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Can electric cars handle cold weather? It s a question which we’ve seen answered time and time again by the auto industry and journalists in an attempt prove or disprove that electric cars can operate in extremes of cold weather. We’ve seen Californian-designed Tesla sports cars enjoying the sub-zero temperatures of Narvik, a couple of hundred miles north of the arctic circle, but what about a family car from a country known for its cold weather? A few months ago we had the opportunity to test-drive the Volvo C30 Electric hatchback at Volvo’s headquarters in Gothenburg...
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(VIDEO) First 2011 Nissan Leaf Delivered in U.K., More to FollowNissan Europe has officially started rollout of its 2011 Nissan Leaf to customers in the U.K., with multiple cars being handed over this morning to private customers at multiple dealers across the U.K. Radio Presenter Mark Goodier was the first customer in the U.K. to take delivery of the five seat...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
(VIDEO) Film Premiere, Earth Day: Electric Car Gets Revenge in New YorkIt was the film that many electric car advocates cite as the reason they drive electric, but now electric car “who done it?” documentary Who Killed the Electric Car? has a sequel: Revenge of the Electric Car. And as the film’s director Chris Paine tells us on the ROTEC website...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
I Spy: BMW’s i8 Hybrid Sports Coupe Caught On VideoThe announcement of the all-new BMW sub-brand took the automotive industry by surprise earlier this year, but after check out the facts sounds like an interesting move to differentiate BMW’s offering in the hybrid and electric market. Our last report covered the car formerly known as the...
Jonathan McGrew -
Video: Tata Pixel Concept's 'Spin On The Spot' ParkingIt's not coming to the States--at least not for several years--but the Tata Pixel concept shown at last week's Geneva Motor Show is worth paying attention to. It shows how a more upscale four-seat urban car could be built on the underpinnings of the tiny Tata Nano, the world's cheapest new car. One...
John Voelcker -
Mia Electric: 2011 Geneva Motor Show, The Microbus ConceptIf you read our guest post by actor, TV presenter and electric car convert Robert Llewellyn, you may have noticed his mention of a little electric microbus by the name of "Mia". Sitting in the middle of halls 4 and 5 with major manufacturers like Honda, Toyota, Renault and Ferrari in all...
Antony Ingram -
We all know cars like the 2011 Nissan Leaf feature smart GPS systems capable of locating the nearest official electric car charging stations, but what happens when you combine the power of a social network with the need to plug your electric car in? Enter PlugShare, a new crowd-sourced way to find a friendly place to plug your electric car in when you’re away from official charging stations, now available as an iPhone app. Free to download, the PlugShare app lists the private charging stations of electric vehicle owners and supporters nationwide willing to provide a free charge to other...
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Ferrari 458 Italia Offers Best-In-Class Emissions With HELE SystemBelieve it or not but even a manufacturer of high-performance supercars endowed with V-8 and V-12 engines can be conscious about the environment. Take Ferrari, for example. The Italian marque has used this week’s 2011 Geneva Motor Show to present a new version of its stunning 458 Italia...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Video: Rolls-Royce 102 EX Phantom Electric, Geneva Motor ShowAn all-electric Rolls-Royce Phantom. Just think about it: If the engineers do their jobs properly, the occupants should sense absolutely no difference in the near-silent, creamy smooth surge of power that wafts them from estate to yacht, or factory to mansion. And now we have video, courtesy of...
John Voelcker -
BMW ActiveE Concept: 2011 Geneva Motor Show [Video]BMW are developing some of the world's most anticipated electric cars at the moment with the i3 and i8 spearheading the launch of BMW's 'i' brand. The 1-Series based ActiveE is the first pure electric car to eminate from Bavaria since the MINI E, and the production car makes its world debut at the...
Antony Ingram -
Tata Pixel Concept: Nano's 69-MPG Pal, 2011 Geneva Motor ShowThe world's least expensive new car, India's Tata Nano, is now selling across that country, with plans afoot to offer an upgraded version in Europe this year or in 2012. Meanwhile, carmaker Tata (which owns Jaguar Land Rover) is hardly standing still. At this week's 2011 Geneva Motor Show, Tata...
