ElectricCars


VIDEO: Chevrolet Volt tests driver-controlled audio warning system with the blind

As the popularity of hybrids has grown over the last few years, advocates for the blind have been raising a red flag about noise, or -- more to the point -- the lack of it. Because electric-drive vehicles emit much lower levels of sound on the street, blind pedestrians who've relied on the noise emitted from traditional vehicles lose a major source of information when navigating the streets and sidewalks. There have been movements in various legislatures to mandate some minimum sound level from electric vehicles to ensure that blind ... Read more →

REPORT: Nissan may offer optional higher-capacity batteries at premium Sam Abuelsamid

It looks like Tesla probably won't be alone in offering different-sized battery packs in its future electric vehicles. At a U.S. launch event for the Leaf electric car on Friday, Nissan product ...

REPORT: Nissan's Ghosn rules out hybrid-only models like Toyota Prius, Honda Insight Jeremy Korzeniewski

Quick, think of a hybrid automobile. Got it? Are you thinking of the Toyota Prius? Pretty much everyone instantly recognizes the well-known profile of the Prius, and it's by far the most popular ...

REPORT: Energy Secretary Chu - "I would put every cent into electric cars" Sebastian Blanco

U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu has a penchant for making some straightforward statements about energy policy. He's said that electric vehicles are inevitable, for example, and that all American ...

Renault launches new site dedicated to its upcoming EV lineup [w/VIDEO] Sam Abuelsamid

Renault has created a new website that is dedicated to promoting its upcoming model range of battery powered cars. The site is actually about more than just the Fluence, Kangoo, Zoe and Twizzy. It ...

e-Wolf channels inner Italian with planned e2 electric car 2 months ago on Autoblog

Shortly after debuting its Lotus Seven-esque e1 electric sportscar at the Frankfurt Motor Show, e-Wolf has just released images and details of its next model, the e2. Unlike the open-topped e1, the German firm's e2 followup will feature a shape clearly inspired by any number of supercars from ...

Debate rages over whether to extend HOV-lane exemptions for hybrids in CA 2 months ago on Autoblog

Besides the potential feeling of environmental superiority, one of the great benefits to having a hybrid in California has been the availability of a magic little sticker set for a vehicle's rear bumper and fender. The "Access OK" tags have allowed its possessors to cruise in the carpool lanes ...

Production Aptera 2e rendering leaked online? 2 months ago on Autoblog

As Aptera continues to push forward with the development of its futuristic-looking and innovative 2e electric three-wheeler, it almost seems inevitable that details of the vehicle's official specifications will leak out... this is the internet age after all. True to form, today we get what ...

Officially Official: Reva to help GM India develop EVs 2 months ago on Autoblog

General Motors officially announced a deal with India's Reva that had been rumored for several weeks. The maker of Jeremy Clarkson's "favorite" car -- the G-Wiz -- will be partnering with GM India to co-develop electric vehicles for the Indian market. The plan is to evaluate GM's small car ...

Rumormill: Electric Rolls-Royce Phantom cometh? 2 months ago on Autoblog

digg_url = 'http://digg.com/autos/Rumormill_Electric_Rolls_Royce_Phantom_on_the_Way'; Yes, an electric Rolls-Royce. And why not? The torque curve of an electric motor – making maximum pulling power right at zero RPM – would seem to suit the R-R mission perfectly, as would the ...

Nissan wants LEAF EV to sound like Blade Runner car for safety 2 months ago on Autoblog

While advocates have long heralded a reduction in noise pollution in addition to air pollution as advantages of electric vehicles, not everyone is convinced that silent cars are a good thing. We use our senses to navigate through life and when one or more of them are diminished, we rely on ...

Frankfurt Preview: Audi e-Tron electric supercar gets early web unveil 2 months ago on Autoblog

Apparently, electric cars aren't such a bad idea after all. Just days after Audi of America President Johan de Nysschen proclaimed that diesels were the future in lieu of electrons, Audi's own electric supercar concept will be officially debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show. While we're anxiously ...

