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California: While Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger worries about rising seas, his state sinks below the waves. Don't mess with Texas, they say. But California and the nation could follow its lead. Last Wednesday, Gov. Schwarzenegger released a new report based on research compiled by the California Energy Commission claiming that by 2100 San Francisco Bay would be more bay than San Francisco, with Fisherman's Wharf and Treasure Island under the rising waters of climate change. His show-and-tell, which included a new Google Earth application the commission spent $150,000 to help develop, goes a long way toward explaining the once-Golden State's slide...

Last winter when Chrysler was groveling and crying about having to go bankrupt the Obama Administration took control of the company and struck a deal to justify putting $12.5 B of our tax money in its bank accounts. Chrysler promised it would produce a 500,000 vehicle fleet of practical “electric” cars in just four model years! Chrysler was merely the United Auto Workers’ bagman. Chrysler got our money then funneled it to the very unions that are killing the American auto industry. Last week these thieves quietly announced the end of the “electric car” scam which they knew was a...

DETROIT – Chevrolet affirms its commitment to fuel solutions and building refined, eco-friendly vehicles with the debut of the U.S. production version of the Cruze sedan at the Los Angeles Auto Show, on Dec. 2. The Cruze, along with the much-anticipated Volt electric vehicle, will give visitors to the L.A. show a close-up view of Chevrolet’s expanding lineup of gas-friendly to gas-free products. “With expected highway fuel economy up to 40 miles per gallon, Cruze will be extremely gas friendly while the Volt electric vehicle can be operated gas-free," said Brent Dewar, vice president, Chevrolet. “Chevrolet's focus is on forward-looking...

Japan's auto giant Nissan unveils the new concept vehicle "Land Glider", a tandem-ride ultra light weight electric vehicle with a narrow body at the company's design center at Atsugi city in Kanagawa prefecture, suburban Tokyo on September 25, 2009 for a preview of the Tokyo Motor Show. The Land Glider can shift the center of gravity by leaning its body like a motorcycle. The Tokyo Motor Show starts October 23.

It may not give you 'The Drive of Your Life', as its makers Peugeot may try to claim, but the latest micro electric car is creating huge excitement in the automotive industry. The Peugeot BB1, a cross between a scooter and a car, is powered by two electric motors which are mounted in the rear wheels. Inspired by Peugeot’s electric VLV from the 1940s, the new all-electric BB1 represents the car firm’s view for the future of electrical-based urban mobility. The Peugeot BB1, a cross between a scooter and a car, is powered by two electric motors which are mounted...

Taking the “Green Car Challenge” on Thursday night’s Jay Leno Show, a svelte Rush Limbaugh -- declining to don a helmet -- hopped into the electric Ford Focus on Leno’s track behind his NBC studio in Burbank, but instead of driving around the hanging cut outs of Al Gore and Ed Begley Jr., Limbaugh ran right into them. Then, to Leno’s cries of “Oh, c’mon!”, a delighted Limbaugh accepted the penalty against his time score and stopped, backed up and smashed into them again. Limbaugh’s maneuvering ensured a lower score (greater time) than the three previous contestants since Leno’s show...

Fisker Automotive, a California manufacturer of luxury electric vehicles, will receive more than $500 million in federal loans to develop a plug-in hybrid sports car with a sticker price of nearly $90,000 and a new plug-in hybrid vehicle... The Energy Department said Tuesday it would lend $528.7 million to Fisker... "This investment will create thousands of new American jobs and is another critical step in making sure we are positioned to compete for the clean energy jobs of the future," said Energy Secretary Steven Chu. He estimated it would save or create about 5,000 jobs. Fisker, launched in 2007, is...

Electric Car Drag Racing: Video and Poll: Would You Attend?

GM killed the beautiful electric street cars! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_NcwTbpIDQ You see them all over Europe; but who killed all the electric street cars in America? Answer: GM – The same people you bailed out this year with billions upon billions of free tax payer money! Criminal conspiracy chargers were pressed resulting in a fine of one dollar. Meanwhile, places that lost their street cars like LA, will need 150 billion to replace just a small portion of the electric street car system! How beautiful the world would be if the USA wasn’t run by elites who legally bribe their politicians. I...

Honda Motor Co. plans to introduce electric vehicles in the U.S. early next decade, joining a growing number of automakers vying for the lead in clean technology development, local media reported Saturday. Japan's second-biggest car maker, which has focused on gas-electric hybrids so far, is building an all-electric prototype to be unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show in October, according to the Nikkei financial newspaper. It said Honda would begin sales of electric vehicles in the United States in the first half of the decade. A Honda spokesman said the Tokyo-based company has begun to develop electric vehicles, but has...

