Electric Cars

In some ways, urban parcel delivery is the ideal duty cycle for electric trucks. Daily routes are usually under 100 miles, and all trucks return to a central location at night--ideal for recharging. Federal Express, which has a large fleet of green and alternative vehicles, is now putting its first...

Automotive journalists aren't known for putting their money where their mouth is. Lots of us talk about loving the planet, owning the environmental mantle, and yet somehow we all drive MINI Coopers and Mazda MX-5 Miata roadsters. Not me. I think I just signed up to buy a 2011 Nissan Leaf. The...

Sometimes, a car--even an electric car like the 2011 Nissan Leaf--isn't the best way to transport yourself on errands or to work. Bicycling's one of the greenest alternatives to gas-powered travel, and when it comes to biking-friendly commutes, a handful of cities have a huge advantage over others...

Last month was was a pretty great one for mainstream automakers planning to deliver plug-in vehicles. Publicity a-plenty, state and Federal grants announced, pricing revealed. The message from Detroit and Japan is clear: If you like it then you shoulda put a plug on it ... But with so many of the...

The 2011 Chevrolet Volt took another step last week in its long and highly publicized gestation, with the first complete vehicle rolling off the production line at GM's Detroit Hamtramck assembly plant. On Wenesday, March 31, the first model of the mass-produced electric car built in North America...

U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Mo) announced Wednesday that Smith Electric Vehicles U.S., has had an additional 22 Million dollar DOE grant added to the 10 million awarded the company in 2009, for a total of 32 million dollars.   The money will go toward new vehicle development and to...

Pricing for the 2011 Nissan Leaf electric car, eagerly awaited for many months, has now been set for both Japanese and U.S. markets.

Nissan has announced pricing for the 2011 Nissan LEAF electric vehicle, which will first become available in a few markets late this year.

Failure to meet CAFÉ standards can result in stiff fines for automakers.  In particular, Mercedes has paid over $200 million in CAFÉ infringement related fines since 1983 and many other companies have been hit with similar fees.  For 2009, CAFÉ standards were set at 27.5 mpg, and number that...

What if you could charge an electric vehicle without plugging it in?  There has been discussion before about the ability to charge battery powered items without a cable.  There has also been successful devices that do exactly that.  But what about charging something larger than say a cell phone...

Nissan's ambitious plans to build and sell its 2011 Nissan Leaf electric car around the world will not include populous India, at least not initially. According to Indian Autos Blog, the CEO and managing director of Nissan Motors India said the company had no plans to introduce the Leaf to the...

Why produce plug-in EREVs such as the Chevy Volt when you believe that full electric vehicles are the wave of the future?  This is a question that GM will have to tackle as even the company admits that battery only vehicles will dominate sales in the future. GM North America President Mark Reuss...

Everything is going electric these days including the iconic Polaris ATV.  Apparently even backwoods hunters favor eliminating emissions and traveling through the brush without the racket of a gasoline engine ruining their serene adventure. The electric Polaris ATV moves with silent, swift motions...

Daimler is a busy player in the electric vehicle category.  From recent news that Smart has partnered with Renault-Nissan, a deal which could result in an updates Smart ED, to Daimler signing a joint venture with BYD to build EVs for the Chinese market, the company is active with electrics. The...

Is there any better way to encourage innovation than a contest? Offer a prize for inventing or improving something, whether there's a cash prize involved or not, and that most basic of human instincts — competitiveness — will kick in and take care of the rest. And if the intent is to motivate...

Honda can't afford another hybrid failure.  After lackluster sales of the newly redesigned Insight, Honda needs a hit in the hybrid segment.  They are hopeful that the upcoming CR-Z can garner sales success and be a hit here in the States, but the outlook is uncertain.  Whether or not the CR-Z...

In a recent article posted on this site, we had reported that the Tesla Roadster would see a production lapse in 2012.  The lapse was considered to be necessary due to a chassis changeover by Lotus, of which the Roadster shares numerous components.  During the changeover by Lotus, Tesla would be...

A few months ago the SAE announced standards for charging electric vehicles.  The standards were long overdue, but automakers finally have a charging standard to build their plug-in vehicles to.  Now that the plug end is standardized and automakers are making vehicles to the new SAE J-1772...

Californians can rejoice as they are now able to get up to $5,000 off of their electric car purchase. Starting earlier this month, the states Clean Vehicle Rebate Project (CVRP) went into effect which will allow buyers in the state of California the opportunity to purchase certain zero emission...

st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } With the release date of the Chevy Volt drawing near, final testing is under way.  The Volt is currently undergoing what is referred to in the business as suspension durability testing.  The testing is under way at GM's test track at the Milford Proving Grounds...