Charging station
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If you own a plug-in electric car, what's the best (and cheapest) way to get a second charging cable to supplement the one that came with your vehicle? Turns out there are several options--as electric-car owners and advocates suggested when we asked the question. MUST SEE: Decoding Toyota's Electric-Car Disdain: A Role For Fuel Cells It all started when reader Brandt Buffham of Santa Clarita, California, bought a Ford Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid sedan. DON'T MISS: Chevy Volt Charging Cord Cut: Angry Neighbor, Electric-Car Hater? He wrote: I have a 2014 Ford Fusion Energi. It comes with the...
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BMW Designs Custom Solar Charging Station For i3, i8
Solar charging is indisputably one of the best ways of running an electric vehicle. It certainly mitigates any lingering worries about fueling your car with a smoke-belching coal-fired power plant. BMW is backing solar too, commissioning its BMW DesignworksUSA arm to design a stylish solar carport...
Antony Ingram -
2014 Cadillac ELR Electric Coupe: Free Home Charging Station Included
When the price of the 2014 Cadillac ELR range-extended luxury coupe was announced last October--it's $75,995--the gasps and shrieking could be heard throughout the plug-in electric car world. Yesterday, Cadillac sweetened the pot a bit: It said it would offer a "complimentary" 240-Volt Level 2 home...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Recall: Over-The-Air Updates, NEMA Connectors, And More
Every carmaker puts its own interpretation on news, especially at Detroit Auto Show. So it's reasonable for Tesla Motors to cast an NHTSA recall yesterday as an example of its ability to respond swiftly and effectively to update its Model S electric car to make the customer experience even better...
John Voelcker -
Tesla To Upgrade Electric-Car Wall Chargers For Further Fire Protection
Tesla will follow up a December software update with upgraded charger connectors to prevent overheating.
Stephen Edelstein -
BC To Get Canada's First Electric-Car Fast-Charging Network
The West Coast "green highway" will expand from Oregon and Washington states into British Columbia, under a plan announced today that will site DC quick-charging stations for electric cars along heavy-traveled roads and at popular destinations. BC Hydro, the province's electric utility, said it...
John Voelcker -
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 the parking? We recently chatted with Forest Williams, who's the vice president of sales and new business development at Liberty Access Technologies. That company develops what it terms "non-proprietary access solutions" for the electric-car charging industry--which is to say, easy payment...
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Palo Alto To Require Electric-Car Charger Wiring In New Homes
With most electric-car charging today taking place in the garages of private homes, installing a home charging station can pose a hurdle to potential buyers. Now Palo Alto, California--the city in the center of Silicon Valley--is moving to make it easier for homeowners who want to switch to an...
John Voelcker -
Electric-Car Charging Network Ecotality Files For Bankruptcy
The writing has been on the wall for a while now, but Ecotality filed for bankruptcy on Monday, according a report yesterday by the Associated Press. The provider of electric-car charging stations, known for its Blink network, has been troubled for some time. More than a year ago, Blink's charging...
John Voelcker -
PlugShare Launches PlugScore, So Electric-Car Drivers Can Rate Charging Stations
While the quality of gasoline can vary slightly from station to station, you're always pretty sure of the experience you'll get. There's a gas station in most towns, you pump some fuel into your tank, and you're generally there for no more than ten minutes. There's a bit more emphasis on a quality...
Antony Ingram -
NYC's Phone Booths To Die; Could Sites Charge Electric Cars Instead?
Aside from movie characters and intoxicated individuals looking for somewhere to relieve themselves, nobody really uses public pay telephones any more. New York City has around 8,000 active payphone kiosks, which is a lot of real estate going to waste. So why not, as The New York Times writes, put...
Antony Ingram -
Nissan, Toyota, Honda, Mitsubishi To Install Charging Stations In Japan
Several Japanese automakers have announced a joint project to install charging stations across their home country. Toyota, Nissan, Honda and Mitsubishi will work with each other and existing charging companies to drastically increase the number of regular and quick chargers across Japan, paving the...