General Motors announced with great fanfare last week that its new Chevy Volt will get 230 miles per gallon. Not to be outdone, Nissan quickly announced that its new electric car, the Leaf, will get 367 mpg. If you believe that, we have a couple of auto companies in Detroit to sell you. The car companies are using the Environmental Protection Agency's draft methodology to figure out their fantastical mileage numbers. The hitch is that mpg estimates measure the efficiency of engines that run on petroleum. In an era of electric cars -- when vehicles supposedly won't be propelled by...

The Chevrolet Volt's 230 mpg number continues to be questioned. The latest to criticize is Bill Ford, who takes issue not only with the General Motors-approved 230 figure, but also Nissan's claim that its Leaf EV will get 367 mpg. The real culprit here, Ford said, is the EPA's methodology, which he argues is meaningless. "This question devolves into madness," Ford reportedly told Green Car Advisor: "The government will have to come up with a meaningful number for customers - a user-friendly label. And I think they will. I can't dispute that number, but I'm not sure it's relevant to...

We live in incoherent times, but maybe someone can explain it to me: How does a $40,000 "economy" car make economic sense? The $40k is the price GM will reportedly charge for its all-electric Volt sedan -- due out in late 2010 as a 2011 model. Unlike current hybrids, which mostly get going on their internal combustion engines -- with their battery packs and electric motors providing a supplemental boost -- the Volt will be propelled entirely by electric motors and batteries. The small onboard gasoline-burning engine is only there to provide the power to charge the batteries. It is...

OK, these ridiculous mpg claims are starting to get out of hand. Earlier this week, General Motors announced an estimated 230 mpg for the upcoming Volt extended-range EV--a claim that was later undermined by the EPA. No doubt attempting to steal a bit of GM's thunder, Nissan claimed (via Twitter) that its upcoming Leaf EV could do better: "Nissan Leaf = 367 mpg, no tailpipe, and no gas required. Oh yeah, and it'll be affordable too!" At first, we thought this was an odd claim to make, seeing that the Leaf is fully electric and (as stated in the same...

Conservation: The Chevy Volt is said to be able to get 230 miles per gallon. That's if it's continually plugged into a fragile and overburdened power grid. Where will you be when the lights go out?The folks at GM, now affectionately known as Government Motors, have made this astounding claim. Before you drive one off the lot, you should read the fine print. Chevrolet's caveat is that this assumes "a Volt driver (will) plug into the electric grid once each day" to get "40 miles of electric-only, petroleum-free driving." That depends on where you live, according to Adam Victor, president...

Conservation: The Chevy Volt is said to be able to get 230 miles per gallon. That's if it's continually plugged into a fragile and overburdened power grid. Where will you be when the lights go out? Since most U.S. electricity generation is not carbon-free, the Congressional Research Service agrees. The "widespread adoption of plug-in hybrid vehicles through 2030 may have only a small effect on, and might actually increase, carbon emissions," it observes. "If you are using coal-fired power plants and half the country's electricity comes from coal powered plants, are you just trading one greenhouse gas emitter for another?"...

One doesn’t usually tune in to the Rachel Maddow show for car reviews, but there is quite a buzz in the media these days about the new General Motors electric car, the Chevrolet Volt, and Maddow doesn’t want to be left behind. Can anyone blame Maddow for being excited? Who wouldn’t be enthused after hearing about GM’s recent announcement that the Volt, which is expected to herald a new dawn for the company when it is released next year, will get the equivalent of a staggering 230 miles-per-gallon! I’ll take two of them! Before you trade in your Prius, however,...

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General Motors Co. predicted Tuesday that its Chevrolet Volt rechargeable electric car will get 230 miles per gallon of gas in city driving. If confirmed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which tests for mileage figures posted on new car stickers, the Volt would be the first car to exceed triple-digit gas mileage, a GM official said. Toyota’s Prius, the most efficient car now sold in the U.S., gets 48 miles per gallon. The Volt is powered by an electric motor and battery pack with a 40-mile range. After that, a small internal combustion engine kicks in to generate electricity...

General Motors has announced the best expected mileage rating for its upcoming Chevrolet Volt electric car. The 230 mile per gallon best-case-scenario rating seems to have stirred up quite an interest in the vehicle. But at the end of the day can the newly semi-nationalized General Motors really turn expect the Volt to turn the companies falling market share around. Will the American public flock to Chevrolet dealerships in record numbers? And...is the 230 miles per gallon, really that cost effective? Considering the facts, the common sense answer to all of those questions is quite simply NO! And here's why...

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The Chevrolet Volt, GM's electric car that's expected to go on sale in late 2010, is projected to get an estimated 230 miles per gallon, the automaker will announce Tuesday.

