ATTENTION ALL CURRENT ENERTIA OWNERS:

First off, if you are not a part of the Brammo Owner’s Forum, you should be.  You do not have to be an Enertia owner to join the Brammo Owner’s Forum. Here you can talk to other Enertia owners and aspiring Enertia/Enertia Plus/Empulse owners.  Actual Brammo employees are forum members too, so you can post any questions you have about the Brammo Inc. and its products here.

Secondly, a new map has been created on the forum for Enertia owners to indicate what city they live in.  This will allow for Enertia owners to plan rides, share charging station locations, share riding routes and do some good old fashion networking.  If you have a fear of stalkers or if you are part of the witness protection program, I suggest not sharing your location with the world.

To learn more about Brammo, please visit www.brammo.com

To check out the Owner’s Forum, please visit http://brammoforum.com/

This spring over 10,000 young people will converge on Washington, DC to stand up to the dirty energy sources that are harming the health of people and the planet. These people are ready to lead our country to a clean energy future. They are demanding real change on energy and climate and are refusing to stop until it is achieved. Young leaders, entrepreneurs, student government leaders, social justice advocates and blue-collar workers – are signing up for the launch of critical, focused, and strategic campaign efforts in their communities.

Each participant will head to Power Shift not only as an individual committed to seeing political change, but as an activist and leader eager to build the specific skill set required to return and lead their community towards tangible and visible change over the course of the next two years. Power Shift’s mission is to build the green economy city by city, to transform higher education, to join forces on the ground with our religious and local community leaders so together we can build the future we know is essential for our long term success as a nation.

To learn more about Power Shift 2011, please visit www.powershift2011.org/

To learn more about Brammo, please visit www.brammo.com

Since 2009 oil prices have nearly tripled.  Due to the unrest in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, oil prices are now expected to skyrocket.

On February 8, 2011 the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted that gasoline prices will rise 37 cents per gallon to an average of $3.15 this year.  This forecast has already been proven to be too low, for the current national average is $3.17 a gallon.

Carmakers now appear better equipped for costly fuel. Since 2009 they’ve made their biggest fuel efficiency gains in a generation. In 1986 passenger cars got an average of 28.2 miles per gallon, in 2005 it was 30 miles per gallon and last year the average neared 34. The Environmental Protection Agency said 2009 gains in fuel economy were the largest since its data series began in 1975.  This average is expected to jump in the next few years.  The Prius gets 50 miles per gallon and the Chevy Volt’s efficiency, converted to gasoline terms, works out to 93 miles per gallon.

Americans bought more than 16 million vehicles a year before the recent recession.  Now sales have plunged to a pace of fewer than 10 million a year. JD Power projects sales this year of 13 million vehicles. JD Power predicts the continued rise in oil prices could send demand for electric vehicles climbing faster than expected.

Source:  http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mideast-unrest-could-jumpstart-electric-car-sales-1298560473383

To learn more about Brammo’s electric vehicles, please visit www.brammo.com!

Gas Prices Likely To Keep Rising: MyFoxNY.com

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Gas prices are going up.  Soon enough we will all be paying $4.00 a gallon.  Crude oil prices are the highest they’ve been in more than two years as the turmoil in Libya continues.

Libya has the largest oil reserves in Africa and is the first OPEC country to see protests among the recent unrest in the Middle East. (OPEC is the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. The members collaborate to manage the exportation of their crude oil.) It is almost certain that the export of oil out of Libya will be reduced.  This reduction of exportation combined with the high demand of crude oil will force prices to go up.

In the next few weeks it is predicted that gas prices will rise 4 to 6 cents.  Last Wednesday gas prices rose by 1 cent overnight and in the week after Hosni Mubarak resigned, gas prices rose five cents.

To learn more about Brammo’s electric vehicles, please visit www.brammo.com.

To learn more about how you can Go Green by avoiding the gas pump, please visit http://www.brammo.com/green/

According to an article that was published by cleanenergyauthority.com, 30 to 40 percent of the downtown areas in U.S. cities area are made up of parking lots.  American Clean Energy and Envision Solar have announced that they will be teaming up to create a new product called the Solar Tracking Tree.  This product combines solar tracking technology with an electric-vehicle charging station.  New Jersey will be the first state in which these products will be tested.   Most solar panel tracking systems operate on a fixed-tilt mechanism, the Solar Tree panels however moves on a pivot to stay with the motion of the sun. “Our unique, patented design coupled with American Clean Energy’s lease option should result in solar energy taking root to cover blacktop and concrete parking lots in New Jersey for the benefit of customers, patrons, employees and the environment,” said Robert Noble, Envision Solar’s CEO.

It is believed that these solar charging panels will help cities utilize the “wasted space” that parking lots currently create.  By installing these panels, cities will be able to generate power for electric vehicles while at the same time providing shade for the vehicles that are parked underneath them.

“The problem, particularly with smaller commercial solar canopy deployments to date, has been the inability to attain scale and scope economies,” said Steve Morgan, CEO of American Clean Energy. “Every installation until now has been a one-off design with a one-off PPA/financing arrangement. This product offering delivers to the promise of an attractive and functional solar canopy with financing ‘in-a-box’. Construction activities are reduced to simple foundation construction, Solar Tree erection and electrical interconnection.

