EV1
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Most of the U.S. was unaware that modern electric cars got their start in California between 1996 and 2002. Many of the earliest owners and EV advocates from those days remain involved 20 years later, though their names may be familiar only to a small group of activists. One of those people is Paul Scott, who's been part of several important events in the early history of modern EVs. What follows are his words, lightly edited for style and clarity by Green Car Reports. DON'T MISS: Modern electric cars at 20: from EV1 to Bolt EV, where are we now? (Dec 2016) Life is a journey. I was a young...
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Science Guy Bill Nye buys Chevy Bolt EV, his seventh electric car
Bill Nye, better known as "The Science Guy" on the popular PBS children's series that bears his name, loves electric cars. He drove one of only a few hundred original GM EV1 two-seat electric cars almost 20 years ago. Three weeks ago, he took delivery of a brand-new "Kinetic Blue" 2017 Chevrolet...
John Voelcker -
Modern electric cars at 20: from EV1 to Bolt EV, where are we now?
Twenty years ago today, the very first GM EV1 electric cars were delivered to 40 lessees in California in a blaze of publicity. Since then, plug-in electric vehicles have seen more than their share of ups and downs. That first EV1 was a high-tech two-seater created specifically to meet California's...
John Voelcker -
Fortune Puts Volt In 'Dustbin Of History' Despite New Model Coming (UPDATE)
Two carmakers sell plug-in electric cars; one is a pricey, sexy all-electric sport sedan, the other a range-extended electric compact hatchback. One (the Tesla Model S) is a huge success, with its maker "going from strength to strength." The other (the Chevy Volt) is "headed to the dustbin of...
John Voelcker -
GM Confirms Electric-Car Name Will Be 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV
Well, they did it. General Motors confirmed yesterday that its upcoming 200-mile battery-electric car will be named the Chevrolet Bolt EV. That's Bolt-with-a-B, not Volt-with-a-V. The Volt-with-a-V is Chevy's now-established plug-in hybrid compact hatchback. DON'T MISS: Why 'Bolt' Is A Really...
John Voelcker -
Should GM Name Its Bolt Electric Car The 2017 Chevrolet EV2?
Without a doubt, Chevrolet dominated the news in plug-in electric cars at the recent Detroit Auto Show. It unveiled not only the new 2016 Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid, but also a concept that showed what a 2018 battery-electric hatchback with a 200-mile range might look like. The subcompact concept...
John Voelcker -
Just two weeks ago, drivers of the BMW ActiveE fleet of electric test vehicles were delighted to see that their cars would have a second life. BMW announced that it would redeploy 80 ActiveE electric cars to its DriveNow car-sharing program in San Francisco. MUST READ: 2014 BMW i3 Test Drive: No Help From Salesman For Electric-Car Buyer But then, yesterday, a photo appeared on Facebook that underscores the fate--sooner or later--of all low-volume electric cars in lease-only programs. The photo posted by a member of a BMW ActiveE forum showed, very simply, eight ActiveE cars that had been...
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GM EV1 & Tesla Model S: Looking At 20 Years Of Electric Cars
Last week, we were struck by a single photo that captured electric cars across two decades. The image, showing a GM EV1 and a Tesla Model S on the Worcester Polytechnic Institute campus, was posted on Facebook by Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA]. More than anything we've seen in a while, that photo showed...
John Voelcker -
Chevy Volt Plug-In Electric Car Development: Academic Study Published
The development of the Chevrolet Volt is now the subject of a 29-page academic paper.
Stephen Edelstein -
Rare Surviving GM EV1 Waits For Savior At Missouri University
The late and much lamented GM EV1 electric car is by now a mythical creature. It's been the subject of a much-discussed documentary, and is still cause for blind loathing of General Motors in some quarters. Designed, engineered, and offered for lease in California and a few other locations from...
John Voelcker -
Garcetti: An EV Fanboy, Now The Mayor-Elect Of Los Angeles
Despite major reductions in air-pollution levels, the Los Angeles basin still has the worst smog problem in the nation. While you might debate over what exactly is the longer-term solution for reducing that smog, vehicles with internal-combustion engines are still contributing to problem. And it's...
