Electric Cars

Amid the furor over its new Maps app, Apple has deleted the description that it is the "most beautiful, powerful mapping service ever. " The change, first noted by German website  iDaily.de , follows last week's rare move by Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook, who apologized to users of the new app that came with an operating system upgrade. Though the new Maps is pretty to look at, Apple essentially admitted that the app is nowhere near being the most "powerful mapping service ever" when Cook sent out an apology letter, in which he said Maps failed to live up to the standard Apple has for its products.

A team of researchers at Utah State University has created a biodiesel fuel out of the watery waste of mass-produced cheese.  There are two reasons this fuel, which can be substituted for regular diesel, is cool. First, it creates a use for the millions of gallons of liquid cheese waste produced by the industrial cheese industry each day. It also produces a sweet exhaust that smells like fresh-baked bread. "The smell is fun, especially when the engine is warm," said Mike Morgan, a Utah State biochemistry undergrad who recently drove a dragster that runs on the fuel.

Electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc. cut its revenue projections as supplier problems and production delays hurt sales of its Model S sporty hatchback. In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Tuesday, the Palo Alto automaker said it has had trouble producing the number of vehicles it anticipated since launching production of the car in June. Tesla said it will generate $44 million to $46 million in third-quarter sales, compared with the roughly $80 million analysts had projected based on the company's production goals.

Electric car advocates say one reason for the slow adoption of the vehicles is that not enough people have tried them out. They note that EVs are quiet and have a lot of zip at city speeds.  In other words, the cars do better going from zero to 30 mph than they do from 30 to 60. People can test drive the latest generation of electric cars at the Automobile Driving Museum near Los Angeles International Airport on Sept. 23. The event is organized by Plug In America, a nonprofit that advocates the use of rechargeable cars, and runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 610 Lairport St., El Segundo.

A small slice of Audi's future recently began testing on U.S. roads around the country, but if you look too hard for these prototypes, they'll probably drive right under your nose. That's because rather than spend precious development dollars on a uniquely-designed body that's more science experiment than it is a practical application, Audi went and hid an all-electric drivetrain under the skin of its well-known A3 hatchback. Jeff Curry, the head of Audi's electric vehicle strategy in the U.S., brought one of the 17 A3 e-tron prototypes to Santa Monica this week for a few hours of driving.

Coda Automotive Inc. started selling its $37,250 electric car in March, but it has been silent about its sales. The Los Angeles start-up appears to have delivered 78 vehicles at most, according to a recall notice issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Coda must fix side curtain air bags that were not installed properly and might not deploy in an accident. Electric car sales overall are far from brisk, but other companies seem to be doing better. Tesla Motors Inc., a start-up in Palo Alto, has delivered about the same number of its $100,000 electric Model S luxury cars in a shorter period of time.

Since a new generation of electric cars went on sale 18 months ago, the results have been far from jolting. Sales of what are considered "pure" electric cars - they run off just a battery - have risen to slightly over 4,100 during the first six months of this year, up just 6% from the same period a year earlier, according to auto information company Edmunds.com. The gain, which amounts to just 234 cars, comes even though Ford, BMW, Honda and Mitsubishi all have joined pioneer Nissan in offering electric vehicles.

Here's a novel idea for an automaker: Open stores in an area where people are not shopping for cars. That's the strategy of Tesla Motors, the builder of high-end electric cars. The Palo Alto automaker opened its 12th North American store and second in Southern California on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica on Friday. It's flanked by an Adidas store and Club Monaco, a trendy apparel seller. Parking is a block away in a public garage. Think Apple rather than Chevrolet.

Honda Motor Co.'s new electric vehicle comes with an unusual option: collision insurance without any deductible. It's the latest enticement to move electric cars off showrooms and narrow the cost gap with less expensive gasoline-powered vehicles. "It is a really interesting marketing tool," said Rebecca Lindland, an analyst with IHS Automotive. Detroit automakers have generally shied away from offering insurance for drivers. General Motors Co. experimented with the concept last year, offering a year of free auto insurance for new-car buyers in Oregon and Washington.

SACRAMENTO -- A Bay Area technology firm specializing in electric vehicles is suing state energy regulators, accusing them of giving a monopoly over charging stations to an out-of-state power company. In March, the California Public Utilities Commission and Gov. Jerry Brown announced that the state settled a decade-old claim against Dynegy Inc. Dynegy at the time co-owned a fleet of power plants with NRG Energy Inc. that had allegedly overcharged the state for electricity during the energy crisis of 2000 and 2001.