Chelsea Sexton
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Almost seven years after modern electric cars entered the mass market, there are now more than two dozen battery-electric and plug-in hybrid models on sale in the U.S. But that impressive number shouldn't disguise a fundamental truth about those vehicles: only about half of them are widely available nationwide. Those include the BMW i3 electric car and i8 plug-in hybrid coupe, the Chevrolet Bolt EV and Volt plug-in hybrid, Nissan Leaf, and Tesla Model S and Model X. DON'T MISS: U.S. plug-in electric car sales for Sep: Bolt EV hits new monthly high That's better than the number in mid-2014...
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Plug-In Hybrids Are The Best Competitors To Fuel-Cell Vehicles: Here's WhyWith the imminent unveiling of the Toyota Fuel Cell Vehicle, and the Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell already on sale, you can expect to hear a lot more about hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles in the coming months. Initially they will be offered only in very low numbers, and restricted to Southern California...
John Voelcker -
Crushed BMW ActiveE Test Fleet Headed For Scrapyard (UPDATED)
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...
John Voelcker -
Electric Cars: Drivers Love 'Em, Want 'Em--But Butts In Seats Is the Challenge
It's pretty clear that many car buyers are very interested in electric cars, and that they love them when they drive them. Electric cars have a handful of natural advantages that offset their higher purchase cost: They cost far less per mile than gasoline cars, and they're simply nicer to drive...
John Voelcker -
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 -
Nissan Launches Global Leaf Advisory Board For Better Electric-Car Understanding
For the past few months, Nissan has been investigating cases of premature battery aging and lost range in its Leaf electric car, particularly in hot climates like Arizona. Amidst continuing pressure from Leaf owners, however, and with the results of an independent Leaf range test proving that some...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
by Chelsea Sexton Slanted, anti-EV reporting is hardly a new thing, and I suspect we're in for a lot more of it in 2011 as plug-in vehicles hit showrooms. But the recent BBC "Mini Adventure," a 484-mile journey from London to Edinburgh in a Mini E, has caught fire like nothing I've seen in a while. Helen Keller could have predicted the outcome of the trip itself:. Cold weather affected both comfort and range, and combined with lack of abundant infrastructure, created a less than optimal experience for the BBC's Brian Milligan, who finally made it to the end of his journey after four days and...
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2011 Chevy Volt Customer Advisory Board: More Than A Publicity Stunt
When long-time EV advocate and former GM EV1 salesperson Chelsea Sexton talked to us a few weeks ago and told us she had some exciting news, we knew something fun was about to happen. Did she have news about the up-coming sequel to Chris Payne’s docudrama Who Killed The Electric Car? Was she...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2011 Chevy Volt Investment: How Does This Differ From the EV1?
Another day, another announcement in the series of carefully timed press releases on the 2011 Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric car. In this case, it's the news that GM's investment in the Detroit-Hamtramck plant where the Volt will be built totals $336 million. General Motors says that sum...
John Voelcker
