I did not drive the Toyota IQ at highway speeds where the short wheel base suggests less stability, but I would consider taking the car on a road trip if I could pull a battery trailer to increase the range.
As I drive Toyota’s sporty new electric car, sun streams through the red and yellow fall colors that grace Denver’s downtown. This is the new 2013 Scion iQ EV, Toyota’s fourth electric car that joins the Prius Plug-in Hybrid, FCHV, and the RAV4 EV all-electric SUV. This iQ-EV is a micro-compact all-electric city car.
Gas prices in California are finally starting to drop after a series of record highs, following a fire at a Chevron refinery and a power outage at an Exxon Mobil facility, hurting Californians at the pump, and leading to calls for investigations into price manipulation. Of course, you’ve read this story many times before. Now, imagine the same series of events, but with a crucial difference ― your car has the ability to run on multiple fuels. What if, instead of just driving around for the gas station that has the least painful price, you could choose between fuels, and switch to an alternative when the price of gasoline goes through the roof?
By 2015, Toyota will be selling 21 hybrids globally. The Prius family will expand beyond the current four models: Liftback, Compact C, Crossover V, and Plugin. I was once asked, “Why would anyone buy a hybrid when you can’t cost-justify the premium?” I paid about a $4,000 premium to buy my 2002 Prius, and then sold it seven years later for a $3,000 premium. The Prius had saved me over $5,000 in gasoline when gas was cheaper than today.
More than 12,000 customers have made reservations and $5,000 deposits for their new Tesla Model S. The first thousands of these all-electric cars being delivered have a 265-mile range (official EPA rating). In real world driving, the range is 300 miles if you stay below 55 miles per hour. This is not a plug-in hybrid. It is slightly amazing.
A new survey of some 1,400 California Nissan LEAF owners reveals that 89% of owners use their LEAF as their primary car and own a second gasoline fueled car, that they drive an average of 800 electric-fueled miles per month, and many pay the equivalent of $0.90 to $1.90 per gallon of gasoline to power their electric vehicles.
With the backing of the House and Senate, Republicans and Democrats, automakers and auto drivers, 54.5 miles per gallon (MPG) is now the law. Many are already driving cars with better than 54 MPG thanks to innovative programs from Zipcar, Enterprise, Hertz, car2go, and other car sharing providers.
It’s never been easier to get into an electric car and drive away. I hold my Drive Now card to the window of this BMW ActiveE, the car unlocks and I take the driver’s seat. I type in my 4-digit passcode, touch Start, shift into Drive and away I go. Today, BMW has added 70 of its electric cars to a unique car-sharing program in San Francisco. I drive a dozen blocks to a parking garage near a meeting at the Marriott. I park the car, log-off with a push of the button, use my membership card to lock the car and I’m done.
California is the leading state for the early adoption of electric cars. California is the first state with 10,000 electric cars. These California EVs are primarily charged in home garages, but their range is extended with 2,000 installed charge points. By 2014, 50,000 electric cars will be on California roads supported by 10,000 charged points.
2013 Ford C-Max Energi is a crossover with more room than many small SUVs, 95 mpg, a range of 550 miles because it is a plug-in hybrid, and the ability to make many trips in electric mode only using a garage charge. It starts at $29,995 after federal tax credit. In this review we compare this new electric car with the Chevrolet Volt and Toyota Prius Plug-in….