Electric Cars

  • Consumer Reports tests the Tesla Model S (video screen capture)

    Wow. Chalk up another huge accolade for the Tesla Model S electric car: Consumer Reports has awarded it 99 out of 100 points, and said it's the best car the magazine has tested since 2007. In fact, the magazine's descriptions of the luxury sport sedan brim with adjectives. The Tesla Model S "is brimming with innovation, delivers world-class performance, and is interwoven throughout with impressive attention to detail," writes the normally sober consumer publication. Driving the Model S electric car is "like crossing into a promising zero-emissions future," and the version tested, with its...

  • Elon Musk Speaks
    UPDATED: Tesla Motors Q1 Earnings: What To Look For (Video)

    Within the next hour, Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] will release its first-quarter financial results. We already know the company will be profitable, and that it sold "more than 4,750" Model S electric luxury sport sedans from January through March. CEO Elon Musk has also said that Tesla is targeting a...

  • BYD e6
    BYD e6 Chinese Electric Car Won't Be Sold To Consumers In U.S.

    BYD, a company struggling to sell its e6 electric crossover in its home market, has decided it won't be sold at all to private customers in the U.S. Instead, says the ChinaEV blog, the e6 will be a fleet-only vehicle in the U.S, as the company instead concentrates on its electric bus sales in North...

  • Google's Self-Driving Toyota Prius
    Self-Driving Tesla Electric Cars Coming, Courtesy Of Google?

    Love or hate Tesla Motors (NSDQ:TSLA) and its CEO Elon Musk, it's hard to deny that he's ahead of the curve when it comes to developing new cars. So when Musk says self-driving or autonomous technology is the next logical step in the evolution of the car, you take notice. According to Bloomberg...

  • 2013 Chevrolet Volt  -  Driven, December 2012
    Plug-in Electric Car Sales In Canada, April 2013

    Most Canadians will remember last month for the introduction of the country's new $5 and $10 bills, which arrived just in time for the playoff-hockey betting season. Canadian electric vehicle enthusiasts may remember April 2013, on the other hand, as the month the Toyota Prius Plug-in fell into...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S
    Tesla Model S To Get Adaptive Cruise, Lane-Departure Warning, More?

    Drivers of the Tesla Model S are generally pretty happy with their cars, but as with any new product there are always a few ways it could be improved. Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] is one of few companies that can execute those improvements without you having to lift a finger, as software updates can be...

  • Poorly-sited Blink charging point in Watsonville, CA (Image: Jack Brown)

    We've all seen those 'FAIL' pictures that turn up on the internet with startling regularity--tastelessly placed adverts in newspapers, security cameras facing blank walls, products with overly suggestive graphics... you know the deal. Welcome to the latest in a long line of fails, spotted by of BMW ActiveE facebook group user, Jack Brown. Jack posted a photo in the group of a Blink charger installed in downtown Watsonville, California. Nothing unusual about that, until you see how it's positioned. We'll start from the top: It's the wrong way around. All the charging paraphernalia is on the...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S
    Tesla Makes Money On Model S: $35K Per Car Selling ZEV Credits?

    Tomorrow at 5 pm Eastern, Tesla will hold what may be its most eagerly awaited conference call to date. The Silicon Valley startup automaker will discuss its first-quarter financial results--which will give the first clue to its financial viability as an operating automaker. But Tesla Motors...

  • Traffic in Atlanta, Georgia during rush hour (via Wikimedia)
    Are Hybrids, Electrics The Car's Future--Or Should Cars Be Shunned Like Cigarettes?

    Many people who frequent this website with any regularity probably own a hybrid or electric vehicle. Many of those probably think they're already driving the future--or an approximation of it at least. But just how big a part do cars of any sort play in the future of transportation? Some would have...

  • BMW i3 electric car undergoing winter testing, February 2013
    2014 BMW i3 Electric Car Price To Be Similar To BMW 3-Series?

    The production version of the BMW i3 electric car will be unveiled at September's Frankfurt Motor Show, and anticipation is building. How much BMW's first battery-electric car will cost is one of the biggest open questions. Now Ludwig Willisch, the CEO of the Bavarian maker's North American arm...

  • Nissan Leaf electric car with eVgo quick charging station. [courtesy eVgo]
    Public Charging Stations For Electric Cars: Who Leads The Way?

    For the majority of the general public to consider purchasing a fully electric car, they first want accessible public charge points located at or near places they frequent in their daily life. It's also clear that most people won't end up using them nearly as much as they think they will. However...

  • The open road
    Electric Bikes, Cars To Convoy Across U.S., Set New Guinness Records

    It's human nature to push the boundaries of what one can achieve, a trait clearly illustrated every time an electric car owner embarks upon a huge journey to prove it can be done. Such a trip is almost a cliché now--a brave few have already taken an electric car around the entire world...

