road trips

  • Road trip on historic U.S. Route 66 (Images: Antony Ingram)

    Illinois will invest $1 million in charging stations along the historic Route 66 route.

  • 2013 Tesla Model S in Florida, during New York to Florida road trip [photo: David Noland]
    Cross-Country Electric-Car Trips: Reality For A Few, Getting Closer For Many

    The idea of traveling long distances in electric cars that have to be recharged after only 70 or 80 miles--or even 250 miles--may seem absurd to some. But while even the fastest of DC fast-charging isn't quite as quick as refilling with gasoline, yet, longer road trips in electric cars are possible...

  • 2014 BMW i3
    2014 BMW i3 REx 38-HP Range Extender Vs. 14,000-Foot Mountain: Who Wins?

    Steep climbs are the enemy of electric car drivers. While modern electric vehicles are more than capable of powering up a hill, with ample torque, the effect on a car with limited range can be significant. It's less of a problem with a range-extended electric vehicle like the 2014 BMW i3 REx, but a...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S on Icefields Parkway in the Canadian Rockies [photo: owner Vincent Argiro]
    Tesla Model S: Yes, Writers, Higher Speeds Use More Energy In Electric Cars

    Just when you thought it might be safe to assume no more journalists would do silly, uninformed things with electric cars...comes proof that blissful ignorance knows few bounds. In this case, a writer for the respected print and online outlet The Atlantic took a Tesla Model S for a test drive--and...

  • 1914 Ford Model T
    Tesla Model S Electric Car Versus ... Ford Model T? A History Lesson

    Well, give Car and Driver points for high concept: In picking a car to test against a 2013 Tesla Model S luxury electric sedan, the magazine chose...a 1915 Ford Model T. Yep, the most advanced, most talked-about battery-electric vehicle on the planet was pitted against the car that put the world on...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S in Florida, during New York to Florida road trip [photo: David Noland]
    Life With Tesla Model S: NY-FL Supercharger Road Trip, Returning

    Last week, in the middle of a prolonged and depressing stretch of winter weather in New York's Hudson Valley, I decided I had to get the hell out. Time for a road trip to a warm place. It was a perfect opportunity to test out Tesla's new East Coast Supercharger Highway, the just-completed string of...

  • Road trip on historic U.S. Route 66 (Images: Antony Ingram)

    This August, a group of electric vehicle drivers will travel from Mexico to Canada up the West Coast as part of the BC2BC annual all-electric vehicle rally. To celebrate, the meet will bring together electric vehicles in Long Beach, California, to form the world's largest electric vehicle gathering. All electric cars are welcome--provided they run entirely on electric power. That means range-extended vehicles like the Chevy Volt won't be allowed to partake--and nor will hybrids, hydrogen vehicles or any other fossil-fueled or alternatively fueled vehicle. ALSO SEE: 2015 Tesla Model X Will...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S
    Cross-Country Tesla Trip? Done! How About Texas To Panama?

    It was only a matter of time. Produce an electric car with enough range, and the journeys it can realistically achieve become almost limitless. There have been a flurry of coast-to-coast trips recently as Tesla opens up its countrywide Supercharger network, but perhaps the most impressive trip...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S at Supercharger station on NY-to-FL road trip [photo: David Noland]
    Tesla Model S: NY-To-FL Trip, Day 4, Florida Destination--Made It!

    The final segment of my New York-to-Florida electric-car road trip, made possible through Tesla's new network of Supercharger stations along the East Coast, provided what I'd come for--time spent with old comrades--but it started gloomy. The grueling 380-mile day was brightened by the kindness of...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S in Florida, during New York to Florida road trip [photo: David Noland]
    Tesla Model S: NY-To-FL Trip, Day 3, South Carolina To Florida

    The third day of my New York-to-Florida electric-car road trip, using the newly completed string of Supercharger stations along the East Coast, brought me almost to my destination in Florida. Here's how the most recent leg of my journey went. DAY 3: Santee, South Carolina, to Ormond Beach, Florida...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S electric sport sedan [photo by owner David Noland]
    Tesla Model S: NY-To-FL Trip, From Home To South Carolina

    So far, the New York-to-Florida electric-car road trip in my 2013 Tesla Model S is progressing pretty much according to plan. That's not to say I haven't learned a few things in traveling via the newly-completed network of Tesla Supercharger DC quick-charging stations. One of them would be that...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S in winter, Hudson Valley, NY  [photo: David Noland]
    Tesla Model S NY-To-FL Winter Getaway, Via Supercharger

    It's late January in upstate New York: 8 degrees F, with cloudy, light snow drifting down. The long-range forecast predicts non-stop sub-freezing temperatures for the next eight days. I need to get the hell out of here. Time for a road trip. MORE: Tesla Superchargers Now Opening Fast, Cross-Country...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S

    Just a couple of years ago, traveling cross-country in an electric car would have required a great deal of planning and a great deal of time. But with Tesla's Model S and its 265 miles of EPA-rated range in 85 kWh form, it takes little more thought than in any other vehicle. Throw in a cross-country network of free-to-use Supercharger fast-charge stations and it's a trip any Model S owner can now do. There's one such voyage going on right now, with updates appearing in the Tesla Motors forum. It's turning into quite the trip, and the two drivers, a father and daughter team, are set to reach...

