All the News, Reviews, Guides and Reports on Electric Cars

Electric cars have garnered a lot of media attention in recent months. Some consumers might get the impression that gas-free vehicles will be ready to take global roads by storm in the next year or two. But according to a new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers, production of all-electric vehicles will take another eight to 10 years before reaching the level of today’s hybrid cars.

Carlos Ghosn, CEO of both Nissan and French carmaker Renault, gave the keynote address to kick off the show’s media days. After nodding to the severe financial pressures facing all carmakers in the current market slowdown, he reiterated Nissan’s plans to offer an electric vehicle in the US and Japan in 2010 for commercial customers and large fleets, with showroom sales to consumers in 2012. Ghosn envisions as many as seven million pure electric vehicles being sold around the world by 2020.

After accepting the position of White House chief of staff under Barack Obama, Rep. Rahm Emanuel said, “You don’t ever want a crisis to go to waste. It’s an opportunity to do important things that you would otherwise avoid.” Emanuel was speaking broadly about the economic crisis, but his statement holds even truer for the crisis facing Detroit automakers.

A Chinese carmaker claims it’s pulled off a coup: This month, BYD Auto will sell the world’s first mass-produced plug-in hybrid. But it’s only offered in China, and will likely stay there until Chinese cars are ready for global primetime.

The automotive world appears well on its way to a lithium-powered future. Yet, as the future of lithium continues to grow brighter, some skeptics are presenting concerns that might give pause to those who see this metal as the ideal path away from petroleum-fueled transportation.

GM today downplayed a report in Automotive News, an industry publication, that it would be cutting off nearly all product development spending for the next two years in an effort to trim as much as $1.5 billion in spending. Several planned hybrids are also likely to be victims of the cuts. But the Chevrolet Volt has been spared at this time.

When you imagine plugging an electric or plug-in hybrid car into the wall to recharge, what do you envision in your hand? A standard orange extension cord? Time to change that picture; production electric-drive vehicles will all use a special cord, with a plug and socket on the car end that’s unlike any you’ve seen before. (Photo by Zevotron via flickr creative commons.)

The filmmakers that brought us the acclaimed documentary/murder mystery 'Who Killed the Electric Car?' are now gearing up for a film entitled, 'Revenge of the Electric Car.' Though it may sound like the title of a campy 1970s-style horror pic, it is rather the second documentary from director Chris Paine which centers on the idea of electric-only transportation for the mainstream market.

We’re probably showing our age when we remember Fernwood 2 Night, the 1977 mock talk-show spinoff of classic 1970s comedy series Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. But it wasn’t until we found one of the old clips that we realized: Good lord, the show’s writers anticipated the Tesla Roadster battery by at least 30 years!

Last week, Tesla Motor Company acknowledged that it is losing money, struggling financially, laying off employees, and closing its Detroit-area office. Could the Tesla dream—the creation of an electric car company in the mold of a Silicon Valley start-up—be falling apart? Elon Musk, the company’s primary funder and now its CEO is unwilling to let that happen. No matter the cost.