2011
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Ford has issued data showing remarkable reliability among the battery packs and electric motors in its hybrid vehicles, not the least of them the ones used in grueling taxi service in cities like New York and San Francisco.
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Bankrupt Norwegian Electric-Car Maker Think Gets Russian Owner
Well, it's official: After its fourth bankruptcy in two decades, the Norwegian electric-car maker Think Global has a new owner. As rumored last week, he's lumber baron Boris G. Zingarevich, of St. Petersburg. Zingarevich also happens to be the largest shareholder in Ener1, the lithium-ion cell...
John Voelcker -
French Charging Laws Could Leave Electric Car Adoption in Flames
Earlier this week we told you about the Danish town refusing to allow charging station and battery provider Better Place from installing charging points unless it painted them green. Now the electric car craziness has headed south to France, where officials at the French Ministry for the...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
When Did Cars Become The Yardstick For Measuring Pollution?
If you've ever visited a museum or a manufacturing plant, you've probably heard a tour guide say something like this: "And if you laid all these bottles end-to-end, they'd stretch clear across the state of Kansas!" Through time and repetition, certain comparisons have become standardized, so that...
Richard Read -
Nissan, Mitsubishi, Toyota Turn Electric Cars Into Backup Batteries
Ask most people which car would be best to have in a disaster and they’re likely to name something like a Humvee. While the now deceased gas-guzzling Humvee be good for navigating through deserted streets and clearing obstacles in the road it can’t help you cook a meal. But it turns out...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
A New Life On The Grid For Tired Chevy Volt Battery Packs?
GM is working with ABB Group to develop new ways to use partially depleted Volt battery packs. One promising idea involves using arrays of battery packs to feed power to the grid in times of need.
Kurt Ernst -
Chinese media are reporting that an electric bus caught fire in Shanghai at noon on Monday. And this is apparently not the first such incident. A Reuters report indicates that at least one earlier incident has been reported in the Chinese press within the last three months. A local Shanghai blog, The Shanghaiist, showed photos of the burned bus. Reports conflict as to whether the bus was in service, or stationary and parked by the roadside, but no injuries were reported. The bus is one of a test fleet that uses ultra-capacitors to store energy from a network of charging points that top up the...
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Feeling Flat? The AAA Will Soon Be Able To Charge You Up
What happens when your electric car runs out of charge? It’s a question we regularly get asked by readers and its one that for a while, there’s only been one real solution. Just like a gasoline car, you need to make sure you have enough fuel to make your trip. But everyone makes...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Seattle Loves 2011 Nissan Leaf So Much, It Buys 35
Last week we told you how the City of New York had just taken ownership of 50, 2011 Chevrolet Volts in an attempt to green up everything from the NYPD to official departments few will have heard of. Now Seattle has followed suit, with the announcement that the city will be buying 35 all-electric...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2011 Chevrolet Volt's Extra 'Free' Electric Miles In Gas Mode
The 2011 Chevrolet Volt adds hidden fuel-free miles to the Volt’s total range
George Parrott -
Is A Ferrari California Hybrid Model In The Works?
Based on recent spy photos, Britain's Autocar believes that Ferrari is testing a hybrid drivetrain to be launched on an upcoming version of the Ferrari California.
Kurt Ernst -
Want a <strike>2012 Toyota Rav4</strike> 2012 Scion IQ EV? You Won’t Be Able To Buy One (UPDATE)
[Since this story was published, we've had a comment from Cindy Knight, Toyota Public Affairs Manager confirming that Toyota will be making the 2012 Toyota RAV4EV available for private purchase. Instead, Autoblog is reporting that it is the Scion iQ EV which will not be available to purchase. We...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
If you thought the 40 mpg highway fuel economy rating of the 2011 Ford Fiesta SFE model was impressive, just wait until the reveal of the three-cylinder version, which is reportedly destined to land in the U.S. The car will come powered by a turbocharged 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine that should deliver horsepower and torque equal to or even better than the four-cylinder 1.6-liter unit currently found in the Fiesta, which means at least 120 horsepower on tap. The latest information was revealed by Ford powertrain executive Greg Johnson, who spoke recently with Automotive News. He said...
