Electric Cars

Wards Auto makes a bold prediction that could prove true. Their prediction, "The ranks of hyper-milers will grow with the Ford Fusion Hybrid volume." Hyper-milers are drawn to gauges that tell you how good you are doing. Gauges that accurately display real time fuel economy, battery power and such...

In online discussions, the Toyota Prius reigns supreme. According to a Nielsen rating report, out of all of the online discussions regarding the Honda Insight as the main focus, 61 percent of them also include a mention of the Toyota Prius. However, the same does not hold true when the two cars...

There are three constants in life: death, taxes, and Nissan's periodic announcement of another zero-emission partnership. This time, the Renault-Nissan Alliance is working with Progress Energy and the non-profit group, Advance Energy, both based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The three entities will...

According to Automotive News, Mitsubishi will increase production once again on its I-MiEV Electric Car. Initially, Mitsubishi planned to make 20,000 units of the I-MiEV each year, but they have decided to rev up production to 30,000 units by 2013. The announcement comes as no surprise as...

Rumors about a possible upcoming Saab and it's connection to the Chevy Volt are certainly intriguing.  But is there any truth to the concept? The pictured vehicle is called the Saab Fashionista Concept.  It is designed by Mayeul Walser, a 4th year design student at Creopole-ESDI.  According to...

Honda began selling its new second generation 2010 Insight in the US in late March. By the end of April those cars were just barely getting to dealerships. Yet, according to just-released April sales results, the automaker has already sold 2096 of the hybrids. This compares to 3361 Civic Hybrids...

Engineers at the Northwest National Laboratory in Washington have developed a new charging device for future electric cars. The so-called smart charger wirelessly communicates with utility companies to determine rates and grid demand. Electronically armed with this information, the device can...

Mercedes is a late entrant to the hybrid game, but is trying hard to play catch up now.   Next year they will introduce the S-Class Hybrid and the ML450 Hybrid SUV.  Both cars are important in their own right, but Mercedes best selling E-Class and C-Class lack hybrid variants. Wait just a few...

Hybrids and electric vehicle operate at nearly silent volume.  No burble of the engine, or whine of the belt, and no intake noise on acceleration.  It all leads to quieter roadways, but what about blind individuals who cannot see a car coming and instead rely on sound to know the placement of a...

Back on Earth Day, April 22nd, Peapod Mobility was to begin accepting orders online for its line of Peapod neighborhood electric vehicles or NEV for short.  The announcement of accepting orders came and went with no change to their website and no place to put an order in. Peapod, a Chrysler...

Nissan's first electric vehicle to come to the states will make its premiere in the city of Seattle next year. The plug-in electric from Nissan will be about the size of the Versa or the Sentra and seat five passengers.  It will travel up to 100 miles on a single charge and be capable of moving at...

According to the Nikkei newspaper out of Japan, both Honda and Toyota are making a profit on every hybrid vehicle they sell. According to the report, both companies make an estimated $3,100 on each hybrid vehicle.  This profit margin is about the same as they make on a traditional gasoline...

The Tesla Model S is set to appear tonight on the CBS Late Show with David Letterman. According to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, "It will likely be the first fully drivable car to appear on the Late Show with David Letterman." Why the Tesla Model S as the first car on the stage, the answer is simple. ...

Honda has long cited their concerns about the expense and range of lithium-ion batteries as the primary reason why they haven't developed a plug-in hybrid. They prefer hydrogen fuel cells, and became the first automaker to offer the technology here last fall, when they began leasing their FCX...

At 9:08 yesterday morning, a team of drivers managed to surpass the 1,000 mile mark in a production 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid. An astounding feat considering that all of the miles were driven on only one tank of gas.  But with 1/3 tank of fuel left, the team pushed on. At 5:37 am this morning, they...

Porsche has finally unveiled its much talked about four door sports car the Panamera.  The Panamera made its public debut at the Shanghai Auto Show on April 20th. The vehicle on display is not a hybrid, not an electric vehicle and is still burning that gasoline to get down the road, so why should...

Last week the secretive Texas-based company EEStor issued a press release indicating that its proprietary modified barium titanate powder achieved a permittvity of 22,500.  EEStor has been working for years to develop a new form of energy storage material that has properties of both a battery and...

According to a story in the Beijing News, Chinese battery and auto maker BYD may be close to a deal to supply Volkswagen with batteries. BYD, who is developing a line of their own battery electric vehicles, may cooperate with Volkswagen on a lithium iron phosphate battery. Says BYD sales manager...

Today General Motors announced they will cease production of the Saturn line-up at the end of the 2009 model year. This is a sad day for die-hard fans, who embraced Saturn's "different kind of car company" credo. But this is also a major set-back to GM's plan for a complete line-up of battery...

The Ford Fusion Hybrid challenge to see if the car could travel more than 1000 miles on a single tank of fuel was started at 8:15 a.m. on Saturday, April 25 in Virginia and is expected to end on Tuesday April 28th in Washington DC. Today, Monday, at 9:08 AM the vehicle successfully passed the 1000...