plug-in cars
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The ability to recharge 80 percent of an electric car's battery in 20 to 30 minutes--known as DC fast-charging--is a critical element in expanding public acceptance of cars powered by batteries. But unlike the universal standard for conventional 240-Volt charging, the U.S. has three different and (mostly) incompatible fast-charging standards. DON'T MISS: Now That's Combo Quick Charging: CHAdeMO, CCS, Tesla Supercharger One standard is built entirely by Tesla; another is largely supported by Nissan. Now, constructions of stations that use the third standard, backed by every European and U.S...
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First 2015 Volkswagen e-Golf Delivery On Friday; Auction Proceeds To CharityThe electric-car sales figures for October showed that one single 2015 Volkswagen e-Golf was delivered to a buyer last month,--even though the car hasn't yet arrived at the VW dealers that will initially offer it. But that single electric Golf hatchback turns out to be a special case. DON'T MISS...
John Voelcker -
2015 Volkswagen e-Golf Rated At 83 Miles Range, 116 MPGeEPA range and efficiency ratings for the 2015 Volkswagen e-Golf electric car are in.
Stephen Edelstein -
A Third Of This Dealer's Sales Are Chevy Volt Electric Cars: How'd They Do It?Can any other franchised dealer in the world make the claim that full one-third of its sales are a single model of plug-in electric car? Bourgeois Chevrolet of Rawdon, Quebec, achieved that remarkable level in its sales this year of the Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric car. Now the dealership...
Matthew Klippenstein -
Which City Will Have Most Hybrids, Electric Cars In Its Fleet?Indianapolis plans to deploy 425 electric cars and plug-in hybrids in its municipal fleet by 2016.
Stephen Edelstein -
2015 Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric: Range Pack Standard, Styling Update, More FeaturesThe 2015 Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive could feature more standard equipment than the 2014 model.
Stephen Edelstein -
The fourth of our five nominees for Green Car Reports' 2015 Best Car To Buy award is the new 2015 Kia Soul EV. It's the Korean maker's first-ever electric car sold in the U.S., and an adaptation of the popular compact "tall wagon" that was entirely redesigned for the 2014 model year. DON'T MISS: Green Car Reports' 2015 Best Car To Buy: The Nominees (Video) With a lithium-ion battery pack slightly larger than the 23 or 24 kilowatt-hours used by most compact battery-electric vehicles, the Soul EV earns a rated range of 93 miles from its 27 kWh. That's toward the top of the range, especially for...
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Tesla Tries To Hire Aussie Auto Engineers As Local Industry WanesTesla hopes to recruit Australian engineers as car manufacturing shuts down.
Stephen Edelstein -
Toyota: 'No One Wants Us To Build Electric Cars'Well, here's one that may give electric-car owners and advocates a Friday morning chuckle. Toyota is well-known not only as one of the world's three largest carmakers, but also the global leader in hybrids. DON'T MISS: Toyota Fuel-Cell Ad Asks: Are You 'The Bold Few' Or A 'Handbrake'? And it's a...
John Voelcker -
Were Small Cars Exactly The Wrong Way To Launch Electric Cars?Historically, most technology innovations in automobiles start at the high end and gradually work their way down the lineup until they've become standard features of even the humblest of cars. From automatic transmissions to disc brakes, turbochargers to fuel injection, high-end audio systems to...
John Voelcker -
Life With Tesla Model S: At Last, Some Maintenance Needed (New Tires)After 20 months and 26,000-plus miles, I finally spent my first dollar on maintenance for my 2013 Tesla Model S. Almost 2,000 of them, in fact. The total was $1,858--the cost of four new tires and Tesla's recommended annual service. Up till that point, tire rotations, washer fluid replacements...
David Noland -
Elon Musk Vs Ward's: A Sales Battle Tesla Brought On ItselfIt all started when stock analysts circulating an estimate from auto-industry trade journal Ward's Auto that Tesla's U.S. sales were down 26 percent for the first nine months of 2014, compared to the same period in 2013.. It was covered in a Wall Street Journal story on the company's new lower-cost...
John Voelcker -
Nissan will test its Leaf-To-Home station at certain dealers in Japan over the next few months.
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Tesla Model S Dashboard: Teardown Analysis Reveals Tablet-Like ConstructionA research firm tears apart a Tesla Model S dashboard to see what makes it tick.
Stephen Edelstein -
How Audi, BMW & Mercedes Plan To Compete With Tesla--And WhyWe already know that in the next few years, we'll see a slew of mid-size SUVs offered with plug-in hybrid powertrains--most from luxury brands like Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, and Range Rover. But the German luxury marques are making plans to compete more directly with Tesla Motors and its Model...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model S Gets Huge Incentive In Shanghai: No $12K Fee For RegistrationThe Tesla Model S electric luxury sedan has now been on sale in China for six months, but it recently received a major sales incentive from local officials in Shanghai. That city's municipal government has ruled that Tesla buyers will be exempted from paying the $12,000 registration fee required to...
John Voelcker -
2016 Chevy Volt: Bigger Battery, More Motor Power, New Range Extender Engine Details: EXPANDEDGeneral Motors took the wraps off its second-generation Voltec electric-drive system this morning that will power its 2016 Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric car. Company executives declined to give specifications for power of the two electric motors, the range-extending engine, or range of the...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Taxis In Holland Follow Norway In All-Electric Green CabsTaxi Electric will augment an existing fleet of Nissan Leaf electric cabs with Tesla Model S plug-ins.
Stephen Edelstein -
British Columbia's public charging stations got twice as busy in the past year, roughly tracking the increase in the Canadian province's plug-in electric vehicle population. The results were announced earlier this month by the Fraser Basin Council and Powertech Labs, two members of the Plug in BC initiative working to support the adoption of electric transportation. After a couple weeks' correspondence and clearing confidentiality concerns, GreenCarReports can share a preview of some of the study's detailed findings. The full results will be presented this week in Vancouver at Canada's...
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2016 Chevrolet Volt To Use New 1.5-Liter Four As Range Extender EngineLater today, details about the powertrain of the new 2016 Chevrolet Volt will be released when GM CEO Mary Barra speaks to the Detroit Economic Club. But a GM press release this morning announcing further investments in Michigan manufacturing by the company included one nugget: The 2016 Volt will...
John Voelcker -
Ford Can Design Tesla-Like Electric Car, CEO Says; Does Higher-Power Charging Push Mean It May?Ford's CEO, Mark Fields, told Wall Street financial analysts Friday that the company had the product development staff and engineering ability to build an electric car like a Tesla. While he didn't say the company would do so, he did say that such a car would be "very consistent with our product...
John Voelcker -
Minnesota Tesla Owners Show Banned Model S To Iowa Electric-Car ShoppersSuppose auto dealers in a neighboring state pressured their DoT to make Tesla Motors stop giving test drives of its Model S electric car--the same kind it now offers in more than a dozen other states. What would you do? If you were you a group of Tesla owners in Minnesota, you might just take...
John Voelcker -
Cross-Country Electric-Car Trips: Reality For A Few, Getting Closer For ManyThe idea of traveling long distances in electric cars that have to be recharged after only 70 or 80 miles--or even 250 miles--may seem absurd to some. But while even the fastest of DC fast-charging isn't quite as quick as refilling with gasoline, yet, longer road trips in electric cars are possible...
John Voelcker -
Brazil's Green-Car Incentive Surprise: Electrics, Plug-In Hybrids OmittedBrazil unveiled a green-car incentive program for which only hybrid cars qualify.
Stephen Edelstein