Electric motorcycle maker Brammo has kicked up its bikes a notch – well, about 6 notches. This morning Brammo announced that it’s launching four new 6-speed electric motorcycle models that are using a transmission system for higher speeds and the performance of a traditional gas-based motorcycle.
Looks like launching a next-gen high performance electric motorcycle takes a good deal of funds. According to an SEC filing this week electric motorcycle startup Brammo is looking to raise $30 million, and has already secured $17.5 million of the round
Move along, Enertia — here comes the Empulse. Electric motorcycle maker Brammo announced plans this morning to build a faster, pricier model with longer range called the Empulse, which will join the company’s inaugural Brammo Enertia motorcycle in retailing through Best Buy.
If 2009 for electric motorcycle startup Mission Motors was about drumming up buzz by racing its plug-in superbike, 2010 holds a different kind of race: to start building bikes and a business with staying power.
Join James, Matt and Kevin live for this week’s audio podcast where they’ll cover this week’s mobile technology news and share experiences with the latest software, hardware and web services. If you missed the live show, you can grab an MP3 audio recording.
The browser war continues to rage unabated, with the end result being better products for us, the users. This past week has seen significant beta updates to my two favorite browsers: Chrome and Firefox. I’ve been playing with beta 1 of Mozilla’s Firefox 3.6. This new version of Firefox boasts improved performance, personas (the ability to easily switch between different skins for your browser), and updated support for web standards, including support for the Web Open Font Format (WOFF). Read More about Browser Beta Roundup: Firefox 3.6b1, Chrome 4
Business Models in the Electric Motorcycle Revolution: What electric motorcycle startups are “trying to do with the motorized two-wheeler is more revolutionary than evolutionary and so their approach to the market must be distinct, perhaps diametric to that of the companies that currently occupy the landscape.” — Asphalt and Rubber via Autoblog Green
How to Cultivate a Green Company Culture: Incrementalism, or prettying up existing processes, has its critics, but it also has a role to play in making environmental sustainability a core value of a company. — GreenBiz.com
What’s In a Name?: Before settling on names for new models an automaker consults lawyers in as many as 200 countries or territories. For the Nissan LEAF, the company’s brand management chief says “It was a minor miracle that the name was cleared.” — Bloomberg
Chinese Wind Farm in Texas: “Another day, another big Chinese energy-related investment. This time it’s a $1.5 billion wind farm in Texas, paid for by Chinese banks and to be supplied with Chinese-made wind turbines.” — WSJ’s Environmental Capital
Clean Energy in the Pipeline: More than half of all planned energy projects in the electric grid reliability cooperative that links northeastern states and parts of Canada are renewable energy projects, according to a recent report by SNL Financial. — NYT’s Green Inc.
It might sound familiar: An ambitious startup sets out to build a high-performance electric two-wheel vehicle priced for the niche luxury market, hoping to establish its brand and business as it develops lower-end models for the mass market. Well, that’s the game plan for Mission Motors, which today announced a new speed record for electric motorcycles on the Bonneville Speedway track (150.059 MPH) with a prototype of its 2010 Mission One model.
The speed might be record-breaking, but the strategy echoes the one employed by electric scooter maker Vectrix — until it hit the skids this year amid “very disappointing sales” for its 70 MPH, $11,000 scooter, “challenging market conditions” and 13 years in the biz without a profit. Mission Motors co-founder and CEO Forrest North, however, thinks the market is now ripe for his 16-person startup, based in San Francisco, to find success with the strategy using a significantly higher-performance technology and an even higher price tag: $68,000.
Read More about Startup Mission Motors’ Electric Superbike Breaks Speed Record — Now What?
The new Mission One electric motorcycle from San Francisco startup Mission Motors, unveiled in prototype today at TED 2009 in Long Beach, Calif., maxes out at 150 mph without an ounce of gas or puff of tailpipe exhaust. This comes on the heels of reports that Yamaha (s YAMHF) and Honda (s HMC) plan to launch battery-powered electric motorcycles aimed at rivaling today’s gas-powered bikes in 2010 and 2011, respectively. But while Honda wants to hit the mass market with a low-cost, long-distance option, Mission Motors is aiming for the high-end performance market with its lithium-ion battery-powered motorcycle — much like Tesla Motors with its luxury electric sports car, the Roadster.
“With the Mission One, we’re writing the next chapter in motorcycle design, delivering a new riding experience without sacrificing performance or design in a zero emissions vehicle,” Mission Motors founder and CEO (and former Tesla engineer) Forrest North said in a release today.
Now, if the company can deliver on its claims that the bike will go 150 miles on a two-hour charge — and make it to production, a painfully thorny phase for Tesla — then let the oohs and aahs begin.
It’s the time of year when — love it or hate it — you need to start thinking about Christmas shopping. If you’re the kind of person who prefers to leave their shopping until Christmas Eve, then by all means skip on to the next post! I prefer to plan ahead and beat some of the mad Christmas rush. Even better than high street shopping, I’ve found that my Mac is capable of producing some fantastic gifts for friends and family.
Today I’ll be briefly showing how easy it is to create a beautiful calendar using iPhoto, complete with all your important dates for the year and some seasonal photography.
Read More about A Great Christmas Gift: iPhoto Calendars
