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VIDEO: A ride in the Renovo supercoupe, and a chat with CEO Chris Heiser

Silicon Valley startup Renovo Motors made quite a splash at the recent Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance with its prototype supercar. A new video includes an interesting interview with Renovo’s CEO Chris Heiser, delivered during a tantalizing test drive. Yahoo! Autos’ Justin Hyde points out that over 20 would-be EV-makers have failed in the past decade… Read more »

Volkswagen announces pricing for e-Golf

Volkswagen has announced that the 2015 e-Golf will have a starting price of $35,445 (plus $820 destination charge) when it goes on sale in selected US states in November. The new EV will also lease for $299 per month. Prices for the competing Nissan LEAF range from $29,010 to $35,120; the Ford Focus Electric starts at… Read more »

Tesla confident that Gigafactory can hit the magic number: $100/kWh

Tesla’s Gigafactory will mark a milestone in American manufacturing – to put it in trendier language, it’s going to be a game-changer. This is already obvious to readers of the EV press, and it’s starting to sink in among the mainstream media. The investing pundits of the Motley Fool have parsed some of Tesla’s statements… Read more »

Musk: Highly satisfied Tesla owners’ suggestions will be implemented soon

Most folks who have comments about a product send an email to customer service. However, Model S owners are no ordinary consumers. A pair describing themselves as “two VERY highly satisfied Tesla owners from Southold, New York” took out a full-page ad in the Palo Alto Daily, thanking “automotive visionary” Elon Musk for building “the… Read more »

Infineon to acquire International Rectifier, pioneer in wide-bandgap semiconductors

Infineon Technologies (OTC: IFNNF), Germany’s largest chipmaker, will acquire California-based International Rectifier (NYSE: IRF) for $40 per share in a $3 billion deal. International Rectifier specializes in power-management semiconductors. Particularly attractive to Infineon is IRF’s expertise in gallium nitride on silicon (GaN) semiconductors. According to Bloomberg, the acquisition will solidify Infineon’s position in GaN discretes… Read more »

Increase the power output of your Volvo V60 PHEV with this new optimization package

Polestar, Volvo’s racing and tuning partner, has announced a new upgrade package for the V60 D6 Plug-in Hybrid (which, sadly, isn’t available in the US). The Polestar Performance package adds an extra 15 hp and 22 lb-ft of torque, bringing total output up to 298 hp and 494 lb-ft. The enhanced V60 is the most… Read more »

A123 names Patrick Hurley as its new Chief Technology Officer

A123 Systems, the Massachusetts battery-maker now owned by Chinese giant Wanxiang, has hired former Johnson Controls executive Patrick Hurley as its Chief Technology Officer. Hurley will lead the company’s R&D arm, A123 Venture Technologies, and will also be responsible for integrating A123’s battery development in China. The change is part of the compnay’s move away… Read more »

$55 million in new federal funding for vehicle R&D, 19 EV projects

The DOE has announced $55 million in new funding for 31 projects to accelerate R&D of vehicle technologies to improve fuel efficiency and reduce costs. 19 of the new projects are aimed at meeting the goals of the EV Everywhere Grand Challenge, which seeks to make the US auto industry the first to produce plug-in… Read more »

VIDEO: New California startup builds $529,000 electric super-coupe

Updated 8/18/2014 11:45 AM EST to include pricing details. It seems Tesla’s not the only company building EVs in Silicon Valley these days. Campbell-based Renovo Motors, which has operated in “stealth mode” for four years, has just taken the wraps off its new electric supercar. The Renovo Coupe is an electrified version of the classic… Read more »

Two news outlets report Model S reliability issues, Tesla raises warranty to 8 years

Few cars have received as many rave reviews as the Tesla Model S. Since its launch, just about every media outlet that covers cars has sung the praises of the luxury EV – many named it Car of the Year, and some bestowed even grander titles. Recently however, two of the most respected auto industry… Read more »