Posts Tagged electric car

First U.S. Speed Offense Done by Electric Taxi in 1899

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Electric Vehicles on April 24, 2013

Believe it or not, even though gasoline is the fuel on whose basis speed tickets are being issued nowadays, the first speeding offense was done in an electric car… 114 years ago, on May 20, in New York. Jacob German, a taxi driver in a leased electric taxi (see photo) did the astounding speed of [...]

Electrified Vehicles 25% of Ford’s Sales by 2020

Posted by Benji Jerew in Car industry, Electric Vehicles on March 25, 2013

With the adoption of increasingly strict emissions laws, automakers are turning to electrified vehicles to push emissions down and increase fuel efficiency. According to the recent Corporate Average Fuel Economy [CAFE] laws passed in November, automakers will have to be producing vehicles that emit no more than 163g/mi of carbon dioxide. If this were to [...]

Renault ZOE Pricing Options Revealed, Now Taking Orders

Posted by Benji Jerew in Electric Vehicles on March 22, 2013

Now that the Renault ZOE prices and options have been revealed, we’ll see how Renault’s gamble developing its fourth electric vehicle pays off. We first saw a concept of the Renault ZOE, a subcompact electric vehicle, in 2009. We didn’t see it again until the 2012 Paris Motor Show, where it was crowned “Best Green [...]

Gas and Electric Vehicle Charging Stations, History Repeating

Posted by Benji Jerew in Car industry, Electric Vehicles on March 14, 2013

If you think about it carefully, gas stations and electric vehicle charging stations are very similar in their development over time. Automobile infrastructure history is repeating itself. We’ve all heard the complaints about electric vehicles, “They have limited range,” and “Electric vehicle charging stations are too far apart.” Go back eighty years, and you’d hear [...]

Breaking News: Founder Henrik Fisker Resigns from Fisker Automotive

Posted by Benji Jerew in Car industry, Electric Vehicles on March 13, 2013

Founded in 2007, Fisker Automotive has had a hard time getting up to speed, and today one of the founders, Henrik Fisker, resigns his post as executive chairman. What seemed to start out as a good idea, an electric vehicle with an onboard backup generator, or extended range electric vehicle, hasn’t turned out to be [...]

GM VP Sparks Speculation: Next Chevy Volt With Smaller Battery?

Posted by Benji Jerew in Car industry on March 8, 2013

Everyone likes to have options, so could the next Chevy Volt have different battery options to change the price? Of course, the Chevy Volt is only available in one configuration, but wouldn’t be nice to be able to get it customized? The only reason we bring this up is because of a recent AutoExpress interview [...]

Tesla Model S Owners Successfully Recreate Broder’s “Failed” Trip

Posted by Benji Jerew in Electric Vehicles on February 19, 2013

After CNN did the story where one of their reporters successfully finished the famous “Broder” trip in a Tesla Model S, now a pack of actual owners want to defend its reputation, too. I would say that this is adding more fuel to the fire, but that just doesn’t make any sense, considering that the [...]

If Tesla Model S Isn’t, Can Electric Vehicles Be Affordable and Viable?

Posted by Benji Jerew in Car industry, Electric Vehicles on February 18, 2013

The recent media squall stirred up by The New York Times’ review of the Tesla Model S has focused mainly on battery range and recharging times. These are nearly the most important capabilities that determine whether an electric vehicle is a viable replacement for a conventional vehicle. While most of the reviews and customer testimonials [...]

Tesla Model S Review by CNN Reporter Proves John Broder is Wrong

Posted by Benji Jerew in Electric Vehicles on February 18, 2013

CNN Money’s Peter Valdez-Dapena does a Tesla Model S review by taking the car on the same road trip as John Broder, proving his accusations about poor battery performance are WRONG. Here at The Green Optimistic, we like the Tesla Model S. It’s a beautiful car, drives nice and quiet, and depending on what part [...]

EPA Ratings – Your EV Mileage May Vary

Posted by Benji Jerew in Electric Vehicles on February 12, 2013

We have all seen or at least heard the phrase, “Your mileage may vary,” and it has much more to do with the driver than anything else. We recently covered an interesting test drive that Edmunds.com puts all their test vehicles through, a 105.5 mile real-world test track otherwise referred to as the One Lap [...]

First Electric Driving School Car in UK is a Nissan LEAF

Posted by Benji Jerew in Electric Vehicles, Green Policy on February 5, 2013

Nissan LEAF electric vehicle [EV], we know, it a great little car. It’s a decent size for a family of four, but is also fuel efficient enough to use as a commuter. With a 73-mile EPA-estimated range, or 83 miles as tested by Edmunds.com, the Nissan LEAF is finding its way into people’s garages, the [...]

Kite-Powered Electric Vehicle Sets Three World Records in Trek Across Australia

Posted by Leigh Kim in Wind Power on February 5, 2013

Evonik, a New Jersey company that has been developing lithium-ion batteries for Daimler for the past 5 years, has developed a record-breaking electric vehicle that employs kite power as its main energy source. Astonishingly, during tests, the electric car drove 3000 miles across the entirety of Australia only using self-contained wind power. Evonik claims the [...]

Cost Per Mile of Driving – Electric vs Conventional

Posted by Benji Jerew in Electric Vehicles, Green Policy on February 4, 2013

In any venture involving the exchange of money, it is often advisable to hire an analyst to perform a “Cost-Benefit Analysis,” which compares the amount of money you’d spend to what kind of returns you can expect. Such analysis helps companies stay in the black when they’re considering expansion, or purchase of a new technology. [...]

Toyota i-ROAD Concept Sneak Blink – Geneva Motor Show

Posted by Benji Jerew in Electric Vehicles on February 4, 2013

Toyota’s always played its concept cards pretty close to the chest, and this year’s entries at the Geneva Motor Show are no different, especially the world-premiere of the i-ROAD. Toyota innovation doesn’t always look pretty, but giving its engineers a playground, to test even the whackiest ideas, sometimes leads to new vehicles and features that [...]

Edmunds.com Talks About Their Real-World EV Testing

Posted by Benji Jerew in Car industry, Electric Vehicles, Hybrid vehicles on February 1, 2013

We’ve been trained to look at the Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] sticker on any vehicle we’re considering buying. Important information there helps us make our purchasing decision, especially if fuel economy is important to us. The fuel economy numbers, both on the window sticker or on the EPA website, fueleconomy.gov, are for most, a fairly [...]