Electric
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If you had over half-a-million dollars to spend on an electric car, which car -- or cars -- would you buy? For $550,000 -- that’s about the same price as the gas-guzzling rocket ship that is the 2011 Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 race car - you could buy 7 Tesla Model S Signature Series Sedans. Or you could buy yourself and twelve lucky friends a fully tricked-out 2012 Nissan Leaf. But for one lucky collector, $550,000 is the amount paid for an 1899 Columbia Electric Landaulet, the highest price ever paid at auction for a vintage electric car. Smashing the estimate set by prestigious RM...
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5.2 Million Electric Vehicles Will Be On World's Roads By 2017President Obama may be aiming to get 1 million plug in vehicles on the roads of the U.S. by 2015, but a recent study by Pike Research predicts that by 2017 there will only be 5.2 million plug-in vehicles worldwide. In total, more than 14 million hybrid and plug-in electric cars will be on the roads...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Five Electric Cars You’ll Still Be Able To Buy In Five YearsThe electric auto industry -- more than the conventional auto industry -- is an extremely volatile and competitive place. And unlike the mainstream auto industry, small-scale and boutique companies like Tesla Motors and Fisker Automotive actually compete for the custom of electric car buyers...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Kansas Students To Drive Coast To Coast On Electric Car TripIt's human nature to take on challenges, and for many in the electric car industry that means embarking upon huge road trips in cars not known for their long ranges. We've seen trips from Alaska to Mexico in an electric race car and 25,000 miles in a Tesla Roadster, amongst others. Minddrive's idea...
Antony Ingram -
Getting An Electric Car Charging Station? Make Your Contractor Watch This (Video)Here at GreenCarReports we like to cover every aspect of owning and driving an electric car -- from choosing the right model for you through to learning how to get the best range and buying a dedicated charging station. But what about getting your electric car charging station installed? Do you...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
China's Electric Car Plans Unrealistic, Focus Now On HybridsChina appears to have abandoned its plans to gain an early advantage on Western carmakers by beating them to the market with mass-produced electric vehicles. As China develops more and more as a nation the demand for cars is increasing at a huge rate. The Chinese government had initially intended...
Antony Ingram -
We’re just a few weeks away from the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show, and already know about some of the electric and plug-in cars that are due to be unveiled there. But a report from The Financial Times hints that Volkswagen could be preparing an as-yet undheard of single-seat urban electric car to unveil alongside its fuel-sipping minicar -- the Volkswagen Up. “It’s a new kind of mobility - a new vehicle concept,” Volkswagen head of research Jürgen Leohold told The Financial Times. “Also, it’s physics. If you limit a car to one person, you can make it...
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Toyota Prepares To Set New Nürburgring Electric Car RecordToyota may not have a single electric car available for sale yet, but that isn’t going to stop it from attempting to set a electric car lap record at the 12.93 mile Nordschleife at the Nürburgring in Germany -- in a car it has built for that very purpose. At 9 minutes and 1.338 seconds...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2012 Nissan Leaf: The Electric-Car Basics You Need To KnowThe 2012 Nissan Leaf is the second generation of Nissan’s all-electric family hatchback, following on from the highly popular 2011 Nissan Leaf. But one year on from the original Leaf's launch, what's different in the 2012 model? Here's our list of things we think you need to know about the...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Got An Electric Car? How About Pre-Paying For Its Next Battery Pack?We’ve all heard the shock stories -- generally from media outlets which haven’t fully researched the topic -- saying that the battery pack in your electric car will only last a few years and then cost you thousands upon thousands of dollars to replace. We think its unlikely that most...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
China’s E-Taxis Are Not Quite As Slow to Refuel As You ThinkLast month, we brought you the story of the electric taxis that carry passengers through the busy City of Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China, based on a low-tech way of quickly swapping out empty battery packs for fully charged ones. At the time, we chose to focus on the process of battery swapping, covered...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
One Red Tesla: This Canadian’s Bid to Trade Up Is Running Out of TimeRemember the story of One Red Paperclip? The guy from Vancouver, Canada who traded a single red paperclip to a full-size house in just 14 trade ups? Now fellow Canadian Martin Provost, trying to trade his way from a $30 Camera to a Tesla Roadster, has just got his first ride in the $109,000...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
It’s hard enough when two companies part company on good terms, but when one side of the business relationship leaves the other with a total of $105 million in unpaid bills things are going to get a little tough. That’s exactly what has happened to publicly-traded New York-based battery firm Ener1 [NASDAQ:HEV] as it deals with the financial consequences of being both an investor in, and supplier to, bankrupt Norwegian electric automaker Think. Ener1 has been around for many years, developing electric car batteries and alternative fuel solutions for a variety of clients, including...
