Electric
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In another step toward making silent electric cars less so, Toyota Prius hybrids sold in Japan are to be offered with an optional system that broadcasts a "humming" noise outside the car whenever it operates solely on electricity. The system is Toyota's response to the fears of blind people that hybrids and electric vehicles pose more of a threat to them because they're not as easy to hear. Pending legislation in the U.S. will require all new hybrids and electric vehicles to fit noise-making equipment, despite a lack of solid evidence proving any risk. In fact, one analysis (and a more...
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BYD Embroiled In Court Case, Puts Back Plans to Go PublicBuild Your Dreams, one of China's largest battery and electric vehicle companies, has been telling us for months that it plans to bring affordable, competitive and safe electric vehicles to the U.S. market very soon. But as the months roll on, BYD's claim to get a car to market sooner rather than...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
40 Percent Of U.S. Adults Want To Test Drive An EVIn news that will no doubt be music to the ears of any manufacturer planning to sell an electric vehicle, new research by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) finds that two fifths of US adults are interested in test driving an EV. The study reveals that consumers are interested in the...
Antony Ingram -
GM China Confirms Development of All-Electric Sail ConceptGeneral Motors has been through the wringer over the last 18 months, nowhere more so than in North America, where it declared bankruptcy and was quickly restructured with $60 billion of Federal funds. But its overseas operations haven't had an easy time of it either, including its on-again...
John Voelcker -
Almost 1 Million Electric-Car Charging Points In U.S. By 2015, Analyst SaysWhile early adopters won't need many public charging points for their electric cars, conventional wisdom has it that the public at large probably will. And according to a May report by Pike Research, that's exactly what will happen. The clean-technology market research firm predicts that by 2015...
John Voelcker -
Electric Pot Car From Canada Creates Big Bong In EV WorldAs we're faced with an increasingly large world population and ever-dwindling resources the race is on to produce cars that not only produce zero tailpipe emissions, but ones that are green to manufacture too. But what is the ultimate material for cars? Steel is strong, but hardly light enough to...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Electric vehicles might not be the first mode of transport you'd think of to drive around the world, but that's what the five teams taking part in the Zero Race have just set off to achieve. Starting from the Swiss capital city Geneva, the teams will cover 30,000 kilometers (18,650 miles) on their circumnavigation of the planet, arriving back in Geneva 80 days later. All the vehicles are powered by electricity generated from renewable energy sources, and competitors are expected to achieve up to 500km (186 miles) per day at an average speed of 80km/h (50 miles per hour). Recharging will be...
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Coda Automotive Aims For Perfect Sales Cadence To End 2010The end of 2010 is seen by many in the automotive industry as the first hurdle for many budding electric car companies. By the end of 2010 both Chevrolet and Nissan will have plug in vehicles on the market, both at prices that will outcompete much of the competition. For the smaller automakers...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2013 BMW Megacity EV: Autocar Reveals More DetailsIt's easy to forget that BMW have already produced two EVs - the 2009 MINI-E, which is undergoing trials in the U.S. and elsewhere in the hands of individuals, and the 2009 ActiveE concept based on their 1-Series Coupe. BMW are busy working away on another EV though, one that will wear the famous...
Antony Ingram -
Video: Six 2011 Chevrolet Volts On Pikes PeakChevrolet continues testing of the Volt on Pikes Peak to ensure it's ready for the harshest real-world environments.
Nelson Ireson -
Up From the Ashes: CA Refits 10-Year-Old EV Charging StationsEverything old is new again. At least that's the hope of the California Energy Commission (CEC), who have just announced that they will be overhauling many of California's old charging stations. California has long been the at the centre of EV development and thanks to several EV programmes in the...
Antony Ingram -
AutoNation Promises 2011 Volt, Leaf To Sell For Sticker PriceJust as dealers have to discount unpopular cars, they often add "surcharges" to models where demand outstrips supply. It's auto dealership yin and yang, or something. Now mega-dealer chain AutoNation has drawn a line in the sand, flatly stating that its dealers will sell their limited allocation of...
