Electric Cars
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Last December Saab fans all around the world received the grim news their beloved brand was filing for bankruptcy, despite the best attempts of its then-owner, Swedish Automobile, to find a buyer interested in paying off all of Saab’s outstanding debts and investing in new products. Since then administrators have been sifting through the remaining assets in order to help raise enough money to pay off creditors. One of these remaining assets is the Saab brand itself, which several firms around the world have been keen to get their hands on. Unfortunately, General Motors, a former parent...
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Job Training For Returning Vets: Installing Electric-Car Chargers
Industrial manufacturer Eaton Corporation, whose automotive business makes superchargers and many other parts, also supplies electric-car charging stations. Under a recent Federal contract, Eaton will provide those charging stations to various Federal locations--and the company is also working to...
John Voelcker -
First BMW i Store Opens in London, i3 Concept Gets New Interior
If you’ve ever visited central London in England and visited its famous Hyde Park, the chances are you’ve also seen one of BMW’s most prestigious showrooms, located along the highly-expensive and exclusive Park Lane. Now, weeks ahead of the BMW-sponsored 2012 London Olympic games...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Consumer Reports Hates 2012 Mitsubishi I’s Range: Is It Right?
Mitsubishi’s tiny egg-shaped electric car known as the 2012 Mitsubishi i is currently the cheapest electric car you can buy in the U.S. Starting at $29,125 before incentives, the 2012 Mitsubishi i features seating for four adults, a 16 kilowatt-hour battery pack, and an EPA-approved range of...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Nissan’s CO2 Fund Rewards 2012 Leaf Drivers The More They Drive
Talk to any electric car owner, and it’s likely they’ll tell you how little money they spend on running their plug-in car. For them, the switch to electric pays dividends in saved gas bills, but in Japan, a new scheme by Nissan takes it one step further, allowing electric car drivers to...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Hydrogen, Rotary Range-Extender For Mazda Electric Cars?
Rotary engines aren't known for their green credentials, but if Mazda's latest plans come to fruition, they may be granted another lease of life. Most frequently seen in Mazda's sports cars over the years, Wankel rotary engines are associated variously with ultra-smooth power, poor fuel economy...
Antony Ingram -
It's been a rough year for lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems, but the Massachusetts company is forging ahead. This morning, it introduced a new battery technology it calls Nanophosphate EXT, which A123 says can operate at extreme temperatures without requiring the degree of heating or cooling found in today's electric cars to keep the battery pack at the right operating temperature to protect the cells. Most electric and range-extended electric cars today--although not the current Nissan Leaf--have some form of "thermal conditioning," often liquid coolant and radiators, to remove excess...
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Superbus Electric 'Sports Bus' Now Road Legal, Ready For UAE
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's Superbus! Buses aren't normally the most exciting method of transport. Though popular in Europe, in the U.S. they're more often regarded as something to be avoided at all costs. Maybe we'd be more keen to ride the bus if it was a Superbus? It looks hugely cool...
Antony Ingram -
Bigger Batteries Key To Better Quick Charging For Electric Cars
To help make electric cars more palatable for long-distance driving, the 2012 Nissan Leaf SL and 2012 Mitsubishi i can be rapid-charged from empty to 80 percent full in around 30 minutes using specially-designed Chademo rapid charge stations. For those using them, rapid charge stations provide a...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Volt Owners: Here’s Why Your Delayed Charging Failed
this problem as resulting from high frequency ground currents
George Parrott -
Toyota Enters Electric Car Into Pikes Peak Hill Climb
This year’s annual Pikes Peak hill climb is shaping up to be something pretty spectacular for electric vehicle fans. After last year’s race, which saw the all-electric Yokohama HER-02 set a new course with a time of 12 minutes and 20 seconds, we’ve seen official entries already...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Reports Of Pruned EV Plans At Audi Off The Mark, Says Exec
Earlier this week a report from the UK’s CAR suggested that Audi had nixed production plans for an electric city car based on its A2 concept. In addition to this, the report went on to claim that plans for a production version of the smaller A1 e-tron concept were also being putting on the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Yesterday, Fisker Automotive, makers of the super-sexy 2012 Karma plug-in hybrid sports car, announced that it had just signed its 80th independent dealer. But Fisker’s 80th dealer, Fisker of Scottsdale, Arizona, isn’t owned by a local independent dealer chain. It’s owned by Penske Automotive. One of the largest and best known auto dealers in the world, Penske Automotive is a Fortune 500 company with approximately 16,000 employees. Around the world, it runs 336 different automotive franchises from 42 different brands, covering everything from everyday car brands like Toyota...
