plug-in cars

What do you get if you cross a cult-horror movie filmmaker, an electric car, and a killer wasp? We weren’t sure either, until Californian electric vehicle specialist Epic EV announced the official launch of its all-electric All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) -- the Epic Amp. As part of the Epic Amp...

At the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show, BMW introduced its press conference with a preview of the next installment of the Tom Cruise Mission Impossible movie series. BMW features prominently in this production, with its plug-in hybrid supercar i8 as one of the team’s advanced tools. The movie's...

Once in a while, you get an announcement that looks interesting but requires ... ummmmm ... some interpretation. During the barrage of car launches, interviews, press releases, and general running around that comprised media days at the recent Los Angeles Auto Show, we got a press release with the...

One year ago, Honda unveiled a prototype Fit EV electric car at the Los Angeles Auto Show. This year, it showed a refined version that it says it will offer for lease next summer in California and Oregon, expanding into six East Coast markets early the following year. Lease only, no sales Honda...

While certain parts of the automotive industry might not be feeling the love towards the tough new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards announced yesterday, it turns out that 93 percent of car owners are want to buy greener, cleaner cars. In a study conducted by Consumer Reports, 86...

It’s taken a long time arriving, but we finally know how much a 2012 Coda Sedan will cost you to buy: $39,900 before state and federal incentives. In a press release to coincide with the start of the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show, Coda has finally disclosed some of the key features of its...

With the 42nd Tokyo Auto Show just weeks away, Japanese automaker Toyota has detailed more about the four cars it will premiere at the show, including the much-anticipated Prius C compact hybrid, the FCV-R fuel-cell vehicle, and the FT-EVIII and Fun-Vii electric cars. Toyota Prius C One of the auto...

It’s a known fact that certain areas of the U.S. are better known for their love of the electric car than others, but San Francisco wants to go one better with a bid to become the electric car capital of the entire U.S. In order to achieve this, elected official and local business leaders in...

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is considering adopting a new set of procedures for tow trucks and wrecking yards to follow when dealing with severely crashed electric cars. The new guidelines may be implemented after an incident in which a 2011 Chevrolet Volt caught fire...

The spread of electric cars and public charging stations for them across the United States will be uneven for many years to come. Many analysts and advocates believe that California residents will buy as many plug-in cars as are sold in the next five states combined. With the exception of Texas and...

Neither GM nor the NHTSA has been able to replicate a fire that occurred in a wrecked Chevrolet Volt three weeks after it was demolished in an NHTSA crash test.

You might not know it, but the 2012 Renault Fluence Z.E. electric car is technically the world’s most in-demand electric car. With a massive 100,000 cars ordered by battery swap and charging infrastructure company Better Place and production already underway, the French designed electric...

Yesterday afternoon, BMW hosted a Special Sneak Peek Preview Event of the BMW i3 and BMW i8 concept electric cars in New York. Both cars will make their official U.S. debut at next week's Los Angeles Auto Show. After an hour-long photo session, we were addressed by Richard Kim, exterior designer...

Every carmaker ramps up production on a new vehicle slowly. So Fisker Automotive struck back at the thesis of a GigaOm article yesterday that suggested the company was delaying the production schedule for its 2012 Karma extended-range electric luxury sport sedan into the middle of next year...

They're both featured in Revenge of the Electric Car, the documentary that's now in limited release across the country, so it makes sense they'd be doing media together. The pair of auto-industry stars is Bob Lutz, former product czar at General Motors and still a part-time behind-the-scenes...

If you’ve been a fan of electric cars for more than a few years, you’ll probably remember Nissan’s adventurous all-electric concept cars -- the Pivo 1 from 2005 or Pivo 2 from 2007. Created long before Nissan launched its all-electric Leaf hatchback, the Pivo concept cars offered...

A fire in Mooresille, North Carolina last week involving a 2011 Chevrolet Volt has led Duke Energy to advise its customers against charging the plug-in hybrid at home in case it starts a fire. But is the advice justified, or just another example of what happens when irrational fear of a new...

Have you ever dreamed about just walking into your local Fisker dealer and ordering a Karma plug-in luxury sport sedan? Very few of us have the funds to afford the $95,900 starting price of a 2012 Fisker Karma, but that doesn't mean we can't imagine doing it. The youngest member of the High Gear...

Everyone makes mistakes once in a while, and we’re sure most drivers have run out of gasoline at least once in their life. But as the saying goes, it's hard to carry a gallon of electricity back to your plug-in car if the battery is completely out of charge. Which is why AAA is now testing...

The 2012 Tesla Model S all-electric sedan isn’t due to roll off the production lines for another 8 months, but Tesla CEO Elon Musk wants the world to know that the Californian-based automaker is already putting plans in place to ensure that Model S owners won't be running out of charge...