Electric

For the first time in 80 years or so, major automakers are building and selling plug-in electric cars in the U.S. How are they letting people know about their new cars? Advertising, of course. Our colleague Richard Read looked at four electric-car TV ads, analyzing what made them work and what...

How far can a 2011 Nissan Leaf really go on a single charge? It’s a question we’re often asked, but one which is particularly difficult to answer since it relies on many different variables ranging from how fast the car is being driven to the temperature of the battery pack, the...

We don't envy the makers of electric cars. They have to deliver vehicles that look as great as their gas-powered counterparts, and they have to explain those vehicles, too -- how they work, battery range, and so on. They've got a long, tough battle to win over consumers. But while we wouldn't...

If you're one of our European readers who's had his or her sights set on leasing a Volvo C30 Electric, we have good news and bad news. First the good news: Volvo has announced plans to start producing the C30 Electric for European customers this fall. The bad news? The company is only making 250 of...

Most Nissan Leaf owners are passionate about their electric cars, especially the earliest ones who've already taken delivery. But not all of them have served three tours of military duty, including service in Iraq and Afghanistan. Tim Goodrich was posted to Afghanistan as an avionics technician...

Back in April we heard that the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety had awarded both the 2011 Nissan Leaf and 2011 Chevrolet Volt its highest possible award for safety - the IIHS Top Safety Pick. Now Chevrolet's plug-in hybrid has passed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)...

Pendine Sands, a 7-mile long beach on the south coast of Wales went down in history in 1924 when a journalist and motor racer by the name of Malcolm Campbell broke the world land speed record at a heady 146.16 mph in the Sunbeam 350HP car he called Blue Bird. Since then the U.K. equivalent to the...

Japanese electric car owners in eastern Prefecture of Kanagawa can now drive easy without the fear of being stranded with a flat battery pack thanks to a new pilot project being run between Nissan Japan and the Japan Automobile Federation - the Japanese equivalent of the AAA. Stranded owners of...

It may still be well over a year away from launch, but Tesla’s latest press photographs are certainly getting the automotive world talking. Released over the weekend, the photographs show a Model S which looks good enough to take on mainstream automotive giants on the showroom floor head-on...

A few weeks ago we were invited to the Challenge Bibendum - an auto-industry event devoted to fuel economy and green vehicles - in order to drive the Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid Station Wagon. We’ve already shared our own first drive report with you, but now it’s time to share our video...

Ask most electric vehicle fans to name an electric car best suited to the race track and the chance are the super sexy Tesla Roadster will get mentioned long before the 2011 Nissan Leaf. But a few months ago NIssan’s motorsport division unveiled its own electric racing car concept based on...

You told us that you enjoyed our 2011 Nissan Leaf: Ultimate Reference Guide so much that we’re back again with AllCarElectric’s ultimate guide to the 2011 Nissan Leaf’s closest rival, the 2011 Chevrolet Volt. Below is our list of must-read articles on Chevrolet’s...

Yesterday the monthly sales figures for the 2011 Nissan Leaf and 2011 Chevrolet Volt were released, giving rise to the usual slew of articles picking apart the buying decisions of U.S. car buyers. But behind the traditional media frenzy on the first of every month as plug-in vehicle sales figures...

The all-electric 2011 Nissan Leaf will be joining the 89th Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on June 26th. But, surprisingly it won't be the race-modified Nismo Leaf RC. Instead, the 2011 Leaf, driven by veteran Nissan off-road truck racing champion Chad Hord, will be a car fresh off the factory...

Sigh. Here we go again. It's the first of the month, which means that auto journalists are scrambling to put together their monthly sales reports. Sales in May weren't great, for a variety of reasons: higher prices and shortages of some Japanese models, among others. Unusual scrutiny But the most...

The last we heard Audi was working on a new generation of its slow selling but technologically advanced A2 hatchback for launch in 2015. According to latest reports, a concept version of this new A2 could be revealed as early as the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show this September, and it’s expected...

The Frankfurt Motor Show may be three months away, but it is already promising to be an exciting show for lovers of electric cars. Yesterday we heard that BMW is expected to unveil a version of its much-anticipated i3 electric hatchback, but it now appears that Audi is expected to unveil its own...

It may only be two weeks since Germany’s Chancellor Merkel announced that her government would help bring 1 million plug-in vehicles to the roads of Germany by 2020 but her bold goal is already being dismissed as impossible by the very automakers her Government is planning to help. Enter...

According to sources close to BMW the German automaker is reputedly working on five models to premiere at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show in September, including its long-awaited i3 electric car. BMW has kept details of its first mass-produced electric car quiet, although the ongoing stream of...

While many in the United Kingdom doubt that he will accede his mother Queen Elizabeth II to the throne and become King, HRH the Prince of Wales has never been one to shy away from helping his subjects combine quintessential British values with new technology. His latest project does exactly that...