Electric motor

It's not surprising that the powertrains of electric cars differ quite a bit from traditional internal-combustion engines. Although they have fewer moving parts, the rare-earth magnets that help power electric cars can be quite complex to fabricate. So, what is there to know about rare-earth...

One of several new electric cars and concepts at last week's Paris Motor Show was the electric version of the second-generation Smart minicar. As Smart pointed out, it's the only maker that offers the option of gasoline or electric powertrains in every model it makes. Those are the ForTwo two-seat...

The distinguishing feature of the Chevrolet Volt has always been that as long as it has charge left in its battery, it runs solely on electricity. The gasoline engine doesn't switch on even under maximum acceleration (except in certain cold-weather situations, to provide heat for the cabin and...

Audi will use electric all-wheel drive on future models.

At 50 miles, the 2016 Chevrolet Volt offers the longest range of any plug-in hybrid (though the range-extended BMW i3 electric car is rated at 72 miles). Announced this week at the Detroit Auto Show, following an October technical briefing, the technology in the new Volt may turn out to hold some...

Last week, while the press and Tesla owners were entranced by the introduction of the dual-motor Tesla Model S P85D with all-wheel drive, Tesla quietly changed the listed horsepower ratings for all three single-motor versions of its Model S electric sport sedan. Since their introduction in 2012...

The world now has something around half a million plug-in electric cars on the roads, and electric propulsion is slowly spreading into other types of transportation. One of them is electric boats, which have been around for more than a century but are now seeing renewed interest. Just as with...

Electric vehicles already offer car designers much greater freedom than internal combustion vehicles, eliminating the need to find space for the rigid shape of an engine, its transmission and its ancillaries. That's not to say electric vehicle packaging can't be improved though, and Mitsubishi is...

KLD Energy Technologies says its redesigned motor and battery pack will improve efficiency.

Eighteen months ago, GM announced that it would build the electric motor for its upcoming Chevrolet Spark EV electric car in the U.S. Now, that motor is officially in production at the company's Baltimore Operations plant in White Marsh, Maryland--along with the associated final-drive...

General Electric scientists have developed a prototype electric motor designed to improve the performance and efficiency of hybrid and electric vehicles. The Interior Permanent Magnet traction motor improves on existing designs in several key areas, and would result in hybrids and electric vehicles...

Starting a company to build electric cars is tough, as Tesla, Fisker, and others have found out. Building electric motors is tough, too. It's tougher yet if you intend to turn the traditional design inside out, and build big, powerful, slim wheel motors to be used in large sedans, full-size pickup...

Weight, we're told, is the enemy of the car. The more of it you have, the more of it you need to overcome. Efficiency takes a turn for the worse, performance suffers, handling becomes less nimble--the problems are many. In electric cars, that makes the job of improving range more difficult. To this...

Ever felt a bit cranky in the morning? Chances are, it's not for quite the same reason as it would have been for your great grandfather. Because originally, "cranky" was what people called you if you'd become flustered from trying to hand crank your recalcitrant automobile. But in 1912, that all...

Chevrolet announced today that it would build the electric motor for its upcoming Spark EV battery electric car in a plant in Maryland. The carmaker also released the power specification for the motor, which will offer 85 kilowatts (114 hp) of peak output and roughly two-thirds of that in sustained...

It doesn't really matter whether GM sells the first Chevrolet Volt electric cars at a loss or not. The company announced yesterday that it plans to hire 1,000 new engineers over the next two years to focus exclusively on developing and expanding its work in electric-drive vehicles, everything from...

Recycling old electronics isn’t necessarily something most Americans do. Many of us, it turns out, just stash our old computers, printers, and TV sets in the closet. Or we leave them at the curb. But suppose properly recycling those electronics could help redress a potentially critical...

Finally, after almost four years, we've driven the 2011 Chevrolet Volt in a variety of conditions, talked over our impressions, and reached a conclusion: Yes, the 2011 Volt electric car is a real car. It may be propelled by electricity. It may plug into a wall socket or a special garage recharger...

Sometimes we avoid covering certain cars, for good reasons or not. One of those cars is the 2011 Wheego LiFe, a derivative of the 2009 Wheego Whip. Never heard of it? Not surprising. Wheego Electric Cars is a startup electric-car company, in this case selling an electric conversion of a...

Who ever said green cars can’t be fun? You only have to look at the Tesla Roadster and upcoming hybrid and electric sports cars from Audi, Mercedes-Benz and BMW to see that there is a future for sports car fans beyond the internal combustion engine. Porsche, too, is getting on the green car...