Wheels: Detroit Electric Pushes the Pause Button

Electric Car Maker Coda Wins Approval to Sell Assets to Fortress

Under the deal, Fortress group will pay $1.7 million in cash, and the remainder will come by way of a "credit bid," in which Fortress will bid for the assets of Coda using debt owed instead of cash.

Coda said in its May 1 bankruptcy petition that it is exiting the car business to focus on the development and sale of energy storage systems through its subsidiary Coda Energy.

"(The ruling) will allow us to emerge in a stronger position to develop our core technology, forge stronger relationships with our partners, and ultimately, enable us to execute our business plan in the growing energy storage sector," the company said in an emailed statement.

Earlier on Tuesday, two affiliates of the electric-car maker - Lio Energy Systems Holdings and Miles Electric Vehicles - filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The case is in re Coda Holdings Inc, Case No. 13-11153, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware.

(Reporting by Mridhula Raghavan and Sakthi Prasad in Bangalore, and Paul Lienert in Detroit; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

Wheels Blog: G.M. and BMW Adopt D.C. Electric Car Charging

General Motors G.M. and BMW have adopted a new charging standard, and other manufacturers are expected to follow.

General Motors and BMW say they are moving ahead with technology that can give electric cars an 80 percent charge in 20 minutes. Charging time is a major problem in a car that can travel only 100 miles or less between charges.

Today, electric cars almost always use the existing alternating current power grid for charging, which means that the energy must first be converted from A.C. back into the D.C. format car batteries use to store energy. Bypassing the on-board hardware that does that conversion means avoiding a bottleneck and reducing charging time.

G.M.’s Chevrolet Spark EV, based on a Korean-built gas-powered minicar, has a published range of 82 miles. BMW says its i3 will go 80 to 100 miles on a charge. If either one could take on an 80 percent charge in 20 minutes, and if such charging stations were widely available, it could effectively multiply the car’s daily range.

G.M. had previously announced that its Spark would have a charging port with inputs for the standard A.C. charger or D.C. equipment.

The two vehicles will use a standard recently established by the Society of Automotive Engineers. There is an older international standard, widely used in Japan, but D.C. charging in North America is a rarity and companies here are starting fresh. Along with G.M. and BMW, other companies that have promised to use the new S.A.E. standard are Ford, Chrysler, Daimler, Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche.

G.M. and BMW said in a joint announcement on Tuesday that after several days of testing, they were confident that a charger using the S.A.E. standard would provide an 80 percent charge in about 20 minutes. There is a catch, though: Vendors have to buy the chargers and install them somewhere. General Motors says chargers will cost from $20,000 to $30,000 each.

General Motors G.M. says the D.C. charger will allow an 80 percent charge within 20 minutes.

How could a charging station owner make money on that? In general, a driver would be buying a quantity of electricity for which a homeowner would pay about $2, but the D.C. power could be priced higher, like the difference in price between a six-pack of soda on a supermarket shelf and a single bottle in the refrigerator next to the cashier. Form may matter as much as quantity.

Or it could be a loss-leader. Heather Rosenker, a spokeswoman for G.M., said that the D.C. charger “could be owned by the utility or the business in which it is housed (i.e. a restaurant, hotel, shopping center, etc.).’’

In a conference call with reporters on Tuesday, David Danielson, assistant secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy for the federal Energy Department, acknowledged that “the cost of those quick chargers can be up there.” He said that the government was working to bring down the price of the electronics involved.

Mr. Danielson was promoting a new Web site called eGallon, which compares the cost of gasoline with the cost of the electricity that will take a car the same distance. The site assumes the car will go about three miles on a kilowatt-hour and calculates that, while gasoline is on average about $3.65 a gallon, the eGallon cost would be $1.14. But the eGallon calculator compares the cost of gasoline with residential electricity rates and does not make any allowance for an electricity mark-up a vendor would use to earn a profit on the charging equipment.

According to a news release from General Motors, the direct current fast charging option should be available sometime after the Spark EV becomes available in California and Oregon this year.

Wheels Blog: Wheelies: The Electric Phantom Edition

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars The Rolls-Royce Phantom 102EX.

