Nissan has announced that its Leaf Nismo RC Concept race car concept will be making two demonstration runs at the Le Mans Vers Le Futur, in celebration of the 79th anniversary of the event (June 11-12). The 24 Hour of Le Mans is the world’s most renowned endurance race and is held on the Circuit...
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With much of the electric car attention being drawn by the first mass-produced Nissan LEAF and Chevy Volt, many have ignored the 2011 Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid luxury sports sedan. Fisker dealers in Los Angeles previously claimed the first deliveries to paying customers would take place in March or April of this year. But the...
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Tesla might have started out by producing an electric version of the Lotus Elise, but that’s merely the start of their ambitious program to launch a full range of electric cars. They already have the Model S sedan, which is set to go on sale in 2012, but now they are also working on a crossover vehicle,...
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GE is introducing a solar powered carport designed for charging electric cars that uses solar panels that produces enough energy every year to power 20 homes with electricity. Rather than a home unit, the carport is intended for public usage, with six charging stations allowing for a total of 13 EVs to be charged each...
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The Nissan Leaf became the first EV to get a five star crash test rating from the Euro NCAP program, after scoring well in all categories involving passenger safety, on-board safety systems and pedestrian safety. Also notable was the car’s lithium-ion battery system, which according to Nissan “completely withstood all the impacts.” “The Nissan Leaf proves that...
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Volvo is collaborating with Belgian technological and development specialist Flanders’ Drive to develop inductive charging for its model line up. Inductive charging allows electric vehicles to be recharged wirelessly. A charging plate(conductor) could be buried beneath the driveway so when the car is parked, it will charge. “The aim is naturally that it should be as convenient as...
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With the average price for a gallon of gasoline above $4, many American drivers are looking to dump the family gas-guzzler as quickly as possible and buy a more fuel efficient hybrid. But according to Jeff Bartlett, deputy online automotive editor at Consumer Reports, this is the worst time to do so. With so many...
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Ford Motor Company Chairman Bill Ford (great-grandson of Henry Ford) revealed to Fortune magazine that his namesake automaker will apparently launch a global line of electric vehicles, with 25 percent of Ford’s lineup available with some degree of electrification by 2020. Ford cited the electric Focus and both plug-in and fully electric versions of the...
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It was only a matter of time before the rich and famous began hopping on the Chevrolet Volt bandwagon, since the Toyota Prius is in imminent danger of becoming passé. The Volt has found owners among luminaries like Jeff Gordon, Jay Leno, Stephen King and Alyssa Milano. “I think it’s a great car,” said Leno in an...
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Volkswagen will partner with Chinese automaker FAW to launch a new brand, which will build and sell electric cars for Chinese consumers. Plans were submitted to the Chinese government, although details of the vehicle weren’t publicly disclosed. Honda, Nissan and General Motors have recently expanded into creating their own Chinese market brands in partnership with...
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The Dacia Logan, intended to be sold in world markets as basic transportation, was never supposed to come to America, but somehow, 41 Dacia Logan station wagons found their way to Iowa, sans drivetrain. The fleet of Romanian-built compacts, engineered in collaboration with Renault, came without VINs as well, since the cars were intended to...
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Land Rover South Africa has taken the brand’s iconic Defender off-roader and converted one to run on fully electric power, with an 80 horsepower motor good for 63 miles of silent, emissions free driving at speeds of up to 37 mph. The Defender EV also retains a full four-wheel drive system despite its electric drivetrain....
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With the Nissan Leaf beginning to outsell the Chevrolet Volt, the competition between the two is heating up, and General Motors North America President Mark Reuss had some not-so-nice things to say about the car when asked for his thoughts. Reuss said that the Leaf was “…has a finite range and requires infrastructure and charging...
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The Nissan Leaf outsold the Chevrolet Volt in April, reversing March’s sales numbers where the Volt handily outsold the Leaf. Nissan moved 573 Leaf EVs in April, while 493 Volts found a home amongst buyers. Whie the Volt has been leading in total sales with (2,029 sold, compared to 1,044 for the Leaf), if April’s...
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When Peugeot first unveiled the EX1 to the world, we all knew it would be one awesome electric car. Its sleek and futuristic design clearly screams race-inspired and now Peugeot has put it on the track just to prove how awesome it is. Living up to expectations the EX1 has set the record lap time...
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BMW North America CEO Jim O’Donnell apparently made some “disparaging” remarks about electric vehicles, including his dislike for EV tax credits, and his belief that the battery range currently available makes them an unrealistic proposition for “at least 90 percent” of the population. O’Donnell subsequently apologized for his remarks, and re-affirmed his commitment to BMW’s...
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Mapping out electric car charging stations onto an open source format like Google Maps seems like something totally self-evident, but the Department of Energy and Google are undertaking an official initiative to overlay EV charge points onto of a mapping application. The project will be known as the GeoEVSE forum, and comprise of a database...
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The Nissan Leaf has been in the press quite a bit recently. While it recently took top honor of “World Car of the Year” at the 2011 New York International Auto Show, it has been in the news recently that some Leaf owners have been left stranded on the road because the battery indicator was...
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The Mitsubishi i electric vehicle will start at $20,490 after a federal tax credit, coming in at nearly $5000 less than a Nissan Leaf. The $20,490 sticker price is for a base ES model, while the upgraded SE trim with an 8-speaker 360 watt stereo, leather wrapped steering wheel, 15″ alloys and fog lamps will...
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Ford has released a list of 25 cities in the United States that it labeled “electric vehicle-ready”, with the 20 initial roll-0ut markets for the Ford Focus E.V. listed, as well as 5 other cities, Baltimore, Dallas, Hartford, Honolulu and Charlotte. Ford declined to rank the cities, instead listing them in alphabetical order, but said...
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A program initiated by General Motors CEO Dan Akerson meant to cut $10,000 from the cost of the Chevrolet Volt is well under way, according to a report by the Detroit News. “We have a cost reduction plan all the way through 2020 and Generation 3,” said Alan Taub, vice president for global research and...
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The Nissan Leaf has been afflicted with problems starting, an issue which has apparently been identified as originating with the car’s air conditioning system. Nissan remains unsure whether this is a software glitch or a larger issue related to the physical part. The company won’t issue a recall, since the safety of the vehicle is...
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Apart from their limited range, another objection to electric vehicles is that they take hours to recharge a depleted battery. Recently Siemens announced that prototypes of a high-powered electric vehicle charger promise to make filling a typical EV battery inside of 60 minutes. The first 22-kilowatt (kW) CP700A chargers are being rolled out through the...
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Has BMW, the maker of the ultimate (electric) driving machines decided to follow Chevrolet’s example? Word from Munich today is that BMW’s head of electrical components, Dr. Christian Schmidt, said it is weighing the possibility of a range-extended engine to pair to electric vehicles. For some time now BMW has said it would consider an...
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