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Tesla Faces Dealer Opposition To Opening New Store In MA
This week has been a pretty good one for Californian automaker Tesla: it has shipped its first two production 2012 Model S sedans, announced a 45-day tour, and even sold out of its 2013 Model S Signature Edition sedans. But in Massachusetts, the luxury car maker faces an uphill struggle to open a...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2012 Nissan Leaf Becomes A Taxi In Sao Paulo City
It’s the largest city in Brazil, and the world’s seventh largest city by population, but now Sao Paulo can claim another first: it’s one of the few cities in the world where you can hail a Nissan Leaf electric taxi cab. Part of a pilot program between Sao Paul Municipality, the...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Audi R8 e-tron Spy Video: All-Electric Supercar On The Road!
Later this year Audi will start selling its first model to bear an “e-tron” badge, the eagerly anticipated R8 e-tron all-electric supercar. A prototype of the car was recently spotted at the Nürburgring race track in Germany and our sister site Motor Authority has just posted a...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2013 Chevy Volt Gets 38-Mile Electric Range, Higher 98-MPGe Rating
It may be hard to imagine, but the Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric car is about to enter its third model year. The new 2013 Chevrolet Volt will offer a slightly higher all-electric range, up from 35 to 38 miles. Its base price of $39,995 will not change. Next year's Volt will also receive a...
John Voelcker -
2008 Zap Xebra Electric Motorcycle Recalled (Again)
Back in 2009, we told you about the official National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recall of the 2008 Zap Xebra three-wheeled electric motorcycle. At the time, the NHTSA said the recall was to rectify an excessively long braking distance, which U.S. electric vehicle vendor Zap and the...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Chinese carmaker BYD is facing tough times ahead, following reports that its stock has fallen 43 percent since its February high. As China's figurehead for electric vehicles, BYD is best-known in the U.S. for its e6 electric crossover, and being part-owned by billionaire entrepreneur Warren Buffett. Read our first drive of the BYD e6 crossover Buffett bought a 10 percent stake in BYD back in September 2008, and the company initially seemed to be heading towards electric vehicles, pre-empting the moves of several other manufacturers. Falling stock The New York Times reports that BYD's stock...
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Tesla Plans 5,000 Model S 'Test Drives' In 45 Days, Starting June 23
This morning we told you about Tesla investor Steve Jurvetson, who, alongside Tesla CEO Elon Musk, became the first two official owners of a 2012 Tesla Model S. Up to this point, Tesla has been particularly guarded about giving test-drives of its all-electric sedan, with the only experiences to...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Chevy Volt Plug-In Sales Surge In CA, Outsells 'Vette Too
It's quite the morning for electric-car news today, but we didn't want to let one from yesterday slip by either. After a lumpy start to sales of the Chevrolet Volt, it appears that California dealers now can't keep the range-extended electric car in stock. According to an analysis of registration...
John Voelcker -
First 2012 Tesla Model S Delivered To Earliest Depositor Steve Jurvetson (Video)
Deliveries of the 2012 Tesla Model S electric sedan will officially begin on June 22. But the very first production Model S off the line has already been handed over to its new owner. It went to none other than venture capitalist and Tesla board member Steve Jurvetson, who is now driving it around...
John Voelcker -
Honda Fit EV Has Highest EPA Efficiency Rating Of Any Car
The 2013 Honda Fit EV has earned the highest EPA efficiency rating granted to any vehicle offered in the U.S.: 118 miles-per-gallon-equivalent. That's higher than the 2012 Mitsubishi i minicar, the previous record-holder at 112 MPGe, and considerably higher than the Nissan Leaf and Ford Focus...
John Voelcker -
GE Opens Electric & Plug-In Test Center In Eden Prairie, Minnesota
The most effective way of getting regular consumers to warm to electric vehicles, hybrids and other alternative fuel vehicles is to get them behind the wheel. The same applies to business customers, who may be in a position to buy a fleet of green vehicles to replacing ageing current fleets. That's...
Antony Ingram