Electric Cars
-
Remember Aptera, the plucky San Diego firm responsible for the three wheeled Aptera 2e electric car which resembles an airplane but is technically a motorcycle? After the firm lost out in last year’s Progressive Insurance Automotive X-Prize it went mysteriously silent, save for the occasional newsletter assuring its potential customers that it was working full tilt to get its two-seat ‘car’ to market just as soon as possible. But in its latest newsletter to customers, Aptera has detailed not its rollout plans, but a surprise manufacturing move away from its San Diego home...
-
Buying or Leasing An Electric Car: Why Residual Value MattersYou’ve read up on the latest electric cars, gone for test drives and are ready to make a purchase. However, there’s one more thing you should consider before singing the contract: how much will your car be worth in a few years’ time? The answer depends on who you ask and could...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Aston Martin Cygnet Edges Towards Reality, Electrifies SpiesEvery self-respecting spy need the latest gadgets to keep them safe, suave and sexy. But while James Bond would be nothing without the technological prowess of Q, his favorite brand of automobiles looks to be turning its attention towards its own electric wizardry in the form of the all-electric...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Converted Electric Nissan Qashqai Completes Round-World TripThere are two types of people in the world: those who like long-distance trips and those who don’t. Danish adventurers Hjalte Tin and Nina Tin Rasmussen are most certainly the former. Last week the couple celebrated the completion of the Moto Mundo World Electric Tour - a ten month trip...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
BMW i3 Electric Car Coming With 100-Mile Range And $35,000 Sticker: ReportThe upcoming BMW i3, the car formerly known as the Megacity Vehicle and the first production all-electric car from BMW, is set to revolutionize the way mainstream cars are engineered and built, with most of its internal structure and body being composed of lightweight composite materials such as...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Nissan Shares Nismo RC Electric Race Car Shakedown, Future Vision (Video)It may have been bathed in lights better suited to the local nightclub, but when we set our eyes on the Nissan Leaf Nismo RC at the New York Auto Show back in April we were keen to see just what the 2011 Nissan Leaf derived electric race car was capable of on the track. We haven’t had long to...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
You may think that China is already on its way to becoming the world’s electric car leader thanks to its extremely large potential consumer market and industrial revolution, but it turns out Germany is also after the same accolade. In a move which aims to develop as many as 1 million plug-in vehicles on the roads by 2020, Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced that her government plans to invest an additional 1 billion euros ($1.4 billion) to research and develop the electric vehicle industry in Germany. While Merkel’s deadline is a full five years behind President...
-
Tesla Fun For THINK Prices? The EV Mazda Miata ConversionIf we said you could own an electric car that offered four-fifths the fun of a 2012 Tesla Roadster 2.5 for less than a fifth the price, you might think we'd been illicitly inhaling gasoline fumes on the side. What you might not know is how close we are to the truth, and one that comes in the shape...
Antony Ingram -
Need To Recharge An Electric Car? Check The Charging Station FirstOne of the liberating benefits to owning an electric car is the ability to plug in and charge up wherever there happens to be a purpose-built charging station, or indeed a standard domestic power outlet. But while most of the electric cars on sale in the U.S. today comply with the J1772 standard of...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Forumlec World Series ‘Electric Grand Prix’: Coming in 2012You may not realize it, but the ultimate gas-guzzling motor racing sports in the world have been keeping collective eyes on the humble electric car, with a view to creating the ultimate electric race series. It started many years ago when unassuming cars like the 1972 “White Zombie”...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Exclusive: Hey Top Gear, You Have To Fill Up Electric Cars Too, Duh!Have you ever been on those roads in North Dakota where you pass a sign that says “No gas for next 80 miles"? Or perhaps you’ve traveled through the frozen wastelands of Northern Canada or Alaska and learned that the gas station you just passed was the last one for more than 100 miles...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
U.S. Carmakers To Japan: Don't Need Your Stinkin' Fast-ChargeSo you bought a 2011 Nissan Leaf, and paid for the optional $700 quick-charge connector. Now you're able to get an 80-percent battery recharge in just 30 minutes, albeit from very few places right now. Promising, right? Not so fast, sonny. It appears that U.S. makers of electric cars are likely to...
