John Voelcker, Contributing Editor
Articles
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In April, Tom LaSorda--then CEO of Fisker Automotive--said the company was raising additional capital.
Today, Fisker announced that it had closed a new round of financing, with more than $100 million...
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VW, Audi, Porsche Lay Out Plug-In Hybrid Plans: Paris Auto ShowAfter a brisk run-through of new models from all of its many brands, Volkswagen Group closed last night's preview event before the Paris Auto Show with a few words on its plans for plug-in hybrids. "Many companies are reducing their plans for electric vehicles," said VW Group chief Martin...
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2012 Fisker Karma Owners Average 150 MPG, Company SaysThe same day Consumer Reports released its devastating review of the 2012 Fisker Karma, the makers of the range-extended electric luxury sedan put out their own press release. Covering the $106,000 car's fuel economy, it reported on the real-world gas mileage achieved by a group of more than 30...
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Tesla Stock Falls 10 Percent On Lower Model S Volume NumbersThe price of Tesla Motors shares fell 10 percent yesterday, closing at $27.66--down $3 from the previous day's ending price--due to a reduced revenue forecast. As described in a statement filed with the SEC, Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] says it will have sold only 2,700 to 3,225 cars by the end of the...
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National Plug-In Day Draws Thousands Of Electric-Car Fans, InquiriesIn its second year, National Plug-In Day this past Sunday certainly avoided sophomore slump. In 65 cities all over the U.S., tens of thousands of electric-car owners, potential buyers, and just curious onlookers pored over, rode in, and drove plug-in vehicles from more than a dozen makers. Our...
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More 2012 Fisker Karma Woe: Consumer Reports Review Savages Plug-In HybridThe well-respected Consumer Reports doesn't pull any punches, and its review of the 2012 Fisker Karma range-extended electric luxury sedan is no exception. The magazine all but savaged the car, calling it "full of flaws" and deeming its touchscreen controls an "ergonomic disaster." The verdict may...
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We've been subjected to a spate of dire headlines today covering Toyota's statement that it's killing plans for its eQ two-seat urban electric-car program.
Reuters reported, "Toyota drops plans for...
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House Bill Demands Safety, Jobs Analysis Of Gas-Mileage RulesPolitics is at best a messy and adversarial process. Add in a presidential election and the currently polarized political mood, and anything at all done by government is usually exploited for political gain--by one side or another, often by both from different stances. Which seems a good lens to...
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Chrysler Yanks Plug-In Hybrid Test Fleet Off Roads, Will Replace BatteriesAsk most people about Chrysler's plug-in hybrid prototype program, and you'll get something like, "Huh? Chrysler has plug-in hybrids?" In fact, the company does: 23 minivans and 109 pickup trucks on the roads for almost a year now, all prototypes to test the technology. Today, the company announced...
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Tesla Will Webcast Supercharger Quick-Charge Unveiling TonightIt all began with a late-night tweet two weeks ago by Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk. In it, he announced that Tesla would unveil its much-discussed Supercharger network of dedicated quick-charging stations--usable only by 2012 Tesla Model S drivers--on September 24. Well, today's the day. And this...
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Nissan Suggests Leaf Battery-Capacity Loss Due To High Miles: ExclusiveIt's been a few months now since reports of losses in battery capacity in Nissan Leaf electric cars began to filter out of Arizona. Owners have complained to Nissan's Consumer Affairs group and written hundreds of posts on owner forums. In July, Nissan Americas took seven different Leafs in for a...
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What Happens To Abandoned Electric-Car Charging Stations?Finding an electric-car charging station gets easier every day. More than 10,000 public and private electric-car charging stations have now been installed in the U.S., or one for roughly every five plug-in cars on the road today. But not every single one of those stations is going to stay with us...
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Memo to carmakers: Midtown Manhattan on a weekday can be a challenging, frustrating place to hold a test drive.
Two days ago, we drove the new 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid at a Ford media event, one of a...
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Chevy Volt Outsells Half The Cars On Sale; Is That Failure?With the Chevrolet Volt racking up the highest sales last month since it launched--though the numbers were helped by incentives for both buyers and dealers--some of the "Volt is a flop" coverage has abated. Now, a post on the fan site GM-Volt.com points out that this so-called "sales failure" has...
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Thinking Of Buying A Hybrid? Don't Expect Big DiscountsWith gasoline at or above $4 a gallon in some states, buyers' thoughts are turning toward fuel economy. If you're one of those buyers, and you're thinking about looking at hybrid cars, prepare yourself: You're not likely to get big discounts if you buy one. New data from CarWoo, a site that lets...
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2014 Ford Transit Connect Unveiled, New Compact Delivery VanWhen Ford launched the Transit Connect small commercial van as a 2010 model, it was a new kind of vehicle. Its closest counterpart was the Chevy Astro van, discontinued in 2005. And by 2010, the Transit Connect had been in production for almost a decade in Europe and elsewhere. Now there's an...
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National Plug-In Day To Promote Electric Cars: This Sunday!What are you doing this Sunday? If you're an electric-car advocate or fan, you probably already know that Sunday is the second annual National Plug-In Day. And if you're considering the purchase of a plug-in electric car--or just interested in learning more--you should definitely make a note to...
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Tesla Will Sell 5 Models In 2016; Small SUV And Sports Car AddedAlong with the news that Tesla expects to build 80 Model S electric cars this week, CEO Elon Musk also released a few more details of the company's plans for additional models in 2016. Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] has already said that it will launch the Model X crossover within the next year or so...
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The 2012 Tesla Model S all-electric sport sedan is now in a race with time.
The first production Model S was delivered in June, and Tesla has cautiously been ramping up production numbers while...
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All-Electric Mercedes-Benz SLS E-Cell Gets Closer To LaunchFor those of you who like fast, expensive, all-electric sports cars, next year will be big. The Audi R8 e-tron will launch first, but it will soon be followed by the Mercedes-Benz SLS E-Cell, the all-electric conversion of its expensive gull-wing sports coupe. Now, Motor Authority has some spy...
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Ford Cuts Rare-Earth Metal Use In Hybrid Batteries, But ...With plug-in cars now on the market, rare-earth metals are a hot commodity. They're needed in one type of electric motor and various electronic components, and volume projections for hybrid and electric cars mean that increasingly larger quantities will be required. China has largely cornered the...
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2013 Honda CR-Z Hybrid Updates: Paris Auto Show PreviewToday seems to be the day when Paris Motor Show previews are coming thick and fast. Honda announced today that it will show an updated 2013 CR-Z two-seat hybrid hatchback at the Paris event, where media announcements kick off two weeks from yesterday. The 2013 Honda CR-Z has mildly refreshed...
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Are Hybrid & Electric-Car Keyless Entry Fobs A Safety Hazard?
There's no question that the Chevy Volt has been through more than its share of travails. But with last month's Volt sales at an all-time high--though it's not clear they will continue at that rate--things have been looking up for the Volt. Now Ryan Turner, a Volt owner and regular reader of this...
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Point Of View: Gas Taxes Are Better Than Fuel Economy Rules--DiscussWith the announcement of final rules for corporate average fuel efficiency of 54.5 mpg by 2025, the NHTSA and EPA have done two things. The agencies have given carmakers both a major technological challenge--double the effective gas mileage of your vehicles in 12 years--and something they have long...
John Voelcker