Electric Cars
OnStar Introduces Chevrolet Volt Smartphone App
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OnStar has produced a new smartphone application providing Chevrolet Volt owners 24/7 connection to their cars. Compatible with Apple’s iPhone, RIM’s Blackberry Storm and Motorola’s Droid smartphones, the app provides real-time data connection and control over vehicle functions such as programming charge times. The OnStar Mobile Application retrieves information from the Volt such as battery…
Detroit Preview: Chrysler to Show Fiat 500 Models Including Convertible, Abarth and Electric Versions
***See AutoGuide’s LIVE 2010 Detroit Auto Show Coverage Here*** Chrysler might not be holding a press conference at the Detroit Auto Show in just a few weeks time but the automaker is planning to draw crowds at its booth by showing off a long list of Italian machinery, including several Fiat products that are expected…
Detroit Preview: Volvo C30 Electric Car Gets Updates For Real World Testing
***See AutoGuide’s LIVE 2010 Detroit Auto Show Coverage Here*** Volvo will present a battery-powered electric C30 at the Detroit Auto Show in January, with plans to build a test fleet of 50 vehicles for real-world testing in 2011. The model being shown in Detroit will be further along the development process than the prototype previously…
Report: Ford Plug-In Hybrid Due in 2011, Electric Car Next Year
At a technology briefing held today at Ford’s Advance Engineering Center in Dearborn, MI, company representatives gave a sneak peak at the automaker’s green plans. The lineup includes official introduction plans for both a battery electric vehicle and Ford’s first plug-in hybrid (PHEV). The PHEV will arrive in 2011 and Ford has said it will…
Detroit Preview: BMW Concept ActiveE
***See AutoGuide’s LIVE 2010 Detroit Auto Show Coverage Here*** BMW will introduce a new electric concept model based on the 1 Series Coupe at the Detroit Auto Show. The BMW Concept ActiveE will follow the MINI E as the second stage of BMW’s electric vehicle development program. BMW has begun development of a trial fleet…
Report: Audi E-Tron Will Be Priced Above R8, With Just 1,000 Units Available
Proving that the electric car revolution isn’t likely to happen over night, Audi has said that it will build just 1,000 versions of its E-Tron sports car, with pricing set above the R8. News comes from the U.K.’s AutoCar after an interview with Audi design boss Achim Badstubner. Considering Audi’s R8 with the 5.2-liter V10…
LA 2009: Audi E-Tron North American Debut With Electric Orange Paint
Alongside its new flagship R8 Spyder sports car, Audi also unveiled the E-Tron Concept for the first time on U.S. soil at the LA Auto Show today. And we have to say, it looks much cooler in its new orange paint. Living up to its “Tron” name the oddly shaped E-Tron appears to be part…
Report: Mitsubishi Considering Gas-Powered iMiEV for U.S. Market
Mitsubishi has already announced plans to bring its electric mini-car, the iMiEV, to North America, but now the Japanese automaker is considering a gasoline version as well. The iMiEV is expected to arrive in the next two years and is now likely to be joined by a gasoline version, allowing dealers to benefit from higher…
LA Preview: Audi E-Tron Concept Car Set to Electrify Audiences at LA Auto Show
A project that was vehemently denied to exist by Audi executives, the E-Tron electric R8, was officially unveiled at the Frankfurt Auto Show in Germany a few months back. Now it is making its first trip to the U.S., with a planned North American debut at the LA Auto Show. Living up to its “Tron”…
Report: Mitsubishi Bringing New Global Small Car to North America in 2012
Just last week Mitsubishi announced that it is planning to bring over a smaller Lancer-based crossover to North America and now comes word that the Japanese automaker has yet another new model to debut shortly thereafter. Based on a new global small car platform the car will be smaller than the Colt (shown above), which…
Report: Nissan Leaf Electric Car Kicks-Off Zero Emission Tour November 13th in Los Angeles
Having just officially launched its Leaf electric car at the Tokyo Auto Show in Japan, Nissan has announced the potentially revolutionary new vehicle will start a U.S. tour. Set to begin on November 13th in Los Angeles, the Leaf will then travel to Northern California before crisscrossing the country. The Leaf will stop in 22…
Tokyo 2009: Infiniti to Get Stylish, High Performance Electric Car Says Comany President
Nissan President Carlos Ghosn has confirmed that the automaker is getting ready to bring several electric vehicles to market, including one sold under the Infiniti brand. Ghosn made the announcement at the Tokyo Auto Show, where the brand officially unveiled the Nissan Leaf electric car as well as the strange Land Glider concept, which is…