Audi U.S. president Johan de Nysschen addresses Chevrolet Volt is for idiots firestorm via Facebook 2 months ago on Autoblog

Audi of America president Johan de Nysschen has issued a public response to the firestorm he created yesterday when he reportedly told a member of the media that the Chevrolet Volt is "a car for idiots." Anyone who has met de Nysschen in person knows he is not one to mince words. He (and Audi) has ...

REPORT: BYD pushes American EV launch ahead to 2010 3 months ago on Autoblog

According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, Warren Buffet-backed Chinese automaker BYD has moved up its schedule and plans to sell a fully electric car here in the United States next year. Interestingly, the automaker's original plans were to sell its first products here in the U.S. in ...

Pics Aplenty: Tesla finally drops real images of Roadster Sport 3 months ago on Autoblog

It's been seven months since Tesla first announced its intentions to build the Roadster Sport, a higher performing version of its electric sportscar. Seemingly many moons later, the Silicon Valley-based automaker has finally offered up some real high-res images of the EV along with more details ...

Curiosity: Report says we have 35x more HP in our driveways than our power plants 3 months ago on Autoblog

It may not be a particularly glamorous definition of the automobile, but it's true on some level that cars and trucks are individual little power generators on wheels, a fact pointed out here by Wired staff writer Alexis Madrigal. Interestingly, when viewed in that light, the United States has an ...

Nissan to begin retail sales of Leaf EV next year in five major U.S. markets 3 months ago on Autoblog

Nissan is wasting little time planning for the release of its Leaf electric car. Perhaps the details of the car's U.S. launch were so slim at launch is because Nissan was waiting for the official announcement of the Obama administration's $2.4 billion investment into electric vehicles and the ...

New Nissan-ZeroEmission micro-site provides teaser of new EV 4 months ago on Autoblog

Nissan has launched a micro-site dedicated to its new electric car, and although it doesn't provide any technical information yet, Nissan has given us our first glimpse of the unnamed EV before its unveiling this Sunday at Nissan's headquarters in Japan. The site's animation rotates around the ...

Nissan shows off new Versa-based electric vehicle prototype 4 months ago on Autoblog

A week before it shows the world what its new dedicated electric vehicle will look like, Nissan is showing off its latest-generation prototype. The company's previous iteration was based on the original Cube, but the new test units are based on the Versa/Tiida. A 108-horsepower / 206 pound-feet ...

Toyota NA President Inaba: Hopes for profit in 2011, NUMMI could be dissolved 4 months ago on Autoblog

Three weeks into his new assignment as president and chief operating officer of Toyota North America, Yoshimi Inaba came to Detroit to talk about the state of the business. This is Inaba-san's third stint working for Toyota in North America after returning to Japan in 2003. This spring the senior ...

Automotive Engineer commissions Lotus to design tiny city EV [w/VIDEO] 4 months ago on Autoblog

Developing cars quickly is nothing new to the designers and engineers at Lotus – the British firm does contract development for automakers around the world on a regular basis. With that in mind – and knowing that Lotus has been actively involved in many electric and hybrid vehicle ...

Officially Official: Mercedes to produce electric SLS gullwing 4 months ago on Autoblog

Mercedes-Benz has officially confirmed the rumors that have been floating around in recent days – it will build an electrically powered version of its upcoming SLS gullwing coupe. The EV version of the SLS will drive all four wheels by means of an individual motor for each corner. It will not ...

REPORT: Karmann saved by VW's multi-million euro order for electric vehicles 4 months ago on Autoblog

Volkswagen has struck a deal worth "at least 10 million euros" with Wilhelm Karmann GmbH to keep the insolvent coachworks and specialty builder alive so it can reorganize a new company and "focus on building electric-powered cars." That's according to an unsourced report in the Neue ...

REPORT: Mitsubishi launches production of the iMiEV in Japan 6 months ago on Autoblog

Mitsubishi has launched series production of its iMiEV electric car at its Okayama, Japan factory. That makes the tri-diamond brand the first major automaker to kick off full scale production of a new EV, though it will be followed by many other automakers over the next two years. The automaker ...

