Batteries

General Motors ambitious viability plan announced a fortnight ago called for up to $16.6 billion in additional aid and the reduction of more than 47,000 jobs across the company’s global resources, but there was another major announcement in the plan that went largely unnoticed. GM also...

In a sign that Americans may truly be ready to embrace electric vehicles, including living with any shortcomings and paying a significant price premium, demand for BMW’s Mini E electric vehicle has outstripped supply by 4-to-1. Unfortunately, the plethora of applicants for the 450 available...

Ford confirmed at last month’s Detroit Auto Show that it would launch an all-electric compact car in 2011, co-developed with automotive parts supplier and independent vehicle manufacturer Magna International. Today new details on Ford's efforts to but electric wheels on the ground have...

One of the most exciting cars from last week’s Detroit Auto Show was the Cadillac Converj concept car, which General Motors used to showcase its plug-in hybrid technology in a luxury platform. Despite the concept featuring one of the most striking designs we’ve seen in a while, GM vice...

Engineering firm Johnson Controls has unveiled a new concept at this year’s Detroit Auto Show that is described as a preview of technologies we can expect to see in future small cars. Combining intelligent packaging solutions with sustainable motoring concepts, the compact show car is one of...

Three electric concepts headed to the 2009 Detroit Auto Show have captured much of Daimler subsidiary Mercedes' press of late, and the timing of the new Daimler-Evonik hints that the technology that underpins the cars could be headed for more than just the show floor. Mercedes' S400 BlueHybrid is...

With figures that equal the proposed Chevrolet Volt without the wait and with the familiarity of the highly successful Toyota Prius platform, California outfit Jungle Motors may have a winner on their hands with their plug-in hybrid conversion kit. The company has been in the business of converting...

Researching the products of competitors, even to the point of purchasing and then carefully analyzing each piece, is a common practice in the auto industry, especially so at the bleeding edges of performance and technology. Porsche's purchase of a Tesla Roadster is therefore unsurprising, except...

Previously we reported on Nissan's electric car, which it plans to release in several markets in 2010 followed by global roll out in 2012. But the expensive nature of the battery technology means that Nissan will be selling its electric cars without batteries - requiring the consumer to lease the...

Just a month or so ago, the automotive world spent a frenzied several weeks feeding over the production Chevrolet Volt, unveiled for General Motors' centennial. This week a major step forward in the car's march to full-scale production was made in the selection of a supplier for the battery, though...

Those most critical of the hybrid and electric vehicle segment often highlight the huge expense of battery replacement as a primary reason to avoid the electron-peddling powertrains. Thanks to Toyota's latest round of price drops, however, there's less to crow about on the expense front, with the...

The long-awaited Mercedes S400 hybrid has finally been officially unveiled, and the results are somewhat surprising. While the S400 BlueHYBRID is still billed as the first series-production car to market with a purpose-built lithium-ion battery, it's not as impressive a hybrid system as may have...