  • Facelifted 2013 Renault Fluence electric sedan

    To the untrained eye, the Renault Fluence Z.E. is a fairly unremarkable vehicle--a compact sedan not unlike other compact sedans sold all around the world. What makes it different is its electric drivetrain, but what separates it even more is the fact its battery can be swapped out for a new one in a matter of minutes. That's the Better Place business model, but such a concept may not be long for this world. According to Danish energy website Energiwatch, Renault-Nissan CEO has said the company will in future concentrate on improving its battery technology, rather than building cars with...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S
    2013 Tesla Model S 'Performance Plus' Package, Other Options, Added

    The 2013 Tesla Model S electric car wouldn't be defined as a supercar--which is, more or less by custom, a two-seat sports car, not a large sedan. But to take the luxury plug-in sedan "into supercar handling territory," Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] has announced a new "Performance Plus" suspension and...

  • The GreenWay Project's battery-swapping in Slovakia
    Electric-Car Battery Swapping, Slovakian Style (Well, Vans, Anyway)

    Battery swapping was once hailed as the miracle cure for short-range electric cars, but the trials and tribulations of Better Place have shown that isn't necessarily the case. It's not a bad idea though--it just needs the correct application. That could be in the commercial vehicle world, as...

  • Strategic Recovery Institute EV1
    Electric Racer Runs Baja Peninsula Endurance Race, Sadly Retires

    Electric motorsport might seem a bit superficial--defining the future of transportation by something as uncouth as speed and excitement. The reality couldn't be further from the truth. Speedy and exciting it may be, but motorsport has always helped push road car technology to its limits and there's...

  • 2013 Nissan Leaf
    Nissan Slashes Leaf Price To Sell Electric Car In Australia

    Nissan should be pleased with its Leaf sales over the first few months of this year--not only is it beating last year's monthly rate, but it's on a level with the previously higher-selling Chevy Volt. Not so in Australia though, where the car is still struggling. In fact, it's struggling enough...

  • 2013 Renault Zoe electric car
    Renault Zoe Electric Car: First Drive Of Europe's Leaf Alternative

    You might think that Europe, with its congested cities and relatively short distances between cities, would be the perfect environment for electric cars. Whether or not that's the case, the choice of electric cars there isn't nearly as wide as it is in the U.S. But with the Renault Zoe you see...

  • Tesla owners & supporters gather in Statehouse in Austin to support company [photo: John Griswell]

    While CEO Elon Musk is doing another tweet-hyped conference call today, Tesla has a lot going on in the background. Not only is it building and selling Model S electric luxury sport sedans, but Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] has quietly hired a new vice president of vehicle engineering. That new VP is Chris Porritt, whose previous job was chief platform manager for British luxury sports-car maker Aston Martin. He led the development of the Aston Martin One-77 supercar in 2009, and is intimately familiar with developing fast, luxurious vehicles for wealthy, demanding customers. Porritt's appointment...

  • 2013 Chevrolet Volt  -  Driven, December 2012
    Next Chevy Volt $10,000 Cheaper To Build, Profitable For GM?

    Here and there, a few little tidbits about the next-generation Chevrolet Volt electric car are starting to leak out. The latest comes from GM CEO Dan Akerson, who told the audience at Fortune's Brainstorm Green conference Tuesday that the next Volt would cost "$7,000 to $10,000" less than today's...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S
    How You Can Buy a 2013 Tesla Model S Now, With No Waiting

    Good news for rich, impatient, picky Tesla Model S electric-car wannabes! If you're looking to buy right now--but can't abide a car sullied by a few thousand miles of loaner-car duty under the recently announced buy-it-now program--Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] now offers a new but little-known option...

  • Elon Musk signs new 2013 Tesla Model S at Tesla Store opening, Austin, Texas [photo: John Griswell]
    What Are The Best Plug-In Electric Cars For Very Tall People?

    We recently got a question from reader John Meurer that we'd never considered: Which plug-in electric car is best for tall people? "I'm 6'2" & wear a 44 Long suit," Meurer wrote. "I need an electric car I can afford and I can fit comfortably in." So we reached out to High Gear Media colleague...

  • Electric Vehicle Association ad, 1912
    99 Years Later, Electric Car 'Sociability Run' Honored In DC

    This is a momentous year for electric car fans: the 99th anniversary of Washington, D.C.'s historic Electric Sociability Run of 1914. To commemorate that event, enthusiasts are planning a similar rally this Memorial Day weekend. Many, if not most folks in America are familiar with today's electric...

  • Tesla Roadster
    How Much Does NJ Per-Mile Tax Bill Affect Plug-In Cars?

    It was always going to happen: Several states around the U.S. have realized they can charge electric car owners a tax to make up for the fact they don't pay any gas tax. Unfortunately, several states have also lumbered electric cars with an unfairly high tax--but is New Jersey's proposed per-mile...

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