According to American Clean Energy, each Solar Tree generates enough energy to remove 15 tons of CO2, replace the usage of 1,600 gallons of gas and power 2.5 homes.

Electric vehicle drivers in Oregon could be subject to an Odometer Tax if House Bill 2328 is passed.

Oregon currently charges a 6% gas tax on all gas purchases in the state.   The funds that are generated from this tax goes towards the upkeep of Oregon roads.   Right now electric vehicle drivers do not have to pay the gas tax.

“We have to make sure that they are contributing to the cost of the roads that they are driving on,” said state Rep. Terry Beyer, a Springfield Democrat and chairwoman of the state Road User Fee Task Force, which recommended the tax legislation.

Public concerns have surfaced, though. Many have criticized the potential for an expanding bureaucracy. The original Bill proposed that the government will monitor people’s odometers using GPS technology capable of tracking motorists’ movements.  This of course brought up many privacy issues.

There are also others who feel that the per-mile fee that is being purposed is too high and exceeded what a similar vehicle would pay in gas taxes.

The State has attempted to tackle some of these concerns by proposing the following:

• An option of tracking and reporting miles driven to protect drivers’ privacy by avoiding the use of “vehicle location technology.” Instead, that option is likely to rely on technology to transmit remotely miles driven as recorded by the vehicle’s odometer.

• Miles travelled out of State  will be recorded using an “honor system” log book or other method of documenting miles driven off of Oregon roads so they can seek a refund for the fee paid on that travel.

It is estimated that by 2017, the number of hybrid and electric vehicles in Oregon will reach 26,500.

Marie Dodds, spokeswoman for AAA Oregon/Idaho, said her group supports the concept in HB 2838 as a way to ensure electric car drivers pay for the roads they use. But not all future electric car drivers feel that way.

Obama’s fiscal 2012 budget proposes that $200 million in federal grants should be given to 30 communities across the U.S. to advance electric vehicle (EV) use through fleet purchases, infrastructure investment and streamlined regulations. These 30 communities will help the administration reach its goal of putting 1 million advanced-technology vehicles on U.S. roads by 2015.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu believes that these funds will help the U.S. “decrease our dependence on imported oil.” It is estimated that these grants will increase spending for vehicle technologies by 88 percent to $588 million beginning Oct. 1.

Possible uses for the grants include local parking and high-occupancy vehicle access incentives, partnerships with large employers and work force training.

Skeptics of this proposal have questioned whether the government and automakers can overcome consumer concerns about EV prices, lack of charging stations and high battery costs.  These concerns can be eased through educating people about the myths and the truths of electric vehicles.

Brammo in D.C.

Brammo Inc. is doing its part to help achieve the administration’s goal of 1 million EVs by 2015.  To learn more about Brammo and its exciting line of electric vehicles, please visit www.brammo.com.

SOURCE

There are fewer moving mechanical components in an electric vehicle than a conventional internal combustion-engined vehicle.  This means electric vehicle owners will spend far less time and money on maintenance.

Here are the top 25 items that usually require inspection, maintenance or replacement during the 10-year, 150,000-mile life of a conventional car that the driver of a typical electric vehicle will never have to worry about:

Air filter
Alternator
Battery
Clutch
Fuel filter
Fuel injectors/fuel pump
Motor mounts
Motor oil
Muffler
Oil filter
O2 sensors
Power steering fluid
Radiator
Radiator hose, lower
Radiator hose, upper
Serpentine belt
Spark plugs
Spark plug wires
Starter
Thermostat
Timing belt
Transmission adjustment (automatics)
Transmission filter (automatics)
Transmission fluid or oil
Water pump

Looks like going electric is good for the environment and for your wallet.

To learn more about Brammo and its exciting range of electric vehicles, please visit www.brammo.com

source

The air district and local governments of the Bay Area have been scrambling to put in place the infrastructure that electric vehicles require. There are currently 402 public charging stations that are being installed in public areas. These charging stations are fast-charging stations that are able to bring an electric car battery to 80 percent of its full charge in about 20 minutes.

“What’s going to ultimately happen is you’re going to charge where you play, where you eat, where you shop,” said Ecotality Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Read.  Ecotality Inc., with headquarters in San Francisco, received a grant from the air district on February 3, 2011 – $2.9 million. Coulomb Technologies of Campbell received $350,000. The air district gave $500,000 to AeroVironment Inc. of Monrovia (Los Angeles County) and $175,000 to ClipperCreek Inc. of Auburn (Placer County). Through these grants, Bay Area Air Quality Management hopes to grow the electric vehicle infrastructure up and down the spine of the West Coast.

Source:  http://articles.sfgate.com/2011-02-03/business/27098402_1_coulomb-technologies-electric-car-chevrolet-volt

To Learn more about Brammo, please visit www.brammo.com.

Here is a link to a Taiwanese forum discussing Brammo. 

Basically people are talking about how Brammo/JCAM attended the Hong Kong Motorcycle Show in 2010.  They are also talking about how Brammo’s bikes are becoming more popular in North America and that they hope to see Enertias soon in Taiwan.  The people on the forum also discuss how the Hong Kong police are going to purchase Enertias for the Hong Kong Police Fleet!

It’s pretty cool to see Brammo going international!