While the EPA mandated window sticker on a new car is a familiar feature, and we have become well acquainted with the testing that gives us comparative MPG (or now MPGe) ratings, those metrics are only one portion of how green a car may be considered. Other factors that are being taken into account with products like computers, consumer electronics and cell phones are now also being given consideration with the introduction of the EcoLogic label Chevrolet is putting on its cars, starting with the 2012 Sonic and extending to all Chevrolet vehicles in 2013.

The EcoLogic label provides a third-party verified review of the company's claims about other factors surrounding the materials and performance of the vehicle.

The Sonic example label (PDF) lists information about "Fuel-Saving Technology," "End-of-Life Recyclability," and "Responsible Management" and then notes the particular features the car has in these categories and explains how each is accomplished. As with the EPA's improved window stickers, more information will help consumers make better, more informed choices.

Stanford University researchers are working on a wireless EV charging technology that could eventually lead to highways that automatically charge vehicles as they drive over them. Such a technology could lead to a basically infinite range for EVs.

The wireless power transfer that the scientists are working on uses magnetic resonance coupling. Two copper coils are placed a few feet apart and tuned to resonate at the same frequency. One coil is connected to an electric current that generates a magnetic field that causes the other coil to resonate. This process leads to an electric current being transferred invisibly from the first coil to the second.

Previous studies have found the technology to be safe. The current is only transferred between the two in-tune resonators. People or objects standing near or between the coils would not be affected at all and even with obstacles in between, the two coils will still transfer the current without interruption.

MIT researchers have already been working on a stationary version of this technology for EV charging that transfers 3 kW to a parked car, but the Stanford researchers are taking the concept and modifying it to transfer 10 kW over a distance of 6.5 feet, or enough to charge an EV cruising down the highway. A series of coils connected to a current would be embedded in the highway with a receiving coil installed on the bottom of an EV. The receiving coils would resonate as the car drove along the road, continuously feeding the battery.

After running different mathematical models, the researchers figured out that a coil bent at 90 degrees and attached to a metal plate can transfer 10 kW to a twin coil 6.5 feet away. They say the efficiency of this wireless power transfer is 97 percent!

The researchers have filed a patent and will now move on to testing it in labs and then in real-world driving conditions to make sure it's completely safe and doesn't have any negative affects on other cars or drivers. Check out a video explaing the technology above.

via Physorg