plug-in cars
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Earlier this year we heard that the a United Nations committee on noise levels in plug-in vehicles was about to mandate that all plug-in cars be made to emit artificial noises when traveling at low speed. But as we’ve illustrated in the past, we’re not entirely convinced that forcing electric cars to make a noise at low speed is really that much of a help to pedestrians in the real world. Real Life Guinea-Pig With that in mind, we set about conducting a series of completely tests with the aid of a partially sighted pedestrian who we accosted on the street and was only too happy to...
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2011 Tata Indica Vista EV Shown in U.K., On Sale This Summer
If you’re in the market for an electric car there are currently very few highway capable vehicles available. But for those in the U.K. another option will soon be on the market courtesy of an Indian firm which aims to make its electric cars the market leaders. Tata Motors, unfortunately...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
In the Red: Each Fiat 500 Electric Car Loses Chrysler $10k
There is nothing a company CEO hates more than not making a profit on a product, but as Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne knows, it is sometimes a necessary evil in the evolution of a new technology. Speaking at Fiat S.p.A’s general meeting on Wednesday, Marchionne spoke frankly about his...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Five Things You Can Do While Fast Charging Your Electric Car
Level 3 fast charging is blisteringly fast. In fact, we got to try it out in the real world this week, recharging a 2011 Nissan Leaf from 30% full to 98% full in a little under 25 minutes. But while your electric car gets a quick refresh, here’s our list of five top things to keep you...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
VIDEO: Will Electric Cars Like The Chevy Volt Save You Money?
The problem with shooting video is that there's always one thing you forget to say until the camera's gone. Especially if it's low-budget and done on the fly. That's when the onscreen talent tends to forget to qualify some of the things they say. Like, for instance, this discussion of the unlikely...
John Voelcker -
Ford: We’ll Sell Electric Cars With Batteries, Not Lease Them
At the start of the month, we examined just how much of the 2012 Tesla Model S sticker price was made up by battery pack costs. In order to make electric cars more accessible to the mainstream car buying public, Renault plans to sell consumers their electric car but lease them the battery pack. But...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
If you’re a regular reader of AllCarsElectric then you’ll know that electric cars are much cheaper to run than gasoline cars once you’ve actually purchased them, but electric cars in Washington state are just about to get a little more expensive to run thanks to a proposed law which has just passed from the state’s Senate into the House. SB 5251, first read on January 19 2011, proposes an additional $100 per year vehicle license fee on electric vehicles to help pay for the upkeep of the road infrastructure which to date, electric car owners have not directly...
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Tesla Triumphs with Ten Million Miles Travelled Since Launch
Ten million miles. That’s the achievement being celebrated by Tesla Motors after its customers have clocked up 10 million miles of low emissions, all-electric driving since the Tesla launched its two seat sportscar in 2008. Since delivering its first Roadster in 2008, Tesla has sold over 1500...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2011 Nissan Leaf: How Much Would YOU Pay to Jump the Queue?
The U.S. rollout of the 2011 Nissan Leaf has been a bit of a disaster with some would-be Leaf owners still waiting to find out when their local dealer will stock the all-electric car nearly a year after pre-reservations started. So how much would you pay to jump the queue completely and get an...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Electric Cars To Help 2050 Europe Goal Of Zero-Emissions Cities
When looked at in pure dollars and cents, there are many cases in which electric cars don't yet provide a payback. But other forces will boost their chances of adoption beyond pure payback. And government regulations are one of those forces. On Monday, the European Commission will issue a road map...
John Voelcker -
FAIL: U.K. Meter Maid Tickets Electric Car While it Charged
Police traffic and parking control officers have an important job: they help keep traffic flowing in major cities and also ensure that cars are parked legally and safely. But local authorities in the U.K. city of Coventry are under fire after one of its parking enforcement officers ticketed an...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Volvo C30 Electric: For Lease, At More Than $2,000 Per Month?
Would you pay more than two grand a month to drive an electric Volvo? Apparently, the automaker thinks that there are at least a few people or businesses that will. Volvo Cars Special Vehicles president Lennart Stegland said that Volvo plans to offer the C30 Electric for lease—at a price of...