In which we bring you motoring news from around the Web:

• It sounds like something from an elaborate April Fools’ joke: an electric Rolls-Royce. The Rolls-Royce Phantom 102EX has not done so well in the market since its 2011 release. Torsten Muller-Otvos, the company’s chief executive, told Edmunds on Monday that Rolls-Royce customers just didn’t bite. He admitted that they tended to be very conservative, preferring little change in the cars they drive over the years. It appears that for now, even as other automakers move toward electric, hybrid and other more efficient means of propulsion, Rolls-Royce will stick with its venerable V-12 for a while longer. (Edmunds)

• General Motors became an unexpected history maker on Wednesday, becoming the first auto manufacturer to sign a call for climate change action. A coalition of businesses interested in eco-friendly practices drafted the Climate Declaration, attracting the support of companies including Starbucks, Ben & Jerry’s and the North Face. G.M. said it already had been making an effort to be more environmentally conscious by cutting energy use in its facilities. (Green Car Reports)

• In other G.M. news, the company acted quickly to pull down a television ad some in China considered racist. The ad featured music from Parov Stelar’s jazzy “Booty Swing,” which includes the lyrics, “Now, in the land of Fu Manchu, The girls all now do the Suzie-Q, Clap their hands in the center of the floor, Saying, “Ching, ching, chop-suey, swing some more!” The South China Morning Post picked up on the lyrics, taking G.M. to task for it. Digging a little deeper, “Booty Swing” may not have been the best choice of songs, because it samples heavily from Lil Hardin Armstrong’s 1930s-vintage “Oriental Swing.” (Wheels.ca)

• Although recent surveys show that American car buyers favor more fuel efficient vehicles and tighter fuel efficiency standards, full-size pickup truck sales are booming, up 27 percent industry-wide last month. Accordingly, the Ford Motor Company announced plans to add a third shift to the Kansas City assembly line that builds F-150s. The increase in production at the factory will create about 2,000 jobs. Ford had promised the United Auto Workers union in 2011 that it would create 12,000 American jobs by 2015. Ford says this new, truck-spurred boost will put the company at the 9,000 mark. (USA Today)

• The fact that Toyota is the world’s largest carmaker is thanks in no small part to its Camry, which has been an American best seller for more than a decade. But as Toyota struggles to keep the staid family sedan in the number one spot for the 12th consecutive year, Honda is making tracks to the top with its Accord. Honda sold 33,538 Accords to Toyota’s 31,710 Camrys last month, amid a slight decline in sales among other Toyota brands. April was the second straight month the Camry has been unseated by another brand. In March, it was outsold by the Nissan Altima. (Bloomberg)

• Nissan cut prices on seven of its vehicles sold in America, in hopes that the models will appear in more Internet searches. For example, the company’s top-selling Altima midsize sedan will receive a 2.7 percent cut – about $600 – as it competes with the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord for best-seller status in the United States. General Motors said it would follow suit, reducing the price of its Chevrolet Malibu by up to $770. (Yahoo Finance)

• Apple may be trying to get into the heart of car manufacturing; the part that seems to matter most to consumers, at any rate. Some sleuthing done by 9to5Mac uncovered a possible plot by the computer company to begin working directly with auto manufacturers in creating vehicles’ infotainment systems. According to the company Web site, Apple posted job listings for “in-car” engineers and software managers. Unlike Volkswagen’s iBeetle, which incorporates an iPhone into the car’s infotainment system though third-party apps, 9to5Mac’s sources indicated that in conjunction with Siri, the iPhone’s display screens would be integrated with the car’s onboard display. It could be something, or not. Either way, it seems that the people who make decisions about such things are thinking about it. (9to5Mac)

Electric Car Maker Files for Bankruptcy Protection

The filing with the federal Bankruptcy Court in Delaware will allow the Los Angeles company to get out of the auto sector and refocus on energy storage, a far less capital-intensive business. The company uses the same technology it used in cars to build systems for utilities and building operators to store power.

A group of lenders led by Fortress Investment Group plans to extend debtor-in-possession financing and will seek to acquire the company for $25 million through the bankruptcy process, Coda said in a statement.

Coda introduced its five-passenger electric car in California a year ago, delivering a range of 125 miles, or 200 kilometers, on a single charge.

The $37,250 vehicle was criticized for its no-frills styling, and its short history also included a recall because of faulty air bags.

Consumers have been slow to gravitate toward electric vehicles as a result of their high cost, and fears about their driving range.

Just three years ago, Coda was one of an emerging crop of California start-ups, including Fisker Automotive and Tesla Motors, seeking to build emission-free electric cars to appeal to mass-market consumers.

Investors poured money into the sector, and Coda raised $300 million in equity from backers, including Aeris Capital, the Limited Brands chief executive Les Wexner, and former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

However, in 2012 the company withdrew its request for $334 million in federal loans like the ones Fisker and Tesla received.

