Level 2

The company known for safety opts for a more gradual approach to build consumer confidence.

US charging-outlet count is rising about 30 percent a year, but range anxiety continues to hinder plug-in vehicle sales.

BMW and VW will work with ChargePoint to get more DC Fast Chargers up and ready on the East and West coasts of the US. More Level 2 chargers will be available, too.

The first public bite on Tesla open casting call for its electric vehicle patents has been made by CarCharging, which says it wants to integrate the California automaker's EV charging tech into the Blink Network. Now, this does not mean that Blink chargers will soon be able to Supercharge. Instead, Blink wants to add Tesla-capable adapters to its charging stations. CarChargi

We doubt AeroVironment wants to put electric-vehicle charging-station installers out of business, but the company's new product does give plug-in drivers, not to mention a few retailers, the option of skipping the part where you call a contractor. Meet the TurboCord.

"But wait, there's more!" Anyone who's watched late-night television is familiar with the telltale phrase of a spokesman looking to reel in a potential customer who may otherwise be disinterested in what's being advertised. Now, General Motors, faced with selling the first Cadillac extended-range plug-in vehicle to a public that may find it rather expensive, is throwing in a bonus. In this

ClipperCreek may not be offering the least expensive Level 2 home-charging station on the US market, as it says it is, but it's not too far off the mark and gives the Golden State something to be proud of. The California-based company just starting selling its HCS-40 product, a 30-amp, 240-volt Level 2 charging station with a retail price of $590. The station is indoor-outdoor rated, includes a 25-foot long cable and comes equipped with a

A slow charge is better than no charge, but the state of California and some of its largest cities don't seem to understand that concept. That's the crux of an argument from Plugs and Cars' Marc Geller (a former contributor to AutoblogGreen), who cites the case of a Nissan Leaf-owning San Francisco police officer who had charg

In Blink electric-vehicle charging-station maker Ecotality's case, less juice from the banks and government means less juice for its customers. A funding shortfall is forcing Ecotality to address a software glitch within approximately 12,000 stations by reducing the power they supply to plugged-in plug-in vehicles.

When you run the smallest state in the nation (by geography), there's really no excuse for range anxiety to be an issue. Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee may have thought as much when he announced that his state will add 50 publicly accessible electric-vehicle charging stations this summer.

US plug-in vehicle drivers have public access to about 180 more charging stations than they did a month ago, as the rate of additional station deployments appears to be settling at about 200 units a month.

One Illinois-based company is taking the "slow and steady wins the race" approach to public plug-in vehicle chargers. Telefonix, which has specialized in making retractable cord reels largely used in the aviation industry, is looking to drum up interest in its L1 Power Post, which is what the company says will be the first Level 1 charging station designed for public use, Danny King

Ford figures that 11,000 electric-vehicle driving homeowners can't be wrong. The US automaker has tapped AeroVironment as its official vendor for Level 2 home-charging systems.

For the average car shopping consumer (such as me), one of the real deal breakers with plug-in electric vehicles has been the cost of the home charger. Sure, they're getting cheaper at Home Depot, but when you're talking about buying the charger and having it installed in your garage, it's around $1,500 to $2,000 extra. What if you could have that cost added to your finance package

About 170 publicly accessible electric-vehicle charging stations were installed in the US last month. If this trend continues, the number of EV stations could grow at about 40 percent a year, according to US Department of Energy figures.

Shopping for a 240-volt, Level 2 wall-mounted electric car charging unit? Then check out Home Depot's online shopping site, where consumers get to choose a variety of units with prices that start at $749 and top off at $9,815.

As advanced as the powertrain in the all-electric Toyota RAV4 EV is, it is having problems with some public Level 2 charging stations. Cindy Knight, the public affairs manager for environmental, safety and quality communications at Toyota Motor Sales, USA, confirmed to AutoblogGreen that a technical bulletin went out to dealers dated October 30 that the following charging stations have "basic compatibility" with the RAV4 EV (i.e., these ones work):

Sometime during the first quarter of 2012, SAE International says it will officially establish a worldwide standard, calling for an integrated coupler for plug-in vehicles. The SAE says this J1772 combo coupler will allow plug-in vehicles to be charged from either a conventional, 15-amp AC wall outlet or a DC connection of up to 90 kilowatts.