Electric Cars

Colin Chapman is remembered for many things in the automotive world, but if there's one thing auto journalists have to thank him for, it's an endless stream of column inches dedicated to the weight of cars. All the calls for lighter vehicles aren't based solely on theory, but a back-catalog of...

While electric-only automaker Tesla pushes ahead with its Model S sedan, the upcoming Model X crossover and others on the horizon, other electric automakers are taking a more cautious approach with their first forays. The Mitsubishi i, Nissan Leaf and others are worthy additions to the market, but...

Better Place is now rapidly ramping up the first full deployment of its electric-car service and battery swapping network in Israel, but the company has ambitious plans in other countries as well. In Israel, it's illegal for electric-car users to plug their cars into just any old wall socket. They...

You know the score: you’re running late for a meeting, dinner date or flight, and need to find somewhere to charge your electric car while you’re gone. So you head to the nearest parking garage where you know there’s free electric car charging, park up, plug in and head off. But...

If you have a car that both plugs in and runs on a conventional engine, what's the mix of miles done on grid power versus gasoline? You might think it's something like 50-50. In the case of the Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid, with an electric range of 6 to 15 miles, that's probably about...

Battery cooling is an area of contension in electric cars. Some, like Nissan, avoid using a coolant fluid with the batteries on the Leaf, as it reduces costs. Others, like Tesla, use cooling and thermal management to ensure the pack stays in its optimum operating range--beneficial for performance...

Political opponents of President Barack Obama used to sneer, "So how's that hopey-changey stuff workin' for ya, huh?" You don't hear that so much any more, but 18 months after the first plug-in cars went on sale in the U.S., it's worth looking at a different question. Will the Obama...

Last year it was the Chevy Volt, which went through several months of slow sales before rebounding in the spring. This year, it's the Nissan Leaf, the world's highest-volume battery-electric car, whose U.S. sales have slumped to just 600 a month or less--and stayed there since early this year. Just...

It officially ended production last year, but the iconic Tesla Roadster is still being developed and tweaked thanks to a few enterprising Tesla owners and fans. The latest must-have for any Tesla Roadster? A small adaptor that allows Tesla Roadster owners to charge their cars at any public J-1772...

Starting a company to build electric cars is tough, as Tesla, Fisker, and others have found out. Building electric motors is tough, too. It's tougher yet if you intend to turn the traditional design inside out, and build big, powerful, slim wheel motors to be used in large sedans, full-size pickup...

With at least a dozen 2012 Tesla Model S all-electric sport sedans now in the hands of buyers--and, Tesla says, 5,000 more to follow by the end of the year--attention is likely to turn to the car's real-world range. The high-end Model S that makes up the bulk of early production is rated by the EPA...

It appears that one of the perennial sticking points of electric cars is still putting off buyers. Not range anxiety, but pricing. In the Energy Information Administration's Annual Energy Outlook 2012 report, it suggests that buyers aren't confident that they'll see any payback from the high...

In the automotive world, there are automakers who ignore plug-in vehicle technology, those who experiment with it, those who do it because they have to, and those for whom it is part of the company future. With its 2012 i electric minicar already on sale in the U.S., and its Outlander plug-in...

Many electric car owners consider the debate over charging points all a bit of a fuss. After all, when the majority of your driving is between home and the office, then charging at one of those two locations will usually suffice. The presence (or otherwise) of chargers at rest stops or spread...

It's a well-known problem among electric car owners: accumulating the memberships and authorization cards from enough charging networks in your area so you're sure to have the right one when you pull up to a charging station. Now a new company, Liberty Plug-Ins, suggests that maybe all those cards...

Following its launch of the 2012 Tesla Model S, the Silicon Valley startup is now giving test drives to depositors who've put down $5,000--or more--for the all-electric luxury sport sedan. What Tesla hasn't done, as far as we're aware, is to provide Model S cars to automotive media outlets for...

Henrik Fisker is viewed by many in the automotive industry as one of the finest designers of his generation, responsible for stunning cars like the BMW Z8, Aston Martin DB9, and Fisker Karma. But at a recent TEDx talk where the founder of Fisker Automotive told the audience how he got into...

Electric cars can be split into three basic groups. There are the few models carmakers intend to sell in volume (e.g. Nissan Leaf), those that are only "compliance cars"--built solely to satisfy regulatory requirements--and, lastly, the "test fleet" cars, with which manufacturers gather real-world...

It’s been nearly four months since deliveries of the 2012 Coda Sedan started, but with the automaker not willing to divulge its sales figures and very few cars spotted on the road, is the automaker in trouble? According to PluginCars, the Californian automaker’s biggest problem at the...

It can be hard to work out which cars the 2012 Tesla Model S electric sport sedan competes with. Would it be largest German luxury sedans, which it roughly matches in price with the longest (265-mile) range and the introductory limited-edition Signature Series models? If so, those would be the...