Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV)
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Let's make one thing clear right up front: I think the 2012 Tesla Model S is the coolest freaking car in the history of Western Civilization. I put down my $5,000 deposit more than two years ago. I've chugged the Tesla Kool-Aid, extra-large size. But after a 7-minute spin in a dark green Model S last week at the Tesla "Get Amped" test-drive tour stop in Mahwah, New Jersey, I have to conclude--sadly--that the car is not (yet) perfect. Yes, the acceleration was mind-boggling, the ride and handling were sublime, the in-dash technology is whiz-bang. But, in my humble (perhaps idiosyncratic)...
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2012 Nissan Leaf Electric Cars Offered At Up To $5,000 Off
dealerships are showing 2012 Nissan Leaf SL models at fully $5000 off MSRP
George Parrott -
Tesla Cuts Model S Production Goal For Third Quarter To 500, Analyst Reports
Tesla Motors said today it would cut the third-quarter production target for its 2012 Model S all-electric sport sedan, according to a stock analyst who follows the company. A report by Wunderlich Securities analyst Theodore O'Neill notes that Tesla is now saying it would probably only deliver 500...
John Voelcker -
China Still Plans To Dominate Electric Cars (Details To Come Later)
Five to eight years ago, Chinese carmakers were going to blast into the U.S. car market and sell huge volumes of inexpensive small cars--just like the Germans, Japanese, and Koreans before them. Then, two or three years ago, Chinese auto companies were going to leapfrog directly into electric cars...
John Voelcker -
Nissan Leaf Electric-Car Sales Slump: What's Happening Here?
Last year it was the Chevy Volt, which went through several months of slow sales before rebounding in the spring. This year, it's the Nissan Leaf, the world's highest-volume battery-electric car, whose U.S. sales have slumped to just 600 a month or less--and stayed there since early this year. Just...
John Voelcker -
2012 Tesla Model S Tests: 1 Hour Or Less Is Not A Review
Following its launch of the 2012 Tesla Model S, the Silicon Valley startup is now giving test drives to depositors who've put down $5,000--or more--for the all-electric luxury sport sedan. What Tesla hasn't done, as far as we're aware, is to provide Model S cars to automotive media outlets for...
John Voelcker -
The 2013 Honda Fit EV is a fun and well-executed little all-electric hatchback. It's quick, handles decently, gets the highest EPA efficiency rating of any vehicle on the market (118 MPGe), and its rated range of 82 miles is longer than that of the somewhat larger Nissan Leaf. Too bad you have very little chance of buying one. That's because the Honda Fit EV is a "compliance car," a vehicle built to ensure its maker meets California rules requiring sales of a certain number of zero-emission vehicles. 1,100 cars and no more Quizzed at the introductory drive event this week about prospects for...
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2012 Tesla Model S Electric-Car Deliveries To Start Today
They said it couldn't be done, but it looks like Tesla Motors has indeed pulled it off. If all goes to plan, at 3:30 pm Pacific today, CEO Elon Musk and other Tesla executives will hand over the keys of a new 2012 Tesla Model S to the first retail buyer to take delivery of the all-electric luxury...
John Voelcker -
2012 Tesla Model S: EPA Range Of 265 Miles, 89 MPGe Efficiency
Friday will be a big day for startup electric carmaker Tesla Motors. On that day, it will deliver its first 2012 Model S luxury sport sedans to retail customers in a big webcast event at its Fremont, California, assembly plant. But a couple of days beforehand, the EPA has issued the eagerly awaited...
John Voelcker -
Nissan Sticks With 20K Leafs In U.S. By End Of (Fiscal) Year
Electric-car sales are actually doing better than sales of hybrid-electric vehicles were at the same stage of their launch, though you'd never know it from much of the media. But the prevalent "electric-car-sales-are-disastrous" meme has caused carmakers to couch their predictions much more...
John Voelcker -
First 2012 Ford Focus Electric Delivered To Retail Buyer, Very Quietly
If reader response is any guide, there's a lot of interest in the 2012 Ford Focus Electric--which logged 12 sales last December and January but hasn't been heard from since. Now, it appears that the first retail customer has taken delivery of Ford's new all-electric compact hatchback. Very, very...
John Voelcker -
Would Battery Leasing Ease Sticker Shock On Costly Electric Cars?
There's no getting around it: Hybrids cost more than gasoline models, and plug-in electric cars cost a lot more than gas vehicles. Each type of green car cuts operating costs, either by raising gas mileage substantially or replacing gas costs with grid electricity that generally cuts the...
