Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan was spotted driving his brand new BMW i8 car in Bandra, Mumbai, very close to his home in the western suburbs. Many fans took pictures of his swanky new white car that has a futuristic design. The photos went viral on social media. But not many fans know that as Shah Rukh was driving down the beach promenade on Bandstand, he was attacked by a person who seemed to be a beggar.
It could well have been a… Continue reading
Today the 2nd of June 2016, Mahindra is all set to launch its futuristic e-Verito, which is an electric variant of the Verito sedan. The e-Verito concept car was first showcased at the prestigious 2014 Auto Expo, and now very soon customers can buy the car. This would be India’s 2nd Electric Car the first being Chetan Maini’s Reva which had an update as E2O
Mahindra Electric Verito Rs 8 Lakhs only! (US$ 12,200)
The 4 door 5 seater e-Verito is an exclusive launch, it is a… Continue reading
Toyota has quite irresponsibly started making statements that it does not have confidence in Modi’s Brand India because in a tiny part of India… diesel engines have been banned… that too only those above 2ltrs have been banned. All these years of the country giving Toyota all the tax breaks and advantages of investing in India has been thrown in the garbage by TOYOTA with that statement. The exact statement has been “Toyota Motor’s confidence in India has taken a big knock after the Supreme Court ban since mid-December 2015 on sale of high-end diesel cars and SUVs, and the continuing uncertainty… Is only adding to it. ” There is no uncertainity M/s Toyota…. UK, France and the world have started to realize the problems with diesel car and have started to ban it.
M/s Toyota… What is the problem with replacing diesel engines with Petrol or CNG engines that will benefit the consumer? Are you unable to do that?…something that other car-owners are doing? After all you can send the diesel engines to other state of India and need not re-export them. So even that is not a major problem. Then what is the problem? Gamesmanship… right?
This is a company that has till date not launched a single Electric car or hybrid car in India in spite of our Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi’s push on electric cars and renewable energy. They don’t even have a proper sub-compact car to compete in India as the small cars make low profits. Personally I find the Tata Indigo is a much better car than Corolla on top of that Indigo gives a mileage of around 25kmpl! Other cars like Honda City & Civic are much better than Corolla.
Toyota models – the Innova, Fortuner, Land Cruiser and Prado (except the Corolla and lower-end models) have taken a hit. Toyota is concerned with only big PROFITS and not concerned about people’s health…. This is proof by the statements that they are making. Meaning which they will not be launching Electric cars in India. Who cares?… India already has the best electric car in the world (value for money) in Mahindra’s & Chetan Maini’s E2O.
Toyota company has further stated that “ the element of trust has been broken between Toyota and the country as a whole, he said “it has become very difficult to launch new products or commit fresh investments.”… although the diesel engine ban is effective only in so tiny a part of India…that it is not even a full State and do not have its own police force although it is the capital of India. Toyota has no doubt insulted the country as a whole.
Companies who wish to invest in ANY country must abide by its laws especially when iwhen the country’s citizen’s health is in question… but Toyota is trying to mount the pressure on India by trying to malign the “Brand India” that our Prime Minsiter Mr. Narendra Modi is so much trying to build. Such companies who have no respect of India and its people’s health should be kicked out of India at the earliest and they must be very much willing as they don’t want to invest more and have “lost trust”.
Perhaps Toyota do not understand that this is the New India emerging from its ashes and not willing to bend over backwards to accommodate even the biggest companies if they don’t play by the rules. Nestle’s Noodle Ban is a good sample for Toyota to savor before opening its mouth so much that its foot lands in it. Companies like Toyota have become the biggest sellers of car not because of their quality but by exploiting developing countries like us and other under developed countries. Its time for the Government to be strict with such companies and give their balls a real tight squeeze.
Another awesome article on how bad drivers are attracted to Toyota. So if you are a good driver avoid Toyota cars says the article… check it out… talks a lot of sense…
Now that the Mahindra E2O has gone to UK… its time to review the car against its younger brothers… the Twizy, Zoe and Leaf.
Younger brothers because the Mahindra E2O is Version 2.0 of the Chetan Maini’s Reva Car called G-Wiz in UK. The first generation of G-Wiz was an awesome car back then… and offered something no car maker ever dared 20yrs ago!!! To make an electric car… and then export it to 23 countries.