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Want a Wind-Powered Electric Car? It might Just Be PossiblePhotovoltaic solar panels are quickly becoming the accepted ultimate accessory for any self-respecting electric car owner. So much so that Ford recently announced that it has negotiated special discount pricing on SunPower solar panels, meaning 2012 Ford Focus Electric owners could get an array...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Costco Pulls The Plug On Electric Vehicle Charging StationsBack in the 1990s, when it seemed like electric vehicles were gaining traction with consumers, Costco did something unusual: the big-box retailer installed charging stations at many of its California locations. Now, however, those stations are being removed, and electric car fans aren't happy...
Richard Read -
Aptera CEO: We’re Not Dead, Just Moving, Okay?Aptera Motors - the Californian automaker which has been telling us for five years that it would revolutionize the world of electric vehicles - might be refunding each and every person who had put down a reservation for its 2e electric car, but it is not dead, Aptera CEO Paul Wilbur has said...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2011 Chevrolet Volt Enters Palin Country In Alaskan Test-Drive (Video)It may not be available in the northernmost of the 50 states, but the 2011 Chevrolet Volt is no stranger to Alaska. Last winter, a team of engineers from Chevrolet spent many weeks in the frigid north to see how well its range-extended plug-in hybrid would fare with the extreme cold and heavy...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2014 BMW i3 Electric Car Spotted During Filming In ChicagoWere it not for imminent reveals at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show in mid September, you might think the automakers were getting careless with their upcoming models. First, Audi's E1 e-tron was caught on camera in the center of Berlin, being filmed in camoflage for an Audi promotional video. The E1...
Antony Ingram -
Ferrari has been making super-fast, super-sexy sports cars for over 80 years. But just as it won’t ever be making a four-door coupe, the firm won’t be switching roaring gasoline engines for the quiet hum of an electric motor any time soon. In fact, talking to engadget on Friday, Ferrari president Luca di Montezemelo firmly asserted that all-electric drivetrains have no place in the Ferrari stables. Ever. “You will never see a Ferrari electric because I don’t believe in electric cars,” Montezemelo said “I don’t think they represent an important step...
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2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid: 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show PreviewYou might have just one week left to register your interest in buying a 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid, but we still haven't yet seen a production version of Toyota's first plug-in hybrid yet. That will all change in Frankfurt in just under a month, when Toyota will unveil the official production...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Electric Cars In "No Benefit For Poor Communities" ShockerPresumably following studies on whether bears really do defecate in the woods and to which religion the Pope actually pertains, The Greenling Institute in California has released a new report suggesting that expensive electric vehicles aren't benefitting communities of low income. The new study...
Antony Ingram -
Portland Welcomes Electric Avenue, Showcases Charging StationsWhich electric car charging station is the best? And just how are public charging stations getting used? These are just two of the questions Portland State University and Portland General Electric Co. are hoping to answer with a two-year research project into electric car charging stations and...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Nissan Sells 5,000th Leaf, Order Backlog Slowly ClearingIt might be hard to believe, but Nissan has been selling its all-electric 2011 Leaf for nearly eight months. And a few days ago, the company sold its 5,000th Leaf to a U.S. customer. But while Nissan doesn’t officially break down sales on a state-by-state basis, most of those sales are in the...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Want a 2012 Toyota RAV4 EV? You’d Better Live in CaliforniaNext year, we’re seeing a whole new group of all-electric car hit the streets, including the much-anticipated rebirth of Toyota’s all-electric crossover, the 2012 RAV4 EV. With a drivetrain engineered by Tesla motors, a 100 mile range and a legendary reputation to live up to, the 2012...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield