2011
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If you’ve been following the fortunes of the Norwegian electric car company Think, you’ll know that it recently filed for bankruptcy, the fourth time in its 20 year history. But if you thought the firm would disappear without trace then you’re in for disappointment as a little-known Turkish firm is in negotiations to rescue Think from becoming a footnote in the history books. Enter BD Otomotive. The investment group with access to manufacturing facilities has said due diligence on a Think takeover is complete and it is ready to complete negotiations as soon as...
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DC Quick-Charging Stations: Why Does California Lag, Not Lead?
There are now more than 4,000 Nissan Leaf electric cars on the road in the United States, and the 2012 Mitsubishi “i” is poised to arrive at dealers late this year. Each car offers a DC quick-charge port using the Japanese CHAdeMO standard, for which most 2011 Nissan Leaf owners paid...
George Parrott -
Think Went Thunk: What Does Electric-Car Bankruptcy Teach Us?
A little more than three weeks ago, Norwegian electric-car maker Think Global declared bankruptcy--for the fourth time, actually. In a pithy piece published a week later, Pike Research analyst Dave Hurst suggested a few lessons that can be learned from Think's latest collapse. The entire article...
John Voelcker -
Five Ways to Increase Your Electric Car’s Range Overnight
If you’re an electric car owner who finds that the range you can get from a full charge isn’t anywhere near the distance the dealer claimed, you’re not alone. Rushing to work, carrying excess weight, poor maintenance, inadequate planning and even drive distractions while driving...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Pedestrian Alert Noises Coming To Hybrid And Electric Cars, Needed Or Not
If you like the idea of hybrid or electric cars that whir silently down the road without the noise of an engine exploding gasoline thousands of times each minute, you'd better act fast. The U.S. government is moving inexorably toward a rule requiring all hybrid and electric cars to make noise...
John Voelcker -
Will Euro-Squabbles Cripple Cross-Border Electric Car Charging?
Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it, said the philosopher Santayana. And there seems to be a very real chance that Europe is heading toward a variety of multiple and incompatible electric-car charging standards. That's a path the U.S. rejected a decade ago. And it's one that...
John Voelcker -
Renault has just unveiled its latest electric car creation ahead of the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. Called the Frendzy, and looking a little like the Kia Soul, the concept is a just under 14 feet in length and features a whole host of technology worthy of any concept car, including the ability to fully integrate with BlackBerry’s latest tablet, the PlayBook. But unlike alliance partner Nissan and its more recent concept electric cars, the Frendzy just doesn’t look like a car we can imagine on the roads any time soon. Based on the same drivetrain as Renault’s more...
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Which Hybrids Improve Gas Mileage The Most? Lexus, Lincoln Win
The Union of Concerned Scientists thinks hybrid-electric vehicles are a good thing, because they use less gasoline. But the savings in gas cost from that improved gas mileage varies enormously, and now the group has quantified the results. In their annual Hybrid Scorecard this year, the UCS ranks...
John Voelcker -
Electric Car Navigation Gets Smart With Pioneering New GPS
Practically every car on the market today ships with the option of a built-in GPS unit, letting the driver go anywhere without supposedly getting lost. But while satellite navigation systems have got a whole lot smarter in recent years, they are designed to be used in a gasoline car - not an...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Charging Stations Go Homebrew As Hobbyists Make Working Unit
Electric car charging stations might be coming down in price, but a team of enthusiasts have now successfully completed the first tentative charging cycles of a 2011 Nissan Leaf using a completely home-built charging station. Started as a weekend project in response to the high prices charged by...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2011 Chevrolet Volt: Air Dam, Display Issues Fixed By Dealers
Two early customer satisfaction issues on the 2011 Chevy Volt are being addressed by dealers: a front air dam that's too low, and intermittent blank displays on the instrument cluster.