  • Tesla Motors Supercharger network in Winter 2014 - map as of January 22, 2014
    Tesla Superchargers Now Opening Fast, Cross-Country Route Close

    After a disappointing 2013, a year in which Tesla fell short of ambitious goals for expanding its Supercharger network, the company has picked up the pace remarkably. Just last week, seven new Superchargers came on line, the latest of a wave of 40 of the proprietary Supercharger DC fast-charging...

  • 2012 Tesla Model S
    Tesla Model S Road Trip To Arrive In DC Over Presidents Day Weekend

    Tesla owners will converge on Washington, D.C. Presidents Day weekend for some electric-car camaraderie.

  • 2013 Tesla Model S at Supercharger station in Springfield, Oregon, Nov 2013 [photo: George Parrott]
    Road Trips In A Tesla Model S Electric Car: Lessons Learned

    It's one facet of the American myth: Get in your car, drive away from wherever you are, take the road trip. Think crossing the country to find the California Dream. Think Jack Kerouac's On the Road. Think buddy movies. MORE: Tesla Model S Road Trip: 1,200 West Coast Electric-Car Miles More...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S electric sport sedan [photo by owner David Noland]
    Life With Tesla Model S East-Coast Road Trip: Freeze In Slow Lane, Or Languish At Nissan Dealers?

    After reading George Parrott's article yesterday about his effortless 1,200-mile West Coast road trip along Tesla's Supercharger Highway, I have only one thing to say. "George, you lucky bastard." You see, I too recently made a 1,200-mile journey in my Tesla Model S. And it wasn't quite so...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S in Mount Shasta, California, Nov 2013 [photo: George Parrott]
    Tesla Model S Road Trip: 1,200 West Coast Electric-Car Miles

    600 miles in a day in the all-electric Tesla Model S

  • 2013 Tesla Model S

    Earlier this year, Tesla Motors founder and CEO announced his intentions for a cross-country Tesla Model S road trip. In the past, such a trip would have been the work of much planning, countless hours charging and multiple stops along the way. But in these days of Model S electric cars and free Supercharger fast-charging networks, it no longer looks so daunting. Musk tweeted earlier today that his Los Angeles to New York family road trip plans were finalized, says Tech Crunch, and expects the trip to take just six days, with only nine hours' charging required to cross the country. Those nine...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S
    Dutch Drivers Cover 388 Miles On Single Charge Of Tesla Model S

    When Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] first announced a 250-300 mile range estimate for its top-spec 85 kWh Model S, it suggested that 400 miles could well be a possibility for some drivers. Owner David Metcalf was the first to prove that theory last December by extracting 423 miles of range on a journey...

  • Ride The Future electric vehicle tour ends at Google HQ (Photos: Morgan Vanderwall)
    Ride The Future Cross-Country Electric Road Trip Ends At Google HQ

    After more than 3,000 miles, 44 cities and some new Guinness World Records, 12 riders have finally completed their electric Ride The Future vehicle tour across the U.S. The group pulled into Charleston Park in Mountain View, California--home of Google and the Google Campus--after completing 3,745...

  • Terry Hershner's 2012 Zero electric motorcycle (Image: Off The Grid on Facebook)
    Across The Country In 5 Days--On An Electric Motorcycle

    Little fuels a passion for travel like a cross-country trip. Perhaps "fuels" is the wrong word though, as it's not unusual to see people attempt U.S. crossings using electrons these days. Terry Hershner has done just that, though not in the air-conditioned luxury of a Tesla Model S. Instead, his...

  • WAVE 2013 electric vehicle parade (Images: WAVE Facebook group)
    'World Record Drive' Around EU Draws 388 Electric Cars

    What do you call 388 electric cars and bikes driving from Vienna in Austria to Geneva in Switzerland? Answer: A world record. No, it's not funny, but then it wasn't a joke. Called WAVE 2013 (World Advanced Vehicle Expedition), a parade of hundreds of electric cars traveled between the two European...

  • 2013 Volkswagen Passat TDI achieves a Guinness record-breaking 78 MPG
    Volkswagen Passat TDI Smashes World Record With 78 MPG On U.S. Trip

    Two drivers have set a new Guinness World Record for achieving the lowest fuel consumption in the lower 48 states in a non-hybrid car. Wayne Gerdes and co-driver Bob Winger returned an amazing 78 mpg around the 48 contiguous states in a 2013 Volkswagen Passat TDI, the highest-mpg diesel on sale in...

News First Drives Electric Cars Hybrids Guides Green Life