Electric Cars
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For several years now, the Federal Government has offered tax credits to people buying brand new highway-capable electric cars, as well as those installing electric car charging stations. But while the $7,500 federal tax credits towards the purchase of an electric car most likely won't end for several years, the Federal Government tax credit for part of the cost of installing an electric-car charging station will end on December 31, 2011. The basics In short, the electric-car charging station tax credit offers private individuals the ability to take 30 percent of the cost of installing their...
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Epic Killer Wasp Gives Away Electric ATV In Latest Publicity StuntWhat do you get if you cross a cult-horror movie filmmaker, an electric car, and a killer wasp? We weren’t sure either, until Californian electric vehicle specialist Epic EV announced the official launch of its all-electric All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) -- the Epic Amp. As part of the Epic Amp...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2012 Mitsubishi i Ranked By EPA As Most Efficient Electric Car On SaleElectric cars are normally considered to be pretty efficient when compared to gasoline-engined cars, but if you want to buy the most efficient electric car on the market today you’ll have to buy a 2012 Mitsubishi i. Ranked number 1 in the EPA’s Annual Fuel Economy Guide, the 2012...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Are The BMW i3 And i8 Electric Cars A Mission Impossible?At the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show, BMW introduced its press conference with a preview of the next installment of the Tom Cruise Mission Impossible movie series. BMW features prominently in this production, with its plug-in hybrid supercar i8 as one of the team’s advanced tools. The movie's...
George Parrott -
Nissan Picks Coulomb To Keep Its Charging Points Up To DateOnce in a while, you get an announcement that looks interesting but requires ... ummmmm ... some interpretation. During the barrage of car launches, interviews, press releases, and general running around that comprised media days at the recent Los Angeles Auto Show, we got a press release with the...
John Voelcker -
Pump Rebels Calendar: Sex Sells, Even For High-MPG CarsHave you ever bought a product solely because it was advertised by someone you find attractive? It's okay, you're among friends - you can tell us. If you answered yes, then you'd better get saving for that energy-efficient vehicle, as a new yearly calendar called Pump Rebels (via the mynissanleaf...
Antony Ingram -
One year ago, Honda unveiled a prototype Fit EV electric car at the Los Angeles Auto Show. This year, it showed a refined version that it says it will offer for lease next summer in California and Oregon, expanding into six East Coast markets early the following year. Lease only, no sales Honda plans to price the Fit EV at $36,625 (plus a mandatory $770 delivery fee), or slightly more than the $35,200 base price of a 2012 Nissan Leaf SV electric car--which is a larger car with far greater availability. But the kicker to the announcement may disappoint Fit fans who were looking forward to an...
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Infiniti Sneaks Pictures Out Of New Electric Sports Car ConceptAll eyes might be focused on the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show, but luxury automaker Infiniti has decided to turn attention to the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, where it plans to unveil a range-extended, electric sports car concept. We don’t know anything at this moment about the car’s...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Chevy Volt To Qualify For California HOV-Lane Access In 2012Chevrolet announced today at the Los Angeles Auto Show that its Volt extended-range electric car will qualify for solo access to California's HOV lanes, a feature deeply desired by many of the state's car buyers. A 'Low Emissions Package' will be fitted as standard equipment to all Volts sold in...
John Voelcker -
One Year, One Talk-Show Host, 11,000 Miles, And No GasolineTalk-show host Jay Leno might own everything from vintage Model T Fords through to large-engined, gas-guzzling supercars, but it turns out his daily driver is the 2011 Chevrolet Volt he purchased last year. And in that time, Leno says, he hasn’t visited a gas-station once. Since collecting...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Azure's Ford Transit Connect Electric Wagon: First Five-Seat All-Electric Wagon In U.S.In a press release a few hours ahead of the start of the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show, Ford and electric vehicle partner Auzure Dynamics has announced the Ford Transit Connect Electric will be joined in 2012 by an five-seat electric wagon version for the commercial market. Aimed at businesses rather...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2011 LA Auto Show: Coda Releases Pricing, Details on 2012 SedanIt’s taken a long time arriving, but we finally know how much a 2012 Coda Sedan will cost you to buy: $39,900 before state and federal incentives. In a press release to coincide with the start of the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show, Coda has finally disclosed some of the key features of its...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Fisker Automotive, maker of the plug-in Karma sports sedan, hasn’t had an easy time of late, thanks to the Karma’s rather low EPA fuel economy rating and slower-than-expected initial production volumes. But that is all behind the firm, company Chairman Ray Lane told Reuters yesterday. In an interview with the news agency, Lane confirmed that Fisker was confident about meeting its 15,000 Karma production target for next year. “In production of a first vehicle, everything doesn’t go the way you plan,” Lane explained. “Next year, we’ll do exactly what we...
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Little Love For Nissan Leaf In Luxury-Conscious Hong KongIf you thought the Nissan Leaf was a hard sell in the expanses of North America, then you may be surprised to learn it's doing far less well in one of its natural habitats. Cities are where electric cars often make the most sense, but the fashion and luxury-conscious buyers in smog-ridden Hong Kong...
Antony Ingram -
San Francisco Gives Electric Car Love, Starts “EV Council”It’s a known fact that certain areas of the U.S. are better known for their love of the electric car than others, but San Francisco wants to go one better with a bid to become the electric car capital of the entire U.S. In order to achieve this, elected official and local business leaders in...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
NHTSA To Treat Crashed Electric Cars With More Respect After Volt BlazeThe National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is considering adopting a new set of procedures for tow trucks and wrecking yards to follow when dealing with severely crashed electric cars. The new guidelines may be implemented after an incident in which a 2011 Chevrolet Volt caught fire...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Electric Cars Easier In Smaller Places: Ireland Outpaces U.S.The spread of electric cars and public charging stations for them across the United States will be uneven for many years to come. Many analysts and advocates believe that California residents will buy as many plug-in cars as are sold in the next five states combined. With the exception of Texas and...
John Voelcker -
Better Place Electric Car Infrastructure Company Gets $200 Million Additional FundingBetter Place, charging infrastructure, battery leasing and global pioneer of rapid battery swap stations for electric cars, has just announced it has secured $200 Million of investment in its series C funding. Aiming to make electric car ownership and refueling as simple and as quick as refueling a...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
The fire marshal investigating a Mooresville, NC, fire that engulfed a 2011 Chevrolet Volt electric car has concluded preliminarily that the car was not the source of the fire.
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Third Fire Consumes A Chevy Volt Electric Car: PerspectiveNeither GM nor the NHTSA has been able to replicate a fire that occurred in a wrecked Chevrolet Volt three weeks after it was demolished in an NHTSA crash test.
John Voelcker -
2012 Renault Fluence Z.E. Comprehensive Drive ReportYou might not know it, but the 2012 Renault Fluence Z.E. electric car is technically the world’s most in-demand electric car. With a massive 100,000 cars ordered by battery swap and charging infrastructure company Better Place and production already underway, the French designed electric...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Nissan Leaf, Mitsubishi i Rapid Charging Gets Cheaper Thanks To NissanRapid electric car charging stations for cars like the 2012 Nissan Leaf and 2012 Mitsubishi i may soon become a lot more common in the U.S. thanks to a new rapid charging station Nissan says it will launch in the U.S. by early 2012. The charging station, which is based upon the CHAdeMo direct...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Electric Rolls-Royce Phantom 102EX: Quick DriveIf you're going to have your very first drive behind the wheel of a Rolls-Royce, what better car than a one-of-a-kind experimental all-electric Phantom? The metallic silver-blue Phantom, given a rare factory experimental designation of 102EX, has been touring the globe to gauge the reactions of...
John Voelcker -
Sneak Peek: BMW i3 And i8 U.S. Debut Before LA Auto ShowYesterday afternoon, BMW hosted a Special Sneak Peek Preview Event of the BMW i3 and BMW i8 concept electric cars in New York. Both cars will make their official U.S. debut at next week's Los Angeles Auto Show. After an hour-long photo session, we were addressed by Richard Kim, exterior designer...
Tom Moloughney