Electric Cars

It may only be two weeks since Germany’s Chancellor Merkel announced that her government would help bring 1 million plug-in vehicles to the roads of Germany by 2020 but her bold goal is already being dismissed as impossible by the very automakers her Government is planning to help. Enter...

According to sources close to BMW the German automaker is reputedly working on five models to premiere at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show in September, including its long-awaited i3 electric car. BMW has kept details of its first mass-produced electric car quiet, although the ongoing stream of...

While many in the United Kingdom doubt that he will accede his mother Queen Elizabeth II to the throne and become King, HRH the Prince of Wales has never been one to shy away from helping his subjects combine quintessential British values with new technology. His latest project does exactly that...

Imagine a world where electricity didn’t power your Television, your iPod or your computer. And then imagine a world where you had a single cylinder combustion engine powering your cellphone and your dentist used a gasoline-powered drill to drill that cavity. That’s the...

We’ll admit that when we first heard that some technically-minded Nissan Leaf owners and engineers were hacking the portable 120 Volt level 1 Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE - or charge cable) provided with every 2011 Nissan Leaf we were more than cautious to the idea that it could be...

Think of motor racing in the U.S. and you’re likely to think of NASCAR. But while the race track may still be the ultimate celebration of high-power, high-octane internal combustion engined glory , it turns out that NASCAR isn’t the antithesis of electric cars that you might expect. At...

It may have major shareholders in the form of automotive giants Toyota and Daimler, but the Californian electric car automaker known for its super sexy Roadster is going to stay independent for the foreseeable future. At least, that’s what Tesla Motors' larger-than-life CEO Elon Musk told...

The President may be currently abroad experiencing the horror of European ramps, but his government has been busy at home ordering the very cars its stimulus program has helped to fund. The General Services Administration responsible for the upkeep of the federal government’s 600,000 strong...

Ask any electric car owner to name the benefits of owning an electric car and the ability to leave your house every morning with a ‘full tank’ is likely to be at the top of their list, followed closely by the fact that most electric cars can provide enough range to last more than a...

The Michelin Challenge Bibendum is an annual event run by the French tire company aimed at promoting the development of sustainable mobility. At this year’s event in the German capital of Berlin Porsche rolled out its Boxster E electric car prototype, revealing a few more saucy details about...

Protoscar isn’t new to designing and building electric car prototypes. The Swiss firm, who specializes in design and engineering, has previously revealed the Lampo and the Lampo2, both prototypes for electric sports cars. For 2011, the firm has taken a new direction with the Lampo3...

Oh no, not again. It’s only a few weeks since the Top Gear boys were spotted in Lincolnshire trying to find somewhere to charge two electric cars after forgetting failing to plug them in the night before. And now electric cars are in the firing line again. This time we’re hearing...

Any press relations firm will tell you that in the modern world companies need an active Internet and social media presence in order to best sell a product, but what if you could go one step further and create your own social media network? That’s exactly what Toyota is planning, with the...

When Volvo announced its plans to produce a plug-in hybrid station wagon capable of comfortably seating five, providing reasonable luggage space, a combined fuel economy of 150 miles per gallon, and the ability to tow just under 4,000lbs, many of you told us that you couldn’t wait to find out...

Electric motorcycle manufacturer Zero Motorcycles has announced the recall of certain model year 2009 and 2010 Zero S and Zero DS motorcycles, to replace the front brake caliper bracket. Under heavy braking, the original front brake caliper bracket may be subject to deformation, which can cause...

Back in January, we toured the Think electric-car assembly facility in Elkhart, Indiana, "the RV capital of the world." We got some striking photos of hundreds of the City electric two-seater cars that Think was gearing up to sell, assembled in the U.S. out of kits shipped from the manufacturing...

What makes the perfect city car? Compact dimensions are a good place to start, so you can sneak into small parking spaces on a crowded street and squeeze through gaps that would leave other traffic impatiently waiting. Nippy acceleration is useful too, so you aren't left lagging at the lights...

EV automakers face an uphill road. Not only do they have to make great looking cars that offer all the amenities of their gas-engined equivalents, but they've also got to assuage public concerns about the EV charging infrastructure -- an infrastructure that lies largely outside their control. Now...

One of the most remarkable--and most delayed--of the promised new generation of electric cars is the three-wheeled Aptera 2e. The unusual, highly aerodynamic vehicle was designed by a startup automaker in Southern California. The resin-bodied car was a finalist at last year’s Auto X-Prize...

It’s only four months since General Motors announced that it was upping production of its 2011 Volt to meet the strong consumer demand for its first full-scale production plug-in vehicle, but now the automaker has said it will be undertaking a series of upgrades to its Detroit-Hamtramck...