Tesla Wins Deal With Toyota for EV Project

Tesla Wins $100 Million Supply Deal With Toyota for RAV4 EV

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By Alan Ohnsman - Jul 20, 2011 4:15 PM ET

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Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA), maker of electric Roadster sports cars, said today it reached a three-year agreement with Toyota Motor Corp. (7203) to supply powertrain equipment worth about $100 million.
Toyota, which previously agreed to pay Tesla $60 million to develop lithium-ion batteries and motors for use in an all- electric RAV4 sport-utility vehicle, is paying the additional funds for packs and motors for the vehicle that goes into production next year, Tesla said in a regulatory filing.
“Toyota has reasonable confidence Tesla is well-positioned within the battery-vehicle market,” said Alan Baum, principal of automotive consultant Baum & Associates in West Bloomfield, Michigan. The $100 million “isn’t a huge amount for Toyota, so this allows them, with only modest downside risk, to participate in what Tesla is doing.”
Toyota, the maker of the Prius, the world’s best-selling gasoline-electric hybrid, is planning next year to sell more electric-drive models, including a version of the Scion iQ subcompact and a plug-in version of the Prius that runs about 13 miles on battery power before the engine kicks in and the car starts running like a regular Prius.
The automaker bought a 2.9 percent stake in Tesla last year, as part of a deal in which the startup, led by Elon Musk, acquired a former Toyota-General Motors Corp. auto-assembly plant in Fremont, California.

Tesla’s Plans

Tesla is to begin making its Model S electric sedan by mid-2012 at the factory, where it will also make the battery packs and motors for the Toyota model. The plant was shed by GM when it filed for bankruptcy in 2009 and is not part of the current General Motors Co.
“This is just the next step as the relationship progresses,” said Mike Goss, a spokesman for Toyota’s North American engineering and manufacturing unit. Toyota hasn’t decided the final production site for the electric RAV4, he said. The gasoline-powered RAV4 is built at Toyota’s Woodstock, Ontario plant.
The supply agreement runs from 2012 through 2014, Tesla said. Khobi Brooklyn, a spokeswoman for Palo Alto, California- based Tesla declined to provide additional details of the contract.
Trading in Tesla shares was temporarily suspended prior to the filing. Tesla rose as much 9.1 percent. The company gained 80 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $28.69 in Nasdaq Stock Market Trading at 4 p.m. New York time after earlier touching $30.44. Toyota’s American depositary receipts, representing two ordinary shares, gained 9 cents to $84.33 in New York.
Tesla is scheduled to release second-quarter financial results on Aug. 3, according to the company’s website.
To contact the reporter on this story: Alan Ohnsman in Los Angeles at aohnsman@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jamie Butters at jbutters@bloomberg.net

Minimizing Air Conditioner Usage for MPG Boost

Minimizing A/C use

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I have had a rental car for the last two days. 2010 Chevy Malibu.

At first, I hated the idea of driving this car. Compared to our 2008 Jetta, I just knew that this car was going to be crap.

However, I am now eating my words.

I am almost completely sold on this car for the simple fact that the A/C system is incredible.

As an efficiency guru, I do my best to minimize A/C usage whenever possible. I do this by recirculating the air in the cabin and toggling the cooling function.

Unfortunately, the Jetta's A/C is kind of crappy to begin with. Secondly, it seems as though the air maintains its coolness for only a short time before it's warm again (with A/C off and circulate on). This frustrates me to no end. It's almost as if the car is poorly sealed or something.

I drove the malibu yesterday for about 30 minutes. With the air circulation on, I turned the A/C on for all of about 2 minutes when I first started driving. THE AIR REMAINED COOL FOR THE REMAINDER OF MY DRIVE.

I guess I'd also attribute a bit of this to the fact that the dash board of the malibu is white/beige and the jetta is dark grey/black.  In fact, the color of the Jetta itself is dark grey compared to the bright white of the malibu.

I am so pissed at my Jetta. So utterly disappointed, especially considering that the car's gaskets aren't even old, it's a 2008.


On an unrelated note, the malibu was also superior in that it is equipped with instant mpg readout on the instrument cluster. I found that the mpgs of the malibu were quite similar to that of the Jetta as well.

 

 

Freezer Breakfast Burritos

Freezer Breakfast Burritos

from: http://busycooks.about.com/od/breakfastmaindishes/r/freezerburrito.htm

You can vary the additions to this recipe for breakfast burritos. Add onions or frozen hash brown potatoes, omit the salsa, try using different types of cheese or flavored tortillas. The possibilities are endless!

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

· 12 eggs

· 2 Tbsp. butter

· 1 lb. pork sausage, cooked and drained

· 1/2 cup chunky salsa

· 2 cups Cheddar or Pepper Jack cheese

· 24 flour tortillas

Preparation:

In large skillet, melt butter. Beat eggs in large bowl and add to skillet. Cook eggs in butter, stirring frequently, until scrambled and set. Add cooked sausage and salsa to egg mixture and mix gently.

Warm tortillas as directed on package. Place about 1/2 cup egg and sausage mixture onto each tortilla and sprinkle with some cheese. Roll up each tortilla to make burritos, folding in the ends and rolling up. Place on parchment paper lined cookie sheets and freeze until solid. Then wrap individually and package in zip-lock freezer bags.

When you're ready to eat, unwrap the burritos, wrap loosely in microwave safe paper towel and heat in the microwave on high power for 1-3 minutes until hot and cheese is melted.

You can also thaw burritos in the refrigerator overnight, then wrap each in foil and bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes until hot. The thawed burritos can also be deep fried for 3-5 minutes until golden brown and crisp. 24 burritos