It was an era when Tesla as a company was not even born. A car so light which could be pushed by a 5th grade student. The Lead Acid battery in the 1st generation car could last as long as 5 YEARS!!! The lead Acid battery longevity is unparalleled even today !!! The Version 1 of E2O called Reva Car had also traveled 3,500 kms cross country through 15 Cities in India in the year 2009.
In the process to find an investor/car maker Chetan lost 10 precious years… 5yrs in his chase to find a car maker who could maker bigger investment and take it forward… and another 5yrs to get the car manufactured and released. This was the time when the Indian economy was opening up and there was threat that the US car makers would come and capture the entire market. This never happened… just like iPhone US cars could never become a favorite of Indians.
But after loosing 10 precious years the version 2 is out and we would stick our neck out and say Reva2 (E2O) is almost…almost on par with the Best Electric Car in the business… The Nissan LEAF.
Nissan has taken great care to pack the Leaf with a lot of goodies… which made the Leaf cost (£27,230) almost twice as expensive as E2O (£15,995). But then it is no mean task for Mahindra E2O to come out 2nd Best Car !… read on to find out… Continue reading
Spolar paneled roof on electric vehicles are very much possible and it is not a new concept AT ALL. In fact it has been successfully experimented by many people over the years for 2 wheelers, 3 wheelers, trikes, one Indian guy went to UK to travel there by Solar powered auto-rickshaw developed here in India, Solar Ahmed drives around in his electric car which is powered by solar panels on his vehicle roof.
Also most mainstream motor companies have ALSO not released ANY electric vehicles other than Mahindra. The following links are for the peoples who have tried out Solar panels on their vehicle roof successfully:…
(there are a lot more available on youtube) and THERE IS NO DRAWBACK OF LEAD ACID BATTERIES as suggested by some manufacturers as you can see Solar Ahmed has driven his car with Lead Acid Batteries for over 100,000 kms and at the same time SOLAR AHMED WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO AFFORD Li-Ion BATTERY to drive so far a distance and replace batteries. IN THAT ASPECT Li-Ion BATTERY HAS A MAJOR DISADVANTAGE:
Our friends at http://www.PlugInIndia.com have successfully created India’s 1st and ONLY community charging infrastructure. Its kind of Zero Budget Infrastructure that was set up by the community to enable Electric cars to travel much beyond their range-boundary of 100kms. The best thing about the charging infrastructure is it pays the Infrastructure-developer an income from anybody who comes to charge the vehicle. The charging fee range from free charging to Rs 100 per hour depending upon the shop that is providing the charging. If charging is done from a shop then charging is done from a commercial meter at commercial rates and thus they charge Rs 100 per hour. Some people have opened their hearts and let the EV community charge free from their house or housing society.
This effort has made trips between Mumbai to Pune and back a distance of 300kms (150kms each way) completely possible for anybody with E2O which has a range of just 100km WITHOUT ANY DIFFICULTY.
The fact remains that Mahindra were NEVER ABLE TO IMPLEMENT highway charging “infrastructure” is proof to our below statement of “incompetence”. These are the same guys who tried to sell Manual Transmission (MT) Scorpio in countries where people do not touch MT without realizing that the “MT-era” had passed in those countries 😉
Lol…looks like the EV community have got pissed off with Mahindra’s go-slow approach and started to implement their own solution while all the petrol car makers have have developed Electric Car since 2010… but refuse to release it and hold the Govt responsible for its delay. Companies like Tata, Maruti & Mahindra talk EVERY YEAR about “releasing the NEW Electric car next year”… and which never got released for 5 straight years. Zero work also on Infrastructure development.
Its time the Government start to fine all who flout the below rule:
We at PlugInCaroo believe as a rule of thumb that Petrol Car companies the world over are incompetent to make electric car… at the efficiency of say Solar Ahmed‘s Vehicle… at the same price, range and distance.
For Eg. The 63yr old Solar Ahmed whose car is robest enough to have traveled above 100,000 Kms with a Rs 100,000 car, and even covered a 3,000kms journey in 30 days. Thus he can travel all over India even the Ghats without a single drop of petrol… At that rate… he was covering a distance of 100kms per day charging from Solar Panels… a task not even equaled by Mahindra’s Rs 9,00,000 E2O especially considering the price of Solar Ahmed’s car. Now dont even mention the BMW’s or Tesla’s price tag for they have to hang their head in SHAME.
