Electric Cars

The Smart fortwo ED is an upcoming pure electric car. It will be built by Daimler and use lithium-ion battery packs supplied by Tesla Motors. Testing of prototypes has been underway in Europe since 2007. Earlier this year Daimler announced it would be bringing the vehicle into global production...

The following is the opinion of Jason M. Hendler whose blog can be seen here. Currently, the Congress is debating an expansion of the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) program to include vehicles like the Aptera 2e/2h. The House passed legislation that would define any vehicle that...

  Of the four concept EVs unveiled by Renault at the Frankfurt Motor Show this week, the Fluence ZE will perhaps draw the biggest interest and have the most immediate impact on the automotive market. The Fluence ZE is a fully electric version of the companies midsize family sedan launched...

GM has announced that Michael Robinson will assume the position of vice-president of environment, energy, and safety policy with a starting date effective on October 1st.  Robinson will replace retiree Beth Lowery. In his new position, Robinson's main responsibilities will include influencing GM's...

As a writer specializing in the automotive sector, I field a lot of questions from friends and family — and the occasional stranger — about electric vehicles. Some of them are legitimate queries like, “Can you really get 50 miles per gallon in that Prius?” Some of the questions, though, are...

Motorcycles and cars have different standards to be met.  For one, cars are subject to the rigors of extensive safety testing and require mandated safety equipment.  This drives the cost of cars up.  Motorcycles on the other hand do not have crash safety standards and are not required to...

With EVs becoming a prominent feature of auto shows around the world, Renault has decided to unveil 4, yes 4 all new fully electric concept vehicles at the Frankfurt Motor Show earlier this week. All four vehicles utilize a similar battery to the lithium-ion setup displayed in Nissan's Leaf, a...

Global Green Cars, a partially owned subsidiary of Utah based Green Star Products, recently announced plans to move its operations to Williamsburg Kentucky from the current location in Idaho.    The company reportedly plans on completing the transition of its personnel and operations by October...

Ray Lane, whose venture capital  firm is a major investor in Fisker automotive,  let slip on Tuesday that Fisker is gearing up to announce  a new, $39,000.00 plug-in hybrid vehicle sometime within the next two weeks.  Lane, a former president of Oracle corporation, made his remarks at the...

"Electric vehicles of today are less costly than in 1990s, but if you compare them with the other vehicles out there they are still too expensive." Those were the words of Toyota Executive Vice President, Takeshi Uchiyamada, at the Frankfurt Motor Show which opened to the press today. "Unless there...

Audi has brought a supercar electric vehicle concept to Frankfurt with specs that dazzle and technology that highlights the future direction of EVs. The Audi e-tron concept on display in Frankfurt packs a lot into its R8 supercar based platform.  The vehicle includes 4 electric motors that offer...

According to Volkswagen, the E-Up! electric concept vehicle on display at the Frankfurt Motor Show will be the "Beetle of the 21st Century." The company promises it will be on our roadways by 2013. The E-UP! is based on the New Small Family platform that was introduced several years ago with the...

Awhile back President Obama made a bold statement that he wanted 1 million EVs on our roadways by 2020.  This statement has set the goal for our market and has lead automakers to push forward in their production of EVs with the assistance of government grants.  Though his goal may be a stretch...

Initial 1,400 Mitsubishi i-MiEV Electric Vehicles Have Been Spoken For

Watch your back Tesla. There's a new electric supercar in the works and it's being developed right in your backyard. International car designer, Cornelis Steenstra just released the first images of his zero-emissions, 200-mph-plus, sports car which he hopes to put on the streets by early 2013...

Behind our backs, Toyota has conducted studies on the Prius hybrid.  Three years ago, they stuffed lithium-ion packs in the Prius and put these vehicles through the rigors.  Tests likely included durability evaluation, costs, maintenance issues, and so on.  The results of the testing are in...

According to a report coming from Drive Solar, Volkswagen is expected to introduce an EV concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show this week. The concept EV, called the e up! is an electric version of the companies up! concept city car.  Though it will be shown only in concept form, the company has...

A recent survey from Pike Research indicates that plug-in hybrids are one of the most highly anticipated new products in any category in years. The study shows that 48 percent of Americans would have a definite interest in purchasing a plug-in hybrid with a range of at least 40 miles in electric...

My first impression of the third-gen Prius left me wondering what was cool about the vehicle. There aren't any growing leaves on the instrument panel, there's no sound that plays when you "boot up" the car (ala the Mac start-up sound). Yesterday, though, I had a mini-epiphany at the grocery store...

The Renault Nissan Alliance is at it again with yet another memorandum of understanding and partnership.  This time, the agreement is with Australia's Victoria state government. The partnership aims to explore the possibilities of developing a zero emissions vehicle program.  The memorandum will...