Electric Cars

The Honda Accord Hybrid never really caught on.  Sales were low from the get go and Honda really had little choice but to cancel the vehicle.  Other Honda hybrids like the dedicated hybrid Insight and even the Civic Hybrid have fared much better, but the unloved Accord Hybrid came and went...

Smith Electric Vehicles U.S. announced today that it's Newton truck line, the first commercial all-electric truck to receive new vehicle emissions certification in California, will be expanded to include not only small delivery vans, but 14,000 and 16,000 lb. short-haul trucks.  This is in...

The Global Green Car Challenge took place this week in Australia.  Participants in numerous categories faced off for supremacy.  One vehicle, the Tesla Roadster, set a new world record in the battery powered production vehicle class. Driver Simon Hackett and co-driver Emilis Prelgauskas set out...

Finally the cup holder has been overtaken as the most important feature of a new car.  It was beat out by fuel economy.  Americans have finally confessed and admitted that fuel efficiency is the most important factor to consider when purchasing a new car.  But, insiders at the Big Three knew...

Carrying the regulation-maximum 6 square meters of solar cells and reaching speeds of up to 94 mph, the Solar-powered Tokai Challenger built by a team from Tokai University, Japan,  has fought it's way across 3000 kilometers of Australian desert ahead of the pack to take first place in the premier...

Recently, I spoke with Rob Brady, Owner / CEO / Design Director of ROBRADY Design, who has worked with alternative vehicle companies such as Vectrix, Segway and, most recently, DK City on their folding bike design.  I was curious to find out what parameters might drive the designs of alternative...

Better Place, well known for their somewhat controversial battery swapping technology and their growing partnership with Renault is now toying with yet another new idea.  Better Place is partnering with DSB, Denmark's largest commuter train service company to provide an EV car sharing solution for...

There are many methods for charging EVs.  From using household current, to battery swapping, to fast charge stations, the list is continually growing.  However, not everyone is on board with some charging options. Battery swapping has continually been met with interest, yet few believe the idea...

Consumer Reports, long respected by consumers for its unbiased analysis of everything from vacuum cleaners to children’s toys to cars, has published its list of the most reliable (and unreliable) vehicles. Overall, the results are stunning — five of the top eight most reliable family cars were...

There's nothing like a little old-fashioned reporter shoe leather, especially when few other automotive media outlets bother to make the trip. Our colleague Gary Gastelu of Fox News traveled down to Delaware yesterday, to cover the official announcement of Fisker Automotive's $18 million purchase...

Ford will introduce the Focus EV in 2011 to high expectations.  The vehicle will be one of the first EVs to hit the roads from a domestic manufacturer.  For Ford, it will be their second EV by the time it comes to market, just behind the Transit Connect EV.  Currently in the prototype stage...

Is that the original Honda Insight? At least one commenter on Green Car Congress agrees that the diminutive plug-in hybrid pictured to the left bears some likeness to the spunky fuel sipper that debuted back in 1999. (Of course the Insight didn't come with a plug.) Resemblance aside, this is the...

  Fisker CEO and founder Henrik Fisker was joined by US Vice-President Joe Biden in a dormant former GM assembly plant in Wilmington Delaware to announce that the plant will be purchased by Fisker. The plant will be used to support project NINA, the company's effort to build an affordable family...

Guido Reinking, editor of Automobilwoche, is well known for his occasional outbursts against electric vehicle technology.  Previously, Reinking wrote that EV technology will not become mainstream for at least 15 more years.  Now he's back with yet another statement that may or may not sit well...

Awhile back we brought you a story about a company called New Energy whose Motion Power system presented an interesting energy harvester installed in roadways.  The system is designed to capture energy from the motion of vehicles.  It has undergone several successful real-world testing...

The REVA Electric Car Company of  Bangalore (India)  announced Friday that in partnership with Newly formed U.S. EV company Bannon automotive, it/they will be investing 26.5 million dollars to rehabilitate and outfit an EV factory in Syracuse, N.Y.. The facility will be an assembly plant for...

With the leading vehicles just passing the halfway point in the 3000 km World Solar Challenge, the Tokai University(Japan) Challenger leads the pack followed closely by the University of Michigan(U.S.) Infinium  and former world champion, the Delft Technical University(Netherlands) Nuna V. See the...

I knew a plug-in fuel cell vehicle would emerge, and I knew the best application for fuel cells is trucking.  The future has arrived.  See more pics on Vision Industries homepage here. LOS ANGELES--(Business Wire)-- Vision Industries Corp. (OTCBB:VIIC), producers of the zero emission, plug-in...

Reduces development time by 2 years with math and simulation-based tools from Mathworks.

Daimler recently made the commitment to update and expand its Rastatt factory by 2011.  The company will invest over 600 million euros to retool the facility in time for the release of its next generation, sub-compact and compact A and B Class vehicles.  This decision has been in the works for...