Electric Cars

It’s been about 18 months since plug-in electric cars went on sale in the U.S., and you might say the industry is in something of a sophomore slump. Sales of plug-ins, while higher than those of hybrids at the same stage of their launch, haven’t met the optimistic projections tossed...

According to a recent, very peppy General Motors ad campaign, many Chevrolet Volt owners are brimming with enthusiasm about their plug-in hybrid. Then again, having Chevy Volt owners evangelize about their cars in an ad designed to sell the plug-in hybrid is hardly a fair yardstick to gauge how...

For some, cars are much more than merely a method of transport. Much of the stereotypical gearhead backlash against electric and hybrid vehicles is to do with the perception that the vehicles are transportation for tree huggers, hippies and people who believe that people shouldn't have fun. It's...

If you examine the demographics of the ‘average’ electric car buyer, you’re likely to find out that they are educated to at least college level, drive less than 50 miles per day, and have a household income of at least $125,000 a year. The mean age of an electric car buyer? Just...

After nothing to sell for nearly six months, an age of anticipation, media hype and short, chaperoned rides, Tesla began official deliveries of its all-electric 2012 Model S sedan just over a month ago. So its hardly surprising that the fledgling car company has just posted net losses of $105.6...

There's something fascinating about "how it's made"-style programs. Even the most mundane items can seem interesting as they whirr down a production line gaining attributes as they go. When the object is already interesting, like an electric car, that's even more reason to watch. To that end, keep...

BMW has announced a strategic investment in Coulomb Technologies, the company behind the ChargePoint charging network. ChargePoint is the largest online global charging network, operating in 14 countries. The online network allows users to coordinate their charging via the cloud, with online...

When a potential engineering or safety problem with a new or nearly-new car arises, the task of reassuring concerned owners normally falls to the relevant press departments and middle-management. But growing public concern about the rapid battery capacity loss exhibited by some Nissan Leafs in...

Deliveries for the 2012 Tesla Model S have started, and in case you missed editor John Voelcker's first drive of the Model S this past week, one point of note was how calm and quiet the cabin remains even when accelerating. That said, while we've spent more time sitting in the Model S than driving...

Sometimes, automakers mark the switch between one model year and the next with some pomp and ceremony, especially if the new model year is significantly better than the outgoing one. Despite the 2013 Chevrolet Volt getting an improved all-electric range, better EPA rating and the addition of a...

Compared with gasoline cars, electric cars are cheap to refuel, especially when charged at night using specialist electric car rates. Designed to encourage the charging of electric vehicles at night time when grid demand is naturally lower, electric car rates are substantially cheaper per...

Although Audi has no production plans as yet for its A3 e-tron electric car, the automaker is still working hard to promote electric cars through its small A3 e-tron test fleet. Last month, Audi released a video in which we met some of its e-Pilots: the lucky few Audi employees chosen to put the A3...

It’s official: not only does the 2013 Ford C-Max Energi Plug-in hybrid travel further in all-electric mode than the 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in hybrid, but it will cost less too. As Ford detailed last night, its first plug-in hybrid will retail for $33,750, has a combined gasoline + electric...

If there's one thing to be said for the relatively steady uptake on electric cars, it's that there's a friendly, tight-knit community of electric car owners ever-ready to hand out advice. Whatever you want to know about owning or driving an EV, it's never difficult to find someone who can help out...

The Nissan Leaf may have gone on sale in December 2010, but later this year, production of Nissan’s all-electric hatchback will start for the first time in Smyrna, Tennessee. We’ve been looking forward to the 2013 Nissan Leaf for some time, with hints from Nissan that...

Honda delivered its first coporately-leased all-electric Fit EV back in December 2010 to the city of Torrence, California, one month after announcing it at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show. Since then, Honda has continued deliveries of its Fit EV to fleet customers, but at the start of last week...

A few months after going on sale, the 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in hybrid has been given an official crash-test rating by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Unlike the 5-star rated, five-door Prius liftback it is based on however, the 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid only...

Across Tesla’s ten new-design, retail-oriented stores (out of 14 total stores), there will have been over a million visitors so far in 2012.

Man-made carbon dioxide might be something we're trying to reduce, but on its own, carbon is an abundant and rather useful element. It's also been central to two of the most important scientific materials discoveries of recent years--graphene, and carbon nanotubes. The latter involves rolling the...

Electric-car drivers in the U.S. are now asking, What is a fair price value for use of public Level 2 charging stations? In the U.S. and Europe, multiple networks of charging-spot providers have proliferated. Some are or were free, others offer a variety of payment terms, authentication systems...