As the allure of electric vehicles faded, Coda struggled to secure new private funding. Last year, Coda sought to raise $150 million but clinched just $22 million, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Tesla has put thousands of cars on the road, but Fisker is considering a bankruptcy filing. The maker of lithium-ion batteries for Fisker, A123 Systems, filed for bankruptcy late last year.

General Motors and Nissan Motor also invested heavily in electric vehicles.

Coda has about 40 active employees and expects to recall 50 furloughed workers. Emerald Capital Advisors is advising Coda on its restructuring, and Houlihan Lokey is its investment banker.

Wheels Blog: Epic EV Torq: Three Wheels + One Electric Motor = Interesting

Epic Electric Vehicles Epic Electric Vehicles said it expects to build 50 of the 2013 Torq E.V.

Morgan Motor Company’s 1930s-retro 3-Wheelers are cool. Of that there’s little doubt. They’re light, fast and guaranteed conversation starters. But what if you took that same Morgan, made it look all futuristic and replaced its noisy V-twin motorcycle engine with a silent, powerful electric motor?

You’d get Epic Electric Vehicles’ Torq Roadster, which resembles an escape pod from a ’90s space movie and has an electric motor, carbon-fiber body and, yes, only one rear wheel. Like the Morgan 3-Wheeler, the Torq EV is basically a sporty toy for people who have extra money lying around. But it is a mean-looking little buggy. If you’re the sort of car-loving playboy who is into 3-wheeled cars (come on, you know you’re out there) and prefers “Star Trek: The Next Generation” machines to ones like those featured in Lawrence of Arabia, the Torq could be what you’re looking for.

David Vespremi, a former Tesla Motors executive, became Epic’s first customer in an official-looking handoff ceremony last month. Judging by his blog post on the subject, Mr. Vespremi is pretty amped on having a Torq, and said the electric 3-wheeler is nearly as quick off the line as a Tesla Roadster. Mr. Vespremi commended not only the Torq’s quickness, but also its silence — the electric drivetrain means he can sneak out of the house at dawn for “spirited driving” without waking his entire family with the roar he’d subjected them to with his 400-horsepower Toyota MR2.

Epic Electric Vehicles said in a news release that it would produce about 50 Torqs for 2013. Prices start at $65,000 in the United States. If you want to play, be prepared to pay a $10,000 deposit. The company is also taking $5,000 deposits for a 2014 model.

I wish I could say more about the car, but since I’ve neither seen it in person nor driven it, I’ll leave you with a kernel of utter nonsense (which seems in keeping with chatter about a 3-wheel electric roadster that costs more than a couple of average family sedans): I have to wonder if driving one feels more carlike, or more like one of those speeder bikes the Ewoks ride in “Return of the Jedi.”

Wheels Blog: A New Electric Car With an Old Name

Detroit Electric, via Associated Press Detroit Electric’s SP:01, a limited-edition electric sports car.

The fledgling Detroit Electric car company introduced its first product, the fully electric SP:01 two-seat roadster, on Wednesday. Like the Tesla Roadster, the SP:01 will be built on a Lotus Elise chassis. Detroit Electric will handle only final assembly of an initial production run of 999 vehicles.

The Detroit Electric name is familiar to automotive historians. The early 20th century electric-vehicle manufacturer produced about 13,000 cars in its nearly 30-year history. This new venture, which has its headquarters in Detroit’s Fisher Building, bought the brand name.

Detroit Electric is assembling SP:01 prototypes in Europe. The car’s top speed is 155 miles per hour and its time from zero to 62 m.p.h. is 3.7 seconds, the company said.

The SP:01 is powered by a 201 horsepower (150 kW) electric motor mounted behind the passenger cabin. The Lotus Elise donor car’s manual gearbox delivers the power to the rear wheels. In the Lotus, the manual gearbox has six forward speeds, but in the torque-rich electric car only four are used, with fifth and sixth gears blocked off. However, to achieve that 155 m.p.h. top speed, fifth gear must be reinstated. That fifth ratio can be added as an option at the time of purchase. A two-speed automatic will also be available. Steering and suspension components are similar to those of the Lotus, but have been modified to better suit the SP:01’s weight distribution.

Two lithium-polymer batteries provide electricity. According to a Detroit Electric media release, the SP:01 achieved a range of 180 miles on the European driving cycle. The company said a 7.7 kWh home charging unit could fully charge the car in about four hours.

The car’s body is carbon fiber, which sits on Lotus’s aluminum tub-style chassis. The company said the car weighed 2,400 pounds.

Detroit Electric said the SP:01 would go on sale in several markets in the United States by the end of August. Pricing will start at $135,000, but will vary depending on vehicle specifications and local taxes.