John Voelcker -
2011 Geneva Motor Show: Rolls-Royce Phantom Electric (VIDEO)It costs more than most of us earn in a year and comes from a company which only sold 2,711 cars last year, but the Rolls-Royce 102 EX Phantom Experimental Electric unveiled earlier today at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show has taken luxury electric vehicles to a whole new level. Resplendent with a tan...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
General Motors is quite proud of their 2011 Chevrolet Volt and they have a perfect right to be. The Volt is changing the way consumers view electric vehicles and it helping to change the adoption rate even if the Volt isn’t quite completely powered by electricity. A case in point is a recent story posted to the GM FastLane Blog. The story is about 84-year-old James Brazell and his early adoption of the Volt for his everyday use. Brazell isn’t what we would call your typical 84-year-old, especially not when it comes to embracing new technology or the changing of times. Proof of...
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What Happens When Electric Volvo Meets Pole? We Find OutVolvo is well known in the automotive world for its safety record. In fact, Volvo is so concerned with safety that it is driving towards a future goal of having no fatalities or casualties in any of its cars by 2050. So what happens when you combine Volvo’s legendary safety record with its...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2011 Mitsubishi i Passes European Crash Tests, Could do BetterIt may be getting a complete redesign for the U.S. market, but the european version of Mitsubishi’s i electric car has obtained 4 out of a possible 5 stars in the european-wide car safety tests. In results announced yesterday by the European New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP) the sub-compact...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Porsche Recreates The Original Hybrid Car, 111 Years LaterThe name Porsche has traditionally been associated with fast, rear-engine sports cars, and more recently with fast heavy SUVs and fast heavy four-door luxury sedans. But it all goes back to pioneering engineer Ferdinand Porsche. He also designed the prototype for what became the Volkswagen Beetle...
John Voelcker -
VIDEO: Hack of 2011 Nissan Leaf Provides Faster Charging, But is it Safe?Charge Anxiety, the fear that your electric car won’t charge up as quickly as you need it to may be one step further away if you’re a 2011 Nissan Leaf owner willing to throw caution to the wind and hack your $25,000 bundle of joy. At least that’s the message coming from a select...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2012 Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid Preview Gallery, AnimationThis morning we brought you the first exclusive live images and official details on the production version of the 2012 Volvo V60, and now we have the official gallery and animation demonstrating how the car's hybrid system works. Promising 124 mpg in hybrid mode and all-electric range of 30 miles...
Nelson Ireson -
Auto marketers and PR people have a love-hate relationship with the Internet. It lets them connect directly with users and fans, but it also transmits facts, leaks, and rumors at lightning speed. That meant that this morning's BMW press conference, telecast live from BMW Welt in a snowy Munich, contained very little new to anyone who had been following closely. The event was to announce that BMW is creating a new sub-brand (which had been rumored), to be known as 'i' (which had been rumored), with its own graphic (which had been leaked), that will grow to include an entire range of...
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EXCLUSIVE: What Killed The Electric Car? For G-Wiz, Other Electric CarsIt’s been a mainstay of British eco-chic for nearly a decade, but the little Indian four-wheel ‘car’ which can be found buzzing around the streets of London will no longer be sold in the U.K. In an email earlier on today addressed to all G-Wiz owners Rudi Schogger, MD of...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2012 Fiat 500: ecoDrive Plugs In And Coaches Drivers Right From Their Laptop (VIDEOS)Ever wonder how your drive to the office might be effecting your fuel economy? The engineers over at Fiat have and to help educate drivers have introduced the BLUE&ME USB port in conjunction with Microsoft and the eco:Drive program. The program reads the car’s systems and stores the...
Jonathan McGrew -
Did Hyundai Elantra Ad Make Ford Stretch Focus Leg-Room Claim?We're eagerly looking forward to driving the 2012 Ford Focus. It's won raves in reviews--including the first-drive report on TheCarConnection--and been the subject of downright fawning coverage in Detroit media. It has many unique features and options for a compact car, from Ford's excellent...
John Voelcker -
BREAKING Geneva Motor Show 2011: Nissan ESFLOW Concept Sneak PeakJust weeks ahead of the 2011 Nissan Motor Show, Nissan has released pictures and videos of its latest all-electric car: The 2011 ESFLOW concept, something we’d heard was in development a while ago. Built from the ground up from scratch, the all-electric two-seat sport coupe concept car...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Senator Stabenow: $7,500 Electric-Car Credit Should Be RebateIt's long been known that purchase rebates--buy a car, get a check--are a more effective incentive for purchase of any kind of car than an income-tax credit, which may take a year or more to affect the buyer's cash position. But the current tax credits for purchase of plug-in cars, up to $7,500 for...
John Voelcker