Electric
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ECOtality has partnered with Nissan and the Pima Association of Governments to bring a new zero-emissions initiative to the Tucson, Arizona region. By pairing prototype EVs and a new charging network, Nissan hopes to further expand its development of practical research into widespread use of electric transport. Renault-Nissan has been heavily involved in electric vehicle pilot programs around the world for years now, including participation in Shai Agassi's Project Better Place venture and its own projects in Japan, Europe and the U.S. The expansion to Tucson, Arizona will offer an extreme...
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Pininfarina updates B0 Concept as Bluecar EV, more production detailsPininfarina gave up contract manufacturing last year to focus solely on building electric vehicles (EVs). At the Geneva Motor Show this week, the company has reworked their B0 Concept into a more palatably-named BLUECAR EV, with more details on its expected production plans. The B0/Bluecar EV was...
Kenneth Hall -
Mulally: electric vehicles are our futureThe times, they are a changin'. Carmakers that had seemed bulletproof, or at least too big to fail, are teetering on the brink of insolvency. Government regulations and stipulations on loan money are cinching down emissions and efficiency requirements. And tax incentives are spurring development of...
Ralph Hanson -
Fed loans could see low-cost Fisker hybrid in roughly two yearsFisker Automotive is less than a year away from launching its new Karma plug-in hybrid luxury saloon, arguably one of the most stylish looking cars on the auto show circuit, not to mention one of the cleanest too. While big name carmakers like General Motors and Toyota struggle to launch...
James Martinez -
Protoscar Lampo is Swiss for electric sports carIt seems these days that a new electric sports car concept is announced almost every month but it's not often that we get to see the actual concept in the metal, so to speak, or in the case of the new Lampo, in the carbon-fiber composite. The Lampo electric roadster is the latest creation of Swiss...
James Martinez -
Mitsubishi’s first EV edges closer to launch with unveiling of Prototype i-MiEVJoining Mitsubishi’s i-MiEV Sport Air Concept at this week’s Geneva Motor Show is the new Prototype i-MiEV, a closer to production version of the Japanese carmaker’s upcoming all-electric car. The Prototype i-MiEV is based around the currentregular i-MiEV all-electric hatch that...
Jeremy Weber -
While the idea of an electric sports car is not a new one, mainstream carmakers have been slow to consider the proposition of a performance electric vehicle (EV). Niche carmakers like Tesla, Fisker and Lightning immediately spring to mind when one thinks of electric sports cars, but soon we may be able to add Mitsubishi to that list. The Japanese carmaker has unveiled today its new i-MiEV Sport Air Concept at the Geneva Motor Show. It is based on the existing i-MiEV all-electric hatch but features a much more powerful motor with a higher instantaneous torque. The concept is distinguished by...
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Peugeot’s first electric car will be a rebadged MitsubishiMitsubishi's highly anticipated i-MiEV electric car prototype is set to be revealed this week at the Geneva Motor Show, but ahead of the car's unveiling the Japanese company has announced an interesting development. Mitsubishi has just inked a Memorandum of Understanding regarding cooperation...
Jeremy Weber -
European Volt Makes Official Debut As The New Opel AmperaThe Chevrolet Volt is still nearly two full years from production, but the Opel-branded version of it is already on display in Geneva. Today General Motors finally pulled the sheet off its European plug-in hybrid, revealing the car in full photographic detail. The new Ampera is essentially...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Magna Steyr Mila EV Concept unveiledOne of the unseen forces of the automotive industry, Magna Steyr is a contract manufacturer that produces some of the best cars in the world, including the Aston Martin Rapide, the Porsche Boxster and Cayman from 2012, the Mini crossover and more. Their automotive prowess is without question, then...
Nelson Ireson -
Volkswagen and Toshiba working together on electric vehiclesTesla's Roadster and Model S have garnered much of the hybrid and electric press of late, though new entries from Ford and Honda have also gathered some attention. Now Volkswagen is looking to share in the spotlight, announcing the signing of a letter of intent with Toshiba for cooperation on the...
