Electric Cars
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Electric car makers go to great lengths to ensure that the high voltage batteries used in their cars are safe, even under fairly extreme circumstances. But just how far can you go to test lithium-ion cells to destruction? Well, if the video above is anything to go by, there's plenty you can do to destroy lithium-ion polymer cells, if you fancy a bit of fun. The duo in the video seem happy to 'carefully' over-charge cells, before whacking them with hammers to create explosions... or stabbing them with large bits of metal. Or, you could short the batteries to weld the ends together... but not...
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Chevy Volt Outsells Half The Cars On Sale; Is That Failure?
With the Chevrolet Volt racking up the highest sales last month since it launched--though the numbers were helped by incentives for both buyers and dealers--some of the "Volt is a flop" coverage has abated. Now, a post on the fan site GM-Volt.com points out that this so-called "sales failure" has...
John Voelcker -
Nissan e-NV200 Electric Van Headed To U.S. For Testing
Over the past year, we’ve seen quite a bit of Nissan’s e-NV200, an all-electric minivan, and its taxi-based variant. A cross between the gasoline NV2000, a minivan produced by Nissan in Europe and Japan to rival the Ford Transit, and the 2012 Nissan Leaf, we first heard about the...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Forget Better Place, Hook Your Electric Car To A Battery Trailer
Over the past few years, we’ve seen lots of innovative ways designed to help electric car owners travel beyond the range of a single charge without waiting for hours to refuel. For example, owners of the 2012 Nissan Leaf and 2012 Mitsubishi i can recharge their car’s battery pack to 80...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Incentives Good For Chevy, Volt Customers, And Dealers, Says Industry Reporter
Last month, Chevrolet sold a record-breaking 2,831 of its Volt plug-in hybrids, making it the top-selling plug-in car in the U.S. to date. No doubt helped by its recent ‘Happy Owner’ online ad campaign, as well as deals offering prices as low as $249 per month or less for a 24-month...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Triac Three-Wheeled Electric Motorcycle For Sale On eBay
Some curious vehicles have emerged on the electric vehicle market over the years, and few have been more curious than the Triac. We first wrote about the Triac three-wheel electric vehicle back in 2010. Made by Green Vehicles of Salinas, California, it touted a 100-mile range, an 80 mph top speed...
Antony Ingram -
Just how do you keep occupants of an electric car warm? That’s the question that automakers have been tackling for many years, as they bring mass-produced plug-in cars to market. Now BMW thinks it has the solution to keeping occupants warm in the middle of winter: infrared heating. The use of infrared heating was recently discussed by BMW engineers at a recent BMW innovation day event. Using targeted infrared radiation, BMW believes it can develop a system for electric cars that heat passengers directly, keeping them warm without wasting heat heating the rest of the car. In order to...
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CA Will Lead U.S. Electric Car Sales Until 2020, Report Predicts
Home to automakers like Tesla Motors and Fisker Automotive, California has been at the heart of every launch of every major plug-in car to go on sale to date. That’s because of the state’s generous incentives and support of plug-in cars, combined with tough air quality legislation...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
ZipCar Adds 2013 Honda Fit EV To San Francisco Car-Share Fleet
If you live in a busy city and don’t use a car on a daily basis, making use of a car-sharing service like ZipCar is certainly one of the greener ways to get behind the wheel of a car when you need to. It’s no surprise then, that ZipCar’s fleet already includes some of the greenest...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Independent Tests Show Nissan Leaf Electric Cars Lost Range In Hot Climates
Have Nissan Leafs in hot states suffered premature battery aging, or is the apparent loss in capacity down to a malfunction in the Leaf’s dashboard display? That’s been the question on the lips of Nissan Leaf owners worldwide after some owners in Phoenix, Arizona, began reporting that...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Mercedes-Benz B Class Electric Drive: Paris Auto Show Preview
Mercedes-Benz has dropped its 'E-Cell' designation for electric cars, and adopted the Electric Drive moniker previously seen on the electric Smart Fortwo, with a new electric B Class. Set to be unveiled at the Paris Auto Show next week, the B Class Electric Drive is the latest in a line of...
Antony Ingram -
Citroen DS3 Electrum: Paris Auto Show Preview
Citroens haven't been sold in North America since 1974, but in many ways their 'forbidden fruit' status makes them even more desirable. The French maker's current DS range doubly so--inspired by the elegant and beautiful DS that ran from the 1950s until the 1970s, each current DS exhibits typical...
