Electric Cars

Of all of the Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, as a writer, my favorite is the First Amendment, the one protecting the right to free speech. But that right doesn’t cover everything we speak, does it? Even as children, we learn that lying is wrong and that hurling insults is bad manners...

While literally hundreds of Toyota Prius owners have laid down thousands of dollars (in some cases, tens of thousands) by now for plug-in conversions, Toyota has proceeded slowly. Now it is showing what it says is the final version of its prototype Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid at the Frankfurt Motor...

The crescendo is building towards the EEStor revolution. EEStor is the stealth-mode Texas startup developing ultracapacitors called EESUs that have several fold higher energy and power densities than lithium ion batteries, are scalable to any size, cost a fraction of what lithium-ion cells to do...

Daimler has announced that sales of its Orion VII diesel electric hybrid bus has now exceeded 3,000 units.  Of the 3,000 orders in, there are over 2,200 units already in use and some 850 additional orders on the backlog from municipalities in New York, Seattle, Houston, Ottawa, and even Puerto...

When the Cash for Clunkers (CARS) program here in the U.S. ended, I wondered how many of the buyers who took advantage of the rebate chose to purchase a hybrid. Buying a hybrid made the most sense, in my view, especially with the slight surge in gas prices just before the program launched. If I...

In late May, we reported on rumors that an electric version of Audi's R8 supercar would be at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Nary a day later, Edmunds Inside Line crushed our hopesand put the rumors to rest, citing an Audi representative who refuted the blogosphere's claims. We're not ready to say "we...

Charging anxiety may at first drive buyers away from the adoption of EV technology, but within a short amount of time, anxiety is expected to subside and the buyers will come. According to General Motors Tony Posawatz who is the vehicle line director for the Chevy Volt, "When consumers plug in...

Setting the residual value for any new vehicle is not an easy task.  The residual value factors in many thing including depreciation, desirability, reliability, brand name and the list goes on and on.  However, a residual value is important for determining lease rates and for banks to decide...

Zenn Motors of Canada (ZNN.V) holds exclusive rights to build small electric cars using EEStor's forthcoming groundbreaking barium-based batteries. They also hold a 10% ownership stake in EEStor, Inc. Though these EESUs have yet to be publicly demonstrated, EEStor has previously indicated it will...

At the NAIAS this January in Detroit, Mercedes-Benz unveiled a triad of sleek EV concepts called BlueZERO. The modular build of the three concepts makes it possible for them to share architecture and technology, such as front-wheel drive, but have three different drive system configurations. That...

While it may not evoke as much car lust as this past weekend's unveiling of the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics Concept, BMW is rumored to be in negotiations with Toyota to borrow their iQ mini-car platform. In return, Toyota is reportedly interested in BMW's Mini division. Japan's largest automaker...

In recent weeks, BMW has set the blogosphere alight with a trickle of information regarding a concept that would be on display for the upcoming Frankfurt auto show. If you guessed that the new vehicle would be a turbo-diesel plug-in hybrid sports car, you were right. The so-called Vision...

The Korea Advanced Institute of Technology (KAIST) has developed a revolutionary electric vehicle that neatly side-steps the looming political/economic issue of scarcity of advanced battery materials, as well as the practical limitations imposed by battery weight and life,  by dispensing with...

Michigan a contender for Think Electric Car Factory

Let’s imagine for a moment that Al Gore’s wish is granted and we all gave up our fossil-fuel guzzling, carbon-dioxide spewing cars in favor of efficient, gas-electric hybrids, like the Toyota Prius. While endangered penguins celebrate the re-growth of the polar ice caps, and we all enjoy...

In order to counter the initial affects of range anxiety, several different things must be taken into consideration.  From charging stations located at convenient mileage intervals, to marketing departments assuring would be buyers that there range numbers are indeed accurate, everything must be...

Range anxiety is constantly on the top of the list of problems associated with a worldwide launch of electric vehicles.  How do you convince consumers that a vehicle will meet the stated range without any issues?  How can you convince buyers that they will not be stranded on the roadside?  This...

Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! That's when we'll finally hear more about the BMW concept dubbed Vision EfficientDynamics. Until then, all we've got is these teaser images and the short, equally coy YouTube video below. The blogosphere is brimming with speculation as to what BMW is hiding, but we...

There has been a lot of press lately stemming from GM's announcement that the Chevy Volt would get 230 mpg on city driving and Nissan's follow-up announcement that its LEAF EV would get 367 mpg. These calculations were made though using very different measurements and technically aren't...

Land Rover, a name synonymous with fully capable off-road vehicles, is scheduled to release its first hybrid vehicle in 2011. The hybrid, based on the LRX concept shown at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show, will make its official debut on June 17th of next year with production beginning in early 2011...