Electric
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Ford Motor Company yesterday announced a plan to build future electric vehicles at a Michigan plant that currently makes the Ford Mustang. Ironically, the plant won’t be where Ford will ramp up production next year of its Mustang-influenced all-electric performance SUV; but the move represents an important shift for Ford. Previously the automaker said that it would build a hybrid autonomous vehicle, as well as an electric vehicle, at Flat Rock. Now it’s pivoted toward more electric vehicles at the plant, and says that the plant will build models based on Ford’s...
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11,000 Tesla Model X crossovers recalled for faulty seat mechanism
Electric car builder Tesla is calling back 11,000 examples of its Model X crossover to rectify a folding rear-seat issue. The California company says that the recall affects Model Xs fitted with a flat-folding second row that were built between October 26, 2016, and August 16, 2017. At issue is a...
Andrew Ganz -
National Drive Electric Week to be bigger than ever: 175 events so far
The White House's energy week may have been low on renewable and zero emission technology, but National Drive Electric Week is poised to make up for it. Each year, Plug In America, the Electric Auto Association, and the Sierra Club join forces to implement one week of electric car events, parades...
Sean Szymkowski -
German electric-car industry centers in 'Silicon Saxony'
Silicon Valley seems to grab many of the tech headlines in the United States, especially when it comes to autonomous vehicles, cars that plug in, and the future of transportation. Electric-car maker Tesla has undeniably contributed to Silicon Valley's automotive chops, but other makers are working...
Sean Szymkowski -
2017 Smart ForTwo electric cars priced from $24,550
The market for electric vehicles normally comes with a high price of entry, though Smart is proposing that its new two-seat battery-powered minicar is a value proposition. Prices for the 2017 Smart ForTwo electric coupe and cabriolet begin at $24,550 and $28,750 respectively. If you've followed...
Sean Szymkowski -
Advocacy group takes electric cars to Capitol Hill to inform lawmakers
The best way to change perceptions about electric cars is to put novices in the driver's seat—quite literally in this sense. The advocacy group Plug In America went to Capitol Hill recently, with a barrage of plug-in electric and pure battery electric vehicles, in an effort to educate...
Sean Szymkowski -
Electric-car ownership allows you to break free from petroleum dependence—and to instead plug in and spend your energy dollars locally and regionally, on energy from the grid. Yet in Oregon, a proposal that would let utility companies invest in regional charging infrastructure—and make that transition a little easier, perhaps—is getting some strong pushback. Last month, the Oregonian published an editorial that included accusations of environmental groups bullying regulators, concerning a low-carbon fuel proposal that would create a credits-based marketplace to subsidize...
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VW e-Golf: Staying Connected With Car-Net Services, Smartphone App
Increasingly, buying or leasing a new car includes connectivity that extends well beyond the driver’s seat and the car’s cabin—to one’s smartphone and possibly even smartwatch. And electric cars are the type of vehicles for which these capabilities can be especially well put...
Bengt Halvorson -
Little i-MiEV Electric Car: How Does It Compare To VW e-Golf?
The 2016 Mitsubishi i-MiEV is an outlier—in design, in layout, and in the way it drives. Yet our long-term 2015 Volkswagen e-Golf is nearly the polar opposite—a full battery-electric model wearing the look, feel, and functionality of one of the world’s best-selling cars of all...
Bengt Halvorson -
Portland's Electric Avenue Relocates, Adds DC Fast Chargers
It’s already been four years since Portland really charged ahead in its commitment to electric cars with Electric Avenue, a project that designated a city block of parking spots plug-in-only, peppered the block with a variety of charger hardware, and let EV owners have at it. That original...
Bengt Halvorson -
BMW i3 Electric Car: Ultimate Guide
Ever since we got wind of BMW's 'Megacity' electric vehicle, it's been one of the most anticipated electric cars around. Now, it's simply another electric car available to U.S. buyers--though that hasn't diminished the impact of the i3's concept-car styling, innovative interior and strong...
Stephen Edelstein -
Chevrolet Bolt Electric Car Concept Video
Chevrolet went out on a limb back in 2010 when it introduced the 2011 Chevy Volt extended-range electric vehicle. Now it’s taking a much riskier step by showing off the upcoming battery-powered Bolt—a pure electric car with a promised 200-mile range. ALSO SEE: Chevrolet Bolt Concept...
