Electric Cars

  • 2011 Nissan Leaf

    If you're studying the notion of going on the grid for your automotive "fuel," you're probably curious just how you'll integrate an electric car like the 2011 Nissan Leaf into your life. You think you'll be able to handle the estimated 100-mile range just fine--but what about longer trips? While General Motors is making much about its 2011 Chevrolet Volt's range extender--which it believes means never having to say "I'm sorry I can't make it"--Nissan's taking exactly the opposite tack, explaining to customers they'll need to match the Leaf to their daily driving needs. And when it comes to...

  • Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk with Tesla Roadster
    Tesla Motors Reports Wider $38.5M Loss, But Says It’s On Track

    As predicted, Tesla Motors posted higher losses for the second quarter during its earnings announcement today — its first as a public company. The electric vehicle maker says it brought in $28.4 million revenue, but lost $38.5 million ($5.04 a share), up from the $29.5 million lost last quarter...

  • 2011 Nissan Leaf
    2011 Nissan Leaf: Waterboarded For Your Safety

    However strongly you feel about torture testing in other situations, it's necessary when it comes to car safety. Without crash tests, cold- and hot-weather testing, and some pretty creative destruction, the cars of today would be a lot more perilous. For the 2011 Nissan Leaf electric car, the...

  • Bosch EV powertrain
    Bosch Commits To EV Powertrain Development

    Following the successful launch of Bosch’s parallel full-hybrid technology (in models such as the Volkswagen Touareg and Porsche Cayenne S), the key international automotive supplier is also increasingly investing in the development of powertrain technologies for all-electric vehicles. With the...

  • 2011 Chevrolet Volt
    The 2011 Chevy Volt: Made Alongside GM's Gas-Guzzling V8s

    Think of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt and very little seems conventional about it. With a range of 40 miles per charge and a range-extending gasoline engine used to provide extra power when the battery pack is depleted, Chevrolet is keen to push the car’s green credentials. Built at the Hamtramck...

  • Evatran Wireless charging System (ScreenGrab)
    Will Wireless Electric Car Charging Induce An EV Revolution?

     Just how long does it take to plug in an electric car? A few seconds, perhaps? And just how inconvenient is it? We plug in electrical devices every day in our homes without giving it a second thought. Most existing electric car owners even cite plugging their car in as being a bonus over having...

  • 2011 Tesla Roadster 2.5

    It appears selling cars isn’t the only way for electric vehicle manufactures to earn a buck. Thanks to California’s Zero Emission Vehicle program, some manufacturers, such as Tesla, are earning additional cash by selling their unused pollution credits. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) requires manufacturers that sell more than 10,000 cars in the state of California to gather a number of these Zero Emission Vehicle credits. They can do this by basically selling their own EVs or low emission vehicles, or simply by purchasing the credits from companies like Tesla that have an...

  • Aptera 2e during Automotive X-Prize handling tests, from Consumer Reports video on YouTube
    After The Auto X-Prize, What Next For Aptera's Electric Car?

     Will video and time kill the Aptera star? Will Detroit? Or will the Auto X-Prize pull the final punch? As the field has been whittled down from 136 to just 9 contenders for the chance to win part of the elusive $10 million prize fund, we've watched electric vehicles dominate the event. For one...

  • Apple iPad
    Why Not Run Your Electric Car Via Your iPad? We'll Tell You Why

    Sometimes it's hard to keep track of small electric-vehicle companies, most of whom are likely to vanish without a trace within a few years. But T3 Motion, an EV startup in Costa Mesa, California, has a gimmick: It uses an Apple iPad to provide driver and passengers with audio, video, games, and...

  • 2011 Nissan Leaf U.K. spec
    2011 Nissan Leaf Drive Review: A Real Electric Car for Real People

    Just days after Nissan announced its 8 year, 100,000 mile warranty option for the 2011 Leaf, we've had a chance to do our second test-drive of the week in Nissan's $33,750 electric baby. Earlier this week, Nissan gave us some time behind the wheel of the Leaf in San Jose, California. We had a great...

  • money
    Electric Vehicle Incentives Guide: Country By Country

    Green conscience and new technology are both laudable, but getting extra money in your back pocket is nice too. Now, after all those years of paying taxes on your hard work, you can finally get some of it back. Consider it a tax refund for buying an electric car. Now that we know the purchase and...

  • Elon Musk on The Colbert Report
    Video: Elon Musk Talks Cheaper Teslas, Space Trips And Life On The Colbert Report

    Elon Musk leads a complicated life, from Tesla Motors' recent IPO to an ongoing and nasty divorce battle, not to mention questions about his veracity, but the seemingly subdued Tesla CEO remains firmly in the public eye. He took the time to go on the latest episode of The Colbert Report, where he...

