Your Personal Energy Independence
New paper explores the connections between electric cars and clean energy, and describes options to accelerate the markets for both.
Electric Cars
2014 Chevrolet Spark EV Electric Car Price under $32,500
The 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV will be priced by GM at less than $32,500 and eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit and added incentives in several states. Now that GM leads electric car sales in the United States with the plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt, it will go after urban dwellers who want a less expensive city EV. Spark EV is the first all-electric vehicle in North America to offer optional SAE Combo DC Fast Charge capability, which can charge the battery to 80 percent of capacity in about 20 minutes.
50 New Cars at LA Auto Show include Hybrid Cars and SUVs
The 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show gives a world debut to 50 vehicles for 2013 from Ford, Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Nissan, Subaru, Chrysler, General Motors, BMW, Fiat, Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Volkswagen. If I could select two cars for Green Car of the Year, they would be the Toyota Prius c and the Ford C-MAX.
Electric Car Sales Increase 228%
Model year 2012 is the year of the green car, with record fleet fuel economy, record high hybrid sales, and a 228% increase in plug-in electric car sales. While it’s true that plug-in electric car sales still represent a very small fraction of total auto sales, model year 2012 saw about 38,000 Americans buying plug-in cars. The Chevy Volt, often described by critics as a failure, falls right in the middle of the pack, outselling half the cars, trucks, and SUVs on the market.
Personal: Electric Car Drivers Free of Range Anxiety
The 50,000 electric car owners in the United States are discovering more range from their electric vehicles. Range anxiety is real, but over played due to 2 car households, public charging, business model and battery innovation, and especially due to the convenience of plug-in hybrids.
No Learning Curve Required with the Toyota’s Smallest Electric Car
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.
Flash Drive: Scion iQ EV
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.
What if You Could Choose Your Fuel?
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?
Toyota Plans 21 New Hybrids and New Electric Cars
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.
Tesla Model S – 12,000 Orders for Electric Car with 265-Mile Range
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.