George Parrott -
Earlier this year were were granted exclusive access to Volvo’s Gothenburg headquarters where we were given a sneak peak of its 2012 V60 Plug-in Hybrid a full week before its official unveiling at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show. Although we were given a chance to look at the V60 PHEV’s familiar styling and quiz both designers and engineers about its performance and technology, Volvo wasn’t ready for test-drives at that time. Our disappointment must have been obvious, because a few weeks ago Volvo invited us to be among the first journalists to sit behind the wheel of its first...
-
BREAKING: BBC Top Gear Caught Filming Latest Electric Car ‘Stunt’Uh-Ho. Despite being embroiled in a sordid libel court-case with californian electric car maker Tesla Motors for false representation of its $109,000 sexy all-electric sportscar. the BBC’s Top Gear program has just been spied in Lincoln, England - filming its latest electric car escapade. The...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Top Gear: Doing Another Silly, Deceptive Electric-Car Stunt?Uh oh, here we go again. Or not? The crew of the British car show Top Gear have been spotted in the British town of Lincoln, traveling in a pair of electric cars, the 2011 Nissan Leaf and a Peugeot iOn (which will be sold in the States as the 2012 Mitsubishi 'i'). Hosts Jeremy Clarkson and James...
John Voelcker -
5 Reasons Why You’ll Want the 2011 Nissan Leaf Software UpdateRecalls, whether mandated by law or entered into voluntarily by an automaker are part of modern day car buying. Often car owners ignore the advice of the automaker for non-safety related recalls and updates such as the recent 2011 Nissan Leaf software update to rectify a software fault which could...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Could Psychology Offer a New Way to Encourage Green Driving?In the United States we have become comfortable with our large cars, even larger SUVs and we have further assumed that we would always have inexpensive fuel and freeways to speed comfortably between cities. In the last 20 years however, the assumptions of the optimistic 1950's have started to...
George Parrott -
Sun Shines on GM’s New Solar Panels at Chevy Volt FactoryYou hardly need us to tell you that there’s been an ongoing race to become the king of plug-in vehicles between Nissan and General Motors ever since the two firms launched their 2011 Nissan Leaf and 2011 Chevrolet Volt. But with both cars battling it out on the forecourt both firms can worry...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
The 2011 Geneva Motor Show in March brought a number of new models out of the closet. But for the green car fan, two concepts were the gems of the show: the return of the legendary Volkswagen Microbus, and an electric sports car from Nissan that just might be affordable. Bulli for the Microbus The Volkswagen Bulli concept is the second iteration of VW's styling exercise to reincarnate the spirit of the long gone Microbus. The name refers to the German model designation for what was formally known as the Volkswagen Type 2. In Geneva, the Bulli was presented as an electric vehicle with a...
-
Forget The Prius, Renault Cannes Chauffeur Celebrities TooFor most Hollywood A-List celebrities the choice of how to arrive at premieres and film festivals has been almost as big a decision as what to wear. Now Hollywood A-list celebrities have one less thing to worry about courtesy of French automaker Renault, which is providing ten of its all-electric...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
First Drive Report: Delta Motorsport E-4 Electric CoupeOn Monday we showed you the first pictures of the Delta E-4 Electric Coupe, an all-electric sports car designed and built by Delta Motorsport. Now it’s time to bring you our very own first person report from behind the wheel at the iconic Silverstone racetrack, home to the British Grand Prix...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Cleaner Cars Save You Gas, Also Save Lives, Cut Health CostsCars that consume less fuel have many benefits, including lower gasoline costs. Now it turns out that they also bring significant public-health benefits, reducing health-care costs and premature deaths from cardiopulmonary causes. The challenge is that the costs and benefits aren't equally spread...
George Parrott -
2012 Ford Focus Electric Edges Closer To Production With New MicrositeThe 2011 Nissan Leaf and 2011 Chevrolet Volt had better watch out. The Blue Oval’s contender in the zero-emissions segment, the upcoming 2012 Ford Focus Electric, is edging closer to production. This week it gained a new microsite on the official Ford website. We already had a look at the car...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Electric Cars Tested in Antarctica For Ultimate Cold Weather TestIt’s a well-known fact that just like humans, electric cars work best in temperate climates. But what is the coldest temperature an electric car needs to be operational in? And just how do you test that? While we’ve proven that cars like the 2011 Tesla Roadster can more than adequately...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield