Electric Cars
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A couple of weeks ago, shortly after I took delivery of my 2013 Tesla Model S, I noticed that my home electric meter seemed to be running a bit faster than normal. I keep a close eye on my meter, but that seemed odd. After all, the long-awaited new luxury sport sedan delivered to my house in February by Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] was simply replacing electric miles I had been driving in my Chevrolet Volt. The two cars have about the same efficiency in winter. So it shouldn't have taken notably more power to run the Model S than the Volt, right? I decided to try an experiment. Unplugging my...
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Why Fisker Left Fisker: Would Have Been 'Wrong To Stay'The news that Henrik Fisker had left Fisker Automotive came on Wednesday, leaving electric-car advocates and Fisker Karma fans wondering just what had happened. Fisker himself cited "major disagreements" over the company's "business strategy." A statement released within hours by Fisker Automotive...
John Voelcker -
Nest: Where One Electric-Car Charger Grew To ThreeWhile we're nearing 100,000 plug-in electric cars on U.S. roads, they're not evenly distributed--and the largest group of them is in California. This has led to occasional congestion at charging stations, and now it turns out that happens at workplaces too. Venture-funded startup Nest Labs, a media...
John Voelcker -
Renault Zoe Electric Car Road-Test Video: No Translation NeededWhat the Nissan Leaf is in the U.S.--the highest-volume battery electric vehicle on the market--the Renault Zoe hopes to be in Europe. French carmaker Renault has a wide-ranging alliance with Nissan that includes electric cars. Together, the two carmakers have delivered more than 70,000 electric...
John Voelcker -
How Plasma TVs Led To Smaller Electric-Car MotorAll that sitting in front of the TV watching bad sitcoms could pay off, if a new electric motor proves successful in field trials. A startup in Melbourne, Australia, has developed a new motor for use in an electric-powered Holden Commodore. There's nothing wildly special about that, but the new...
Antony Ingram -
2012 Tax Credits For Electric Cars And Charging StationsOne month from today is Tax Day, April 15. Let us repeat that: Your Federal income taxes (and your state and local taxes too, if you live in places with their own income taxes) must be filed 31 days from today. So consider this our friendly reminder to start getting your paperwork in order if you...
John Voelcker -
With electric cars taking up 3 percent of the market for new car sales in a country of only five million people, Norway is one of the most electric car-friendly countries on the planet. Geographically small enough to minimize range concerns and with huge financial incentives for going electric, that perhaps isn't surprising. But how much is Norway's pro-electric car stance actually costing the country--and can any of the country's techniques really be used elsewhere? Probably not, concludes Reuters. That's not to say that the market for electric cars won't grow elsewhere, but it might have to...
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How To Get A Tesla Model S 'Elon Musk Signature Edition'Why would Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk take a Sharpie to the sun visor of an all-but-new Tesla Model S electric sport sedan? It wasn't a question we'd considered until a reader tipped us off to a photo on Flickr that showed just that. And we were intrigued enough to contact Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA}...
John Voelcker -
Volkswagen e-Up Electric Minicar: Forbidden Fruit For Europe OnlyThe next 18 months will see a number of plug-in vehicles enter the market from Volkswagen, as the company has promised for several years. Today, first details of the Volkswagen e-Up minicar were released--with the car being shown at the company's Annual Press and Investors Conference, held at its...
John Voelcker -
2013 Nissan Leaf TV Ad: Selling Electric-Car Fun, Finally!The 2013 Nissan Leaf electric car has some lofty sales goals associated with it--certainly higher than the 9,750 deliveries that Nissan averaged each year in 2011 and 2012. So it's encouraging to see a new television ad for the 2013 Leaf that actually highlights the fun and special features of...
John Voelcker -
Parisian Bollore Electric Car Is Cheap; Requires Battery RentalUntil now, if you'd wanted to drive a Bollore Bluecar electric vehicle, all you'd have required as a few Euros per hour to take one of the little vehicles around the crowded roads of Paris, France. Bollore has now put the Bluecar on sale to the French public, at a starting price of 12,000...
Antony Ingram -
Update: Co-Founder Henrik Fisker Leaves Fisker Automotive, Struggling Electric-Car FirmHenrik Fisker, co-founder and executive chairman of electric car company Fisker Automotive, quit the company today. In a statement sent to Autocar and other outlets, Fisker confirmed his resignation from the company bearing his name, citing disagreements over the company's strategy. The statement...