Bengt Halvorson -
Hybrid Battery Inventor Stanford Ovshinsky Dies At 89
Unless you’re deeply into the history of electric and hybrid electric vehicle technology, the chances are you might not recognize the name of Stanford Ovshinsky. But if you’ve ever driven a Toyota Prius Hybrid, or any number of all-electric cars with nickel-metal hydride battery packs...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
How much would you pay for a tired 1997 Chevrolet S-10 pickup, especially one of unknown condition? A quick look at auction site eBay tells us that at best, even a tidy example of would be worth little more than $1000. What if that truck happened to be powered by the same drivetrain that was found in the legendary all-electric EV1 that General Motors made between 1996 and 1999? Would you buy it? And how much would you pay? Spotted for sale on a Government Liquidation auction website, this particular Chevy S-10 Electric pickup truck was one of 492 examples built by GM between 1997 and 1998...
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Rare EV-1 Up For Sale, But It Isn't An Electric Car
Earlier today, our colleagues over at MotorAuthority told us about a collection of over 100 rare cars going under the hammer in Sweden. Among them, a complete EV-1. Complete with aerodynamic coupe styling, solar-powered cooling fan and a film appearance under its belt, bidding for this futuristic...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Fisker Karma Electric-Car Charging Stations Have EV1 Roots
When you buy an electric car, you will most likely need a charging station. As buyers start to bring home plug-in cars, they will also expect their dealer to help them acquire and install a 240-Volt charging station (technically known as an EVSE, though few people call them that). Startup Fisker...
John Voelcker -
GM EV1 Gets Another Shot At Smithsonian, 4 Years On
If General Motors' EV1 had featured in the Disney Pixar animated film Cars, we can't imagine it would have been the happiest of characters. It might well have spent a little time complaining about its friends all being crushed back in 1999, and who could blame it? And four years ago it might have...
Antony Ingram -
OK, EV1 Fans, Here's Your Chance To Vote For The Electric Car!
The General Motors EV1 still exerts a strange fascination for electric-car fans and civilians alike. Its sleek, aerodynamic shape and pioneering all-electric drive (despite an initial range of only about 70 miles) make it an important vehicle in U.S. automotive history. Fascination has only grown...
John Voelcker -
As 2011 Chevrolet Volt Nears Dealers, Ghostly EV1 Gets Enthusiasts Excited
Just as the excitement is growing over the first dealer deliveries of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt and 2011 Nissan Leaf, eagle-eyed EV enthusiasts have spotted General Motor’s previous electric car on Google’s Street View. Is it serendipity or a more carefully timed disclosure to coincide...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
It’s tough being at the cutting edge of technology. Just like the early days of the video cassette or more recently, the high-definition DVD wars a technology becomes obsolete before its even had chance to take off. So what happens when over 600 EV chargers in the state of California are rendered obsolete thanks to a new national charging standard? You upgrade them, of course. Or rather EV Connect does. The company has just been awarded $1.9 million to upgrade charging stations all over California which were installed long before the 2011 Nissan Leaf, 2011 Coda Sedan and 2011 Chevy Volt...
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GM To Build All-Electric Cars Again: A Very Few, Just For Tests
The big news in green cars today will be the noon release of pricing and ordering information for the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, GM's upcoming range-extended compact electric car. But GM had more noteworthy news today, all the way from the other side of the world. General Motors, the company pilloried...
John Voelcker -
Nissan, GM Are Right to Quiz Potential Electric-Car Buyers
Nissan has been criticized by consumers and EV owners alike for the online questionnaire that accompanies the signup process for reserving a 2011 Nissan Leaf. As part of the process, Nissan tries to ascertain if potential customers have a lifestyle compatible with the Leaf's range, recharging...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
GM Planning Engineless All-Electric Cars To Follow the Volt
Bob Lutz, the retiring eminence grise of General Motors, is known for pithiness and plain speaking. Yesterday, he tossed off a nugget of news: GM is working on a range of pure electric cars, without range-extending engines, that will follow the 2011 Chevrolet Volt--most likely a few years hence...
John Voelcker -
Final Aptera 2e Styling Leaked, We Drive the Electric 3-Wheeler
To green-car fans, the idea of an ultra-aerodynamic electric two-seater sounds pretty familiar, right? Think the late, lamented EV1 from General Motors, subject of the controversial documentary, Who Killed the Electric Car? But for more than 4,000 people who've put down deposits on the 2011 Aptera...
John Voelcker