John Voelcker -
Most Chinese carmakers have backed away from plans to attack the U.S. market, and their hopes of dominating electric cars have slowed. But Chinese maker BYD continues to develop and test the e6 all-electric crossover utility it hopes to sell in the U.S. within a couple of years. Now, we've had the chance to take a brief drive in the latest, updated BYD e6--known internally as the BYD e6-B. Its front styling has a grille-like opening below the blanking panel, and the front bumper and lower body panel are restyled. We didn't get the usual full day's test drive, but were limited to several laps...
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Fast Charging Vs Battery Switching: Better Place Customer Compares
By far the most reasonable use for electric cars charged at home is for a regular commute. If the return journey is less than the range of the car, electric cars make complete sense. Battery topping up using Level 2 chargers in public areas is a bonus, but rarely make an impossible journey...
Brian of London -
Electric Cars: Some Are Real, Most Are Only 'Compliance Cars'--We Name Names
Since last year, you've likely heard a lot about electric cars. You'll hear much more in the years to come. But whether you're a fan or a foe, understand this: A few of the battery-electric cars you've heard about are "real"--meaning their makers want to sell as many as they can. But quite a few of...
John Voelcker -
Toyota RAV4 EV Teaser: Launch Details Coming Next Week
For people in the electric-car world, next week is a big deal. And Toyota is taking advantage of it. The company will formally launch its Toyota RAV4 EV next Monday at noon Pacific (3 pm Eastern) at the 26th International Electric Vehicle Symposium (EVS26), which takes place in Los Angeles from...
John Voelcker -
2012 Ford Focus Electric: First Drive
The 2012 Ford Focus Electric is the company's first-ever production battery-electric vehicle, and that alone makes it noteworthy. But the fact that it's also pleasant to drive--somewhat on the fun side of unremarkable--means that it's the first compact all-electric competitor to the Nissan Leaf...
John Voelcker -
2012 Ford Focus Electric: Small Ad Budget Due To Low Sales Of Volt, Fisker
Earlier this week, Ford announced it had signed a deal with troubled Internet content provider Yahoo to stream 10 episodes of an Internet reality show centered on its 2012 Ford Focus Electric. Called Plugged In, the show will send teams of contestants to various U.S. cities in Ford's battery...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
One of the surprise stars of the New York Auto Show media days this week was the Infiniti LE Concept. The design study for an electric four-door sedan is a close approximation of a car that will roll off assembly lines in Smyrna, Tennessee, in about two years. And it poses an intriguing question: Could the Infiniti LE be the closest competitor for the upcoming Tesla Model S? While Infiniti is far from announcing final specs or pricing, the LE Concept is intriguing because it slots neatly into a vacant spot in the rapidly expanding array of battery-electric vehicles on sale or coming to the...
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2012 Ford Focus Electric To Do Cross-Country Road Trip
Men's Health magazine will drive a 2012 Ford Focus Electric from New York to Los Angeles, recharging 40 to 55 times along the way.
John Voelcker -
Infiniti Zero Emission Coupe Concept To Debut At NY Auto Show
Infiniti has been on something of a product blitz lately, launching its 2013 JX seven-seat crossover this month and a host of concept cars over the last year. Now it has confirmed it will show a new concept at the 2012 New York Auto Show two weeks hence: the Infiniti Zero Emission Concept Coupe. We...
John Voelcker -
Chevrolet Spark EV Tested In California, Details Unavailable
It used to be that testing prototype and development cars was done in secret, under heavy camouflage, away from photographers. Now it's a public relations ploy, it seems, complete with QR codes on the sides of distinctively marked engineering vehicles and a promotional blog entry. So if you see...
John Voelcker -
2014 Volkswagen Golf Electric Model Confirmed For Late 2013
Volkswagen has confirmed that an all-electric version of its Golf compact hatchback will go on sale in the U.S. late next year as a 2014 model. The president of Volkswagen of America, Jonathan Browning, gave the news to industry trade journal Automotive News (subscription required) during last...
John Voelcker -
2012 Coda Sedan Production Starts; 88-Mile Range, 73 MPGe Efficiency
While the company didn't make its self-imposed deadline for first customer deliveries in February, Coda Automotive has a different reason to celebrate today. At 10:25 am Pacific time, the first production 2012 Coda Sedan electric car is set to drive off the assembly line at its plant in Benicia...
John Voelcker