Antony Ingram -
Just how do electric car owners use their cars? It's the question everyone is trying to answer, as it could shape how electric cars of the future are developed. Virtually every manufacturer with an electric car runs its own field trials or keeps data on its users' driving habits, but the EV Project aggregates data from different makes and models, and thousands of owners, who use the charging stations that are monitored by the program. Most recently, the EV Project has revealed its fourth quarter 2012 results, and with over 60 million miles logged it's building an increasingly thorough picture...
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Snail's Teeth Could Help Develop Future Battery Tech--No, ReallyWe often cover the progress of battery technologies here on Green Car Reports, and while always of interest, few new discoveries are really that surprising. The potential of a biomineral found in the teeth of a marine snail isn't one of those unsurprising discoveries. Studies at the University of...
Antony Ingram -
Life With 2013 Tesla Model S: The Good & The Bad At 600 MilesTwo weeks and 600 miles ago, I took delivery of a 60-kWh 2013 Tesla Model S electric sport sedan. I won't dwell on the ear-flattening acceleration, nor the magic-carpet ride and handling, nor the mesmerizing 17-inch touch screen controls. Those features have been exhaustively analyzed and reported...
David Noland -
Nissan Leaf Electric Car Reports Own Battery-Cell Failure Via CarwingsWouldn't it be nice if your car could tell you not just that something was wrong, but that something might be about to go wrong? A Nissan Leaf in Washington state did just that, and owner Rob Greenlee only found out when he got a call from his local dealership asking him to bring it in for a...
John Voelcker -
BMW i3 Electric Car: ReX Range Extender Not For Daily Use?The upcoming 2014 BMW i3 electric car is generating a lot of quiet excitement--especially for its optional "ReX" range extender, a tiny two-cylinder engine that fits under the rear deck to power a generator. The i3 will be only the third high-volume dedicated battery electric car on the market...
John Voelcker -
Would You Want To Buy This Subcompact Electric Car? (Video)The Renault Zoe is quietly winding its way toward French electric car-enthusiasts, and Renault has launched a new video that shows off some the pint-sized ride's high-tech features.
Richard Read -
Now that Tesla appears to be delivering hundreds of its Model S electric sport sedan each week, public attention inevitably turns to its future. Specifically, the next vehicle it plans to launch, the Model X all-electric crossover utility vehicle--which will offer optional all-wheel drive. But inside the Form 10-K 2012 Annual Report issued last week by Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] was a note that may disappoint some affluent Tesla-loving families. They may want a fully electric crossover in which to carry little Jennifer to soccer practice and little Jason to music lessons, but they're going to...
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Toyota i-Road Electric Urban Minicar Swarms The Roads (Video)There's a lot to like about auto shows. Seeing new production models can be truly exciting, and chatting with industry insiders offers new perspectives on the automotive world. But for many folks, the best part of any auto show is the abundance of concept cars. Like haute couture clothing, concept...
Richard Read -
Nissan Replaces Electric-Car Unit Executive To Boost SalesIt's no secret that Nissan hasn't sold as many battery electric cars over the last two years as it had planned. The company just sold its 50,000th Nissan Leaf last month, but it had hoped to sell up to twice that number between the start of production in late 2010 and the end of last year. Now the...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Wins One In Minnesota: Bill To Ban Its Stores DefeatedLike a lot of news from Tesla, this came in the form of a tweet by CEO Elon Musk on Friday morning. It read, in its entirety, "Minnesota auto dealers tried to pass legislation to block Tesla stores. Bill was just defeated in Senate. Thanks MN!" And indeed, a Minnesota Senate committee voted down...
John Voelcker -
It Took Time To Build Gas Stations Too, Says 97-Year-Old Driver (Video)"I love to drive," says the 97-year-old driver. "And that's, to me, part of my longevity." But Charlie Yaeger is old enough to remember when gas stations were so sparse that drivers had to memorize where every one was located. In a new video issued by Nissan, he draws parallels between that...
John Voelcker -
Despite Pollution, China Still Isn't Committed To Electric CarsThe images have made for grim viewing even if you don't live within the frame: Pictures and details emerging from China earlier this year showed smog on levels not previously recorded. Streets were choked and people were strongly advised to stay indoors, and avoid any sort of activity that might...
Antony Ingram