Mobile chargers set to help stranded EV owners

AFP Relax?–?Thu, Jun 23, 2011

The AAA, America's largest roadside assistance organiaation, is to roll out a fleet of mobile charging units to help stranded electric vehicle owners.

The motor club recently announced that it has completed a fully-functional electric vehicle charging unit, which will be deployed to its roadside assistance operations.

The unit is set to be fully unveiled in July and will be in action on US roads later in the summer, a spokesperson for the AAA said.

As a level two and three charging unit, it will be capable of "fast-charging" electric cars quicker than a normal household outlet -- level two charging can fully charge a battery in 4-6 hours but level three chargers can fill a battery to 80 percent in less than 20 minutes, although it's not compatible with all types of vehicle.

The units will be rolled out to California, Oregon, Washington, Florida, Tennessee and Georgia, according to reports.

Running out of battery in an electric vehicle is complicated by the fact that they cannot be "towed" in the traditional sense -- theoretically, turning the wheels independently could feed power back into the car (recently proved by a Dutch experiment which proved popular on YouTube).

Instead, electric vehicles must be recovered by a truck, adding expense and making running out of gas considerably more inconvenient.

AAA's move follows an announcement earlier this month by Nissan and the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) which confirmed that the parties were working together to test a mobile charging roadside assistance vehicle.

At the time, Nissan said that the new charger would help to build confidence in mobile EV use.

http://www.aaa.com

Dapat bang i-boycott and lahat ng produktong galing China?

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AAA Presents Electric Vehicle Mobile Charging Unit to Electric Drive Transportation Association

America's largest motor club demonstrates leadership in electric vehicle industry with announcement of nation's first ready-for-deployment mobile EV charging solution

ORLANDO, Fla., June 17, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AAA, the nation's largest motor club, presented to the membership of the Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA) today that it has a fully functioning electric vehicle mobile charging unit ready to deploy into its roadside assistance operations.

The motor club announced it will unveil the latest addition to its fleet of roadside assistance vehicles at the Plug-In 2011 Conference & Exposition in Raleigh, N.C., July 18-21, and begin initial deployment in select cities across the country later this summer.

"For more than 100 years, AAA has been a leader in addressing the needs of the motoring public. Dating back to the early days of the automobile, AAA has kept the pulse of the ever-changing automotive industry, and that continues today as we ready AAA's emergency road service operations to address the emerging electric vehicle market," said John Nielsen, AAA National Director of Auto Repair, Buying Services and Consumer Information.

"AAA is proud to announce today to the membership of the EDTA that it is the first in the nation to have a full production level two and level three mobile charging unit that will be unveiled next month and deployed into the field to begin servicing AAA members later this summer," continued Nielsen.

AAA will announce details of its electric vehicle mobile charging unit as well as deployment plans next month at the official unveiling of the vehicles at the Plug-In 2011 Conference & Exposition in Raleigh, N.C., July 18-21.

As North America's largest motoring and leisure travel organization, AAA provides more than 52 million members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services. Since its founding in 1902, the not-for-profit, fully tax-paying AAA has been a leader and advocate for the safety and security of all travelers. AAA clubs can be visited on the Internet at AAA.com.

AAA news releases, high-resolution images, broadcast-quality video, fact sheets and podcasts are available on the AAA NewsRoom at AAA.com/news.

Stay connected with AAA on the web via:

Twitter.com/AAAauto

Twitter.com/AAAnews

YouTube.com/AAA

Facebook.com/AAAfanpage

Facebook.com/AutoSkills

(Logo: ?http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20080226/DC15031LOGO)

SOURCE AAA

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Mobile chargers set to help stranded EV owners

AFP Relax?–?Thu, Jun 23, 2011

The AAA, America's largest roadside assistance organiaation, is to roll out a fleet of mobile charging units to help stranded electric vehicle owners.

The motor club recently announced that it has completed a fully-functional electric vehicle charging unit, which will be deployed to its roadside assistance operations.

The unit is set to be fully unveiled in July and will be in action on US roads later in the summer, a spokesperson for the AAA said.

As a level two and three charging unit, it will be capable of "fast-charging" electric cars quicker than a normal household outlet -- level two charging can fully charge a battery in 4-6 hours but level three chargers can fill a battery to 80 percent in less than 20 minutes, although it's not compatible with all types of vehicle.