Bengt Halvorson -
We all know that once purchased, electric cars are much cheaper to run than their gasoline counterparts, but how do you make sure you’re not paying more than you need to for the privilege of charging up at home? We’ve given it some thought and come up with five top tips to help you pay keep your domestic electricity bill low and perhaps even charge your electric car for free. Switch Tariffs Different states have different regulations when it comes to utility regulation, but many states now offer ‘time of use’ tariffs. Essentially, these tariffs offer consumers a much...
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2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In: By The Numbers, Would It Work For You?
Over six days of driving—limited to around-town trips—we put about 103 miles on a fleet-test Toyota Prius Plug-In, averaging 90.8 miles per gallon. In that time, we gave the Prius Plug-In five full charges and two partial ones, and according to the trip computer, we covered 77.7 miles...
Bengt Halvorson -
Earthquake Update: Nissan to Resume Vehicle Production “While Supplies Last”
A little under two weeks ago Japan was hit by one of the biggest earthquakes ever recorded. Measuring in at 9.0 on the richter scale and causing a devastating tsunami which killed tens of thousands and lay waste to hundreds of miles of coastline, Japan is still in an advance state of emergency. Yet...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Range or Signal Anxiety? Ford and AT&T Team Up on Electric Cars
Ford has just announced that it has chosen telecoms giant AT&T to provide wireless connectivity to its new range of electric and plug-in cars, enabling drivers of its 2012 Ford Focus electric car to remotely interact with their car via an Internet portal or their smart phone. Just like owners...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Renault: Electric Car Battery Swapping Too Costly For Now
If you listen to the enthusiastic founder and CEO of Better Place Shai Agassi, the ability to swap depleted electric car battery packs for fully charged ones at a dedicated swap station is an essential and much-needed part of electric vehicle infrastructure. But while the ultra-fast way of getting...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Look Ma! No Wires! Google Gets Wireless Electric Car Charger
Let’s face it: going wireless is cool. The humble phone lost its stuffy image when it lost that annoying cable, wireless computing has transformed access to the Internet and unlocking your car with keyless entry beats stumbling around in the dark for the key hole any day. So when software and...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
For those who travel very short distances, the Toyota Prius Plug-In could almost be thought of as an electric car. With a battery pack that's about 5 kW-hr—many times that of the standard Prius—it can, within reason travel at highway speeds on electric power alone, or up to 14 miles or so as an EV. Not quite, actually, but almost. First, you only have an EV as long as you're willing to watch the dash displays and not press on the accelerator too hard; and second, even if you're really careful about driving style, and even if you have the Plug-In switched to Eco Mode, the gasoline...
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Are Public Electric Car Charging Points Needed? Not Necessarily
What comes first? The electric car or the charging point? Of course it depends on who you ask. Generally if you’re an existing electric car owner the answer is likely to be the former. If you’re a government official, prospective electric car owner or automaker the answer is likely to...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
High Gas Prices May Soon Turn Your Lovely Suburb Into A Slum
Americans rarely think much about zoning, but it governs almost every facet of how we live our lives. And unintended consequences of 50-year-old zoning codes may be about to turn some of our loveliest and quietest suburbs into the next slums. Why? Simply because they've been built too far away from...
John Voelcker -
BYD Lines up Electric Car Dealers for Late 2011 U.S. Launch
Chinese battery firm turned automaker hit the news a couple of times last week for all the wrong reasons. But less than a week after the firm was the center of a major auto scandal it has quietly started to prepare itself for a late 2011 U.S. Launch. So why is a company which previously been...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
For Hire: Where Will Renault’s Exonerated Electric Car Executives Head?
Renault’s paranoia over industrial espionage backfired earlier this week as it struggled with the reality that it had been duped into believing that three of its executives had been selling electric car secrets to the Chinese. But while Renault/Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn made a formal apology to...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Tesla CEO: Model S Will Support Third-party Apps
Does your car have an app for that? If Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk has his way, it will. The electric-car maker’s CEO said at a conference today in San Francisco that the much-hyped Model S electric sedan will support third-party apps and text-to-voice capabilities. Musk made the announcement...
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