Antony Ingram -
BMW might have a reputation for producing performance cars and sport sedans, but there's no denying that the company is also taking electric and plug-in vehicles seriously too. First came the electric MINI E, followed by the ActiveE, and the i3 and i8 plug-ins have been wowing auto show crowds for a few years now. Even more are set to join them over the next few years. Much of BMW's plug-in range will be appearing at this year's Paris Auto Show, towards the end of this month. BMW Concept Active Tourer Headlining the BMW stand is the Concept Active Tourer, a 1-Series sized plug-in hybrid...
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Legendary Rally Racer "Monster" Tajima Wants A 2012 Tesla Model S
When legendary hillclimb champion and 40-year motorsport veteran Nobuhiro ‘Monster’ Tajima entered into the 2012 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, it was the first time he had raced in an all-electric car. Sadly, Monster was forced to retire from the event, but last week, he got to...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
National Plug-In Day To Promote Electric Cars: This Sunday!
What are you doing this Sunday? If you're an electric-car advocate or fan, you probably already know that Sunday is the second annual National Plug-In Day. And if you're considering the purchase of a plug-in electric car--or just interested in learning more--you should definitely make a note to...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Will Sell 5 Models In 2016; Small SUV And Sports Car Added
Along with the news that Tesla expects to build 80 Model S electric cars this week, CEO Elon Musk also released a few more details of the company's plans for additional models in 2016. Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] has already said that it will launch the Model X crossover within the next year or so...
John Voelcker -
Nissan Leaf To Get Better Battery, No News On Capacity Loss
When it launched back in 2010, the Nissan Leaf electric hatchback was criticized for its high sticker price, due in part to its expensive battery pack. Now Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn has confirmed what had been widely rumored: Future models of the Nissan Leaf electric car will get an improved, cheaper...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Tesla CEO Musk: We'll Build 80 Model S Electric Cars This Week
The 2012 Tesla Model S all-electric sport sedan is now in a race with time. The first production Model S was delivered in June, and Tesla has cautiously been ramping up production numbers while trying to keep initial quality high. But the company has said repeatedly it will sell 5,000 of its new...
John Voelcker -
For those of you who like fast, expensive, all-electric sports cars, next year will be big. The Audi R8 e-tron will launch first, but it will soon be followed by the Mercedes-Benz SLS E-Cell, the all-electric conversion of its expensive gull-wing sports coupe. Now, Motor Authority has some spy photos of a prototype SLS E-Cell being tested on the fabled Nürburgring race track in Germany. Aside from a couple of small badges saying "E-Cell" and the lack of exhaust pipes, the electric SLS looks pretty much the same as the gasoline version--which sports a 405-hp, 5.5-liter V-8 engine. The...
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Smart Forstars Concept: Paris Auto Show Preview
Is this the most aggressive-looking Smart concept car yet? With a longer wheelbase, coupe-like roofline and frowning eyebrows over the headlights, it's certainly a step up from the usual squat city cars, and it gives us yet another indication of what the next generation ForTwo might look like...
Antony Ingram -
2012 Tesla Model S Shows Up On eBay, Will Owner Profit?
Well, that didn't take long, did it? It's not unusual to see rare and exclusive cars pre-sold to buyers before cars are delivered--the practice has been going on for decades, every time the latest supercar hits the streets. We didn't expect to see a 2012 Tesla Model S sold so soon, though--and with...
Antony Ingram -
Toyota Announces Financing, Lease Options For 2012 RAV4 EV
As one of the most highly anticipated new electric cars of 2012, the Toyota RAV4 EV combines the practicality of an SUV with an all-electric, Tesla-engineered drivetrain for impressive performance. When we drove the 2012 RAV4 EV back in August, we already knew Toyota was planning on selling it in...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Are Hybrid & Electric-Car Keyless Entry Fobs A Safety Hazard?
There's no question that the Chevy Volt has been through more than its share of travails. But with last month's Volt sales at an all-time high--though it's not clear they will continue at that rate--things have been looking up for the Volt. Now Ryan Turner, a Volt owner and regular reader of this...
John Voelcker -
U.S. Military To Order 1500 Electric Cars, Chevy Volts Included
It’s a well-known fact that President Obama is a fan of the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid. In fact, Obama has pledged to buy his own Chevrolet Volt when he leaves office, whenever that takes place. As Commander in Chief however, Obama will be pleased to see that the U.S. military isn’t...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield