Electric

BMW has now produced two electric cars: the two-seat Mini E, of which 600 examples are on test in the U.S., Europe, and U.K., and the new ActiveE Concept unveiled at last month's Detroit Auto Show, which will be similarly tested starting next year. But these are just preludes. The company will...

UPDATE (February 18): The three Tesla Motors employees killed yesterday in the crash of a small airplane at the Palo Alto Airport have now been identified, according to local news reports. They were: Doug Bourn, a senior electric engineer and the presumed pilot of the plane; Andrew Ingram, an...

Sometimes Twitter is pretty wonderful. Amidst all the fluff and links and LOLs, some real gems can land. We honestly don't recall who first alerted us to an article about Chinese electric-car maker BYD from Caixin Online, but we thank you. It's an excellent article, and highly worth reading top to...

Nissan just wrapped up a three-month nationwide tour of 24 potential early launch markets for its 2011 Leaf electric car. Now, it has explained how interested buyers can place an advance reservation to purchase a Leaf when it goes on sale at the end of the year. First, everyone has to register on...

When automakers and the Obama White House announced agreement on a single national standard for emissions and fuel economy last May, the entire auto industry heaved a huge sigh of relief. The issue was settled, at least until 2016. Yesterday, however, the state of Texas filed suit in the U.S. Court...

The largest car rental agency on the planet, Hertz, has given its approval to the concept of all-electric cars. Hertz announced today that it would make Leaf models available at selected rental locations in the U.S. and Europe, starting next year. With its 100-mile range, the five-seat Leaf would...

After the rapturous reception for three successive models of its e-Tron electric coupe concept at the Frankfurt, Los Angeles, and Detroit auto shows, Audi announced it would build and sell a small number of the electric supercars. Now we know a few more details of Audi's plans. And it seems Audi...

We'd be remiss if we didn't nod to the Vancouver Olympics, opening today, and highlight their heavy reliance on mass transit to move spectators and athletes around the scenic seaside region. In particular, we note that electric vehicles play a major role. Take, for instance, the city's streetcar...

Well, here's some good news: We have less than a year to wait before the neat little Fiat 500 hatchback goes on sale at selected Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram dealers. When it arrives, it'll be Chrysler's greenest car by a pretty big margin. EPA fuel efficiency ratings haven't yet been issued for the...

Yesterday we drove the 2011 Ford Transit Connect Electric, and later today we'll have a drive report for you. But if you'd rather not wait until November or December for to buy Ford's first-ever electric vehicle, perhaps you'd consider a slightly used electric car on eBay? This 1918 Rauch and Lang...

It's long been known that Ford's first electric car would actually be a truck. Now, we have all the details of the 2011 Ford Transit Connect Electric, an all-electric conversion of the Transit Connect commercial van that offers a range of up to 80 miles on a full charge. The 2011 Transit Connect...

One of our favorite cars from the 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show was the CMT-380 supercar concept from Capstone Turbine. To show off potential automotive uses for its C30 micro-turbine, it built an extended-range electric car using the turbine to add up to 500 miles to the 80-mile range of its...

The striking BMW Vision EfficientDynamics hybrid concept was unquestionably the star concept of September's Frankfurt Motor Show. It proved, once again, that when German carmakers turn their minds toward a new goal--in this case, a sports car with breathtaking fuel efficiency--they can produce...

The U.S. government isn't the only one that gives grants and loans to help automakers develop advanced-technology vehicles. The U.K. government's Technology Strategy Board does it as well, for companies that build cars there. Luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover, collaborating with Lotus Engineering...

The Tesla Roadster may be going out of production in 2012, but Tesla drivers--and electric vehicle drivers in general--are nothing if not resourceful. First, in December, the company managed a cross-country road trip, driving a Roadster from Los Angeles to Detroit. Now, we find that a Colorado...

Whenever we're asked whether electric-car startup Tesla Motors will make it, we respond with our own question: What's the last carmaker started from scratch in the U.S. by entrepreneurs that's still with us, and when did it launch? The answer is Chrysler, and the year was 1924. In other words...

With the start of the new year, we're back to our end-of-month rundowns on the top five most popular green car posts of the last 30 days. For January, the top two came from our comprehensive coverage of the 2010 Detroit Auto Show. We have just one carryover this month from the year's Top Ten Most...

"Born From Jets" may be the slogan of recently-saved-from-death Swedish Saab, but one day it may prove more appropriate for British carmaker Jaguar. The company has been awarded funding from the U.K. government to develop a small jet turbine as a range extender for a future hybrid luxury car. Its...

For automakers, being green can extend well beyond the vehicles themselves. This week, hybrid pioneers Toyota and Honda each showed off new infrastructure projects that burnish their green credentials beyond well beyond the vehicles they sell. Honda started producing hydrogen to power its fuel-cell...

Ford was the first U.S. automaker to offer a hybrid, introducing the Ford Escape Hybrid crossover in 2004. It recently expanded its portfolio with the well-received 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid. More recently, the company has announced plans for limited numbers of plug-in hybrids, as well as electric...