It's the kind of number that makes you stop and say, "What?!!!!!!!!" 230 miles per gallon. That's the fuel economy GM expects the electric Chevy Volt to deliver when it comes out late next year. The company made the announcement this morning in Detroit and already skeptics, fans, and the general public are debating if the Volt's mega-fuel efficiency will be a "game changer" for the industry and General Motors. My opinion: if the Volt can consistently deliver anything close to that mileage, it will go a long ways toward removing the sting of the expected $40,000 price. The skeptics...

Nearly half of the $2.4 billion in federal grant money awarded Wednesday to stimulate the U.S. economy and boost the production of hybrid and electric vehicles went to six companies with ties to places as far away as Russia, China, South Korea and France. President Obama announced the grants during a visit to Indiana and said the funds would create domestic jobs and instigate more "green" manufacturing in the United States. But because so few American companies have the necessary technology, much of the money will initially go toward manufacturing electric vehicle batteries overseas. Three grants went to General Motors...

President Promotes Stimulus, Says America's Future Will Be 'Fought and Won' in Places Like Elkhart WAKARUSA, Ind. (CBS) ― President Barack Obama speaks on economy at the Monaco Recreational Vehicle plant in Wakarusa, Indiana, on August 5, 2009. Trumpeting a "made in America" message, President Barack Obama on Wednesday unveiled a national investment in electric cars as the latest effort to rebuild an economy that keeps shedding jobs. "We know that, even in the hardest times, against the toughest odds, we have never surrendered. We don't give up," Obama told employees on the steamy factory floor of an RV...

WAKARUSA, Ind.— President Barack Obama brought his latest prescription for recovery Wednesday to this economically ravaged region of northern Indiana, promising to “unleash prosperity for everybody, not just some.” Obama announced that the federal government will distribute $2.4 billion in 48 taxpayer grants to create electric cars and recreational vehicles. The grants will be divided among 25 states. Afterward, the president talked with Chuck Todd, NBC’s political director and chief White House correspondent, who relayed questions submitted by msnbc.com readers. During his address at the old Monaco RV plant here — where 1,400 people were laid off as the company...

WAKARUSA, Ind. (AP) - Trumpeting a "made in America" message, President Barack Obama on Wednesday unveiled a national investment in electric cars as the latest effort to rebuild an economy that keeps shedding jobs. "We don't give up," Obama told employees on the steamy factory floor of Monaco RV in northern Indiana, a region suffering from one of the worst unemployment surges in the nation. Obama's comments amounted to part pep talk, part defense of his economic agenda. In the heart of small-community America, he relied heavily on a pro-American spirit in his remarks. "I'm committed to a strategy that...

Venturing back to a region reeling in deep unemployment, President Barack Obama's latest mission to hard-hit Elkhart County aims to show that his stimulus plan is producing tangible help — $2.4 billion in taxpayer grants to create electric cars and tens of thousands of jobs. At a recreational-vehicle plant in northern Indiana, Obama on Wednesday will announce the grants and try to stabilize American confidence. His stop in Wakarusa, Ind., is part of a concerted economic campaign that also will see Vice President Joe Biden and four Cabinet secretaries holding events in five states. As Congress breaks for the summer,...

Carlos Ghosn resisted hybrids as a costly fad. Now he's betting heavily on electric vehicles--with more than a little help from the government. Like all other auto executives these days, Carlos Ghosn has been pulling in the reins. In February he suspended Nissan Motor's three-year business plan and launched widespread cost cuts, even delaying new products. Even so, Nissan couldn't avoid a $170 million first-quarter net loss, reported in July. But Ghosn, who surprised many with his quick turnaround of the Japanese carmaker a decade ago, has been careful to protect spending for his boldest initiative yet: to lead the...

YOKOHAMA, Japan – Nissan Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn drove quietly out of the Japanese automaker's soon-to-open headquarters Sunday in the first public viewing of its new zero-emission vehicle. It was the first time the external design was shown of Nissan Motor Co.'s environmentally friendly electric automobile, set to go on sale in Japan, the U.S. and Europe next year. The blue hatchback had a sporty design and a recharging opening in the front. Designer Shiro Nakamura said the vehicle was designed to avoid a stereotypical futuristic design. "This is not a niche car," he said. "We didn't make it unusual...

The push for conversion to plug-in electric cars will do nothing to stop carbon emissions, a report by the GAO warns, throwing cold water on a push by Democrats to get more plug-ins on the road. In fact, the problem could be made worse as demand goes up at coal-fired electrical plants. Plus, the need for batteries may just have the US changing the dictators to which we’re chained, as IBD reports...

