plug-in cars
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After five weeks driving a Better Place electric car in Israel, I'm gaining a deeper insight into the company's plans. The Better Place annual subscription model, including service and support, costs more than the U.S. practice of buying an electric car outright and charging it at home. How customers feel about this subscription payment rests on how good the extra service is. Looking back on the entire process of evaluating and buying the car, it is difficult for me to fault Better Place on customer service. I've never come across a car company that followed up and wanted to hear from me...
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2014 Mercedes-Benz All-Electric B-Class Replaces Plug-in Hybrid Plans
At the start of this year, we told you that Mercedes-Benz was planning to introduce a B Class range-extended plug-in hybrid to the U.S. market some time during 2013. Now it seems the German automaker has changed its mind, replacing plans for a plug-in hybrid with an all-electric B Class jointly...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
With 2012 Tesla Model S Launched, Tesla Roadster Horses Around
However good the parent, the arrival of a new baby can have the unfortunate effect of making older siblings feel neglected and unloved. We didn’t expect those kind of feelings in the automotive world, but a stunt recently posted on the Internet involving a Tesla Roadster reminds us of a...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Funky Friday: Flux Capacitor Charges Up Historic Electric Drag Racing
Every Friday, those of us who work at GreenCarReports like to kick back a little with a story that, if you’ll forgive us, is more about indulging our fun side than it is educating you about green cars. In keeping with that tradition, we felt it time to combine two of our collective loves --...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Jaguar Displays XJ_e Plug-in Hybrid At GoodWood Festival Of Speed
In the automotive world, development and commercialization of plug-in vehicles has varied from company to company. While some, like Nissan and General Motors, sell plug-in cars, others, like Jaguar Land Rover, are in developmental stages. Which is why we’re pleased to hear that Jaguar Land...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Why Is Tesla Scared To Release Its Electric-Car Sales Data?
Frankly, we understand why Fisker Automotive and Coda Automotive might not want to release their sales data. Both companies have struggled mightily with delayed rollouts of their first plug-in electric cars. But Tesla Motors just nailed its promised late-June first delivery date for the Model S...
John Voelcker -
The 2013 Honda Fit EV is a fun and well-executed little all-electric hatchback. It's quick, handles decently, gets the highest EPA efficiency rating of any vehicle on the market (118 MPGe), and its rated range of 82 miles is longer than that of the somewhat larger Nissan Leaf. Too bad you have very little chance of buying one. That's because the Honda Fit EV is a "compliance car," a vehicle built to ensure its maker meets California rules requiring sales of a certain number of zero-emission vehicles. 1,100 cars and no more Quizzed at the introductory drive event this week about prospects for...
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Tony Posawatz, Chevy Volt Product Line Director, Retires From GM
The Chevrolet Volt electric car, now in its third model year, has survived the bankruptcy and government-led restructuring of General Motors, politically motivated attacks on electric cars, a battery-safety investigation by the NHTSA, and some breathtakingly inept marketing efforts. But many...
John Voelcker -
Installing A Wireless Charging System: What It Really Takes
Electric cars of various types are often grouped as "plug-in cars," but recharging the battery pack doesn't always require an actual plug. Wireless charging, in which the car is positioned over a charging pad on the floor of a garage, is sometimes touted as a technology that will ease the adoption...
John Voelcker -
2014 Cadillac ELR: Volt-Based Coupe To Get New Engine?
Over the past decade, Cadillac has been trying to build--or rebuild--its reputation as a world-class luxury brand. Style, luxury, and performance all play into the mix of its new products, but it may take another decade for the world to think of Cadillac in the same category as German luxury...
John Voelcker -
How Long Will Your Electric Car Battery Last? It Depends Where You Live
Over the past few months, we’ve been covering the woes of 2011 Nissan Leaf owners in hotter states who have already reported a noticeable loss in battery capacity since their cars were new. The woes of these early-adopting Leaf owners has certainly prompted many to ask if electric car battery...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
In 10 Years, How Much Should An Electric Car Cost? Sec Chu Says $25K
Electric cars have traditionally been more costly to build and buy than their gasoline counterparts thanks to their limited production numbers and the high cost of battery packs. We already know that the price of electric car battery packs are dropping faster than analysts predicted they would, but...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
In our modern world, electricity is literally everywhere, easily assessible from a 110-volt outlet. That’s fine for running things like laptop computers and televisions, but when it comes to electric cars, charging at 110-volts takes forever. One solution, as some electric car drivers have discovered, is to use a product that combines two, 110-volt outlets to provide 240-volts of electricity that can power a modified, portable level-2 charging unit. But as a friend who recently sold a 240-volt air conditioning unit discovered, powering a 240-volt device from two 110-volt sockets is...