Joel Feder -
Natural-gas vehicles have never had much acceptance in the North American passenger car market, and even trucks powered by it are struggling. While natural gas is presently abundant in North America, courtesy of the controversial process of hydrofracturing ("fracking"), a new study suggests there's a better use for it than using it to power combustion-engined cars. DON'T MISS: Why Aren't Natural Gas-Powered Long-Haul Semi Trucks Selling Better? Researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratories recently published a paper in the journal Energy, covered by Green Car Congress, that looked at the...
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Diesel Drivers: Would You Take $13,000 To Switch To Electric Cars?
Diesel has long been the fuel of choice for European drivers wishing to reduce their motoring costs. However, recent concerns over the emissions of older diesel vehicles has led to several countries drawing up plans to help remove them from the roads. France has always been strongly pro-diesel, but...
Antony Ingram -
Mitsubishi i-MiEV Electric Car: Ultimate Guide, What You Need To Know
The Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric car has been around in one form or another for several years now, so there's a lot of information to keep track of. Once simply known as the Mitsubishi 'i', the tiny egg-shaped electric car, with four doors and four seats, has been on sale for several years now U.S...
Antony Ingram -
Residential Solar Competitive With Electricity In 25 States Next Year: NRG CEO
Solar power for your home has been around a long time, but for many homeowners, it's required subsidies, special financing arrangements, and still delivered long payback periods. That's changing fast, according to the CEO of a major Texas electric utility. David Crane, who runs NRG Energy, says...
John Voelcker -
Musk: Tesla Going Open Source, Lifting Patents 'In Good Faith'
Tesla Motors, the California electric-car maker, won't participate in a patent war over electric cars and associated technology, as it runs counter to the success of EVs. It's one of the messages conveyed in a terse post from CEO Elon Musk on the Tesla Motors Blog. And it could be good news for...
Bengt Halvorson -
Google's Electric, Autonomous Test Car Looks Happy, Has No Steering Wheel
This is probably not the car you'll be whisked around cities in, in the future. Which is either a good or bad thing, depending on how much you like cars that look like koala bears on a substance recently legalized in Colorado. But it is Google's latest, dedicated test vehicle for its autonomous car...
Antony Ingram -
Yesterday we reported on the delay getting range-extended versions of BMW's 2014 i3 electric car to the market, pending the confirmation and fitment of their EPA-approved window stickers. That wait may not be much longer--and now we know the car's official EPA-rated mileage. The 2014 BMW i3 REx is rated at 117 MPGe on electric power (29 kWh/100 miles), with a 72-mile all-electric range. On gasoline, once the range-extending engine kicks in, the REx gets combined mileage of 39 mpg. READ: Largest Auto-Industry Employer California: Electric-Car Maker Tesla Motors For comparison, the all-electric...
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Toyota Describes Combustion Engine That Generates Electricity Directly
Despite the recent advent of usable, talented electric vehicles, combustion engines are likely to persist for quite some time, often as a component in plug-in hybrid and range-extended electric vehicles. The onus then is on refining combustion power to work harmoniously with increasingly...
Antony Ingram -
Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf Ready Second Acts (Video)
The Nissan Leaf electric car and Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid went on sale within days of each other back in December 2010. Now, we're expecting second-generation versions of both cars for 2016--and each will have significant upgrades. The most significant upgrade to the Nissan Leaf will be a choice...
John Voelcker -
Electric 'Vintage Car' Proposed To Replace NYC Horse Carriages: New York Auto Show
Animal rights and electric cars don't usually intersect much, but a long-running New York City battle has produced one of the more unusual electric-car designs shown in public. At the New York Auto Show last week, a very large electric vehicle--effectively a larger-than-life electric scale model of...
John Voelcker -
How We Became An All-Plug-In Electric Car Household
Since November 2006, our family has always owned at least one plug-in car and one powered by gasoline. For almost two years, our fleet has been a Nissan Leaf electric hatchback, and a used 2008 Toyota Prius. After two years and nearly 42,000 miles of driving the Leaf, however, our once high-tech...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
CA: Electric Cars Get Carpool-Lane Access Til 2020, Plug-In Hybrids Til 2018?
Owners of electric cars and plug-in hybrids enjoy plenty of benefits: tax breaks, lower fuel costs, and the satisfaction that comes from driving a low- or zero-emission vehicle, to name a few. In California, owners also enjoy easier commutes: they can apply for special stickers that allow them to...
Richard Read