John Voelcker -
The dog days of summer may still be with us, but automakers across the globe are gearing up for the big Paris Motor Show, which kicks off just six weeks hence. This morning, Kia released teaser images of an electric concept car they will unveil in Paris. It's the Kia Electric Pop, an all-electric urban three-seater about 10 feet long, slightly longer than the upcoming 201 Scion iQ. Its goal, says Kia, is to bring "innovative design chic and dramatic styling to the city car segment," although the company hasn't released any significant details on the Pop's electric drivetrain. One unusual...
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Not-A-Big-Surprise Dept: Bright Confirms Switch to GM EnginesWhen GM Ventures announced it would invest an unspecified amount of money into startup hybrid truck-maker Bright Automotive, several of us noted that the prototype Bright Idea delivery van used an 2.0-liter engine and transmission from a Dodge Caliber. The announcement two weeks ago from General...
John Voelcker -
A123 Spin-Off 24M Lands $16M To Explore Next Frontier Of BatteriesLast week, advanced battery company A123Systems announced that it was spinning off a new venture called 24M Technologies, which would focus on more unorthodox energy storage innovations, including grid-scale flow batteries. One of the reasons it decided to release the new entity into the wild was...
John Voelcker -
Charging the 2011 Chevrolet Volt: What You Need To KnowWe've covered the 2011 Chevy Volt a lot here at AllCarsElectric.com, and for good reason. It'll be one of the first affordable and usable EVs to hit the market. Of course, it isn't just a simple electric vehicle. The Volt uses a small gasoline engine as a range extender to allow the Volt to travel...
Antony Ingram -
So What Exactly DO You Have to Service On a 2011 Nissan Leaf?Despite initial purchase prices higher than those for gasoline cars of equivalent performance (before incentives, anyway), electric cars undisputably cost less to run. Not only does the grid electricity to drive a mile cost just half to one-fifth the cost of the gasoline to go the same distance...
John Voelcker -
Recharging Electric Cars Away From Home: What To ExpectIf there's one thing any advocate of the electric car gets asked more than anything else, it's about range: "How far will it go? How long does it take to recharge? 8 hours!? I'd take me weeks to travel across the country!..." Help is at hand though, as there are several organizations here in the...
Antony Ingram -
One of the most important aspects of electric-car ownership might not be how they drive, or how far you'll go on a charge, but how you'll actually charge it in the first place. That's why we asked "What comes first, the car or the charger?", with many potential EV owners waiting for a public charging network to appear so they can be sure they'll have somewhere to recharge. Yesterday we dialed in to a phone conference hosted by the Electric Drive Transportation Association, where representatives from groups including ChargePoint America, ECOtality, the Eaton Corporation and General Motors...
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Solar Array, Lithium Cells To Power Part of Ford Focus PlantMany houses, stores, and factories across the U.S. now have arrays of photovoltaic solar cells mounted on their roofs. These days, that's hardly news. But Ford's announcement that it will install half a megawatt of power-generating solar panels at its Wayne, Michigan, assembly plant has a new...
John Voelcker -
A123 Spins Out Energy Storage Startup, Loses Chrysler DealAdvanced battery maker A123 announced more than its quarterly earnings yesterday. In addition to posting a lackluster $22.6 million in revenue, the company spun off a new energy storage startup called 24M Technologies to work on more unorthodox lithium-ion architectures. The company also tempered...
John Voelcker -
SF Bay Area Soon To Be Home To 5,050 More EV Charging StationsInfrastructure for electric transportation is heating up. Companies like Coulomb Technologies and Ecotality are already deploying electric vehicle charging stations region by region. And just today, general Motors said it was gearing up to announce a charging partner for its forthcoming Chevrolet...
John Voelcker -
What Do Nissan Dealers Really Know About The 2011 Leaf?It's hardly a secret that the 2011 Nissan Leaf is one of the most anticipated electric cars this year. Nissan now has over 20,000 customers who have paid $99 to be placed on the waiting list, securing a place in electric car history. But as with any new car roll-out, those who eagerly sign up for a...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Who's Buying Green Cars? Not Only Consumers, But Big Fleets TooMost of the focus on new green cars--like the 2011 Nissan Leaf, the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, and a slew of new and existing hybrids--has been on how consumers will adapt to them. But in fact, a portion of early years' production of any of those cars is likely to go into car fleets maintained by state...
John Voelcker