Range-Extended Electric Vehicle
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A ready supply of cars to convert means the VL Destino could hit the road soon.
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FedEx Follows French Lead, Tests Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Range Extenders
FedEx will deploy 20 electric delivery trucks equipped with hydrogen fuel-cell range extenders.
Stephen Edelstein -
BMW i3 Lease Terms Emerge, Cadillac ELR Too, Both Pricey
We've got used to seeing electric cars with temptingly low lease prices, in a generally successful effort to draw in buyers otherwise deterred by high purchase costs. For two of the newest kids on the block, the 2014 BMW i3 and 2014 Cadillac ELR, those price-gouging tactics haven't arrived just...
Antony Ingram -
VL Destino Faces Uncertain Fisker Future For Its Non-Electric Karma
Engine swaps are one thing; complete powertrain replacements are another. But if your business is yanking range-extended electric running gear out of a stunning-looking car from a now-bankrupt company, and replacing it with Corvette power, there are two ways you can go. Swaps, new cars You can wait...
John Voelcker -
Best Western To Use 1,000 Via Range-Extended Electric Vans As Hotel Shuttles
VIA Motors has announced an $80 million purchase agreement with its Canadian distributor, Sun Country Highway, to deploy 1,000 of Via's range-extended electric Vtrux vans as shuttle vehicles at Best Western hotels. The pact is important for Via, giving it a major commitment that could kick-start...
Matthew Klippenstein -
2014 BMW i3 Range Extender: No White CA Carpool-Lane Sticker, Here's Why
Incentives help drive the purchase of plug-in electric cars, which remain unfamiliar and expensive to many first-time buyers. But a recent article on The Street may have caused some confusion over which incentives will be granted to BMW's first electric car, the i3, when it goes on sale this...
John Voelcker -
Hybrid Technology Holdings raised its bid for Fisker Automotive, and announced plans to build cars in Delaware.
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Bankruptcy Judge Orders Remains Of Fisker Auto To Be Auctioned
After a last-minute bid by Chinese auto-parts giant Wanxiang, Fisker's remains will go to public auction.
Stephen Edelstein -
2014 Cadillac ELR Software Gives Hints Of Future Voltec Uses
General Motors' Voltec drivetrain, the range-extended plug-in setup used on the Chevrolet Volt and the new 2014 Cadillac ELR, is among the most advanced drivetrains on the roads. That's not to say there isn't room for greater improvement though, and that's exactly what GM is doing. In fact, as...
Antony Ingram -
Fisker Fate Up In Air After Last-Minute Bid; Founders Sued As Well
A flurry of last-minute legal moves puts the fate of bankrupt electric-car maker Fisker Automotive up in the air again.
Stephen Edelstein -
Hydrogen As Electric-Car Range Extender? French Tests Start Soon
Hydrogen fuel cells have often been viewed as alternatives to large battery packs for powering electric vehicles. But what if a small hydrogen fuel cell could be used in a battery-electric vehicle--solely as a range extender? The French postal service, La Poste, is about to test that concept in...
John Voelcker -
New Electric Taxi To Make London's Black Cabs A Little Greener
London's famous retro-style black taxis are as much a part of the landscape as Buckingham Palace or the Houses of Parliament, but so too is the pollution they create. The diesel engines used over several generations of taxi have been picked for their durability--racking up many hundreds of...
Antony Ingram -
The 2014 Cadillac ELR is now shipping to dealers.
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Consumer Reports Verdict: 2014 Cadillac ELR 'Priced Out Of Its League'
The Cadillac ELR extended-range electric car is too expensive, Consumer Reports says.
Stephen Edelstein -
Chevy Volt's Wind Thrumming Noise: Aero Fix Now Available
It's become a common part of road testing: Get the car up to speed, then roll down a window to see how bad the drumming and buffeting gets. Never experienced it? Try it on your own car sometime. Now, it turns out, there's an aerodynamic add-on fix available to cure the worst of the thrumming...
John Voelcker -
FINAL UPDATE: Plug-In Electric Car Sales For November: Down On October
As the year winds toward a close, U.S. car sales are at their highest levels in years. And modern plug-in electric cars will set a new sales record too. With one month left, November deliveries of cars with plugs looked like they'll hold steady with last month's--but as the final numbers came in...
John Voelcker -
First Review In: 2014 BMW i3 Range Extender Performance Limited
BMW is hedging its bets with the i3 electric city car. You can buy it not only as a pure electric vehicle, but also as a range-extended electric car. And if the extra price and curiously stunted extra range hadn't put you off so far, perhaps reviews of the range-extended model might dissuade you...
Antony Ingram -
GM: Buyers Will Compare Cadillac ELR To BMW 6-Series
GM has offered one reason the Chevy Volt-based Cadillac ELR is so expensive, but it's not the reason you might have been expecting. Priced similarly to Tesla's Model S sedan, it's logical to think that Cadillac may be angling for undecided cross-shoppers in the "green luxury" market. Instead...
Antony Ingram -
Mazda is a relative minnow in the auto industry sea, but for such an independent company it punches above its weight in engineering terms. It's still one of few companies to offer a simple two-seater sports car in a world of more profitable crossovers and hatchbacks. It's developed an entirely new and advance line of engines--under the Skyactiv banner--without any external input. And Mazda still persists with the Wankel rotary engine. Mazda now fits a rotary engine to the Mazda 2 subcompact, but not in the form you might expect. Range-extending rotary It's not a screaming, turbocharged rotary...
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Chevy Volt Owners Drive More Electric Miles Than Nissan Leaf Drivers: Why?
Is it a case of picking the right electric car for the right job? Or could a lack of "range anxiety" really lead drivers to cover more miles? It's a kind of chicken-or-egg question, but it came to mind when our author Matthew Klippenstein sent us some data. On average, owners of the Nissan Leaf...
John Voelcker -
How Much Gas Has The Chevy Volt Electric Car Saved In CA?
It's hard to picture how much fuel we use as a nation when given the raw data--the numbers are usually so unimaginably vast they lose all meaning. Just how vast is spelled out succinctly when we're shown how much we save by driving electric or hybrid vehicles. In the case of the Chevrolet Volt...
Antony Ingram -
2014 Cadillac ELR Saks Fifth Avenue: Plug-In Bling For Model S Money
General consensus is that Cadillac's range-extended ELR coupe is too expensive. At $75,995, they may have a point--that's a lot of extra dough for a car based on the $34,995 Chevrolet Volt. So the best thing to do to draw attention to the ELR would be to make it cheaper, right? Not exactly. At...
Antony Ingram -
BMW i3 Demand Will Be Strong In U.S. Too, Says Executive
Early demand for BMW's i3 electric car in Europe looks set to continue when it debuts in the United States, according to the company's North American CEO. Despite plans to produce just 10,000 units in its first year, BMW has considered expanding production after 8,000 reservations were made on the...
Antony Ingram -
Via Motors Range-Extended Electric Cargo Van Completes Crash Testing
Via says its Chevrolet Express-based plug-in van will return 100 mpg in mixed driving.
Stephen Edelstein