Antony Ingram -
A Kickstarter project promising faster, cheaper Level 2 240V, 15 kW charging has reached its goal, with the first units expected to deliver this month. Electric Motor Werks (EMW) from Palo Alto, California, used the fund-raising website to raise capital for its 'JuiceBox' charging system, offering faster charging and a cheaper price tag than current Level 2 chargers on the market. In fact, it'll retail from just $99--a fraction the price of typical installations. The open-source design means the charger will be "almost infinitely expandable", according to EMW--while kits and fully-assembled...
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When "Electric" Doesn't Qualify You To Use Electric-Car Parking
There it is, parked right in the space reserved for electric-car charging: a Hyundai Tucson. Which runs solely on gasoline. But wait! There's a badge on the back. Right under the silver Hyundai letters, it says, "all electric." Wow. Is this a prototype test car? Or an unpublicized plug-electric car...
John Voelcker -
Etiquette For Electric-Car Charging: Debates Heat Up Over Who Goes First
Pull up to an occupied gas pump, and chances are you'll have to wait five minutes max for the car in front to vacate the spot. Arrive at an occupied electric car charging space and you may be in for quite some wait--and debate on who should get priority at EV charging spots is beginning to...
Antony Ingram -
Home Depot To Refund Taxes To Electric-Car Charging Station Buyers
Many states offer discounts, rebates, and other incentives for the purchase of infrastructure improvements that encourage electric-car ownership. Washington is one such state, providing tax breaks on charging stations and similar EV-related devices. Unfortunately, Home Depot sales associates...
Richard Read -
How Not To Install An Electric-Car Charging Station: A Case Study
We've all seen those 'FAIL' pictures that turn up on the internet with startling regularity--tastelessly placed adverts in newspapers, security cameras facing blank walls, products with overly suggestive graphics... you know the deal. Welcome to the latest in a long line of fails, spotted by of BMW...
Antony Ingram -
Public Charging Stations For Electric Cars: Who Leads The Way?
For the majority of the general public to consider purchasing a fully electric car, they first want accessible public charge points located at or near places they frequent in their daily life. It's also clear that most people won't end up using them nearly as much as they think they will. However...
Tom Moloughney -
We've already asked whether the Tesla Model S sells more units than the equivalent BMW, Audi or Mercedes--and now Nissan is outselling regular vehicles with its Leaf. Not Corollas or Ford Focus countrywide, of course--but apparently every other Nissan vehicle in March, in Portland, Oregon. With Jukes, Sentras, Versas and other affordable vehicles available from Nissan, that's quite an achievement for the Leaf. Could it be down to Oregon's 'West Coast Electric Highway?' Oregon is certainly well-suited for electric car use. According to Sustainable Business Oregon, the state has 27...
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From Gas Station To Electric-Car Charging: Is Encinitas Leading The Nation?
From the ashes of an old gas station flies the phoenix of electric charging for all. If you excuse the confused metaphor, that's essentially the idea behind an electric car charging plaza proposal in Encinitas, California. San Diego-based Evoasis wants to build the new plaza on the corner of Vulcan...
Antony Ingram -
Park A Regular Car In Electric-Car Space? In WA, It'll Cost Ya: $124
They call it being ICEd--the practice of Internal Combustion Engine vehicles parking in spaces set aside for electric cars. It's the bane of many an electric vehicle owner's existance, pulling into their local parking lot to find the only charging spot occupied by some klutz in a regular car. And...
Antony Ingram -
Find An Electric-Car Charging Station: How Do I Do It?
Here's the situation: You've bought, or are planning to buy an electric car. You've done the math, figured out the vehicle you want, and know that 80 percent of your charging will be done at home. But what about the other 20 percent? Luckily, finding those electric car charging stations isn't as...
Antony Ingram -
EV Project Tells Us How Drivers Use Electric Cars
Just how do electric car owners use their cars? It's the question everyone is trying to answer, as it could shape how electric cars of the future are developed. Virtually every manufacturer with an electric car runs its own field trials or keeps data on its users' driving habits, but the EV Project...
Antony Ingram -
More Electric-Car Owners Install Home Charging Stations
More than anything else, one of the most appealing things about electric cars is being able to sit inside, every morning before going to work, to see a full battery gauge staring back at you. This isn't possible with internal combustion vehicles, because local planners get a little suspicious if...
Antony Ingram