Electric Cars

  • 2011 Nissan Leaf - battery pack cutaway

    There has undoubtably been a lot of work put into battery technology in the last few years as more and more electric vehicles hit the scene. One of the current trends is to use varying numbers of lithium-ion (Li-ion) cells, similar to those you'll find in a laptop computer. They offer numerous advantages, such as higher storage capacity than other battery types, greater output, and compact size meaning they can be installed in a variety of locations throughout a car, allowing engineers to better package a vehicle. They aren't perfect though, and that's why constant work towards the batteries...

  • First 2011 Nissan Leaf delivered to buyer, San Francisco, Dec 2010, photo by Eugene Lee
    First 2011 Nissan Leaf Delivery, To Northern Californian Buyer

    The first page of a new chapter in green-car history was written yesterday, as Nissan formally handed over a 2011 Leaf electric car to Olivier Chalouhi of Redwood City, California. He was the very first person in the U.S. to order the all-electric vehicle, and the first to take delivery. Leaf...

  • Revenge Of The Electric Car
    Revenge Of The Electric Car Trailer: Watch It Now! [Video]

    It's finally here! Well, the trailer is anyway... We announced just under a month ago that the long awaited sequel to the film Who Killed The Electric Car?, the logically titled Revenge Of The Electric Car (ROTEC), would be previewed with a trailer released when 10,000 people became fans of the...

  • 2011 Coda Sedan electric car, 'All Electric' badge, 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show
    Naming Electric Cars And Companies: Is Anything Good Left?

    Naming new car models is always tough. The latest head-scratcher is GM's decision to rebrand the replacement for its Aveo subcompact as the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic, a name better associated in the U.S. with hedgehogs or hamburgers. But that's nothing compared to the challenge of naming electric-car...

  • Takayanagi Miluria retro EV
    2011 Nissan Leaf? Far Too Boring In Japan...

    If it ever really needed to be said, Japanese car tastes can be... "alternative", to put it in polite terms. As well as their Kei-Jidosha class of city cars that are absolutely miniscule compared to U.S. monsters, the country has produced some fairly crazy production cars over the years. That trend...

  • EV1 spotted on Google Earth
    As 2011 Chevrolet Volt Nears Dealers, Ghostly EV1 Gets Enthusiasts Excited

    Just as the excitement is growing over the first dealer deliveries of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt and 2011 Nissan Leaf, eagle-eyed EV enthusiasts have spotted General Motor’s previous electric car on Google’s Street View. Is it serendipity or a more carefully timed disclosure to coincide...

  • Dealer

    As any businessman will tell you, understanding your market is the key to selling your product. So as automakers worldwide ramp up electric car production ahead of a mass launch of plug-in vehicles they are seeking the answer to one very important question: What sort of person buys electric cars? Thanks to a survey commissioned by General Electric It turns out then that greens, gloaters and geeks are drawn to the electric car. Those wishing to save money are put off by high purchase prices. But is the data realistic of real life? As with any form of statistics it is very hard to get a...

  • 2011 Tesla Roadster Sport 2.5
    No Engine, No Brand Identity? Electric Cars And Branding

    Let us run a few engines past you. A warbling flat six. A growling V8. The howl of an inline four changing cam profiles. The smooth buzz of a rotary. How about some names now? Hemi. Vortec. Powerstroke. VTEC. Renesis. Ecoboost. Noticing a pattern? The first list is clearly engine layouts, and the...

  • 2011 Nissan Leaf Kid's site
    Nissan’s Kid-Friendly 2011 Leaf Electric Car Site: Pestering Propaganda?

    If you’re a parent you’ll know how eager companies are to convince your kids how important their product is. Be it the latest toy, a new film release or even a holiday location, advertising companies know that pester power is one of the most effective ways to get a parent to make a...

  • 2011 Wheego Whip LiFe electric car
    Can U.S. Buyers Warm To Two-Seat Battery Electric City Cars?

    Is small the new large? In the next few months we’ll see three different electric vehicles hit the market from automakers keen to break into the city car market. But historically two-seat cars have made up less than 2% of total U.S. car sales. Why would an electric car be any different?...

  • 2011 Nissan Leaf
    First 2011 Nissan Leaf To Be Delivered To Customer on Dec 11

    Just days after Nissan confirmed that customer deliveries of the 2011 Leaf would commence in Japan on December 20, Nissan USA has confirmed that the very first customer vehicle will be delivered in a few days’ time, on December 11. The delivery will be to an unnamed Northern Californian...

  • 2009 BYD F3DM
    Who Killed The Chinese Electric Car? BYD Looks Away from EVs

    The F3e is officially dead. According to sources cited by China Business News, the battery firm turned electric-car maker has ceased plans for commercial production of its four door electric sedan. There has been little mention of the all-electric sedan since its plug-in hybrid sibling, the F3DM...

