commuting

  • 2012 Chevrolet Volt crosses 400,000 miles, September 2017   [photo: owner Erick Belmore]

    As more battery-electric cars are sold and more drivers become aware of them, the question of battery life recurs among pretty much every potential buyer. How long will the battery last? Will I have to replace it every 18 months as I do in my smartphone? Data on the liquid-cooled battery packs of older Tesla Model S and Chevrolet Volt cars offers encouraging prospects—one 2012 Volt in particular. DON'T MISS: Durable 2012 Chevrolet Volt: 300,000 miles, no battery loss (Mar 2016) Nicknamed "Ol' Sparkie," that one specific Volt has now crossed a breathtaking 400,000 miles in the hands of...

  • 2015 Nissan Leaf in front of Prudential and Hancock Towers, Boston [photo: John Briggs]
    2015 Nissan Leaf: one year later, owner offers pros and cons

    Sometimes being a revolutionary requires a lot of personal sacrifice, and sometimes it doesn’t. After one year of driving of a 2015 Nissan Leaf electric car, I was surprised to find that daily driving with a gasoline car requires more sacrifice than with my electric. Like most people, before...

  • Steve Marsh's 2011 Nissan Leaf: 11 Months, 36,000 Miles
    2011 Nissan Leaf electric car crosses 150,000 miles of commuting (updated)

    Many drivers with a 130-mile round-trip each day to work and back might deem the 73-mile EPA-rated range of a 2011 Nissan Leaf electric car far too little to qualify for the commute. Not Steve Marsh, though. The Washington resident continues to rack up miles in his early Leaf. He crossed 100,000...

  • Traffic in Atlanta, Georgia during rush hour (via Wikimedia)
    Jobs Are Getting Further From People; That Means More Driving

    A new study shows people are driving farther to get to work.

  • ChargePoint electric-car charging station at Nest Labs, Palo Alto, CA
    Nest: Where One Electric-Car Charger Grew To Three

    While we're nearing 100,000 plug-in electric cars on U.S. roads, they're not evenly distributed--and the largest group of them is in California. This has led to occasional congestion at charging stations, and now it turns out that happens at workplaces too. Venture-funded startup Nest Labs, a media...

  • Southern California traffic - by flickr user David R. Blume
    Want Better Gas Mileage? Rethink Your Daily Commute

    If you live in a large city, work in a 9-5 job, and drive to the office, it’s probable that you end up spending at least some of your daily commute stuck in traffic. Assuming you drive a regular gasoline car--one without stop-start technology or hybrid drivetrain--congested traffic can...

  • 2012 Hyundai Accent

    Over a short test that mimicked commuter duty, our 2012 Hyundai Accent SE hatchback returned 33.4 mpg.

  • Map of the U.S.A.
    Top 10 Cities For Commuting By Electric Car

    We've taken a look recently at the five EVs we're most looking forward to driving, and another look at the five EVs you should do your best to see at the upcoming 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show. We're clearly at the beginning of something big for personal transportation, an age where electric travel is...

  • 2009 Toyota FT-EV II
    Toyota Goes Steampunk With New Electric-Car Concept for Tokyo

    It hasn't been a great year for Toyota in the U.S., with a recall of 3.8 million vehicles for possible floor-mat hazards and a dire shortage of 2010 Prius hybrid models. So we were delighted to see the Toyota FT-EV II electric car concept for the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show, to prove that the company...

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