UK government unveils £5,000 electric car incentive program 7 months ago on Autoblog

The UK government has announced a £250 million ($372M USD) incentive program designed to get more plug-in and electric vehicles on British roads. The heart of the program is rebates of up to £5,000 (nearly $7,500) for purchases of full electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles. This could be ...

Fisker plans lower-cost model, may compete with Chevy Volt and Tesla Model S 7 months ago on Autoblog

It's probably a bit premature to be talking about future models from Fisker, considering the automaker's plug-in Karma and Karma S have yet to hit the market, but that's never stopped us before, right? According to Russell Datz, head PR man at Fisker Automotive, "One of the future products we ...

VW CEO: Daily use of electric cars "very far away" 9 months ago on Autoblog

According to VW CEO Martin Winterkorn, we'd better get used to the sound of a rumbling internal combustion engine churning away in our automobiles, ingesting dead dinos as they continue to be the dominate source of power for our automobiles for at least the next 15-20 years. The German automaker ...

REPORT: PSA will rebadge and sell the Mitsubishi i MiEV in Europe 10 months ago on Autoblog

France's PSA Group, which includes Peugeot and Citroen, will be jumping into the electric car game in 2011 courtesy of Mitsubishi. The Japanese carmaker will start selling its i MiEV later this year in Japan and will reportedly supply a re-badged version to sell through European dealers. ...

Neil Young has the solution to Detroit's woes 1 year ago on Autoblog

Rocker Neil Young has managed to create his own electric car out of an old Lincoln convertible. That's awesome, and we congratulate Young on the amazing accomplishment. But as far as his ideas on how to fix Detroit, it seems that the singer's plan has a few loose screws. Mr. Young suggests that the ...

Driven: 2009 Tesla Roadster v1.5 1 year ago on Autoblog

var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/autos/Driven_2009_Tesla_Roadster_v1_5_Autoblog'; Last January we landed an exclusive first drive of the Tesla Roadster. We were impressed, but well aware that the particular two-gear model we drove that wet afternoon wasn't identical to the version set to land ...

Warren Buffet recharges his batteries with investment in BYD 1 year ago on Autoblog

Chinese battery manufacturer BYD can now be mentioned in the same breath as Goldman Sachs: both have recently been given the blue-chip imprimatur by U.S. billionaire investor Warren Buffet. The Oracle of Omaha's MidAmerican Energy Holdings has bought a 10-percent stake in BYD for $230 million. BYD ...

Carmakers try different ways to grow green 1 year ago on Autoblog

Now that making cars cleaner and more efficient is a mainstream proposition, the only questions are how each carmaker plans to do it. BMW's Efficient Dynamics has allowed it to lower it's CO2 emissions more than any other automaker. In a show of how seriously all automakers are taking the issue, ...

Lightning GT EV sports car coming this month 1 year ago on Autoblog

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Lightning GT. This month will see the debut of the Lightning GT electric sports car at the British Motor Show on July 23. The nano-titanate battery pack will provide 740-HP and a 0-60 sprint in just four seconds. Those batteries have also been spaced around ...

Mercedes runs out of gas by 2015 1 year ago on Autoblog

Mercedes -- like a lot of other folks -- believes oil is going to run out eventually. But instead of waiting until the "Low on Oil" light comes on, the brand behind the three-pointed-star has set a goal to convert its entire fleet to run on alternative fuels by 2015. That's seven years to get off ...

Wagoner to Obama: Automakers need research money from feds 1 year ago on Autoblog

After being asked what the next President of the United States could do to help Detroit's automakers, Rick Wagoner, head honcho at General Motors, responded that his company could use an injection of cash for research and development into new, potentially green technology. Also mentioned were ...

Obama critizes McCain's $300m battery prize 1 year ago on Autoblog

As expected, presidential hopeful John McCain outlined a plan yesterday which would offer a $300 million cash prize to the first company able to build a better automotive battery. The proposal is part of an effort to reduce the nation's petroleum usage, in this case, by furthering the development of ...

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Autoblog Podcast #155: 'Twas the night before LA...

Chris, Dan, and Editor Paukert go over some LA Preview action and quietly whoop it up on the podcast.

 
 

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