Electric Cars

With sales of Toyota hybrids booming in its home country and elsewhere across the globe, Toyota leads the competition in the hybrid market.  Seemingly every hybrid model developed by the company fares well including the newly released Lexus HS 250h.  So what could hold Toyota back in this hybrid...

Hyundai is set to present the world debut of two green vehicles at the Frankfurt Motor Show.  One, the ix-Metro will be present in concept form, the other the i10 Electric will be presented in production form. The ix-Metro, a hybrid electric CUV concept, is aimed at the European sub-B segment and...

According to a recent study conducted by the University of California, Berkeley, 64% of upcoming EV sales will include the vehicle and the battery as stand alone products that are in a sense purchased separately. The study suggests that there is a direct correlation between immediate adoption of EV...

With recent announcements confirming that even Honda has entered into the EV bandwagon, it comes as a surprise that Mazda is still saying no to EVs. According to Robert Davis, Senior Vice President of Research and Development for Mazda, "Until battery technology can get there to meet a mass...

Of all of the Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, as a writer, my favorite is the First Amendment, the one protecting the right to free speech. But that right doesn’t cover everything we speak, does it? Even as children, we learn that lying is wrong and that hurling insults is bad manners...

The crescendo is building towards the EEStor revolution. EEStor is the stealth-mode Texas startup developing ultracapacitors called EESUs that have several fold higher energy and power densities than lithium ion batteries, are scalable to any size, cost a fraction of what lithium-ion cells to do...

Daimler has announced that sales of its Orion VII diesel electric hybrid bus has now exceeded 3,000 units.  Of the 3,000 orders in, there are over 2,200 units already in use and some 850 additional orders on the backlog from municipalities in New York, Seattle, Houston, Ottawa, and even Puerto...

When the Cash for Clunkers (CARS) program here in the U.S. ended, I wondered how many of the buyers who took advantage of the rebate chose to purchase a hybrid. Buying a hybrid made the most sense, in my view, especially with the slight surge in gas prices just before the program launched. If I...

Recent announcements stating that both Honda and Toyota will soon enter the EV race has many thinking that since nearly every automaker plans an EV for the near future, EV may indeed dominate our roads in a short time.  That could not be further from the truth according to Carlos Ghosn, CEO of...

In late May, we reported on rumors that an electric version of Audi's R8 supercar would be at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Nary a day later, Edmunds Inside Line crushed our hopesand put the rumors to rest, citing an Audi representative who refuted the blogosphere's claims. We're not ready to say "we...

Setting the residual value for any new vehicle is not an easy task.  The residual value factors in many thing including depreciation, desirability, reliability, brand name and the list goes on and on.  However, a residual value is important for determining lease rates and for banks to decide...

Zenn Motors of Canada (ZNN.V) holds exclusive rights to build small electric cars using EEStor's forthcoming groundbreaking barium-based batteries. They also hold a 10% ownership stake in EEStor, Inc. Though these EESUs have yet to be publicly demonstrated, EEStor has previously indicated it will...

At the NAIAS this January in Detroit, Mercedes-Benz unveiled a triad of sleek EV concepts called BlueZERO. The modular build of the three concepts makes it possible for them to share architecture and technology, such as front-wheel drive, but have three different drive system configurations. That...

Toyota is planning to unveil three new hybrid concepts at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show including an intriguing 5-door hatch for their upscale Lexus brand. The LF-Ch (pictured above) is aimed squarely at the premium compact segment whose other notable players include the BMW 1-series and the...

While it may not evoke as much car lust as this past weekend's unveiling of the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics Concept, BMW is rumored to be in negotiations with Toyota to borrow their iQ mini-car platform. In return, Toyota is reportedly interested in BMW's Mini division. Japan's largest automaker...

The Korea Advanced Institute of Technology (KAIST) has developed a revolutionary electric vehicle that neatly side-steps the looming political/economic issue of scarcity of advanced battery materials, as well as the practical limitations imposed by battery weight and life,  by dispensing with...

Michigan a contender for Think Electric Car Factory

Let’s imagine for a moment that Al Gore’s wish is granted and we all gave up our fossil-fuel guzzling, carbon-dioxide spewing cars in favor of efficient, gas-electric hybrids, like the Toyota Prius. While endangered penguins celebrate the re-growth of the polar ice caps, and we all enjoy...

LG Chem of Korea is fast becoming one of the world's leaders in the production of lithium-ion batteries for automotive use.  The company has already been sourced to provide the cells for Chevrolet's upcoming Volt due out next year. Fellow countryman Hyundai is also buying batteries from LG Chem...

In order to counter the initial affects of range anxiety, several different things must be taken into consideration.  From charging stations located at convenient mileage intervals, to marketing departments assuring would be buyers that there range numbers are indeed accurate, everything must be...