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Georgia Tech Students to Compete in World Solar Challenge with Custom Audi TT Race Car
A team of Georgia Tech students has put together a dual-battery, solar-powered Audi TT to compete later this year in the World Solar Challenge in Australia. One of the car’s batteries is charged by solar panels, and energizes power brakes, windows and steering. The second battery puts out 120 volts which is directed to an…
ECOmove QBEAK Electric Car Delivers Green City Motoring With Style
With practically every automaker jockeying for a place in the emerging EV market, it’s still open territory for small innovators like ECOmove, a, Danish firm, to also stake their claim. The company is only a couple years old, but says it has experienced automotive innovators on staff who put together its modular all-battery powered chassis…
2015 Mitsubishi Evo Previewed With i-MiEVO Electric Sports Sedan
Behold the future of the Mitsubishi EVO. April Fools! Looking surprisingly cool, the folks at Mitsubishi Canada have perhaps the best April Fools prank of the day, posting a creatively photoshopped version of the i-MiEV electric car, inspired by the brand’s Evo sports sedan, on its Facebook page. Claiming to be the 2015 i-MiEVO concept,…
U.S. Goverment Looking To Re-Align Highway Fund Taxes To Include Plug-In Cars
Federal legislators have begun examining ways to tax highway users based on Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) as a way to bring up shortfalls to the Highway Trust Fund. A concern is that as fuel-efficient hybrids and plug-in cars increase, fuel tax generated revenues will do little for the already insufficient funding base. In a Congressional…
Top Gear Says It Did Not Rig Lotus Vs Tesla Race
Tesla is suing the BBC following a 2008 episode of Top Gear in which its electric Roadster ran out of power while competing against a gas-powered Lotus. In a report written by the BBC, Top Gear Host Jeremy Clarkson, was quoted as saying: “Although Tesla say it’ll do 200 miles, we worked out that on…
GM Developing A Buick Version Of Chevy Volt
Word was leaked yesterday about a Buick version of the Chevrolet Volt being developed by GM. The vehicle would be a more luxurious version of the already fairly upscale Volt, according to a report by Bloomberg. This would make a fourth nameplate to carry a very similar platform. Already in Germany, Opel is showing its…
Kia Naimo Electric Car Debuts at Seoul Motor Show, Points Way to Production Model
Kia has just revealed its third in a string of electric car concepts, debuting the Naimo at the Seoul Motor Show. Unlike past mini cars, this sub-compact B-Class model is a crossover and may be the most realistic example yet of Kia’s plan to bring an EV to market in the near future. At 153-inches…
Green Car Parade to Cruise Through Washington DC During Earth Week
In the midst of Earth Week next month, a motorcade of battery-powered, hybrid, and fuel-cell vehicles will drive through Washington D.C. to showcase alternatives to oil dependence. Earth Week is scheduled from Friday, April 15 through Friday, April 22. The parade of cars and trucks will take place on Tuesday, April 19, and be part…
Obama Commits To ‘Green-Only’ Government Auto Fleet by 2015
An expected announcement today by President Barack Obama will outline the federal government’s commitment to buy only advanced technology vehicles by 2015. Only hybrids, plug-in electrics, and flex-fuel vehicles will be allowed into its present fleet of 600,000 vehicles. The government has already doubled its number of hybrids in keeping with existing mandates. Full-size SUVs…
Tesla Suing BBC Over “Malicious” Top Gear Episode
American electric car maker Tesla Motors has filed a lawsuit against the BBC over an episode of its popular Top Gear show that Tesla says is libelous and contains, “malicious falsehood.” The issue surrounds a test Top Gear did of the Tesla Roadster in which Tesla claims the show faked aspects, including having the Tesla…
Volvo To Lease C30 Electric Car For $2,100 Per Month
Volvo recently revealed that it is looking for 400 early adopters to test a prototype of its 24 kWh all-battery powered C30 Electric car. Better get in line early, because the limited range, practically hand-made vehicle will be leased for just $2,100 per month. Why bother with an every day C30 four-passenger, two-door hatchback, when the exotic…
First Substantial Shipment Of Nissan LEAFs Arrives In US
Having left Japan just one day before the tsunami-inducing earthquake wreaked havoc, a large shipment of Nissan LEAF Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) has just arrived in Long Beach, Calif. Nissan’s Luna Spirit vehicle-carrying transport ship was safely on the open ocean when a 500 MPH wave passed under it, at about 3-inches high. About a…
