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There's a childish pleasure in seeing something disassembled to its component parts, whether it's a jigsaw puzzle, Lego set or an entire car. The Chevrolet Volt is new enough that you're unlikely to see too many broken up at scrapyards right now, but crash-damaged ones still give some individuals the opportunity to explore its workings in greater detail. For d55guy, the author of the video above (via Inside EVs), it's an opportunity to strip down the Volt's T-shaped battery pack and its motor, inverter and generator. Diving into the workings of an advanced vehicle like the Volt isn't...
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First RHD Tesla Model S Electric Cars In Asia Delivered In Hong KongRight-hand drive Tesla Model S electric cars have already begun to trickle out in the United Kingdom, but now they're hitting the Asian markets too. The first Asian right-hand drive Model S have now been delivered to the first eight customers in Hong Kong. MUST SEE: Decoding Toyota's Electric-Car...
Antony Ingram -
Will Electric Powertrains Make Racing Easier & Cheaper For New Competitors?Depending on who you speak to, electric power is either the death-knell for motor sport or the best thing since sliced bread Racing cars, some people will tell you, need to make a noise. They simply must. And one must get oily while maintaining those cars, and worn-out parts will be replaced with...
Antony Ingram -
Ford Fusion Lightweight Concept: How To Make A Car 25 Percent LighterLight weight will soon be big business at Ford. The company's F-150 truck, going aluminum for the first time with the 2015 model, sheds 700 lbs over its predecessor, thanks to its new construction. Ford sells over half a million F-Series every year--big business indeed. This technology and other...
Antony Ingram -
Watch The BMW i3 Electric Car Park Itself, As Owner Reacts (Video)Parking is one of those maneuvers that we all screw up now and then, no matter how experienced we are at driving. And there's nothing worse than having an audience just as you're trying to squeeze into a space. Even professional athletes can't experience that much pressure, surely? But what if your...
Antony Ingram -
2014 Mercedes B-Class Electric Car On Sale In Summer From $41,450The Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive will go on sale in the U.S. this summer.
Stephen Edelstein -
The Winter Olympic games in Sochi, Russia, are now underway, and official partner BMW is using the games to promote its two plug-in offerings, the i3 and i8. Three different commercials will be broadcast during NBC's coverage of the games, focusing on different aspects of the BMW-i lineup. One spot, 'Hello Future', will cover the BMW-i brand itself. Another, 'SHHH', focuses on the i3, the automaker's recently-launched electric and range-extended city cars. The third spot carries the name 'Sightings' and advertises the eagerly-awaited i8 plug-in hybrid sports car. 'Hello Future' is a...
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Tesla Model S Drag Races: Noisy Or Very Quiet, Your Choice (Videos)See a drag race between a Tesla Model S P85 and a Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Z51, or one between a Model S... and another Model S.
Stephen Edelstein -
2013 Smart Electric Drive: 4 Stars Overall For Crash Safety From NHTSAThe 2013 Smart Fortwo Electric Drive is the latest electric vehicle to have undergone the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's crash test procedures. Following frontal crash, side impact, and side pole impact tests, the Electric Drive was awarded four from a possible five stars overall...
Antony Ingram -
Electric Car Prototype Can Run 12 Miles On Solar Power AloneDue to the very specific processes by which the universe works, it isn't really possible to power a modern electric car via on-board solar panels. Current photovoltaic cells simply don't produce enough power over a specific area to supply the needs of a power-hungry electric road car. It's why...
Antony Ingram -
Tesla Model S Gets Five Stars For Crash Safety From NHTSAThe Tesla Model S electric sedan has become the latest car to be awarded a full five star crash test rating by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. While it's no surprise for modern cars to score highly in such tests, it's still an impressive feat for a young automaker like Tesla...
Antony Ingram -
Buy A House (For $1.3 Million), Get A Tesla Model S (Lease)Everyone loves a great deal. Just how many times have you bought an extra bottle of soda because it's on a "buy one, get another free" offer? Or shopped 'til you dropped in an "everything must go" sale? It's not often you're offered a free car though, even when buying a house. That's exactly what...
