Electric Cars

The Honda Insight, a vehicle that claimed to undercut the Prius in price while offering comparable performance in an almost as efficient package is not selling well in the U.S.  Recent reports show that sales of the Insight are incredibly low.  Prior to the launch of the new Prius, Toyota lowered...

New York City now has its first solar powered electric vehicle charging station courtesy of Beautiful Earth Group. The Brooklyn based company focuses on recycled, green solutions.  The solar charging station is made from two cargo containers stacked atop each other.  The top container houses the...

Though electric vehicles are arguably a cleaner form of transportation than gasoline powered cars, neither can touch the environmentally friendly nature of bicycles.  As the city of Amsterdam is eagerly promoting the use of EVs they have met a tough proponent, the cyclist. Amsterdam is one of the...

Previous reports of the highly anticipated Audi E-tron electric vehicle have definitely raised some questions about the claimed torque rating of 3,319 lb-ft.  Though the number is a true calculation, it does not follow industry standards for torque ratings.  Adjusted to industry standards, the...

The state of Michigan is continuing their efforts to become the worldwide leaders in automotive battery production.  State legislators recently approved another plan that will award $220 million in tax credits to companies in the advanced automotive battery field. The legislation and credits from...

What does an automaker do when they want to offer hybrid vehicles to buyers without having to deal with development and production costs of hybrid components?  How does an automaker bring hybrids to market quickly in order to catch up with competitors?  The answer is simple, enlist the help of...

According to a report from the Nikkei newspaper in Japan, Fuji Heavy Industries, the parent company of Subaru, recently announced that it will begin selling electric vehicles overseas by 2013. The report cites an interview with FHI president Ikuo Mori.  In the interview, Mori notes that by working...

Per the press release linked below, Ford experienced a very strong year over year increase of 67% in their sales of hybrids, selling nearly 31,000 units and breaking their previous record, set in 2007.  In particular, Ford states that the March introduction of their award winning Fusion hybrid...

According to the Wall Street Journal, Daimler will launch a pilot program of the Smart ForTwo Electric Drive in China beginning next year.  The report indicates that Daimler is considering several cities for testing of the Smart ED.  As Ulrich Walker, chairman of Daimler Northeast Asia said, "We...

Sometimes automakers try to sneak news on by us.  Why?  We don't exactly know.  Perhaps they test us to see if we can catch the info.  Perhaps they don't want the news to become widespread yet.  Or perhaps they just don't have much info to release yet.  In any case, an announcement from an...

The Mercedes SLS AMG is a supercar capable of delivering an exciting driving experience, breathtaking top speeds, and track worthy handling.  In gasoline engine trim, the car is one of a handful of vehicles to offer performance on par with true race cars.  However, this vehicle will soon be...

For anyone familiar with GM products of the past, the name Fisher Body Company and the Body by Fisher trademark should sound familiar.  The company, founded over 100 years ago, made bodies exclusively for GM for decades before becoming fully integrated into GM.  Over the years, GM let the...

A headline like the one above begs the question, "What's the catch?" Can you really get an electric car for free? Well, kinda. Oklahoma-based, Drive Electric, sells neighborhood electric vehicles (NEVs - a.k.a. electric golf carts) made by Western Golf Cars and Zone Electric. The NEV retailer is...

Sainsbury's, one of the largest grocery chains in Europe, has been testing a fleet of Smith Electric delivery vans for several years and has now decided to go electric with the majority of it's London metropolitan delivery fleet.  The grocery conglomerate has just ordered fifty additional (for a...

A group of fourteen of the world’s largest cities came together at the UN COP15 climate summit in Copenhagen on Wednesday to form the ‘C40 Electric Vehicle Network’, which will work collectively in four areas of municipal action that they see as critical to the successful introduction of...

This years NAIAS in Detroit, Michigan will feature a return of the EcoXperience driving exhibit which allows show goers the chance to drive "green" vehicles of the future.  In addition, the show will feature a new exhibit called "Electric Avenue."  This exhibit will feature "green" cars of today...

Is hydrogen dead?  According to BMW, real world testing of the 7 Series Hydrogen vehicle is at least dead for now.  The company has decided to halt real-world testing of the 7 Series Hydrogen vehicles citing a lack of infrastructure and high conversion costs of the newly introduced 7 Series as...

What happens if you purchase a vehicle based on the stated mileage claims listed on the window sticker only to later discover that your vehicle does not achieve the lofty numbers listed? In the case of the 2003-2008 Honda Civic Hybrid, the automaker has decided to award those who purchased the...

Range anxiety is often discussed at great length in regard to electric vehicles.  Range anxiety is the fear of running out of juice in an EV during an extended trip with no place to plug-in in sight.  This anxiety, if not quickly overcome, could hamper the entire EV segment.  Automakers have...

It seems that last ditch efforts to find a buyer for Saab have failed, and GM will be shuttering Saab's automotive operations by the end of the year. After Koenigsegg backed out of its planned acquisition of Saab, it appeared that Spyker might snap up the automaker, but those efforts collapsed. ...