plus 3, Leo Motors, Inc. Bought Electric Bus and Truck Company - Forbes

Leo Motors, Inc. Bought Electric Bus and Truck Company - Forbes
City wants to make towing firms tow line - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Future Truck: 2013 GMC Sierra 1500 - PickupTrucks.com
Leaf's limited use may come cheaper than Volt - Boston Globe

Leo Motors, Inc. Bought Electric Bus and Truck Company - Forbes

Posted: 22 Feb 2010 09:28 PM PST

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BusinessWire - Leo Motors, Inc. (OTC: LEOM), an automotive company engaged in the development, manufacture, and marketing of electric vehicles ("EVs") and EV components, has acquired a half interest plus all management rights of Leo BnT Co., Ltd., a Korean Corporation.

The newly acquired company will convert existing Internal Combustion Engine buses and trucks into electric ones and it will make its own designs of electric buses and trucks in the future. Leo BnT will use Leo's digital automobile technologies.

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The problems of existing electric buses have included an inability to run long distances up steep hills; sudden power loss immediately after achieving peak power, batteries that fail to work properly after charging several months, and prohibitive expense.

Leo BnT made a prototype of a full speed electric bus using LEOM's technology. The bus ran more than 65 mph and demonstrated that it can run more than 60 miles per single charge. Leo BnT's electric bus also did not experience a loss of power despite high speeds and navigation of 30-degree steep elevation mountain roads.

The video of the bus's test may be seen on the company's web site www.leomotors.com.

About Leo Motors, Inc.

Leo Motors has developed electric power for the electrification of various vehicles including scooters, motorcycles, full speed sedans, and highway speed buses. Leo Motors is also developing refuelable zinc air fuel cell.

Forward-Looking Statement

This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. In addition to statements which explicitly describe such risks and uncertainties, readers are urged to consider statements labeled with the terms "believes," "belief," "expects," "intends," "anticipates," "will," or "plans" to be uncertain and forward looking. The forward-looking statements contained herein are also subject generally to other risks and uncertainties that are described from time to time in the company's reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE: Leo Motors, Inc.

Princeton Research, Inc Mike King, 702-650-3000

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City wants to make towing firms tow line - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Posted: 22 Feb 2010 09:56 PM PST

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City Councilman Doug Shields plans to introduce legislation today to rein in Pittsburgh's private towing industry, targeting several companies that have for years charged upwards of $180 for a fee the city sets at $110.

The new legislation would require towing companies and their drivers to register for a business license, enabling the city to examine their sales and payroll records. The Department of Public Safety would approve or deny license applications, which would also create a mechanism for enforcing the oft-ignored current ordinance, said Mr. Shields.

"It's the same thing that we've done for other businesses that went astray here in the city of Pittsburgh," he said. "And it produces results."

The current city ordinance that regulates towing from private parking lots was enacted in 2000. It forbids companies from charging more than $110 for towing a passenger car and requires them to accept credit cards, but Mr. Shields said it is ineffective because there is no agency designated to enforce it.

"There's nothing in there that gives any regulatory oversight," he said.

Mr. Shields began collecting complaints about a year ago from drivers who said they were overcharged for towing, after a TV news station ran a story on the issue.

A Post-Gazette review of 50 such complaints -- 45 gathered by Mr. Shields and five gathered by a reporter -- determined that 42 of them were about two companies, Howard's Towing & Recovery and Allegheny Auto & Truck.

Managers at both companies acknowledged that they have charged more than $110 to tow cars from private lots but insist that they abide by city code.

Allegheny Auto & Truck manager Ron Johnson said last week that his company charges more if extra labor or equipment is needed. The ordinance outlines these charges for the city's towing company, McGann & Chester, but does not say that they apply to other operators.

And Joe Stickles, a manager at Howard's Towing & Recovery, said that his company charges more than $110 because that rate is unrealistically low.

"The towing law hasn't been revised in numerous years," he said.

The towing fees were last amended in August 1997. Mr. Stickles said he figured that applying a 4 percent rate increase each year since then would permit companies today to charge about $170.

In fact, in 27 of the 50 towing complaints, drivers said they were charged $180 by Howard's Towing & Recovery.

If Mr. Shields's bill is approved, towing companies and their drivers would need to obtain an annually renewable license to tow vehicles within city lines, regardless of where their company is located. To be licensed, companies would have to provide a state tax identification number and proof of personal injury and property damage insurance worth at least $250,000 per incident.

Mr. Stickles said that he was in favor of the legislation.

"I know a lot of other cities do it," he said.

Managers from several other towing companies reacted to the idea with skepticism, though.

Mr. Johnson said he supported licensing towing companies, but only if the application for a license was not overly restrictive and did not favor companies with city contracts.

Tom Wehmer, a manager at Stuckert's Towing and Gulf, said that the new ordinance would just create "more aggravation" for companies that already obey the law.

He said that consumer abuses arise because companies violate the ordinance, not because the ordinance is unclear.

"It's pretty cut and dry," he said. "There are a few unscrupulous operators out there who shall remain nameless."

Thirty-one of the 50 towing complaints were about Howard's Towing & Recovery, a Hazelwood company that has been in business for more than 15 years and tows from more than 200 lots in Pittsburgh.

Forty-three of the complaints claimed that a driver was charged more than $110 to retrieve their car; the average bill listed in those complaints was $183.49.

Nineteen of the complaints related to the type of payment that was accepted. With two exceptions, drivers said they were required to pay in cash.

Elaine Cassidy, a 35-year-old doctor from Point Breeze, was one of the drivers who filed a complaint about Howard's Towing.

She said that her car was towed in April during a brief trip the Starbucks inside Shadyside's Courtyard Marriott Hotel; the parking lot was full, so she pulled up alongside a wall.

