Electric Cars
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Steve Fambro, the man behind the revolutionary and futuristic design that was the Aptera 2e electric car, 2h plug-in hybrid and 2g ultra-high mpg gasoline car, is breaking silence and giving his first public interview today on the online green transport show TransportEvolved. Hosted by our very own Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield, the show will talk with Fambro about his time at the company, as well as hopefully clear up some confusion surrounding when and where Aptera prototype body shells were destroyed by Aptera employees. The show airs live at 3pm Eastern, and will be available shortly afterwards...
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CA To Require Zero-Emission Vehicles On Top Of Gas-Mileage Rules
The NHTSA and EPA are closing in on their final rules for 2017-2025 corporate average fuel economy regulations, but there's a wild card in the pack. California, which has the authority to set its own emissions laws, is going along with the proposed gas-mileage levels, which will take 2025...
John Voelcker -
2012 Mitsubishi i Electric Car May Be Coming To Your State Sooner Than You Think
Mitsubishi is so pleased with the reaction to its 2012 i electric car that it has decided to move its plans to launch the car nationwide forward by six months. The four-seat subcompact hatchback, which retails at between $29,125 and $33,915 before Federal or local incentives, wasn’t due to be...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Rinspeed Dock+Go Concept Adds Versatility To Smart Electric Drive
Rinspeed's latest concept would add both range and functionality to the Smart Electric Drive.
Kurt Ernst -
GM Said To Be Close To Design For Volt Battery Pack Modification
Engineers at General Motors are close to finalizing a set of design modifications to the Chevrolet Volt battery pack to prevent later fires in packs that have been severely damaged in accidents. The updates come in response to two fires in lithium-ion Volt battery packs that were compromised during...
John Voelcker -
Smart For-Us Pickup Concept: Detroit Auto Show Preview
It's not easy being small. You go unnoticed in crowds and have to ask taller people to reach objects on high shelves for you. With cars though it's not always a bad thing, or at least that's what Smart will tell you. When your business is making small cars, you extol the virtues inherent in lack of...
Antony Ingram -
At the end of last week we broke the news that Aptera, the company responsible for the futuristic three-wheeled electric car known as the Aptera 2e was closing down. Now a series of YouTube videos have surfaced showing people we assume to be Aptera employees wilfully destroying Aptera body shells with a forklift truck, presumably so they could not be reused following the company’s closure. In a move reminiscent of the scene in the 2005 remake of Fun with Dick and Jane, the video shows several unidentified workers destroying Aptera body shells. But the destruction wasn’t like the...
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Nissan Opens Reservations For Leaf Electric Cars In 7 More States
Believe it or not, December 12 will mark one year since Oliver Chalouhi of Redwood City, California became the first U.S. owner of a production 2011 Nissan Leaf. For some Nissan Leaf fans however, December 12 marks the additional year that they’ve waited to be able to buy the all-electric...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Nissan Exec Calls Electric Leaf Pollution "Bull"
We all know that electric cars have zero tailpipe emissions, but the claim that electric cars move the pollution from the tailpipe to the power station chimney has long been a cornerstone of arguments against the electric car. But in an unusually candid moment at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show, Nissan...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2014 Nissan Leaf Will Cost Less, Go Wireless, Travel Further, Be Smarter
Last week we told you that Infiniti, Nissan’s luxury brand, would be including wireless inductive charging on the option list for its first electric car. Now Nissan has confirmed that the 2014 Leaf will also be able to wirelessly recharge itself using a suitable inductive charging station...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Tesla Roadster Owners Soon To Get iPhone App Thanks To Tech-Savvy Fans
Nearly every electric car on the market today comes with technology that enables you to remotely start its charging cycle, pre-cool the cabin, or check its state of charge using a smart phone or computer. But while owners of the $109,000 Tesla Roadster aren’t among those who had smart-phone...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Volt Owners Speak Up, Say It's Safe, Rave About Their Electric Cars
It's been a tough few weeks of publicity for the Chevrolet Volt, the extended-range electric car that's the green halo vehicle at General Motors. Now, despite sales below GM's announced target and an NHTSA inquiry into fires in the lithium-ion battery pack several weeks after they were involved in...