Antony Ingram -
The electric-car maker Tesla Motors [NYSE: TSLA] has announced breathtaking expansion plans for its Supercharger network, detailing where the company plans to install its proprietary Supercharger rapid-charging stations all the way through 2015. According to CEO Elon Musk, who announced the expanded network and other improvements in a media conference call, Tesla owners will be able to choose from hundreds of stations and thousands of charging ports by 2015, and to drive all the way from Los Angeles to New York, using only the company's Supercharger network, by the end of 2013. Ultimately...
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TommyKaira Electric Sports Car Light, Fast, Definitely Not A LotusThe Lotus Elise isn't typical Green Car Reports material, but its aluminum chassis certainly is. The lightweight, strong, bonded structure has gone on to underpin the Tesla Roadster, Detroit Electric SP:01, PG Elektrus, Nemesis and more--all exciting electric-powered sports cars. But not all...
Antony Ingram -
Garcetti: An EV Fanboy, Now The Mayor-Elect Of Los AngelesDespite major reductions in air-pollution levels, the Los Angeles basin still has the worst smog problem in the nation. While you might debate over what exactly is the longer-term solution for reducing that smog, vehicles with internal-combustion engines are still contributing to problem. And it's...
Bengt Halvorson -
Volvo S60 KERS Hybrid Prototype: Brief First DriveIs KERS an energy-saving technology we'll be seeing in production cars any time soon, or is it just a way to help increase performance? We've been to Sweden to find out at Volvo's Gothenburg test track.
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
As Predicted, Fisker Execs & DoE Get Roasted In House HearingFisker Automotive CEO Tony Posawatz didn't attend yesterday's House committee hearing on the company's loan from the U.S. Department of Energy. He's out desperately seeking saviors to avert bankruptcy for the struggling startup electric-car maker, but he still may have had the better day. The title...
John Voelcker -
Phinergy 1000-Mile Aluminum-Air Battery: On The Road In 2017?It's the sweetest dream of every electric-car fan: a battery that could store enough energy to offer up to 1,000 miles of real-world range. While it's not going to arrive in showrooms any time soon, Israeli startup Phinergy thinks its aluminum-air energy storage device might just be that battery...
John Voelcker -
With almost 100,000 plug-in electric cars on U.S. roads now, congestion at charging stations is starting to crop up. And that has brought to light an issue of electric-car charging etiquette that may prove challenging: Should battery-electric cars get precedence over plug-in hybrids? The question has cropped up again in a Reddit post written by BMW ActiveE driver Robert Olson, entitled, "Ford Motor Co should follow their own EV etiquette." Olson customarily drives to work in downtown San Francisco, and parks and charges his battery-electric BMW in a public garage at Mission and Fifth Streets...
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Would You Want To Buy This Subcompact Electric Car? (Video)The Renault Zoe is quietly winding its way toward French electric car-enthusiasts, and Renault has launched a new video that shows off some the pint-sized ride's high-tech features.
Richard Read -
Next Kind Of Electric Transport: Solar Electric Aircraft?In utopian visions of the future, we won't have to burn anything to get anywhere. No fossil fuels, no coal, no burning of any sort. For some, that future is already here--plenty of electric car owners run their cars using solar electricity generated from panels at their home or place of work. It's...
Antony Ingram -
Driverless Nissan Leaf: Oxford University Wants To Reduce System's CostIt's early days for both electric vehicles and autonomous cars, but the technology for the two seems to go hand-in-hand. After all, what better way to be whizzed home after a hard day at work than in a smooth, quiet, green, and entirely autonomous electric car? It'd be like living in the future...
Antony Ingram -
2014 Mazda 6 Advanced Package: How Much Better MPG With i-ELOOP?The quest toward better gas mileage and incremental gains isn't relegated just to engine and transmission improvements, or to aerodynamics or weight reduction. Even when we're not talking hybrids, the move to smart electric components can bring some significant gains. Beyond electric power...
Bengt Halvorson -
2013 Nissan Leaf: Longer Range, Faster Charging, Leather Seats, And More: All The UpgradesIn its third year on the market, the updated 2013 Nissan Leaf will have a slightly longer range, a new and lower-priced base model, faster charging, and a more efficient cabin heater. The battery electric car goes into production at Nissan's assembly plant in Smyrna, Tennessee, this week. While the...
John Voelcker