable single-gear tranny, Tesla wisely used a motor with a 14000-RPM redline that could keep rotating faster in a low gear to achieve a top speed of 125 MPH while improving on the earlier transmission's zero-to-sixty time of 5.7 seconds.

Behind the wheel, I found that the entire system works together to deliver power like thick gobs of thick yogurt, with no drive lash on throttle or lift, but not too buzzy either. I have to admit it's the perfect amount of torque for a car of this weight, somewhere in between Detroit muscle and a peaky four banger in a rice rocket. With traction control off, something I was prohibited from doing, I hear you can do doughnuts in the car, something not too easy in many roadsters. That's what I heard, anyhow. In some ways, it feels automatic, without the third pedal, but when you lift off the throttle, the car's regenerative systems seize power through engine braking. It feels like you're lifting off after revving high in second or third gear in a manual transmission sports car. Tim often didn't have to use the brakes, preferring to wind down to almost nothing by engine braking alone. I'd test the brakes later. We'd entered the highway, and the car's acceleration to 80 was great, but power tapered off closer to 110 as aerodynamics of a open top car caught up to it and torque fell. Hypothetically.

I knew the acceleration was appropriate for a car of the future, besting many gas vehicles out there. But one thing I'd never heard about was what all the battery weight (again, 2700 pounds vs sub 2000 pounds) was doing to the car's handling; the Tesla would not likely turn and brake like a space-age wonder considering similar chassis, brakes, wheels and suspension. There's no escaping the laws of physics. Even magical electric cars want to stay in motion, when in motion.

I snaked the car through a set of S turns, but behind other cars, so I was not able to find much data other than that the car does not oversteer easily. Through a banked onramp to highway 280, the ghetto skidpad, I wasn't light on the gas accelerator, and on the smooth, 270-degree banked circle, I could feel the car's rack-and-pinion wanting to push a bit. I wasn't sure of my speed, so it's impossible to say when confidence was starting to fade. The chase car driver later implied they had to slow down to 60 on the ramp, but I doubt I was going much faster than that. I'll conclusively say that the car handles less confidently than an Elise, but will destroy many road-going sedans and coupes.

Back off the highway, with the chase car still catching up, I got a chance to try the brakes, quickly rounding a corner and heading towards traffic. With a second lane opening up, I slammed them. Warm tires chattered across the rough, slightly downhill road and I was forced to take the other lane or eat SUV. I felt the weight, and expected the car to stop shorter.

But here's something to chew on. I have no conclusive data of how fast we were going, given the single-gear, quiet propulsion of the vehicle. I could have been going 35, I could have been going 60, so it's not fair to judge the car's handling or braking. And neither Tesla nor the internet have any skidpad, slalom or braking distance test results for the car. Conspiracy? I can't say. None of this really matters. The Tesla Roadster is unique as a performance-oriented electric car and deserves heaps of praise for what it is. Its efficiency from battery to wheels hovers between 80% and 90%. Most gas engines sit at about 20%. Provided your public utility has some measure of efficiency in their electric production, you can do a lot of good in this car.

I wouldn't be describing this car properly without discussing the interior. The Roadster's insides look similar to its sister cars from the UK, but have been improved. Door sills have been lowered to make entrance easy (although still requiring some level of acrobatics), the leather seats are more comfortable and heated, and the premium stereo is a single-DIN JVC KD-NX5000 which features DivX and DVD playback as well as navigation, a 40GB HDD and an iPod dock. The position of the stereo is sort of low on the dashboard. The stereo's imaging is superb and there's a sub somewhere in the tiny cockpit thumping away. There's an electric touch LCD on the left managing battery charge, tire pressure monitors, etc. Your ass is dragging probably 8 inches from the ground.

I can't afford this car. If I wanted something similar to this in shape, feel and performance, I'd probably buy a used Elise for $30K, if I could get over the bug eyes. But I can assure you that a Tesla is still a hell of a car, by electric or gas terms, even if it's just a bit more portly and more expensive than a comparable Lotus. I mean, it's fast. It's electric. It's efficient. It's sexy. And you can actually buy it if you're rich. And while Tesla as a company may have had some problems in manufacturing at first, they didn't wait for old industry to get off its ass and build something revolutionary. Like Google's Android challenges the cellphone establishment, I hope the Roadster catalyzes the traditional fossil-fuel-dependent makers into a game of catchup, with cars that are just as fast and efficient, and hopefully a lot cheaper. And if that doesn't leave you somewhat impressed, then you belong with the dinosaurs.

Note: Impressions from a 10 minute drive are going to be impressions from a 10 minute drive, nothing more.

Special thanks to Tim Ferriss for facilitating this drive and donating half of his drive time to me, and for photographer Monica Laipple for the better shots above. Check out more videos over at Tim's site.

Granted, most of these 'stations' will just be small, designated sockets clamped on to existing lines at homes, businesses and parking lots, and the battery swap stations will essentially trade your batteries the same way that Ace Hardware does your propane tanks. But even if the technology is kind of trivial, the fact remains that a significant part of Australia's population will soon have a ubiquitous infrastructure for electric cars.

The Australian government is currently encouraging domestic automakers to answer the anticipated demand for electric vehicles, because, well, there are about two right now. There is, however, a suspicious aspect to this plan: the government is suggesting cell phone-like contracts as a method of charging for the juice, which sounds like about as good an idea as Kangaroo Jack IV. [AP via Slashdot]

The limited number means that you probably won't be getting one (though if you do, please call us). Still, keep on the lookout: The vehicles will be adorned with that yellow logo cleverly intended to look like both an "e" and a power plug.

BMW says it isn't releasing this as a production vehicle, so much as it is using the program to learn about how fully electric vehicles perform in real-world traffic—Jersey Turnpike, hello? The company says that in the "medium term" it plans to introduce real "series production" of electric cars. If you want to know more about the automotive attributes of the Mini E, have a look at BMW's extremely detailed press release. [BMW]

After using a meter to track power usage, Eberhard calculated that 22% of his car's juice was being wasted while parked. He also notes that this constant activity causes significant wear and tear on the pump—most likely diminishing its useful life by about 2 years or 20,000 miles. Eberhard is no longer with Tesla Motors, but when he speaks, his former colleagues should listen up and get the problem fixed. [Teslafounders]

The Army plans to increase efficiency and serve as a model for the military and the nation when it comes to the operation of our housing, buildings, and forward operating bases. The Army will use its considerable purchasing power to push green projects that might not otherwise receive needed money.

One of these projects is the installation of a 500 megawatt solar thermal plant in Ft. Irwin, an Army base located in the Mojave Desert. Another, the purchase of 4,000 Small Neighborhood Electric Vehicles similar to the Peapod, which will always beat the SUVs currently in use at these bases.

The effort will have to be really serious, as their energy costs have increased a full 40% during the last seven years, even while they have cut consumption by almost 8%. According to their latest numbers released this week in Washington, D.C., right now they are spending $2 billion on fuel every year. However, most of it goes to feeding the generators that power the temporary bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, so no matter how much money they spend on saving energy at home, they still will have to feed the monster around the world. [DODBuzz]