Report: Nissan Land Glider Concept May Launch in North America as an Infiniti
As seemingly impossible as it sounds, Nissan is contemplating bringing its Land Glider concept to North America and badging it as an Infiniti. The half-car, half-motorcycle electric vehicle concept is set to debut tomorrow (October 21st) at the Tokyo Auto Show and is certainly seems like the sort of wild one-off creation that is used…
Report: Audi E-Tron to Get R4 Badge
Audi has already confirmed that the E-Tron concept that made its world premiere at the Frankfurt Auto Show last month will see production, and now recent reports suggest the car will go under the R4 badge. The news comes from the U.K.’s AutoExpress, which also suggests gasoline versions may be available and that this vehicle…
Report: Smart fortwo Electric Car Announced for 2012
Daimler AG has announced that the second generation Smart fortwo electric drive will go into series production starting in 2012. The announcement was made during the visit of French President Nicolas Sarkozy to the facility where the electric Smart cars will be built in Hambach, France. A small number of vehicles will begin production in…
Tokyo Preview: Nissan Land Glider Concept A Zero Emissions City Car Solution
Most certainly one of the wildest concept cars set to debut at the Tokyo Auto Show (and that’s saying a lot) is the Nissan Land Glider Concept. The cockpit design is very much a cockpit, looking more like something you might fly off an aircraft carrier than drive around congested urban streets. There is room…
Tokyo Preview: Nissan Leaf Electric Car Will Gets Its Auto Show Time in the Spotlight
While news and photos of the Nissan Leaf have been around for several months now, the electric car will get its official debut at the Tokyo Auto Show on October 21st. Nissan describes its functional five-door, five-seater compact hatchback as having a “high-performance, zero-emission” powertrain. Output from the lithium-ion battery packs is rated at 80kW/280Nm,…
Tokyo Preview: Toyota FT-EV II Electric Car Unveiled Ahead of Official Debut
Toyota will take the wraps off an updated version of its FT-EV electric car at the Tokyo Auto Show in just a few weeks. Called the FT-EV II, the car is designed for urban use with a total range of 90 km (56 miles) and a top speed of 100 km/h (62 mph). This news…
Report: Hybrids, Not Electric Vehicles, Are the Future Says Toyota Europe R&D Boss
Hybrid cars and not electric vehicles, are the future of mass market environmentally-responsible transportation, says Toyota Europe’s R&D boss Masato Katsumata. Obviously we would expect any Toyota representative to toe this line, as competitors like Nissan are focusing on the future of electric cars – like the Leaf EV. Speaking at a conference in Cologne,…
Breaking: Audi E-Tron Electric R8 Headed to Production
Audi’s E-Tron electric R8 has been given the green light and should be on the road in two to three years. Audi of America President Johan de Nysschen has said that a car based on the E-Tron concept, which debuted at the Frankfurt Auto Show last month, will be built. He expects fully functional examples…
Tokyo Preview: Mitsubishi i-MiEV Cargo Gets More Space, Even Sillier Design
If you though Mitsubishi’s i-MiEV electric city car was both silly looking and impractical, perhaps the i-MiEV Cargo is more up your alley? Or perhaps not. With significantly more usable space, along with an even more ridiculous shape, the Cargo model is a concept that Mitsubishi is exploring for eventual production. The i-MiEV on which…
Tokyo Preview: Honda EV-N Concept Is One Ultra-Cute Electric Car
Honda intends to put the focus on its environmentally friendly alternative energy vehicles at the Tokyo Auto Show next month, showcasing several products, including the undeniably cute EV-N electric car concept. The car will be in display in the HELLO! Zone (which apparently stands for Honda Electric mobility Loop) next to the hydrogen fuel-cell FXC…
Report: Electric Porsche Could Be Ready in Five Years Says Company Boss
Porsche engineers are working “intensively” on an electric sports car that could be brought to market in as little as five years says company head Michael Macht. The comments were made to German magazine Welt am Sonntag, just after the Frankfurt Auto Show, where fellow German automakers Audi and Mercedes-Benz displayed electric concept cars. Macht…
Report: Volkswagen Bringing Larger E-Up! Electric Car to U.S.
Volkswagen is preparing a slightly larger version of its E-Up! concept, which debuted last week at the Frankfurt Auto Show, for the U.S. market. The tiny 3+1 seater is roughly the size of a SMART fortwo or Toyota iQ. It has a peak output of 60 kw with 210 Nm of torque (80-hp and 155…
