2011

  • 2011 Nissan Leaf plugged into an EVgo quick-charging station, Texas

    NRG Energy has opened its first eVgo direct-current electric vehicle charging station in Dallas, Texas, as part of a privately funded 70-station network in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, the company announced. The chargers are designed to be “fast-chargers,” which use a 480-volt direct electrical current to charge an electric vehicle enough to drive 30 miles in less than 10 minutes. NRG Energy also plans to open stations that feature a 240-volt Level 2 charger that gives an electric vehicle enough charge to go 25 miles in an hour. Electric vehicles have been criticized for their lack...

  • 2011 Nissan Leaf in Car Wash
    Myth Busting Electric Car Myths: Yes, You Can Use a Car Wash

    We’ve talked before about how all major electric cars on the market today have to undergo just as rigorous a water testing as their gasoline counterparts. But just like the many people who ask us on a weekly basis what happens when electric cars meet water perhaps there’s a voice...

  • Smart ForTwo ED
    Daimler Adds Bosch To Electric Car Collaborative Projects

    You’d be forgiven for thinking that German automaker Daimler was trying to build its own little electric car empire. Not only does it have active electric car projects running with Nissan-Renault, BYD and Tesla, but it has now announced intent to work on a project with the automotive arm of...

  • 2011 Fisker Karma
    Plug-In Hybrid MPGs: Is Parallel or Range-Extended Better?

    These are exciting times to be a car shopper, as the choices in every possible category just keep getting better and more fuel-efficient. The options for ecologically sensitive hybrid buyers have taken a major step forward with the introduction of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt and the imminent arrival of...

  • Lexus LF-Gh Hybrid Concept
    Lexus LF-Gh Hybrid Concept (New GS) Unveiled For NY Auto Show

    Last week they teased it; this week, they took the covers off it. In this case, "it" is the Lexus LF-Gh Hybrid Concept car that will be the centerpiece of the Lexus display at next week's New York Auto Show. The LF-Gh concept car is a styling exercise that "sets out to redefine the premium grand...

  • Renault Kangoo Express Z.E. electric van
    First Electric Renault Kangoo Van Z.E. Sold In U.K.

    Expected to be the first of many, French carmaker Renault has become the latest company to take an order for one of their upcoming electric vehicles, the Kangoo Van Z.E. The only commercial vehicle in Renault's upcoming range of electric vehicles that includes the Fluence sedan, the Zoe subcompact...

  • Kia Forte Koup - Kinetic Motorsports Grand-Am Race Cars

    It is no secret that Kia is trying to change their image. The company has come out with vehicles that will make you do a “double-take.” If you aren’t sure what I am talking about I have one word for you—Soul. Then of course there is the Spectra replacement—Kia Forte. The Forte is really the focus of our attention today as news comes across the wire that Kia has one its first-ever motorsports event at the Barber Motorsports Park. Racing you say? Yes, indeed we do and Kia is serious with their entry of the Forte Koup (actually a pair of Koups) into the Grand-Am...

  • Delphi wireless charging system for EVs
    Siemens Inductive Charging Testing Begins In Berlin With BMW

    German electronics company Siemens is set to begin field trials of an inductive charging system, in partnership with BMW. Inductive charging is a popular concept for charging away from home - it allows for charging without trailing cables and plugs around, and without requiring charging posts...

  • EcoLon Engine Covers.  Image Courtest of Ford Motor Company
    Today's Shag Carpeting, Tomorrow's Mustang?

    While you're ripping up old celery shag to lay down fresh berber, you may wonder where the carpet ends up. Probably, regrettably, a landfill somewhere--which is not the case with some automotive carpeting that a Ford supplier is turning into new parts. For years, automakers have used plastics to...

  • 2011 Chevrolet Volt
    BMW Hires Lead Electric-Car Engineer From Chevy Volt Team

    Not so long ago, the notion of luxury German brand BMW hiring an engineer from General Motors might have been a stretch. The company prefers to promote engineers from within its Munich engineering headquarters. But reports that Frank Weber, the lead engineer of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt team, has...

  • BYD e6
    Reviewer Drives BYD E6: Verdict? "One Trick Pony"

    Chinese automaker BYD, or "Build Your Dreams" has big plans. They had a strong presence at the recent 2011 Geneva Motor Show with a lineup of production electric cars both present and future, and the company intends to break into the U.S. market, never an easy task for a maker with little brand...

  • 2011 Nissan Leaf
    BREAKING: 2011 Nissan Leaf Start Failure - What You Need to Know

    A few days ago, we started hearing mumblings on the electric car grapevine which suggested that all was not well again with the 2011 Leaf, Nissan’s first ever all-electric production hatchback. It all began at the end of last month, when a 2011 Nissan Leaf owner reported that his car stopped...

