Jennifer Knightstep, Author

Jennifer Knightstep avatar
I was born in Detroit but raised in California, which explains my love of cars in general, but my fascination with and excitement about electric vehicles. I'm conflicted: I would love a late 1958 Corvette, but can I have it electric, please? I worked for seven years as a researcher at the General Motors Media Archive and have grown to love the rich and varied history of the industry as a whole. I find the infrastructure for the EV revolution particularly interesting, and enjoy writing about it.

Articles

  • Purdue Presents the evGrandPrix

    Is there any better way to encourage innovation than a contest? Offer a prize for inventing or improving something, whether there's a cash prize involved or not, and that most basic of human...

  • The Tesla and TAG Heuer Odyssey Begins!

    Certainly, TAG Heuer is a pioneer, as is Tesla Motors, and this week, together they launched a 23,000-mile road trip appropriately dubbed the "Odyssey of Pioneers." The Odyssey departs Basel, Switzerland, tomorrow morning, striking out for Zurich, stopping only to charge its batteries at...

  • Europcar Pre-Orders 500 Renault EVs

    Last September, Europcar, the leading short-term rental car company in Europe, signed an agreement with Renault, with the intention of promoting real-world uses of zero-emissions vehicles. Today, Europcar took a big step in putting their money where their agreement is by pre-ordering 500 of...

  • Prius Recall Nearly Complete

    It’s 11:00 on a sunny Thursday morning at a Toyota dealership in a suburb of Detroit, and it’s eerily quiet. It’s been ten days since Toyota recalled 133,000 Priuses in the United States for a software issue that affects braking, but there aren’t any Priuses waiting for upgrades. In fact...

  • Prius Owners Still Feel the Love

    It’s impossible not to eavesdrop on the other parents’ conversations when I pick up my kindergartener from school. It’s a wholly unscientific but usually accurate way to find out what’s top-of-mind with people here in the Midwest — unemployment, strep throat, American Idol, and the auto...

  • Orocobre and Toyota Reach Deal for Argentine Lithium Mine

    Critics of the development and use of lithium-ion (“li-ion”) batteries have long cited their concerns over the (un)availability of lithium, and with moderate success. They state that politically unstable, remote Bolivia owns the world’s largest reserve of lithium, which is certainly true. But...

  •
    Andalusia Signs with the Renault-Nissan Alliance

    When you think of regions of the world that are particularly innovation-friendly, Andalusia may not be the first one that comes to mind. In fact, most of us might have difficulty figuring out exactly...

  • Op Ed: Getting a Head Start

    Earlier this week, while I was researching a piece about the three-foot-wide Tango commuter car, I noticed that their website and brochure promote it as a traffic-beater, stating that “Where lane splitting is permitted… a Tango or motorcycle can travel in 20 seconds the distance that a car...

  • Interview with Nancy Gioia about the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid

    Today was the first press-only day at the 2010 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, and while it was blustery and miserable outside, inside the Cobo Center, it was divine, chrome and carbon fiber as far as the eye could see. I started at the gigantic Ford display, and as I approached...

  • Meet Garia, the World’s Finest Golf Car(t)

    What has a drivetrain by the same Italian company that produces Ducati gearboxes, and an aluminum frame by the same manufacturer that supplies them to Aston Martin, Jaguar, and Volvo? I’ll give you a hint — it’s an electric vehicle manufactured at Finland’s Valmet Automotive factory, where...

  • Frost & Sullivan Selects 365 Energy Group for Infrastructure Award

    If widespread use of electric vehicles is going to become a reality, then a charging infrastructure must be in place by the time a new crop of these vehicles is available — say, 2011. While that may sound like quite a while in the future, it’s not. It’s only 14 months away. Needless to say...

  • LoJack for Hybrids?

    At one time or another, especially if you live in Detroit (or anywhere in southern California), you will have your car stolen. It happened to me twice in five weeks when I lived in a gorgeous river-front apartment in downtown Detroit during the early 1990's. Both times, the car was never recovered...

  •
    Renault to Build Their Kangoo EV at MCA

    Today Renault announced that they will build the electric version of the Kangoo Express LCV at their MCA (Maubeuge Carrosserie Automobile) plant in northern France, beginning in the second half of...

  • No EVs in Chrysler's New 5-Year Product Plan

    Though the five-year product plan Chrysler released yesterday reflects their goal of increased fuel efficiency, it didn't contain a single reference t the introduction of any electric vehicles within any of their brands (Jeep, Chrysler, Dodge, and Ram Truck). The most conspicuous and intrepid...

  • Len Beck's V2G-101 Explains it All

    At least once every couple of weeks, I field a question about why I think electric vehicles are better for the environment than their fossil fuel-guzzling counterparts, when most of our electricity here in the U.S. is made in coal-fired power plants. My patent answer is usually something along the...

  • 2009 Honda Insight tops Consumer Reports Most-Reliable List

    Consumer Reports, long respected by consumers for its unbiased analysis of everything from vacuum cleaners to children’s toys to cars, has published its list of the most reliable (and unreliable) vehicles. Overall, the results are stunning — five of the top eight most reliable family cars were...

  • What Color is the Volt?

    I've often wondered who names the colors of things like the sweaters, paint, and cars. Who gets to decide which shade of red is spicy enough to be "Caliente" or cute enough to be "Valentine" or hot enough to be "Red Hot?" Are there specialists who deal only in beiges and grays, others who are...

  • Coming Soon: Car Tones for Your Electric Vehicle

    The first time I started an electric car, I wondered the same thing everyone else wonders their first time: Is it on? Did it start or stall out? It’s so quiet! Near-silent electric vehicles have been decried by advocates of pedestrian safety, and although there’s no data to suggest electric...

  •
    First Pre-Fab Charging Station Deployed in San Diego

     California has long led the way in terms of high-tech and green energy, so what better place than San Diego to demonstrate the first SunPod Plug-N-Go electric vehicle charging station?  As the...

  • Will You Invest in a Charging Station?

    Chances are, you know someone who drives a gas-electric hybrid, like the iconic Toyota Prius, or you’re driving one yourself.  Prius owners haven’t had to change their habits to enable them to re-fuel their cars. They re-fuel the same way they always did, at traditional gas stations. They just...

  • Scrambling to Prepare Charging Infrastructure for the Nissan LEAF

    With the release of the Nissan’s five-passenger battery-electric vehicle, the LEAF, a little more than a year away, municipalities in the initial launch states of Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington, and Tennessee are scrambling to set up in-home and public-access charging stations. This...

  • 2010 Toyota Prius Ride & Drive Review

    For most of the week last week, a 2010 Toyota Prius (third gen) served as my every-day driver. I drove it like I would have driven my own car. I didn't take it on any long road trips, because I didn't have any distant destinations. I didn't take it to a test track to see how many miles I could...

  • Fact or Fiction? The Truth About Electric and Hybrid Cars

    As a writer specializing in the automotive sector, I field a lot of questions from friends and family — and the occasional stranger — about electric vehicles. Some of them are legitimate queries like, “Can you really get 50 miles per gallon in that Prius?” Some of the questions, though, are...

  • Third-Gen Toyota Prius Ride & Drive, Day 2: Stealth Mode

    My first impression of the third-gen Prius left me wondering what was cool about the vehicle. There aren't any growing leaves on the instrument panel, there's no sound that plays when you "boot up" the car (ala the Mac start-up sound). Yesterday, though, I had a mini-epiphany at the grocery store...

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