  • There's been a lot of discussion and consideration given to the topic of public charging stations for electric vehicles. The old "chicken verses egg" conundrum is called to mind as auto makers and politicians seem to fumble around without really knowing what to do and where to allocate funds. Will people buy electric cars without a complex network of public charging points available? Why should we invest in these charging stations if there really are aren't any electric cars on the roads yet? Shouldn't we wait to see if the public actually buys these cars before we spend tens of millions of...

  • Think City
    2012 Think City EV’s New Lithium-Ion Battery A Welcome Upgrade

    How fast, how far, and how long? These are the three most important questions asked of any electric car coming to market. Just like their gasoline counterparts, drivers want to know their first electric car won't leave them foundering at the lights, stranded on the freeway, or taking forever to...

  • 2011 Chevrolet Volt in Waco, Texas, en route during the 1,776-mile Freedom Drive PR stunt
    2011 Chevy Volt: Official GM Propaganda On Why It's Better

    Forgive us our weariness, please. It's only Thursday, but the barrage of news about the two upcoming electric cars that will go on sale for the 2011 model year is wearing us down. Nonetheless, we have manfully pulled ourselves together to bring you the video at the bottom of this piece, in which...

  • 2010 Saab 9-5
    Saab To Start EV Trials Of Next-Gen 9-3 in 2011

    A few years back Saab, together with fellow Swedish automaker Volvo, formed an alliance with a number of utility and technology companies to further the development of new hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles. However, since both automakers were subsequently put up for sale by their respective...

  • 2009 BMW Concept ActiveE
    BMW Ban From Claiming Zero-Emissions In Latest Advert

    BMW doesn’t actually have a vehicle with zero emissions in its current lineup but that hasn’t stopped the automaker from touting its cleanliness with advertising promoting its Concept ActiveE all-electric vehicle, where the slogan is: "Thanks to its electrifying performance and zero CO2...

  • 2011 Nissan Leaf
    Nissan Leaf Could Get 2013 Refresh

    With yesterday's big news on the 2011 Chevrolet Volt price and the year-long nationwide sales launch of the 2011 Nissan Leaf, you'd think the news from Plug-In 2010 in San Jose would be over. But we're charged with looking farther into the distance so you don't have to--and that's why earlier this...

  • 2011 Chevrolet Volt

    Â Coming shortly after the Chevrolet's announcement about the 2011 Volt's 8 year, 100,000-mile battery warranty, GM has now announced the price for their range-extended EV. The Volt's MSRP will be $41,000. GM have also announced the three-year lease price for the Volt. At $350, with a $2,500 down payment, leasing the Volt will set you back only a dollar more than the 2011 Nissan Leaf despite that car costing over $8,000 less. The lease price includes the $7,500 Federal electric-vehicle tax credit. When taking the tax credit into account, the Volt will cost only $33,500. Some states and...

  • 2011 Nissan Leaf
    Nissan Leaf EV: Timeline For Rollout, More About Hand-Raisers

    It was surely no mistake that on the same day that General Motors unveiled pricing for its 2011 Chevrolet Volt, Nissan tried to grab at least some of the plug-in limelight and revealed new details about exactly where it will first roll out the Leaf.

  • Coulomb Technologies CT-500 electric vehicle charging station
    Coulomb Brings Its EV Charging Stations To The Home

    Coulomb Technologies, one of the most successful companies rolling out rapid roadside charging stations for the new generation of plug-in vehicles debuting this year, announced today that it has adapted its technology for use in the home. Interestingly, residential chargers are where many of...

  • Audi A1 e-tron Concept
    Report: Audi Working On e-tron Minicar

    Mercedes-Benz has the Smart Fortwo Electric Drive, BMW has the upcoming Megacity Vehicle, and even Volkswagen is working on a production version of its E-Up concept car, but what about Audi? We know the automaker is establishing its new e-tron division to promote and develop a new generation of...

  • Mercedes-Benz Vito E-Cell
    Mercedes-Benz Launches Trial Of Vito E-Cell All-Electric Van

    Electric vehicles are ideal for hopping around town, making frequent stops and carrying heavy loads, so it’s not surprising to see the major automakers roll out all-electric commercial vans in addition to more mainstream models. The latest is Mercedes-Benz, which has unveiled its new Vito E-Cell...

  • Aptera 2e, photo by Jason H. Harper
    Electric Vehicles Rule 100MPGe Auto X-Prize, Fighting For $10m Prize

     While Nissan and Chevrolet fight it out to become the number one consumer electric vehicle of 2010, six electric vehicle companies most consumers will have never heard of are battling it out to become $10 million richer. That's the prize fund the winner of the Auto X-Prize could take home in...

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