  • Smart Electric Drive at Hertz Global EV rental launch, New York City, December 2010

    As it gears up to offer electric cars in selected rental fleets across the country, Hertz has dribbled out details of how its Global EV program will actually work. Today we learn that New York City will be the first region to receive the electric and plug-in hybrid rental cars, with rentals to start in Manhattan next Wednesday, December 15. San Francisco and Washington, DC, will follow shortly, with other regions to be added during 2011. At a launch event just south of Times Square in Manhattan this morning, Hertz officials and automaker representatives huddled to stay warm in the biting wind...

  • Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric car - front - December 2008
    Are Electric Cars Coming to Your Dealer? It Depends Who You Ask

    What happens when you take a single electric car and distribute it through three different dealers in the same city? On paper we’d assume that three dealers vying for customers looking to buy the 2011 Mitsubishi i would breed healthy competition, lower prices and excellent deals...

  • 2011 Chevrolet Volt test drive, Michigan, October 2010
    2011 Chevrolet Volt Rolls Down The Production Line [Video]

    We've already taken a behind-the-scenes look at how the 2011 Nissan Leaf electric car is produced with a "how it's made" video at the maker's Oppama factory in Japan. Now comes the turn of Chevrolet's Volt, with the release of a short time-lapse video in celebration of the official start to...

  • First 2011 Chevrolet Volt built on production tooling at Detroit Hamtramck plant, March 31, 2010
    GM Doubles Down on Electric Cars, Will Hire 1,000 Engineers For Them

    It doesn't really matter whether GM sells the first Chevrolet Volt electric cars at a loss or not. The company announced yesterday that it plans to hire 1,000 new engineers over the next two years to focus exclusively on developing and expanding its work in electric-drive vehicles, everything from...

  • Artist Laurence Gartel's Tesla Roadster for Art Basel Miami 2010
    Forget The Tate Gallery, Artist Turns Tesla Roadster Into Moving Exhibit

    Many would argue that the 2011 Tesla Roadster Sport 2.5 is a work of art, with its smooth lines, low profile and breathtaking performance. But one digital artist has taken the Californian electric sports car to a whole new level - by turning one into a work of art. Created as part of Art Basel...

  • Renault Twizy Concept
    Europe's First iAd With 2012 Renault Twizy Electric Car

    If there's one gadget that seems to go hand in hand with electric cars, it's Apple's iPhone. We've seen apps that allow you to place reservations and even customise your order, apps that allow you to keep track of charging and even switch on your aircon or heater remotely, and earlier in the year...

  • Pope Benedict XVI (via PacificCoastNews)

    He’s the Pontiff to over 1.6 billion people worldwide. But until now, His Holiness The Pope has attended appointments in his fleet of heavily modified and heavily armored Mercedes SUVs. But the Vatican told the press earlier to day that His Holiness was keen to partake of the pleasures of electric motoring. Nick-named the “green pope” by many in the Vatican City, Pope Benedict XVI is no stranger to environmental issues. In 2008 the Vatican installed solar panels on its roof as well as a solar cooling unit for its main cafeteria a year later. In keeping with a long tradition...

  • Rinspeed BamBoo Concept
    2011 Geneva Motor Show Preview: Rinspeed BamBoo Concept

    Best known for its construction of oddball but impressive concepts like the James Bond-esque underwater sQuba and eXasis glass car, Swiss tuning and engineering firm Rinspeed is now delving into a new world of minimalistic auto design where efficiency and renewability is the name of the game. Set...

  • Dealer Chooser - 2011 Nissan Leaf
    Moving Closer To Owning a Leaf: We Get To Choose Our Dealer

    You may not know it, but our Marty Padgett isn’t the only member of the High Gear Media editorial team to order a 2011 Nissan Leaf. Over 5,000 miles away on the west coast of England, I’ve also been waiting patiently in the queue for an email from Nissan letting me know when my Leaf...

  • ECOtality Blink DC fast charger plugged in
    Cracker Barrel Installing EV Charge Points At Tennessee Stores

    Cracker Barrel, not exactly the bastion of green technology, has launched a pilot program that will see a number of EV charge points installed at 24 of the restaurant chain’s outlets across the state of Tennessee. The company that prides itself on old-style country stores is taking a very...

  • 2010 Tesla Roadster Sport 2.5 Cold Weather Testing
    Electric Cars Can’t Handle Cold Weather? Myth Busted

    We’re big fans of Mythbusters here at AllCarsElectric and love busting some of our own myths. So we decided to test a myth we hear time and time again: electric cars can’t go very far in the Winter when in-cabin electric heating zaps the power from the battery pack. We put on our...

  • Volt Online Auction
    Chevrolet Auctions “Job2” Production Volt For Charity Online

    The long wait is over. At least, it soon will be. At an event at General Motors’ Detroit Hamtramck facility which was streamed live on the Internet, everyone from government officials and GM board members down to the factory workers responsible for manufacturing the extended range electric...

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