For years now Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, has been talking about building a less expensive electric car, one that everyone (that is, everyone with $30,000) can afford. The goal was to keep the price low and go at least 200 miles on a charge. And now it has come true. The only problem is Tesla […]
Ford Fusion Energi – Time For a Second L
In 2013 Ford introduced the Fusion Hybrid and shortly after the Fusion Energi. Unfortunately for the Fusion Energi it’s release was buried by the over-hyped story about the Fusion and C-MAX Hybrids not meeting their posted EPA mileage estimates (an issue caused as much by the EPA as by Ford). Now that a couple of […]
Nissan 2013 Leaf S – Boring But Good
For 2013 Nissan made one big change to the Leaf. They lowered its price. A lot. Nissan accomplished this monetary miracle by moving production of the Leaf to the United States and by adding a new, stripped down version, the “S”, to the model lineup. So whats the S like? Mostly boring. But boring can […]
BMW i3 – Is It Worth The Wait?
As the cost of gas in Germany rises to over €1.60 per liter ($8.00 per US gallon) it is no surprise that BMW and other European manufacturers are ramping up to manufacture electric cars. While gas prices aren’t nearly as high in the United States as in Germany (or Europe in general) electric car sales […]
I. Can’t. Wait. The 2014 Cadillac ELR
Problem – the Chevy Volt isn’t selling like it should. Solution – re-skin the Volt and call it a Cadillac. That’s what some people think General Motors is up to… take a Chevy Volt, give it a new skin and rebadge it as a Cadillac ELR. Thankfully it appears the ELR is more different from […]
2014 Chevy Spark EV Preview
Does the world need another small electric car? Apparently GM thinks so as coming in late Summer of 2013 to a few states and Canada is the all new Chevy Spark EV. Based on the platform of the gas powered Spark released last year, the Spark EV is General Motors first true electric vehicle. The […]
Mitsubishi i-MiEV – The Forgotten Electr
While everyone was talking about the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf, the forgotten manufacturer, Mitsubishi, quietly worked on its own electric car, the i-MiEV (the name seems more like one of Einstein’s formulas than the name of a car). While Nissan got a ton of press when the Leaf was released early this year, […]
Ford Focus Electric Preview
The first electric car in Ford’s long history is the Focus Electric. The Focus Electric starts at $39,200 — almost the same price as the Chevy Volt. Unlike the Volt, the Focus Electric does not have an auxiliary gas engine to power the electric motor if the battery dies. This means potential Focus buyers, like Nissan […]
2012 Nissan Leaf Review
The Good: It’s electric. Quick response, no emissions, no gas (no gas stations), good ride, good handling and visibility. Unbelievably quiet at low speeds. The Bad: It’s electric. If your battery dies you aren’t going anywhere until it’s recharged. And the Leaf is expensive; currently the base price is $35,200 minus rebates. The Ugly: It […]
2012 Chevy Volt Review
The Good: Very high mpg, very quiet ride, comfortable front seats, and good handling. The Bad: Unless you already own a hybrid, you may find the dashboard displays confusing. After years of waiting the Chevy Volt is finally available to the buying public. The question is, will the public buy it? There is no doubt […]