plug-in cars
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What do you call an all-electric minicar that has elements of the Chevy Volt, can spin its drive wheels if you have a heavy foot--and still ranks as the most efficient plug-in car sold in the U.S. this year? We'd call it the 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV. And it's one of our five nominees for Green Car Reports' Best Car To Buy 2014 award. MORE: Green Car Reports' Best Car To Buy 2014: The Nominees We had some hesitation over including the Spark EV. At the moment, it meets some of the criteria for deeming it a compliance car--which is to say, a car built grudgingly by a major automaker solely to...
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PG+E Data: Electric Cars Have Almost No Grid Impact So Far
Electric-car charging hasn't overloaded power grids yet.
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla Earnings Call: Lithium-Ion Cell 'Giga-Plant' Needed For Future Production
Tesla held its third-quarter earnings call yesterday evening, and CEO Elon Musk stayed pretty much on message. He reiterated that Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] continues to produce its Model S electric luxury sedan, at a current rate of 550 cars per week, and that it is working steadily to reduce the...
John Voelcker -
Ford Outsells Toyota In Plug-In Hybrids For First Time (Volt Too)
Ford plug-in hybrids may be shifting the sales balance away from battery-electric cars.
Stephen Edelstein -
FINAL UPDATE: Plug-In Electric Car Sales For Oct: Volt, Leaf Hold Steady
In October sales of plug-in electric cars, both Chevy and Nissan improved on their September results, but didn't come close to beating their record August sales numbers. The month as a whole rebounded toward August's record-breaking level, improving on September's slump--but the Tesla sales may...
John Voelcker -
Green Car Reports' Best Car To Buy Nominee: 2014 BMW i3
The 2014 BMW i3 is the most audacious expansion of a well-known car brand in many years. BMW--the maker of "ultimate driving machines"--is using electric propulsion, a carbon-fiber reinforced body, and a Scandinavian Modern interior not in an expensive luxury sedan, but in a subcompact hatchback...
John Voelcker -
Via says its Chevrolet Express-based plug-in van will return 100 mpg in mixed driving.
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Nissan Leaf Bumps Tesla Model S To Top Norway Oct Sales Charts
For the second month in a row, the best-selling car in Norway is powered by electricity.
Stephen Edelstein -
Green Car Reports' Best Car To Buy 2014: Technology Trends
Yesterday we listed the nominees for Green Car Reports' Best Car To Buy 2014 award: two battery-electric vehicles, one hybrid, one diesel, and one very fuel-efficient gasoline car. But what do our nominees say about the state of green-car design this year? Overall, they highlight four trends to...
John Voelcker -
From Apple To Tesla: Woz Follows The Trend, Buys Model S
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has had his eye on a Model S electric car for some time.
Stephen Edelstein -
How One Electric Utility Encouraged Employees To Use Plug-In Cars
While workplace charging is still a work in progress at most companies, a few progressive corporations and nonprofits now offer incentives to employees to commute in plug-in electric cars. One example is PSEG, the publicly-owned New Jersey electric and gas utility, which has seen employee usage of...
John Voelcker -
Who's Still Buying Brand-New Fisker Karmas, And Why?
The 2012 Fisker Karma remains a stunning car, regardless of its range-extended electric powertrain. While the struggling-though-not-yet-bankrupt company remains in limbo, with a purchase reported but not yet confirmed, it hasn't built cars since July 2012. MORE: 2012 Fisker Karma - full review The...
John Voelcker -
BYD was fined by the state of California for paying temporary Chinese workers less than minimum wage.
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SOLVED! Electric-Car Mystery: Doorless, Abandoned Nissan Leaf In Palo Alto
Most people in the U.S. have probably never seen a Nissan Leaf electric car. But Silicon Valley is different--it's crammed with plug-in electric cars, especially Teslas--and now it's got its own electric-car mystery. As longtime reader Anton Wahlman points out, a blue 2012 Nissan Leaf has now been...
John Voelcker -
What Happens To A Nissan Leaf Electric Car At A Gas Station?
The Nissan Leaf is launching in South Africa, and perplexing gas station attendants.
Stephen Edelstein -
NHTSA: No Further Probe Of Tesla Model S Electric-Car Fire
The NHTSA said it will not formally investigate the fire that engulfed a Tesla Model S electric car in Washington state.
Stephen Edelstein -
Elon Musk Opens New Tesla Store In London Mall: Live Photos
Last Thursday evening, Tesla opened another retail location in its push to expand electric-car sales outside the U.S. This one was in London's Westfield Mall, built along the lines of high-end U.S. malls west of the Notting Hill neighborhood. According to our man on the scene, the lighting was...
John Voelcker -
Where Are Electric-Car Charging Stations? Infographic Shows It All
Make no mistake, the market for electric cars might be growing slowly, but it's still growing, and it seems like almost every day there's a new car to buy or concept on the horizon. It's getting easier to charge your electric car while out and about too, as charging points spring up across the...
Antony Ingram -
It's a frequently asked question: Will the 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV be sold where I live? (Assuming you don't already live in California or Oregon, where the subcompact electric car has been on sale since June--or South Korea, where it's made.) General Motors had earlier announced that sales of the Spark EV would expand to Europe, and also to Canada. Checking in on that promise with Randy Fox of GM Communications, we find the plan has changed. MORE: First 2014 Chevy Spark EV Sold: Why We Chose This Electric Car "In Canada, Spark EV has been available since this summer [as] a fleet vehicle...
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NYC 'Manhole Covers' To Hide Resonance Chargers For Electric Cars
Hevo Power hopes its wireless charging stations can keep electric delivery vehicles moving in urban areas.
Stephen Edelstein -
Dreaming Of A Nissan Leaf With Double The Range? Well...
Nissan's Barcelona Technical Centre built a Leaf prototype with a 48-kWh battery pack for a new racing series.
Stephen Edelstein -
How To Site Electric-Car Charging Stations? It's The Parking, Stupid
With the recent bankruptcies of charging-station network Ecotality and Israeli electric-car service Better Place, plug-in advocates have quietly discussed whether any business model exists for public electric-car charging stations. But suppose it 's not about the charging at all? Suppose it's about...
John Voelcker -
2014 BMW i3: First Drive Of BMW's Radical New Electric Car
You may have read stories lately that suggest the BMW i3 is the first luxury competition for the Tesla Model S electric car. It’s not. You may also have read that it’s the first range-extended car to go head to head with the Chevrolet Volt. It’s not. In building its first...
John Voelcker -
Fisker Automotive Sold To Hong Kong Tycoon Investor Group: Report
The DOE is expected declare Richard Li and his investor group winners of Fisker's outstanding loan.
Stephen Edelstein