electric vehicles

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Falling Gas Prices Could Put Electric Car Back in Neutral

Surge got automakers in gear, but economic downturn makes new projects tougher

(Newser) - Car companies are revving up work on alternative energy vehicles, responding to higher oil prices that, well, don’t actually exist just now. New cars take about 5 years to roll out, meaning the auto industry can’t nimbly react to price changes: Oil, which cost $130 a barrel just...

Chrysler Goes Electric
 Chrysler Goes Electric 
Sep 23, 2008 12:20 PM CDT

Chrysler Goes Electric

Firm to offer hybrid and pure-electric models in 2010

(Newser) - Chrysler is hopping on Detroit's belated eco-friendly bandwagon, a source tells the Wall Street Journal, with a full stable of electric cars and trucks that it plans to market starting in late 2010. While most of the planned models are hybrids, at least one will be a fully electric car...

Volt's Looks Kill Some GM Buzz
 Volt's Looks Kill Some GM Buzz 
Sep 16, 2008 1:58 PM CDT

Volt's Looks Kill Some GM Buzz

Plug-in electric car finally unveiled today; production model too ordinary for some fans

(Newser) - GM offered its first official look today at the plug-in Chevrolet Volt, CNNMoney reports, the electric car slated to go on sale in 2010. Its tame appearance drew the ire of gearheads hoping it would look more like the futuristic concept version. "A lot of people are saying they're...

GM Rolls Out Volt Tomorrow; Hopes for Game-Changer

Automaker sees battery-powered car as turning point for company, Detroit

(Newser) - General Motors will unveil its new Chevy Volt tomorrow, hoping that the battery-operated car will reverse its long reputation as a gas-guzzling industry dinosaur and attract devotees of competitors' hybrids, reports the Wall Street Journal. GM hopes the Volt, a lithium-ion-powered car due to hit the market in 2010, can...

SUV Apocalypse Nears
 SUV Apocalypse Nears
Aug 17, 2008 10:04 AM CDT

SUV Apocalypse Nears

Sales fall off as Americans opt for leaner, greener cars

(Newser) - America’s obsession with super-size cars seems to be running out of gas. The Daily Green reports on the seven signs of the SUV apocalypse:
  1. The numbers: Sales of small cars were up 11% in the first half of the year, while SUV and truck sales were down by 14%
...

Small Dips in Gas Prices Send Drivers Back to SUVs

Consumers viewing fuel efficiency as 'one factor' again

(Newser) - Oil prices have been falling since mid-June, and though it’s debatable whether speculators or market fundamentals drove the boom (and now possible bust), it is clear that $4 a gallon gas crimped demand. But for how long? With prices now again below that psychological threshold but still $1.19...

Cute EV Coming to Cali
 Cute EV
 Coming to Cali
Aug 8, 2008 4:43 AM CDT

Cute EV Coming to Cali

Mitsubishi is bringing the i MiEV

(Newser) - Mitsubishi is sending some of its new i MiEV electric cars for testing in California, Wired reports. The Japanese company has signed deals with two Golden State power companies to add a few of the nimble jellybean-shaped vehicles to their fleets for a three-year demonstration.

Even Texas Is Going Electric
 Even Texas Is Going Electric
Jul 31, 2008 1:08 PM CDT

Even Texas Is Going Electric

Gas costs make 'golf carts' smart choices

(Newser) - High gas prices are forcing Americans to seriously pursue other transportation options—even in Texas, the heart of oil country. Chrysler’s Global Electric Motorcar division, which sells tiny, utilitarian vehicles, has seen dealerships triple sales. The Wall Street Journal visits a Texas family that’s embraced the cost-efficiency of...

Let Innovators Light Way Out of Energy Crisis

Washington should learn from entrepreneurs

(Newser) - As oil-addicted America looks to its energy future, the nation would be wise to follow in the footsteps of two innovators offering straightforward solutions to the crisis, writes Thomas L. Friedman in the New York Times. “The Jewish Henry Ford” has a plan to turn Israel on to electric...

GM, Utilities Join to Speed Plug-Ins

Three-dozen utilities agree to help integrate electric cars with their grids

(Newser) - General Motors and three dozen electric utilities in nearly 40 states have agreed to work together on the transition to plug-in electric vehicles that are expected to begin rolling out within 2 years, the Wall Street Journal reports. With GM’s Chevy Volt and Saturn Vue  expected to hit the...