George Parrott -
Electric Car Purchase Incentives? They’re Normal in Normal
While the federal government has a blanket $7,500 tax credit available for anyone who purchases an eligible electric ca, each state is at liberty to apply its own incentives to encourage people to make the switch from gasoline to electric cars. The amount of additional incentives varies from state...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
It’s official: next year Toyota will launch not one, but three plug-in vehicles in the year ahead. Announced at Toyota’s Annual National Dealer meeting in Las Vegas, the trio of vehicles will consist of one plug-in hybrid and two pure electric vehicles to the U.S. market by the end of 2012. While each vehicle will be an electric adaptation of an existing car, Toyota’s new plug-in vehicles span a range of uses and lifestyles, from city runabouts through to long-legged commuting vehicles. Here’s a quick guide to the three plug-in cars you’ll see from Toyota next...
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June Electric Car Sales Continue To Climb: Leaf Soars, Volt Steady
Sales of plug-in electric cars continued their slow climb in June. The 2011 Nissan Leaf racked up its best U.S. sales number ever while the 2011 Chevrolet Volt sales held steady, as the company had warned they would. Following a May total of 1,142 sales--the first time more than 1,000 Leafs had...
John Voelcker -
2011 Nissan Leaf Generates Constant Buzz: Musicians Beware!
The Leaf generates massively more and constant high frequency sound feedback
George Parrott -
Lexus CX 300h Hybrid: Luxury Brand To Launch RX Baby Brother?
Last September, Toyota said the company would launch six new hybrids by the end of 2012. Now, a report from the German car magazine AutoBild suggests that one of those is a new Lexus: a baby brother for the brand's hugely successful RX 450h hybrid crossover utility vehicle. The new compact...
John Voelcker -
Portland, Oregon: Why Is It A Leading Electric Vehicle Market?
Portland was chosen as one of the first markets for both the 2011 Nissan Leaf and 2011 Chevrolet Volt—and at least for the Leaf, the density of charging stations and the presence of that CHAdeMO quick-charger probably had something to do with it.
Bengt Halvorson -
Toyota Adds Prius Plus Performance Package To Hot Up Hybrid Handling
Pretty much every Toyota Prius hybrid you see on the streets looks the same. Wild customization is generally limited to personalized plates that promote the driver's green credentials, solar panels, eco-living, or general hybrid luv-luv-LUV. That's about to change. Toyota announced today it will...
John Voelcker -
Mike Koenigs is also a true Tesla and clean power activist
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Rolls-Royce Prepares Electric Prototype For World Tour
While we think Rolls-Royce is unlikely to be selling an all-electric Phantom any time soon, the British luxury car maker has been putting its 102EX Electric Phantom through a whole series of tests ahead of a worldwide tour to ensure it behaves in an appropriate manner at all times. One of the most...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
White House, Feds To Push For 56.2-MPG Fuel Economy In 2025
The two Federal agencies that set gas mileage and emissions standards for future cars may propose rules that require corporate average fuel economy to reach 56 miles per gallon by 2025. News reports out of Washington, D.C., indicate that the Obama Administration is urging the EPA and NHTSA to push...
John Voelcker -
2011 Chevrolet Volt Prove It Can Be An Electric Wizard Too
When is a 2011 Chevrolet Volt not a plug-in hybrid? When it covers 2,500 miles between fill-ups. That’s how far Maryland resident Jeff Parmet has driven in his 2011 Chevrolet Volt in the past six months. In fact, he’s just visited the gas pump for the first time since buying the car...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Electric Car With EV1 Heritage Sets New Pikes Peak Record
For the past week or so the famous Pikes Peak in Colorado has rung with the sound of cars and motorcycles climbing the 12.42 mile course to its 14,110 foot summit. But yesterday for a few minutes, the mountain was a little quieter as an electric car climbed the summit, completing the would-renowned...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2011 Lexus CT 200h Compact Hybrid Hatch: First Drive Review
The 2011 Lexus CT 200h pretty much occupies a class of one. At the moment, it’s the sole luxury compact hybrid hatchback sold in the U.S. And it’s a dedicated hybrid, meaning there’s no gasoline-only version. If you want the compact hatch, you get the hybrid. It’s also terra...
John Voelcker