Posts Tagged electric vehicle

Toyota Finally Venturing Into Lithium-Ion Batteries, In a Big Way!

Posted by Benji Jerew in Car industry, Electric Vehicles, Energy Storage, Hybrid vehicles on May 21, 2013

Toyota’s hybrid electric vehicles look like their going to get a boost in power and efficiency in the next few years as they make the switch to lithium-ion battery technology. Nickel-Metal Hydride [NiMH] rechargeable battery technology has been around for years, is exceptionally reliable, and has been the mainstay of Toyota’s hybrid electric vehicle program [...]

Tesla Model S “Performance Plus” Package For Handling and Efficiency

Posted by Benji Jerew in Electric Vehicles on May 6, 2013

I would never have thought the Tesla Model S ought to handle like a McLaren MP4-12C, but the comment apparently got Elon Musk thinking. When Elon Musk starts thinking about something, it usually ends up turning into something tangible, such as the now-available Performance Plus package. The package adds $6,500 to the Tesla Model S [...]

3D Hall Effect Sensor Improves Electric Vehicle Battery Management

Posted by Benji Jerew in Electric Vehicles, Energy Storage on May 3, 2013

The traction battery in an electric vehicle is actually made up of thousands of individual cells, over 7,000 in the case of the Tesla Model S 85kWh. Battery management systems [BMS] are just as critical to electric vehicle performance and range as is battery technology. After all, a battery is only as strong as its [...]

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 [...]

The Future of Automobiles, Gasoline vs Electric Vehicles

Posted by Benji Jerew in Car industry on April 15, 2013

After reading an article on Edmunds.com on the future of automobiles, the internal combustion engine vs the electric vehicle, I have to wonder who’s pocket the story really came out of. The story was published today and has an honest-to-goodness ridiculous title “Why the Internal Combustion Engine is the Future – EVs Have a Lot [...]

Leaf or Juke: Which Nissan Costs More to Own?

Posted by Benji Jerew in Car industry, Electric Vehicles on April 8, 2013

Quick, does an electric vehicle cost more than a gasoline vehicle? Look up automobile prices anywhere and you could give me a quick answer and say which which one costs more up front, but that’s only a small part of the story. We have to add in refueling, maintenance, depreciation, environmental impact, public health, and [...]

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 [...]

IMA Colibri Single Seater Electric Vehicle Could Cost Just 10,000€

Posted by Benji Jerew in Electric Vehicles on March 7, 2013

Pay attention the next time you are on the road and then think how much sense a single seater electric vehicle like the IMA Colibri would make. It’s a short range electric vehicle, unique, and could be available as soon as 2015. The reason I mentioned looking at our roads today is because we don’t [...]

Toyota i-Road Concept: Short Range Electric Tricycle

Posted by Benji Jerew in Electric Vehicles on March 6, 2013

While motorcycles may appeal to the spirit of freedom or the fuel conscious, there will always be those who can’t get over the fact there’s only two wheels, so check out the Toyota i-Road concept, an electric three-wheeler. Maybe we’re getting tired of i-things, but the i-Road is a little different, and at least it [...]

Zero Motorcycles Provide E-Bikes for Law Enforcement

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

In talking about electric vehicles, we realize they’re quiet, and that’s a nice thought, being able to pull into your driveway late at night without waking the neighbor’s dog. Usually, this is where discussion of the acoustics of an electric vehicle ends, and then we talk about more important things like range, recharging, and reliability. [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]