BMW to Zap Calif. With 500 Electric Minis

Test will comply with state law requiring automakers to offer no-emission vehicles

(Newser) - BMW will roll out an electric model of its iconic Mini in California, which has mandated that automakers in the state must offer no-emission alternatives, reports Automotive News. The cars will be mostly assembled in BMW's England plant, but sent to Munich for electric powertrains. The initial 500 electric Minis...

Volt Could Spark GM Bailout
 Volt Could Spark GM Bailout 
OPINION
Jul 2, 2008 8:32 AM CDT

Volt Could Spark GM Bailout

Electric car may be speedy route to green image—and help

(Newser) - GM is about as likely to turn a profit with the Chevy Volt as the Edsel is to make a comeback, Holman W. Jenkins Jr. writes in the Wall Street Journal. But the ailing automaker may be aiming to improve its image rather than sell cars. With the automaker's image...

Uno: Cooler Than Segway
 Uno: Cooler Than Segway 
Jul 1, 2008 3:12 PM CDT

Uno: Cooler Than Segway

One-wheeled 'motorcycle' goes green with electricity—and stylish to boot

(Newser) - Looking like a tricked out motorbike, the Uno is electric personal transportation with style, the Chicago Tribune reports. Designed by 19-year-old inventor Ben Gulak, the device employs no throttle or brake, relying on its rider's leanings to guide it, and is so intuitive an 8-year-old picked it up instantly at...

McCain Offers $300M Prize in Assault on Car Batteries

Republican calls energy security 'the great national challenge of our time'

(Newser) - John McCain today offered a $300 million reward to the American who builds “a battery package that has the size, capacity, cost and power to leapfrog the commercially available plug-in hybrids or electric cars.” He said government had wasted energy money on special interests and failed to punish...

Honda Unveils Hydrogen Car
 Honda Unveils Hydrogen Car 
Jun 16, 2008 9:42 AM CDT

Honda Unveils Hydrogen Car

Emission-free FCX Clarity runs on hydrogen and water

(Newser) - Honda has begun commercial production on the FCX Clarity, an emissions-free car that runs entirely on hydrogen and electricity, the BBC reports. Honda only plans to produce 200 models over the next 3 years, however, expecting the scarcity of hydrogen fueling stations to dampen demand. “In the next few...

GM Gambles All on the Volt
 GM Gambles All on the Volt 
Jun 11, 2008 12:38 PM CDT

GM Gambles All on the Volt

Electric car a massive gamble

(Newser) - The Chevy Volt will either revolutionize cars forever and rocket GM back to the top of the automotive world, or it’ll be an embarrassing disaster that will further cripple the giant. And right now, lots of industry types are betting on the latter. GM is so desperate to get...

Neil Young Steering His '59 Lincoln Green

Hopes to be rockin' the greenie world with electric car prototype

(Newser) - Neil Young has shifted gear in his quest to make the world a better place, reports the AP. The Canadian rock legend known for his protest songs is working with a Wichita mechanic to convert his 1959 Lincoln Continental to run on an electric battery. Young hopes the prototype could...

GM to Close 4 Truck/SUV Plants, Reassess Hummer

Public taste turns away from big cars

(Newser) - GM will close four of its North American truck and SUV factories, the company announced today, as the public interest in gas-guzzlers wanes. The Hummer brand is also under “strategic review,” with all options on the table, "from a complete revamp of the product lineup to a...

Norwegian Electric Car Will Cruise US Streets

Vehicle can log up to 110 miles on single charge

(Newser) - An electric car that can travel up to 110 miles when fully charged will hit select US cities next year, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Think City, from Norwegian automaker Think Global AS, is already on the road in Norway, Sweden and Denmark, and will set American consumers back...

Mayor Vows to Fill SF With Electric Cars

Electric outlets to be as common as cable cars

(Newser) - The streets of San Francisco might not be paved in gold, but they'll soon be clogged with electric cars if Mayor Gavin Newsom has anything to say about it. Newsom is in talks with Project Better Place to fill the city with electric car charging stations, a move that could...

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