The units will be rolled out to California, Oregon, Washington, Florida, Tennessee and Georgia, according to reports.

Running out of battery in an electric vehicle is complicated by the fact that they cannot be "towed" in the traditional sense -- theoretically, turning the wheels independently could feed power back into the car (recently proved by a Dutch experiment which proved popular on YouTube).

Instead, electric vehicles must be recovered by a truck, adding expense and making running out of gas considerably more inconvenient.

AAA's move follows an announcement earlier this month by Nissan and the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) which confirmed that the parties were working together to test a mobile charging roadside assistance vehicle.

At the time, Nissan said that the new charger would help to build confidence in mobile EV use.

http://www.aaa.com

Dapat bang i-boycott and lahat ng produktong galing China?

View the original article here

Recargo Releases Updated Mobile App for Electric Car Charging

Press Release Source: Recargo On Wednesday June 1, 2011, 4:00 pm EDT

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Recargo, the electric vehicle (EV) mobile app developer led by the founder of Dictionary.com, today announced the release of Recargo 1.5. Upgrades to the EV charger-finder app include the industry’s only real-time comments section, crowd-sourced from drivers for chargers coast to coast, a news feed and photo sharing.

The upgraded app allows drivers to instantly warn others of faulty chargers, share eyewitness reports and photos to help locate chargers in maze-like garages and elsewhere, and leave tips about nearby amenities such as restaurants and malls. Recargo’s charger maps are accompanied by Google Street Views, which provide broad street-level photographs of charger sites.

“Our goal is to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles by giving drivers instant access to the information they need to make range anxiety a figment of the imagination,” said Recargo CEO and founder Brian Kariger. “Up-to-the-minute reports from the roadside are part of the answer. In addition, our news section keeps drivers and prospective electric car owners informed about every facet of the industry.”

Recargo 1.5 maps more than 1,000 EV charging sites worldwide that are compatible with current and upcoming cars such as the Nissan Leaf, Chevrolet Volt and Tesla Roadster. It is available as a free download for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch users in Apple’s App Store.

Kariger led the company that grew Dictionary.com to more than 20 million monthly visitors by focusing on the customer experience and innovation. After extensive consultation with EV drivers, both very early adopters and new owners, he and his new team launched the Recargo.com website in July 2010, then the iPhone app in December 2010. For the app’s news feed, he partnered with PluginCars.com, which provides news and reviews by industry experts as well as EV journalists and how-to’s about owning and operating plug-in vehicles.

“The health of the electric car market heavily depends upon well-informed early adopters sharing their candid, real-world experiences,” said Brad Berman, editor of Plugincars.com. “The upgraded Recargo app allows electric car drivers and shoppers to easily read about and share the latest EV news and knowledge.”

Much of Recargo’s initial charger location information was licensed from EVChargerNews.com, which was also the source for the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s Alternative Fueling Station Locator. Recargo builds on this data and continuously improves it through a mixture of crowdsourcing, partnerships and targeted internal efforts. Since its launch, it has doubled the amount of data amassed.

“We recognized early on the need for a system that could scale to meet the needs of the electric car community as it grows from thousands to millions of drivers,” Kariger said. “We want to provide the ultimate experience for people who drive electric cars.”

About Recargo:

Recargo is a free mobile application, available on iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, for locating plug-in vehicle chargers worldwide, regardless of manufacturer or network. It was created by Recargo, Inc., a Los Angeles-based software development company founded by Brian Kariger, founder and former CEO of Lexico Publishing Group, LLC., publishers of Dictionary.com, Thesaurus.com and Reference.com. Lexico was acquired by IAC/Ask.com in 2008, at which time Dictionary.com was the world’s most popular online English-language dictionary. Media contacts: Zan Dubin Scott, zan@zdscommunications.com, (310) 383-0956; Marjaneh Ravai, Marjaneh@zdscommunications.com, (650) 346-3756. FIND RECARGO ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER.

About PluginCars.com:

PluginCars.com provides news and information about electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles to create a community of consumers eager to purchase cars and trucks that use little or no petroleum. Its content is syndicated by Yahoo! Autos, Reuters and other media outlets.

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