Electric Cars

It looks like something out of the new Transformers movie and it gets 117 miles per gallon. Interested? It's the Peugeot HYmotion 3 Motorcycle, but this is no ordinary bike. It's a three-wheeled (two in front, one in back) scooter, powered by a 125cc gas engine and two electric motors - one for...

Last month Nissan received $1.6 billion in subsidized loans from the U.S. Department of Energy to prepare their plant in Smyrna, Tennessee for the production of electric vehicles and lithium-ion batteries. At the Reuters Japan Investment Summit on Wednesday, senior vice president and head of...

Zipcar, the world's largest car club sharing operator has teamed up with the Westminster City Council in central London to offer its car sharing members environmentally friendly car choices. The car sharing club has added 20 different hybrid vehicles and 1 full EV to its lineup of available...

Bolstered  by the sales of the Ford Fusion hybrid and recent introduction of the new Prius hybrid, sales of hybrid models as a whole are still on the rise despite dwindling sales in other vehicle segments. Overall, hybrid sales are up 9 percent this June compared to last year and up an additional...

Diesels have had incredible sales success over in Europe, but have never gained much popularity here in the U.S.  However, the latest round of diesels coming to the states offer up strong competition against comparative hybrid models. Some of the latest diesel variants to hit our shores include...

T3 Motion, based in California, recently unveiled a new NEV called the CT3.  The CT3 is classified as a neighborhood electric vehicle or NEV and sports a three wheeled trike configuration. The CT3 is targeted towards consumers in need of around town transportation.  It sports a top speed of 45...

The world debut of the highly efficient Volvo Hybrid Double Decker bus took place in London yesterday.  In total, 6 such buses recently took to the roads in London and will service passengers along Route 141. The bus, called the Volvo B5L Hybrid Double Deck Bus brings advanced hybrid technology to...

An email went out from a local Toyota dealership stating that several of the new 2010 Toyota Priuses are coming in soon and are available for immediate delivery, no waiting list, no deposit, they are there for the taking.  6 Priuses are coming in calling my name. In fact, this dealership...

The road to energy independence is quickly filling up with with many and varied concepts. Apparently Korean budget car maker Hyundai-Kia intends to muscle into a plug-in hybrid niche. According to company R&D President Yang Woong-chu, Hyundai plans to bring its Blue-Will concept into...

More than 70 years ago, during the first electric car boom in the U.S., a well known company emerged from the city of Detroit.  The company, called Detroit Electric went out of business near the onset of the Great Depression, but their name live on today. The name, now owned by a Dutch company has...

The city of Santa Monica has purchased the first 2009 model all electric truck built in the United States.  Named the ZeroTruck, its the only electric truck in production in the U.S. in 2009. The truck will see use by city workers and is thus equipped for duty with a Scelzi utility body.  The...

Japan Post Service Co.,  (the part of Japan Post Group responsible for mail delivery) is expected to start 5-year lease terms on 40 electric vehicles by the end of July.  The company will utilize 20 Mitsubishi MiEVs and 20 Subaru Stellas primarily in Kanagawa Prefecture where some charging...

Tesla Motors announced today that they're partnering with Bank of America to offer financing on their Roadster. This begs the following question: If you need to finance the Roadster, should you be buying one? Tesla has always been very protective of their customers' identities, but we know at least...

June marked the first time in history that a hybrid topped the list of best-selling autos, out-selling all other vehicles across Japan. In May, the third-generation Prius beat out all other cars, which doesn't include popular mini-vehicles with engine less than 660 cc. But in June, the Prius...

A decade ago when Toyota introduced its first hybrid Prius, buyers were not too accepting of the funky looking vehicle.  It slowly won over the hearts of environmentally conscious buyers, but took years to gain widespread acceptance.  Toyota was alright with that, they saw a bright future ahead...

The Nikkei Business Daily has reported that Toyota plans to produce between 20,000 and 30,000 plug-in hybrids in 2012. The Japanese automaker has already committed to leasing 500 plug-ins for government and corporate use by the end of this year. The plan is hardly a surprise. While traditional...

Ric Richards is the independent owner of a McDonald's restaurant in Cary, North Carolina. He's about to be the first McDonald's owner to offer a dedicated parking space to charge plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles. In that way, he's an environmental pioneer. In addition to the ChargePoint...

The redesigned 2010 Buick LaCrosse will add a fuel efficient 2.4 liter, 4 cylinder engine to the lineup.  But of even more interest, according to GM execs, a hybrid model is also expected in the near future. GM's global vehicle line executive James Frederico appears to confirm this but did not...

According to Reuters, President Obama made a statement just over a week ago declaring that the U.S. has made "enormous progress" on climate change.  With a climate change bill going through congress right now, tied in with the Cash for Clunkers program and numerous other programs, the president...

One of the knocks on hybrid vehicles comes from the vision-impaired community. Many hybrids disengage their internal combustion engines at slow speeds. When a driver slows to a stop or accelerates from a controlled intersection, the vehicle often uses only battery power. If you can't see it, and...