…for now lets check out the magic that PlugInIndia has woven…
PlugInIndia’s Electric Car Roadtrips : Baby steps to the futureThe EV community in the cities of Pune and Mumbai did a series of test rides on an electric car – The Mahindra e2o between Mumbai and Pune over the last 2 weeks. A total of 5 electric cars drove around 1500 km with enthusiastic owners feeling green and great!
Together we saved more than 125 liters of petrol for our country and we did not pollute the air in the beautiful western ghat mountains. All of us would want to do this again and again and again! The EV community in India is not blessed with DC Quickcharge stations to make road trips easy for us.
So Level 2, 15 Amp sockets is what we were after. Two normal stations were installed by PluginIndia community and Mahindra Reva at Khandala and Nerul, Mumbai. All of a sudden, Mumbai-Pune was possible.A distance of 150 km, 1 way, might appear trivial. But it is not as trivial as it sounds. The reason for this is the Sahyadri mountains at Khandala/Lonavala, where we descend from an altitude of 625 meters to around 50 meters. This is not an issue while going from Pune to Mumbai as we go down and regenerative braking helps us gain energy! The problem as in all EV’s is the huge energy consumed while climbing uphill. The fear of the ghat (mountain) along with lack of dedicated charge stations ensured many in the community did not dare venture in the expressway! Ultimately the ghat proved to be a non issue due to strategically placed charging stations, efficient EV driving habits and well designed Mumbai-Pune expressway which eliminated steep hairpin bends. All in the terrain
Here are stories of the 5 pioneers!
My exploratory drive – The Explorer!
Pune-Mumbai-Pune : Yellow e2o – Eva There were some test drives on the Mumbai-Pune route done by Mahindra Reva personnel and an occasional dare devil without permanently installed stations. But this resulted in walking to shops asking for a 15 Amps socket and generally indulging in running around, convincing shop owners etc. All this resulting in frustration and wasted time!
Now that we have 2 dedicated stations, i would not have to go through all that and i wanted to find out bout the experience! My video blog sums up the experience pretty well. Eva did great during the trip! Some other fun observations!
http://www.pluginindia.com/blogs/electric-car-roadtrips-baby-steps-to-the-future |
You hear a lot of talk about the Government setting up targets for Electric Vehicles and the so called not too famous FAME scheme for faster adoption of Electric vehicles. But you dont see any action on the ground. You dont see any company coming forward to create electric cars, nor do you see the government placing any orders for Electric Bus or Cars. No we are not talking about “Pilot Projects” which are… Continue reading
In an era when India is trying to battle the environment pollution and jump onto the clean energy bandwagon it may come to you as a surprise PlugInCaroo announcing that Mahindra could be on a mission to do away with India’s one & only electric vehicle. It is as much of India’s pride as is Tata Nano because E20 was and is the most economically practical & sustainable electric car in the whole wide World.
Who Killed The E2O – the Indian Electric Car?… the answer could be… who else but AN INDIAN!
Why we are saying this is because our voice could be the last desperate & feeble voice in the wilderness before life could be snuffed out of E2O… just like the mother Indrani Mukerjea who smothered the life out of her daughter Sheena Bora in the sensational murder case.. there is a possibility that Mahindra is trying to kill E2O. Right now E2O is lying in ICCU counting the days…
For instance how much advertisement do you see on for E2O?… now compare it with… Continue reading
One fine day Mr Gadkari, Indian Transport minister woke up from his slumber in August 2015 and decided that running electric buses would be cost effective and set about with the Indian Space Research Organization to deploy 15 buses on a pilot project. Possibly he believes that electric vehicles are rocket science and after the Agni Missile Programme, Moon Mission, Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) , Mars Orbiter Mission the mission of making an electric Bus for the people of India should be the next biggest task assigned to India’s biggest Organization.
Now a Pilot project is a small scale preliminary study conducted in order to evaluate feasibility, time, cost, adverse events, and statistical variability in an attempt to study the design and its function prior to implementation of the Technology.
The problem is that the technology in question is 15 years old and…
THE IMMORTUS
The Immortus is a limited edition bespoke solar electric sports car with on-board storage capacity. Inspired by the world portrayed in post-apocalyptic movies, the Immortus is designed to exhibit a toughness that no other car has: endurance. The ability to run on the power of the sun and store the energy for later use make it a car of practically infinite endurance. As long as the sun shines the Immortus lives…
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