Mitsubishi i Grows In Size For U.S., More Suited To Highway Driving
Mitsubishi‘s diminutive i electric vehicle is undergoing some fairly substantial changes when it makes its debut on our shores, the most significant being a slight increase in length and a 5 inch bump in width, with the extra size added to help the car feel better during high speed highway driving. While Japanese drivers experience…
Fisker Karma Production Starts, Cars to Hit Dealers Next Month
Remember the Fisker Karma? The plug-in hybrid luxury saloon from an upstart California automaker was touted as beating the Volt to market when it debuted over two years ago, a testament to the ability of small companies to get things done when giant automakers flopped their bloated carcasses into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. But the Volt…
2012 Nissan GT-R Inventory Safe For U.S. Consumption
Despite being an ultra-niche vehicle, interest in the Nissan GT-R always remains strong, and car enthusiasts have been fretting about whether Japan’s natural disasters have impacted production of the revised GT-R. According to an interview with David Reuter, Nissan Americas vice president of communications, supplies of the GT-R are safe, with roughly 70 percent of…
BYD Establishes Office In California
BYD, China’s 4th largest automaker, has finally established a location in Southern California, although the digs are modest to say the least. BYD’s new home in America is an office within a used car dealership in Glendale, a Los Angeles suburb. According to reports, the dealership is being used to train BYD technicians, and BYD…
Chevy Volt May Face Transmission Delays, Due to Japan’s Earthquake
The ongoing crisis in Japan is continuing to impact automakers and the entire industry, even American companies. Japanese suppliers of the Chevrolet Volt’s transmission have been disrupted by the nuclear situation, which has a chance to delay production of the hot-selling electric car. The Japanese plant that builds the high-tech transmission has been shut down…
Volkswagen Strengthens Electric Car Plans, Plans New Hybrid Models
Volkswagen is now swimming in extra money, and has decided to put it into their electric car program—despite their initial reluctance to enter the EV market. VW’s plan originally was to focus on hybrids, and they’re still sticking with it: they will introduce five new hybrid versions of the Touareg, Golf, Jetta, and the Audi…
Federal Government To Make Hybrid Sound Emitting Devices Mandatory
The Hyundai Sonata’s production delay due to the removal of an on-off switch for its sound emitting device looks like a smart move now that the federal government is looking to not only make the devices mandatory for hybrid and electric cars, but bar automakers from allowing drivers to cancel the systems via a dash…
Mitsubishi Forging Ahead With Global Car, Regional Differences Will Be Minor
Designing a single car for the entire world is a tough proposition. No matter how hard engineers strive towards a unified design, concessions must usually be made, particularly with regards to engine and gearbox choices. Other instances have called for variations in size to suit regional tastes. While the Ford Focus and Chevrolet Cruze are…
Renault Security Agent Arrested for Spygate Hoax
When several Renault execs were accused of selling the French automaker’s electric car secrets to the Chinese, it made headlines around the world. Last week came reports that the story might have been a hoax – and that now appears to be the case with a Renault security agent having been arrested. The individual, who’s…
Google Maps Now Includes EV Charging Station Locations
For electric car owners, finding a place to plug-in when you’re on the road can be a challenge. Sure you can just ‘borrow’ some energy by unplugging the Coke machine at your local gas station, but those standard output outlets can take eight hours to get your car fully juiced. Being the forward-thinking company that…
Was Renault’s Spygate a Hoax?
Days after Renault fired three men and pressed criminal charges on them for allegedly attempting to sell electric car secrets overseas, CEO Carlos Ghosn is facing a disturbing lack of evidence, embarrassing Renault into reconsidering its accusations. The entire dramatic episode is becoming a farce—like BP during the Gulf oil spill, Renault may be faced…
Study: Americans Don’t Know a Thing About Electric Vehicles
And they don’t know much more about hybrids, either. A study by London-based market research firm Synovate found that new vehicle buyers hardly knew that hybrids contained batteries, used gasoline, or couldn’t be plugged in. Only two-thirds of people surveyed knew that hybrids used both battery and gasoline power (hence the “hybrid” name), and only…
