Tesla has not always had an easy time breaking new ground in the electric roadster market. There have been plenty of hiccups along the way, and it doesn’t help that their first production vehicle costs well north of $100,000. That is, unless you live in Colorado.
The state best known for its snowy peak and undefeated football team (boooo Broncos) also offers a substantial tax break on all hybrid and electric vehicles. For the Tesla Roadster, that amounts to an amazing $42,000 off of the $109,000 car.
Gasoline is a nasty thing. When we burn it we foul the air with pollutants and when we import it we cause economic and political problems. So we’re interested in switching to electricity as a fuel – are we ready?
There is no question that today’s EVs and all those planned by the automakers for the next few years are great for commuting. Whether driving a Tesla Roadster, a BMW Mini-E, a plug-in Prius, or a vintage Toyota Rav4/EV, you’ve got a great vehicle for our average daily drive of 29 miles. Just plug it in when you go to bed at night and plug it in at work if you have the opportunity, and you’ll be a happy camper.
“Remarkably Unremarkable” has been the phrase of choice when describing how the Chevy Volt prototype drives.
And that’s really a compliment, since the car was engineered for consumers who won’t accept compromise, even for a an electric car.
I got a chance to drive the Chevy Volt prototype on June 8th, and although the test model was still housed under a Chevrolet Cruze skin, it gave me a good feeling for what the final version will be like.
Chevy Volt Test Drive
The interior of the Cruze doesn’t do the car justice, at least in terms of space and aesthetics. The center divider seemed poorly fitted for the Volt’s T-shaped battery pack that runs the length of the car (which also precludes a 5th seat in the prototype and final versions). Frank Weber, who accompanied me on the the 45-minute drive, said that everything about the interior would change for production.
Editor’s Note: This is Dalton Wignall’s first contribution to Gas 2.0. Welcome Dalton!
Last Saturday, a rather low key ceremony inaugurated a new high-voltage charging station for electric vehicles. The station is located at the Gateway Center in east Woodland California.
It’s said to be the “most complete” charging station in the country, with two units that are capable of recharging electric vehicles in roughly an hour. Hopefully, the facility will set an example and give way to future possibilities for charging stations.
In honor of the inauguration, six Tesla Roadsters were brought to the charging station by Tesla Motors representatives. The Tesla roadsters are capable of traveling up to 250 miles on a single electric charge and go 0-60 in a speedy 4 seconds.
Think a Ferrari is fast? Watch one get schooled below.
Electric cars are no joke. Yes, it’s true that many EVs are small, ungainly-looking oddities, but the other end of the spectrum—the realm of high-performance supercars—might surprise you.
After re-discovering a 1972 electric datsun that can accelerate from 0-60 in 3 seconds, we decided that an important question hadn’t really been answered yet: how do the electric cars we’ve been hearing so much about stack up in terms of performance?
Below, we’ve listed the world’s top 10 fastest electric cars, based on the best available information (and a little creative license). Note that our criteria does not take into account a variety of important factors like charging time, availability, and cost. All cars are simply ranked by the time it takes them to get from 0-60 mph.
Most of the machines shown here are either not available or otherwise out out of the realm of possibility for most, but then again, so are most high-performance gas-powerd cars. And that doesn’t keep us from admiring them. Please keep in mind that this post is not intended to be the final word on this topic.
Editor’s Note: This list represents the ten “best” electric and plug-in hybrid cars (as I see them) coming out in the next two years, but, after that initial culling, this list has been organized by release date, not preference.
With the onslaught of electric concepts and announcements coming out of the 2009 Detroit Auto Show, you’d think that the entire world is about to junk their old jalopies and rush out and buy electric cars tomorrow.
But, alas, as much as millions of Americans would love to pay 3 cents a mile on their daily commutes, our choices for electric cars are, at the moment, severely lacking.
Although the promise of the 2009 Detroit Auto Show reeks of desperation, it’s not all smoke and mirrors. Believe it or not, there are a bunch of noteworthy electric cars, both all-battery and extended range plug-ins, reaching US production sometime in the next two years.
So, if you’ve got the time to wait and you find yourself longing for the cheapest, quietest, and most earth-friendly commute you could imagine, take a gander at this list… electric bliss is closer than you probably thought.
The Tesla Roadster is much touted as the crown jewel of electric cars, but this video shows the tiny electric commuter car completely smoking a Tesla at Infineon Raceway late last month.
Gearing up for an offical public debut at the 2009 North American International Auto Show next month, Fisker Automotive has released photos of what they’re calling the final production version of the Fisker Karma luxury plug-in hybrid electric sedan set to start rolling of the production line at the end of next year.
After the big three Detroit auto makers essentially had their rear-ends handed to them in a bag by Washington politicians last week, they have been scrambling to find ways to get the money they feel they need to stay alive — and their proposed solutions are making Tesla cringe.
Last year, when the US congress passed the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA), a $25 billion fund called the “Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Incentive Program” (ATVM) was established to help new and existing auto makers re-tool their operations to bring next generation car technologies to market quickly. Just this month, the program started accepting applications for funds from interested parties.
At least one of the highly touted alternative car start-ups is expanding in the face of an economic meltdown.
Fisker Automotive yesterday announced (PDF) the opening of a 34,000 square foot Engineering and Development Center in Pontiac, Michigan, that will house up to 200 engineers and designers in support of Fisker’s much anticipated plug-in hybrid car, the four-door Fisker Karma.