A driver hooked his tow truck up to her Toyota Yarris while she was buying coffee, she said. Her keys were in the ignition and her car's engine was still running.

Ms. Cassidy said that the driver asked for $180 in cash to release her car and directed her to a nearby ATM.

"I almost burst into tears," she said. "I don't have that kind of money on me."

Mr. Stickles said this week that Howard's Towing & Recovery accepts credit cards, though their machine was broken recently.

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Future Truck: 2013 GMC Sierra 1500 - PickupTrucks.com

Posted: 22 Feb 2010 07:05 PM PST

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Future Truck: 2013 GMC Sierra 1500

Future Truck: 2013 GMC Sierra 1500
Rendering by Mark Stehrenberger for PickupTrucks.com

Because GM has allocated hundreds of millions of dollars to redesign its full-size pickups, we asked renowned automotive illustrator Mark Stehrenberger to take a stab at what these trucks could look like when they debut around 2013.

First up, the next-gen GMC Sierra 1500 half-ton.

We're told by sources that the Sierra will look significantly more different from the Chevrolet Silverado than it does today. The new Sierra features the new 3-bar grille that we've seen in spy shots of the 2011 GMC Sierra Heavy Duty pickups -- which officially debut next month at the NTEA Work Truck Show in St. Louis -- and styling cues from the blocky "urban-industrial' GMC Granite small people-mover concept that debuted at the Detroit auto show last month. A sleeker exterior is expected to contribute to improved gas mileage. GM is also studying whether automatically opening and closing the grille inlets of its full-size pickups could improve aerodynamics and mileage.

Powertrain improvements are expected to include wide use of direct injection across the Sierra's engine lineup including, we're told, a (maybe 7.0-liter?) new large-displacement V-8 gas engine. GM's next-generation full-size hybrid technology will also arrive by 2013, with more-efficient, stronger electric motors and batteries, giving the gas-electric trucks up to 50% better towing capacity.

Like their 2011 heavy-duty brothers, the next-generation Silverado and Sierra light-duty pickups will ride on all-new frames. Expect the HD pickups to receive all new sheetmetal that's similar to the light-duty pickups.

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Leaf's limited use may come cheaper than Volt - Boston Globe

Posted: 22 Feb 2010 01:57 PM PST

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"Seventy percent of drivers commute fewer than 40 miles per day and 95 percent go fewer than 70 miles per day," said Tracy Woodard, Nissan's director of government affairs. "For many, this car will fit their needs."

Nissan officials are preparing for sales of 50,000 the first year, many of which they anticipate going to current hybrid owners who will want to "move up" on the green scale. Woodward says all buyers will be eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit. Those who have garages and install a home charger (Nissan is partnering with AeroVironment for a home 220-volt system) are eligible for up to another $2,000 tax credit.

The 220-volt charger can be programmed (via a remote control) to come on during off-peak hours and delivers a full charge in eight hours. In a pinch, a 110-volt line will do the job in 16 hours. Fast-chargers (440 volts) can do an 80 percent charge in 26 minutes. Electric vehicle planners envision a network of those fast-chargers in parking garages, workplace and shopping-center parking lots, and, yes, even at dealers and gas stations.

"The fast-charge unit looks a lot like a gas pump," says Nissan's Perry. "You realize that most gas stations now make their money at their attached mini-mart. What better for them than to have you plugged in for a half-hour and buying coffee and a sandwich while you wait?"

(Bill Griffith/Boston.com)

Nissan expects to sell 50,000 Leafs during the first year, and will even offer it as a Hertz rental car in 2011.

How much for a charge? "Check your electric bill and see what you pay for a kilowatt hour," says Perry. According to Nissan, the wide range around the country is between 3 cents and 26 cents. Multiply your cost by 24 (for a 100 percent charge for a totally depleted battery) and you have your cost per 100 miles. Using a 20-cent per kWh rate, and my questionable math skills, that would cost $4.80 for a full charge (24x20) or the equivalent of 55 miles per gallon, figuring gas at $2.65 a gallon.

Perry says Nissan also will provide roadside assistance and envisions motoring-aid companies such as AAA having fast charge units on their trucks.

Nissan says top-speed will be set at 90 miles per hour on the Leaf. It was set at 3 mph on the prototype that's on tour because the car is one of only two in existence.

(Bill Griffith/Boston.com)

For that reason, we can't tell you how the Leaf drives but Nissan says it will feel like driving a normal compact sedan with sprightly acceleration thanks to the inherent high-torque characteristics of electric motors. It will be priced as a compact sedan, too, with final details to come in April. "The Leaf has the same basic footprint as a Prius," says Perry, "but it has better head, leg, and knee room because there's no transmission." The battery pack lies flat beneath the front seats and rear foot wells, a low placement of weight that helps stability and handling.

The battery packs are predicted to retain 70 to 80 percent capacity for 10 years; after that, they can be recycled for raw materials or used in massive energy-storage banks in wind farms and other alternative energy sites.

An overlooked benefit of EVs is their impact on manufacturers' mandated fleet mpg averages.

"You won't see those averages accomplished by a gas tax at the state or federal level," said IHS Global's Wolkonowicz. "You saw what happened when Governor Deval Patrick tried to raise the gas tax in Massachusetts. The politicians now are leaving it up to the manufacturers to get the job done."

For Nissan dealers, the Leaf doesn't appear to have major service needs, and service is a big part of dealership income. Instead of oil changes, maintenance will be for wear items such as brake pads, wiper blades, tires and struts and, eventually, battery packs.

Nissan, with a $1.4 billion government loan, is building a production facility in Smyrna, TN, that will employ 1,300 people and be capable of producing 150,000 Leafs a year and 200,000 battery packs. That's the future Perry is envisioning.

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