Electric
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Increasingly, in production electric vehicles such as the 2012 Ford Focus Electric and 2011 Nissan Leaf, automakers are turning to recycled and repurposed materials. But the rest of a modern car—even an ol' fossil-fuel burner—is no longer just sheetmetal, alloy, and plastics; extruded, cast, welded, and injection-molded. When it comes to the delicate sensors and microprocessors used so frequently in new vehicles, certain rare minerals, like cassiterite and coltan, need to be procured. And in an era of global sourcing, it can be difficult for a company to determine exactly how a...
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Electric Car Crashes? Just As Safe As Any Other VolvoDespite thousands of automotive gasoline fires in the U.S. every year, we've pretty much normalized the risks of the highly explosive liquid that we use to fuel our cars. But for electric cars, there's a whole new set of potential fears. One may be driving through water--it's not like tossing a...
John Voelcker -
2011 Detroit Auto Show: Volvo Shows Off Crashed Electric C30You might think that having a twisted lump of metal on your auto show stand probably isn't the best way to promote your latest product. Most manufacturers would agree with you. The customers tend to prefer cars shinier and in one piece. Volvo aren't "most manufacturers" though and they've never...
Antony Ingram -
Fighting The Electric Car Pirates: Renault Gets ToughTake one look at the news coming out of Detroit this week and you’ll know that the electric car revolution seems well and truly under way. Nearly every major automaker is now extolling the virtues of electric car technology when a few years earlier, they were dismissing them as impractical...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2011 Detroit Auto Show Video: BYD On Renewable Energy GenerationWhere is Noah's Ark to save human beings? People pass their eyes drilling into the Earth up to the sky. Each loop of human civilization is closely linked to the exploitation of solar energy—even coal and petroleum. Since sunshine is vital to everything, why human beings don't obtain energy...
Bengt Halvorson -
2011 Detroit Auto Show: Tesla Celebrates 1500 Roadsters SoldTesla celebrated the start of the 2011 Detroit Auto Show today by announcing that it had now sold over 1,500 of its iconic electric sports car, the Tesla Roadster. It was November 18, 2006 when we were first shown the sexy two-door car that very few believed could be as good as the then unknown...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Just a few days after unveiling the 2012 Ford Focus Electric at the 2011 Consumer Electrics Show in Las Vegas, Ford has expanded its green fleet for 2012/13 with yet another plug in vehicle: The C-MAX Energi Plug-in Hybrid From the specifications and the way Ford is talking about its new vehicles, one thing is clear: Ford has both the 2011 Chevrolet Volt and the 2011 Nissan LEAF in its sights. Revealed to a packed audience earlier at the 2011 Detroit auto show, the five seat multi-activity vehicle is the new generation of an already popular European Ford Vehicle. With the same integrated...
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2012 BYD e6 Electric Crossover To Cost $35,000, 200-Mile RangeLater today at the Detroit Auto Show, Chinese carmaker BYD will take the wraps off a new incarnation of the e6 crossover it's shown twice before. This time, however, it comes with an upgraded interior, a more powerful drive motor, and a price: $35,000 before incentives. The company hopes to offer...
John Voelcker -
2012 Ford Focus Electric NYC Debut: What You Need To KnowAs you may have seen by now, the 2012 Ford Focus Electric was officially launched today at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas by Ford CEO Alan Mulally. At the very same time, another notable executive--Bill Ford--unveiled it in New York City. He covered the same production details that were...
John Voelcker -
Coming Soon to Best Buy: Electric Car Home Charging StationsUntil recently, getting Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) installed in your home required you to go directly to the manufacturers of the equipment, or buy direct from your electric car dealer. But in a deal announced today at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show, Ford and Best Buy announced...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2012 Ford Focus Electric Unveiled by CEO at CESEarlier this week Ford hinted on the social media network site Facebook that it had plans to unveil an all-electric car at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. From the shots it released, we guessed the announcement would include an all-electric Focus. As suspected, Ford CEO Allan...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2012 Ford Focus Electric: Full Production Details Unveiled At CESAs yet another sign of the gap being bridged between consumer electronics and cars, Ford decided to unveil not only the interface inside its upcoming Ford Focus Electric at the sprawling Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, but the production version of the car itself. For those who have...