John Voelcker -
On Friday, Aptera CEO Paul Wilbur sent out an email with the news that the Aptera 2e -- the all-electric, two-seat, ultra-efficient car we’ve awaited for nearly five years -- wouldn’t be making it into production. As the long, drawn-out story that has been Aptera’s existence finally comes to a close, what can other small electric-car companies learn from Aptera’s collapse? And what does Aptera’s failure to materialize mean for electric-car buyers? It’s easy to be a large fish in a small pond... When the Aptera 2e electric car (and 2h plug-in hybrid) were...
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Nissan Pivo3 Concept: New Ideas For A Production Electric Minicar
At first glance, Nissan’s Pivo3 concept from this week’s Tokyo Motor Show looks pretty wild: Seating is staggered, with the driver ahead of two passenger seats; wheel-hub motors provide power; and aggressively configured four-wheel steering that allows the Pivo3 to be turned on a dime—well, a...
Bengt Halvorson -
Aptera Shutting Down For Good
Aptera has just released a statement, saying it will shut down operations today. As recently as two years ago, the southern California-based Aptera had plans to introduce an electric car and to sell up to 10,000 copies a year. It had even hoped to received approval for some of the same federal...
Martin Padgett -
New Electric Sports Car Does 0-60 In 2.3 Seconds, But There’s A Catch...
Earlier on today we caught wind of a brand new electric car hitting the market just in time for the New Year. With classic sports car styling, a 0-60 time of 2.3 seconds and a price tag of $1100, it could make the perfect gift for the electric car fan that has everything. But while the Traxxas XO-1...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Today's Volt Update: GM Buyback, Owners Rally, Sales Goal Unmet
Phew. Yesterday was quite a day indeed in Chevy Volt land. A bevy of news items hit the wires, following Monday's offer of loaner cars to Volt owners who weren't comfortable with their cars' safety until the NHTSA finishes its investigation into battery-pack fires in cars that had been wrecked in...
John Voelcker -
Electric-Car-Hating Top Gear Names Fisker Karma Luxury Car Of The Year
For as long as we can remember, there’s been an ongoing love-to-hate relationship between the BBC's Top Gear show and electric cars. Until yesterday that is, when Top Gear Magazine caught everyone off guard by announcing that its Luxury Car of The Year was none other than the $95,900 Fisker...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Admit it: You like the 2012 Nissan Leaf, but you yearn for the extra performance and sporting pedigree of Nissan’s custom-built, mid-engined, Nissan Leaf Nismo RC race car. Sadly, you’re unlikely to ever be given the chance to own your very own Nissan Leaf Nismo RC, but Nissan has just announced that it plans to bring a race-inspired street-legal version of the Leaf to market that will give you the extra performance you yearn for. Unveiled at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show, the Leaf Nismo concept is a cross between a conventional Nissan Leaf and its race-going sibling. Wearing 18-inch...
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November Plug-In Car Sales: Volt Sparks, Leafs Fall
It's the first of the month again, and that means: It's sales report time! Last month, Chevrolet sold 1,139 Volts and Nissan sold 672 Leafs. The November numbers bring totals for 2011, with only December left, to 8,720 Leafs delivered (plus 18 last December) and 6,142 Volts (plus 326 last...
John Voelcker -
Chevy Volt Electric Car Owners Most Satisfied, Consumer Reports Says
Despite the NHTSA inquiry into battery-pack fires following severe crash tests of the Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric car, the car's 5,000 or so owners to date seem to be unworried. Comments on Volt owner forums largely dismiss worries about any risk of fire during accidents, and many owners...
John Voelcker -
2012 Mitsubishi 'i' Electric Car: Woody Trim And Surfboards Too! (Video)
We look at a lot of concept and production cars during auto shows, but rarely does one make us laugh right out loud. The special version of the 2012 Mitsubishi 'i' electric car on display at the Los Angeles Auto Show a couple of weeks ago, however, did just that. Perhaps in honor of southern...
John Voelcker -
Would A 'Vette Tempt You Away From Your Electric Volt?
With GM's generous offer of a free loaner vehicle should you be concerned about the safety of your Chevy Volt, we're sure many will take the opportunity to pick a car with similar utility. A Cruze or Malibu, perhaps. Maybe even a Sonic if economy and around-town trips are a priority. Some people...
Antony Ingram -
2014 Infiniti Electric Subcompact Car Will Have Wireless Charging
Infiniti, Nissan’s luxury brand, has always been open about its plans to bring a luxury subcompact electric sedan to market some time before 2015. But now it has let slip that its first all-electric car will come with inductive charging just as the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show gets underway. Using...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield