Only the coolest of the cool can tempt Jay Leno out of his garage. This week he makes a road trip to Monterey to see the Porsche 918 Spyder, a plug-in roadster that embodies the highest of tech and speed. Porsche gave us a sneak peek at the prototype back in April. This is the final production… Read more »
Search Results Found For: "total"
Plug In America research: Tesla Roadster battery longevity exceeds projections
By Tom Saxton, Chief Science Officer, Plug In America Many current and prospective electric vehicle owners are curious to better understand battery pack longevity. There’s plenty of technical data on how batteries lose capacity with use, but a lot of that testing subjects the batteries to extreme and rapid charge/discharge cycles, very unlike the much gentler use… Read more »
Foothill Transit orders 12 more Proterra electric buses
In 2011, Foothill Transit, a transportation authority in Southern California, became the first transit agency in the US to use on-route charging electric buses when it began a pilot program using buses from South Carolina firm Proterra. Based on strong performance and return on investment of those vehicles, the agency has now decided to purchase… Read more »
Advanced battery testing and development hub opens in Indiana
The Battery Innovation Center (BIC), a hub for advanced battery testing and development, opened this week in Newberry, Indiana. The 32,000-square-foot facility will serve as a center for research and development, prototyping and contract manufacturing for industrial, academic and military customers. BIC members include corporate, academic and government entities such as AeroVironment, Eaton, Purdue University… Read more »
Electric car sharing takes off in Paris, stalls in Berlin
Some see car sharing as a killer app for EVs – users make short journeys, return the cars to central locations, and pay per trip, so they don’t have to worry about high up-front costs. Others are more skeptical, pointing out that some customers are non-car owners who want to use shared cars to get… Read more »
Leonine Volvo plug-in coupé to prowl in Frankfurt
Volvo’s Concept Coupé, which will debut at September’s Frankfurt Auto Show, is the first of a series of three concept cars that will use the company’s new Scalable Product Architecture (SPA). So far, Volvo’s announcements about the new concept have featured plenty of braggadocio… “Think about the powerful calmness of a lion. He doesn’t have… Read more »
ARPA-E awarding $36 million to 22 projects in RANGE program to improve EV batteries
When the DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) announced its Robust Affordable Next Generation EV-Storage (RANGE) program in February, it envisioned doling out $20 million in research funding to 8- 12 recipients with the goal of developing a better EV battery. Now the agency has announced the recipients of the awards, and both… Read more »
EVs take 1.1% of California auto market
EV sales have cracked the whole-digit mark for the first time. Battery electric vehicles accounted for 1.1% of new vehicle sales in California in the first half of 2013, according to California Auto Outlook, a publication of the California New Car Dealers Association. Hybrids took 7% of the market, up from 6.2% in 2012, while… Read more »
Grocery chain tests 18-ton Swiss-built electric truck
Coop, Switzerland’s second-largest grocery store chain, and Feldschlösschen, one of the country’s largest beer brewers, have launched a pilot of a locally-built 18-ton electric truck. Coop and Feldschlösschen will test the e-truck on delivery routes in the Zürich region through the end of 2013. If it proves satisfactory, the companies plan to put more into… Read more »
2014 Volt MSRP to drop five grand
The eagerly awaited 2014 Volt will have no changes from the 2013 model, except for a couple of new colors – and a $5,000 price cut. The new sticker price will be $34,995, including an $810 destination charge. The 2014s have already begun shipping from GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant, and will arrive in showrooms within… Read more »