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Goodbye, Solar? Greentech Investors Shift To Electric Cars, Consumer Tech
The green technology investing boom has slowed. But if you ask investors, greentech isn’t disappearing, it’s just changing. Between 2006 and 2007, cleantech and greentech emerged as hot terms in the investor vernacular. Startups focused on big-picture energy needs, including solar and...
VentureBeat's GreenBeat -
2012 Tesla Model S Owner: 10 Things I LOVE About This Car! (Video)
Normally, when a new car launches, it takes a few weeks before owners start posting their own thoughts and ownership experiences online. But although official deliveries of the 2012 Tesla Model S Sedan started less than a week ago, it hasn’t taken long for Model S owners to evangelize online...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Pope Proves Electric Cars Are Divine With Donated City Car
Pope Benedict XVI is already called “The Green Pope” thanks to measures taken since his installation to reduce the carbon footprint of the Vatican City. Now the Vatican can add green transport to the list of the Pontiff’s green virtues, thanks to an electric city car donated to...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2012 Nissan Leaf To Re-Attempt Reversing World Record At Goodwood
Because electric cars are generally powered by an electric motor via a single gear reduction gearbox, they can theoretically move as quickly backwards as they can forwards. It’s no surprise then that as part of the 2012 Goodwood Festival of Speed due to take place this week, Nissan says its...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
So How Many 2012 Model S Electric Cars Can Tesla Really Sell?
The 2012 Tesla Model S has launched, short drive reviews are coming in, and new owners are taking delivery every day. So what's next for Tesla? We know what the company plans to launch for its future vehicles--the 2014 Model X crossover, a Roadster replacement, and down the road, a smaller, less...
John Voelcker -
When a Nissan dealer services an all-electric Nissan Leaf, the garage’s diagnostic computer produces a Battery Information Sheet that can give the owner a an at-a-glance assessment of how healthy the battery is in his or her Leaf. But with several dozen Leaf owners, mainly in warmer states, reporting a loss in battery capacity--many within their first year of ownership--is it worth asking your dealer for a Battery Information Sheet when the battery capacity drops? Does a formal Battery Information Sheet give you more information to explain why your Leaf has lost its first capacity bar?...
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Want To Start An Electric Car Charging Company in CO? You Can, For Just $5,000
If you’ve been reading GreenCarReports for a while, you’ll know that Colorado loves its green cars, with more than double the national average of hybrid cars registered there and some pretty big tax credits available to those buying a plug-in car. Now, thanks to a change in law in the...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2012 Tesla Model S All-Electric Sedan: Drive Reviews Roundup
On Friday, Tesla Motors delivered its first production Model S electric sedans to retail customers, an event the company webcast live. Watch the 26-0minute video above if you want to relive the glorious event. While Green Car Reports wasn't there, we've watched the deluge of coverage and read the...
John Voelcker -
2012 Tesla Model S Electric-Car Deliveries To Start Today
They said it couldn't be done, but it looks like Tesla Motors has indeed pulled it off. If all goes to plan, at 3:30 pm Pacific today, CEO Elon Musk and other Tesla executives will hand over the keys of a new 2012 Tesla Model S to the first retail buyer to take delivery of the all-electric luxury...
John Voelcker -
All-Electric Ford Mustang? Don’t Count On It Yet, Says Ford
With its latest generation of EcoBoost engines, plug-in drivetrains, and Internet-connected infotainment systems, Ford wants the world to know it is working toward safer, more informed, and greener cars. But one reporter went slightly off-message at a recent event, asking Executive Chairman Bill...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
800 Number On Blink Electric-Car Charging Stations? Useless, Don't Bother
You'd think a company awarded $115 million by the Department of Energy to build electric-car charging stations would make them accessible to every single driver, wouldn't you? Apparently, you'd be wrong. At least, that is, in the case of Ecotality's Blink network. Any plug-in driver arriving at a...
John Voelcker