Nelson Ireson -
Nissan pursuing U.S. federal loans for EV programThe past several weeks have been tough ones for Nissan, facing the closure of its Michigan design studio, a forecast loss of $2.6 billion and the cutting of 20,000 jobs worldwide. Nevertheless it is still making plans for the future, and electric vehicles (EVs) figure heavily in those plans. To...
Ralph Hanson -
Finding ways to make cars more efficient isn't always about improving the engine, changing the fuel or adding a hybrid system to the mix. Sometimes it's about recapturing some of the energy already expended. Volkswagen's thermoelectric generator applies that idea to waste exhaust heat, and turns it into electricity. BMW demonstrated a similar system last year, and the idea itself isn't new; automotive applications are, however. The Volkswagen system scavenges waste heat from the exhaust system to generate up to 600W of electricity, offloading some of the generation duties from the engine's...
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Huge demand delays Mini EV test leases in U.S.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...
Alex Kaufmann -
Video: Technology behind the Opel Ampera explainedGeneral Motors recently gave us a preview of a new plug-in hybrid vehicle based on the Chevrolet Volt that the company plans to sell in Europe under its Opel division. The car is the new Opel Ampera and it is set to make its world debut at March’s Geneva Motor Show. GM has now released a...
Alex Kaufmann -
Mission Motors Unveils Electric Motorcycle With 150-Mile Range And 150-MPH Top SpeedToday’s Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED) conference held in Long Beach, California, saw the unveiling of a new all-electric motorcycle that its makers claim is the fastest of its kind in the world. The motorcycle is the new Mission One from American sports bike design firm Mission...
James Martinez -
Fiat and Chrysler deal may be completed by mid-FebruaryFiat and Chrysler first released a joint statement announcing they had signed a non-binding term sheet to establish a global strategic alliance just over two weeks ago but according to Fiat's CEO the deal could be signed and completed by as early as the middle of this month. The alliance, to be a...
James Martinez -
More details emerge on Ford’s upcoming electric compactFord 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...
James Martinez -
Major carmakers are rushing to develop a new generation of plug-in hybrid vehicles including industry giants Toyota and GM, which hope to have the technology ready for sale by the end of the decade. GM appears to have the lead at the moment, forming a partnership with LG Chem to develop and manufacture long life lithium-ion batteries for its upcoming Chevrolet Volt. Toyota, meanwhile, has been relatively secretive about its plug-in hybrid advancement but has now revealed some details about its progress. Initial trials of plug-in hybrid Prius that were started last year have shown that the...
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Texas considering $5,000 tax credit for plug-in hybrids on top of federal incentivesWith all the talk of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reconsidering allowing states to implement their own fuel-economy emissions and regulations, and the negative flow on effects this would have on carmakers that would be forced to tailor cars to meet varying standards across the country...
James Martinez -
Tesla announces Model S Concept, explains price hikes in town hall meetingThe burgeoning electric car field was just hitting its stride when the bottom fell out of the market last year, and the tough position that has left carmakers like Tesla in has forced some changes to be made. But that's not stopping the company from moving ahead with its product development plans...
Ralph Hanson -
Financial crisis hits electric car company Think GlobalThink Global is a Norwegian based manufacturer of electric vehicles and is the same company behind the original ‘Th!nk’ electric car that went on sale in the U.S. during the late 1990s. Back then, Think was owned by Ford, which sold it in 2003 to Swiss company Kamkorp Microelectronics...
Alex Kaufmann -
ZAP presents Alias electric three-wheeler to dealersElectric car company ZAP and its Chinese partner Youngman Auto have taken a step closer to getting its Alias electric three-wheeler onto driveways across the country, with the production version of the electric vehicle being displayed to dealers for the first time. The event took place at this past...
Jeremy Weber -
Report: Fiat and Chrysler alliance will see seven new models sold in U.S.The proposed alliance between Chrysler and Fiat Group will reportedly see seven new vehicles introduced to the U.S. market, with most of the cars expected to be produced at idle Chrysler plants across North America. According to sources that have seen the product-sharing agreement, several of the...
Ralph Hanson