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Do Plug-In Hybrids Matter? #YouTellUs
With some automakers already offering fully-electric cars, do plug-in hybrids matter? #YouTellUs
Joel Feder -
Got a 2011 Chevy Volt? Check Your 110V Charge Cable
If you’re thinking of buying a 2011 Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid, then you’re probably already aware that its 16 kilowatt-hour battery pack is much smaller than the battery packs normally found in pure electric cars. As a consequence, it is even possible to charge the Volt’s...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Xtranormal Explains Plug-In Cars, Mostly The 2011 Chevy Volt
By now, you may well have seen short video clips of crudely animated people talking in monotonous tones, with more than occasional mispronunciations and odd rhythms. They're Xtranormal animations, created by feeding your dialogue into a website that animates them based on the author's choices of...
John Voelcker -
San Diego Gets Smart, Hosts 100% Electric Car Sharing Scheme
City car-sharing schemes have become more popular in recent years as the cost of owning a car rockets, but until now they’ve focused on traditional gasoline-engined cars. Not any more. The City of San Diego has just become the first North American city to host a carsharing scheme made up...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Mac Vs PC Becomes Mac Vs Chevy As Volt, iPhone Won’t Talk
Are you a Mac user or a PC user? There was a time when that question would spawn pages of flame wars on blogs and computer newsgroups, and perhaps even devoted fan pages on Geocities. Despite adverts from both Microsoft and Apple to suggest both platforms are still sworn enemies, Macs and PCs...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Ever wonder how it feels to travel the famous Pikes Peak hill-climb circuit in Colorado in an electric car? While an AC Propulsion powered full-spec race car sponsored by tire firm Yokohama may have set a new electric car hill climb record of 12 minutes and 20 seconds, Nissan was sending one of its production Nissan Leafs up the 12.42 mile course. And while Nissan’s Chad Hord - normally found behind the wheel of a race-spec Nissan Titan - completed the course in 14 minutes and 33 seconds, he did so in a car that was essentially the same vehicle you see on Nissan dealer lots everywhere...
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New York City Electrifies NYPD With 2011 Chevrolet Volt
Ask most people to name a classic cop car and they’ll probably mention the iconic Ford Crown Victoria or perhaps the 1974 Dodge Monaco turned Bluesmobile in the classic film The Blues Brothers. We’ve even seen more unlikely cars like the Dodge Challenger and Lamborghini Gallardo take on...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Leviton Announces $1,049 DIY Install Electric Car Charging Station
Electrical supply firm Leviton Manufacturing announced yesterday that it was now accepting orders for its $1,049 EVB22-3PM Level 2 charging station. Designed to provide up to 3.8 kilowatts to charge electric cars like the 2011 Nissan Leaf and 2011 Chevrolet Volt, the Leviton unit can be installed...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
First Fisker Karma To DiCaprio, 3,000 Orders Behind Him, CEO Says
Fisker Automotive says it will, finally, deliver its first 2011 Fisker Karma range-extended electric sports sedan later this month. The lucky recipient, it turns out, will be none other than actor Leonardo DiCaprio. He's the man who kicked off the whole hybrids-for-Hollywood-stars trend, by showing...
John Voelcker -
Range Anxiety Antidote: You Don't Drive As Far As You Think
It's been known among electric-car advocates for years that so-called "range anxiety" is somewhat overblown. That's despite, we might add, advertisements by a large U.S. company that sells a range-extended plug-in car that highlight its ability to let you drive it across the country on the spur of...
John Voelcker -
Chrysler's Most Important Car Ever: 2013 Dodge Compact Sedan
Never mind the Eminem "Imported From Detroit" Super Bowl ad. Ignore the freshened versions of Chrysler and Dodge models dating back to 2006 or before. The most important new car for Chrysler today--as crucial to its long-term survival as the legendary K-car line when it launched in 1980--is a...
John Voelcker