Bengt Halvorson -
In the latest example of the opportunities created by the rollout of electric vehicles, smart grid networking player Silver Spring Networks announced it will unveil a prototype tomorrow of a charging station enabled with its technology for the 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid (pictured). The company will show off the charging station at its headquarters in Redwood City, Calif. The charging stations are made by ClipperCreek and are a part of a smart grid and electric vehicles pilot announced last July, in conjunction with PG&E and Electric Power Research Institute. The pilot aims to...
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347.2 Miles! Tesla Takes New Production Car Distance RecordMany of us will have broken in the New Year celebrating with friends, sinking a few drinks, watching a firework display and generally being merry. For some though, the celebrations will have come later that day. Between the afternoon of December 31, 2010 and the end of January 1, 2011, Team VIN...
Antony Ingram -
MyFord Mobile App 'A Key Component' In Focus Electric OwnershipIn advance of the official introduction of the 2012 Ford Focus Electric, the automaker has unveiled a new MyFord Mobile app that, Ford says, will be "a key component" in vehicle ownership. The feature, exclusive to Focus Electric owners in North America, will allow owners of the new EV to monitor...
Bengt Halvorson -
Cars Connected To The Cloud: The All-Electric 2012 Nissan LeafIn a move that shows off the latest push among automakers to bring cars to the digital age, Airbiquity and Hitachi Automotive Systems showcased a connected services technology system for electric vehicles at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas today. The system, which is debuting in...
VentureBeat's GreenBeat -
2011 Detroit Auto Show: Electric Car PreviewThe Holidays are over, the New Year celebrated, which means it’s the time of year when the auto-world descends on Detroit for the North American International Motor Show. Held over the coming two weeks, it will showcase the very latest in automotive design, innovation and technology. Last...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2011 Chevrolet Volt: What Do Owners Think, A Few Weeks In?Much of 2010 was spent learning more and more details about Chevrolet's exciting new range-extended electric car, the Volt. Towards the end of the year our colleagues at GreenCarReports finally got to drive the vehicle, and more recently the first owners have taken delivery. So what do owners...
Antony Ingram -
The Tesla Motors company goes hand-in-hand with high technology. Their current 2011 Roadster 2.5 uses cutting edge aluminum and carbon-fiber construction and offers supercar-rivalling performance from its electric drivetrain. We've known about the upcoming 2012 Tesla Model S electric sedan for a few years now and despite the projected lower $50,000 pricetag, it's expected to offer even more technology than the relatively simple Roadster. We've known for a while that the interior would feature a high technology touch-screen center stack, and now we know what'll be powering it. Tesla have...
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Spy Games: Renault Electric Vehicle Work Riddled With Moles?Monday morning opened on an anxious note for French automaker Renault. The company said it suspended without pay three executives, who have not yet been named. It fears that details and intellectual property connected to its comprehensive electric-vehicle program were leaked to unnamed parties...
John Voelcker -
Electric-Car Startup Coda Gets $76 Million in Venture FundsLast year was a rough one for electric-car startup Coda. The company replaced its CEO, along with its marketing chief, and announced a delay of up to nine months in the launch of its first car, the 2011 Coda Sedan. This year is starting off on a much better note, though, with the announcement of an...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Employee: Model S Alpha Prototype Up And RunningHas Tesla completed their first Model S prototype? A Tesla manufacturing team employee, commenting on Engadget, appears to confirm this, though Tesla has not formally announced anything. “I just got to see the 1st Alpha proto run…. And, boy, did that thing run! The production vehicle...
VentureBeat's GreenBeat -
Electric Cars Financially Viable by 2020, Study ReportsBuying an electric car today is hardly cheap. With lithium-ion battery prices at around $450 per kilowatt-hour of storage, the 24 kilowatt-hour battery pack found in the 2011 Nissan LEAF weighs in at a jaw-dropping $10,800, and that's before complex battery management electronics are added. That...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Can Electric-Car Clubs And Shows Really Bring In Buyers?As an electric car enthusiast or recently-converted gearhead, you'll no doubt be aware of the huge variety of clubs out there for virtually any make and model or automotive scene you can think of. For many people, a thriving scene and great social network might be the difference between choosing...
Antony Ingram