  • 2011 Chevrolet Cruze

    The week that transitions Denver, Colo. from March to April marks a busy time, especially for those involved with the Denver International Auto Show. You might have noticed as AllSmallCars.com covered all the exciting news and reviews coming out of the auto show. One of the highlights was the manufacturer ride and drive program, a program that had 11 manufacturers participating for 2011. Chevrolet was just one, but they brought a lot of excitement with the ability to drive a 2011 Chevrolet Volt, a car we did a driving review for last week (more here). We also took a spin around downtown...

  • 2011 Nissan Leaf UK Launch
    2011 Nissan Leaf One Week In: Five Things We Like

    As you may have seen earlier this week, I’ve been a proud owner of a 2011 Nissan Leaf since late last month. Today marks ten days since we took delivery. We’ve already shared the five things that we hate about the 2011 Leaf, so now it’s time to share the things we really like...

  • DBM Energy Audi A2 Electric Car
    It’s Official: DBM Energy’s Electric Car Battery Is Real

    Remember the controversial 2010 Audi A2 converted by German battery firm DBM Energy? The car hit the headlines last year when it apparently travelled 375 miles on a single charge. Powered by the latest battery technology, the car’s creators even claimed a 6 minute recharge time. But before...

  • Corn Ethanol Pump
    Ethanol Wars: Farm Senators Want More E85 Flex-Fuel Cars By 2016

    Let's be real: How many of you out there have ever driven a single mile on E85 ethanol fuel? Very, very, very few of you, most likely. The fuel composed of 85 percent ethanol blended with 15 percent gasoline is available only in a handful of Midwestern states. Yet a bill now under consideration by...

  • Electric-car charging, from NRG Energy
    Nissan: Electric Car Goal Only Possible With Governmental Help

    President Obama’s goal of 1 million hybrid and electric vehicles on the roads of the U.S. by 2015 may sound like a tall order given the slow sales rollout of plug-in cars for the first few months of 2012, but as we’ve discovered before, it isn’t impossible. Now Nissan, makers of...

  • 2012 Toyota RAV4 EV Prototype
    2012 Toyota RAV4 EV Prototype: First Drive

    Just a year ago, seeing the 'RAV4, Powered by Tesla' startup greeting would have been almost unthinkable. Yet last May, Toyota and Tesla inked a deal that took the industry by surprise—and left a lot of observers scratching their heads. And nearly eleven months since that deal—and nine...

  • 2012 Subaru Impreza

    All-wheel-drive is an increasingly popular option in new vehicles, especially in areas of the country that get snow. But the security of having all four wheels powered in your car can be offset by the price of the option and, in most cases, a significant gas mileage penalty. And these days, it's all about the miles per gallon. The latest gas-mileage headline comes from Subaru, which touts the (anticipated) 36-mpg highway rating of its 2012 Impreza. That would be the highest highway gas-mileage figure delivered by any vehicle with all-wheel-drive. That compares to the highest rating of 20 mpg...

  • 2011 Chevrolet Volt drive test, March 2011
    The 2011 Chevrolet Volt: More Electric Than Car?

    Despite what GM wanted you to think when it first launched its brand new 2011 Chevrolet Volt, its four-seat extended range electric car or plug-in hybrid does consume gasoline. But it turns out that despite the protestations of dyed-in-the-wool electric vehicle advocates, the 2011 Chevrolet Volt...

  • BMW and Brilliance 5-Series plug-in hybrid prototype
    BMW 5-Series Plug-In Hybrid Prototype: 2011 Shanghai Auto Show

    BMW has taken the wraps off a new plug-in hybrid prototype based on its long-wheelbase 5-Series sedan, which it will be showcasing in just a few weeks at the 2011 Shanghai Auto Show. Built in collaboration with its Chinese alliance partner Brilliance Auto, development of the new prototype is the...

  • Lithium-ion battery pack for 2011 Chevrolet Volt
    LG Finishes Electric Car Battery Factory, Leads Battery War

    South Korean electronics giant LG has just finished what it claims is the world’s largest lithium-ion battery plant for electric vehicle traction batteries. Capable of producing enough lithium ion batteries to put 100,000 electric cars on the road LG’s chemical devision LG Chem is keen...

  • 2011 Chevrolet Volt
    2011 Chevrolet Volt: The View From the Inside Out

    If you haven’t seen our part one coverage of our 2011 Chevrolet test drive at the 2011 Denver Auto Show, then be sure to check that out (more here). After talking a little about how the car drives, we thought it would be good to give people who haven’t had a chance to get in one an idea...

  • First factory-built Fisker Karma live photos
    Electric-Car Range Extender Engines: OK Now, Can Do Better

    Electric cars like the 2011 Chevrolet Volt and 2011 Fisker Karma get around the problem of range anxiety the old-fashioned way: They use gasoline engines. They do it because the battery systems of pure electric vehicles are large, heavy, and expensive, but the range they produce is still...

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