CARY — A Big Mac with a jolt of juice is on the menu at a new Raleigh-area McDonald's that will be the first in the nation to feature electric car charging stations. The new McDonald's opens Tuesday with two battery charging units for patrons of the restaurant or the nearby shopping center to use free of charge.

Alternative Energy: A government report says reliance on electric cars will do little to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and may merely shift our dependence on foreign sources from one set of dictators to another..."If you are using coal-fired power plants, and half the country's electricity comes from coal-powered plants, are you just trading one greenhouse gas emitter for another?" asks Mark Gaffigan, co-author of the GAO report. The report itself notes: "Reductions in CO2 emissions depend on generating electricity used to charge the vehicles from lower-emission sources of energy."

New technology usually goes on luxury vehicles first. GM chose to make its electric Volt a Chevrolet. Was that wise? This is about the Chevy Volt. Here's the question: If you have a new automotive technology, where do you put it? In low-volume luxury cars, which allows for experimentation and a higher price? Or should new technology go to big-selling, lower cost cars, where you can try for a bases-loaded home run, excite the mass of buyers and score big before imitators can follow? There are examples of both strategies. Automatic transmissions and air conditioning went into expensive cars first....

The silent hum of hybrid petrol-electric vehicles, which recently became number one best-selling cars in Japan, has been deemed dangerous to pedestrians, in particular the visually impaired. When switched from fuel to battery mode, the vehicles make a barely perceptible noise, prompting campaigners to urge the installation of noise devices to prevent accidents. A new government panel of scholars, consumers, police, vision-impaired groups and automobile industry leaders has been formed in Japan to discuss whether the eco-friendly cars should be installed with compulsory noise-making devices. "We have received opinions from automobile users and vision-impaired people that they feel hybrid vehicles...

(CNSNews.com) – The stimulus law enacted in February promoted the purchase of plug-in electric cars by the federal government and the broader market, but a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released this month says that the use of plug-in electric vehicles will not by itself decrease greenhouse gas emissions. To do that, the report argues, the United States would have to switch from coal-burning plants to lower-emission sources to generate electricity such as nuclear power. “If you are using coal fired power plants and half the country’s electricity comes from coal powered plants, are you just trading one greenhouse gas...

Once again, the federal government is handing billions of dollars to auto companies. The last round of loans raised the question of whether General Motors and Chrysler could shake off their creaky ways and survive to pay the money back. The question this time: Can Tesla Motors become enough like one of those old car companies? The latest round of handouts is coming from U.S. Energy Dept. funds to boost development of greener vehicles. The department issued $8 billion in loans on June 23, granting Ford Motor (F) $6 billion, Nissan Motor (NSANY) $1.6 billion, and tiny electric-car startup Tesla...

The myth of the electric car is exploded by the Royal Society of Chemistry in a hard-hitting piece featured in the influential journal Research Fortnight, published today. In it, the RSC chief executive, Dr Richard Pike, says: "...in the UK right now there is a woolly thinking, a lack of scientific scrutiny and, from 2011, a potential waste of £250 million of public money, to subsidise the purchase of over 50,000 vehicles." The article goes on to assert: Carbon emissions advantage of the electric car in today's UK would be small. 50,000 electric cars would lower the total UK carbon...

UYUNI, Bolivia: In the rush to build the next generation of hybrid or electric cars, a sobering fact confronts both automakers and governments seeking to lower their reliance on foreign oil: almost half of the world's lithium, the mineral needed to power the vehicles, is found here in Bolivia - a country that may not be willing to surrender it so easily. Japanese and European companies are busily trying to strike deals to tap the resource, but a nationalist sentiment is building quickly in the government of President Evo Morales, an ardent critic of the United States who has already...

In a move that will help cut oil use and greenhouse gases, at least eight big automakers are gearing up to sell new types of electric cars. GM, for example, plans to sell its Volt in 2010, while China wants to become the world's largest producer of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). And a few entrepreneurs, such as Segway inventor Dean Kamen, are designing novel prototypes. Leading the charge is President Obama. He wants carmakers to put a million PHEVs on US roads by 2015. Advocates of these next-gen cars, however, often act like someone who takes for granted that...

No matter how much Jay Friedland drives his car, he never has to buy gas. Instead, the California resident plugs his Toyota RAV4 EV in to a regular electrical outlet in his garage each night. By morning, the vehicle is recharged and ready to roll. ... There aren't many plug-in vehicles today. However, nine auto companies recently announced plans to build plug-in cars by 2013. The Chevrolet Volt will zoom onto the scene in 2010. The U.S.-made vehicle is a plug-in hybrid. It will be able to travel up to 40 miles on electricity. Then the car will use its...

'Leccy Tech The Detroit Electric Car Company has announced that it is to develop a range of electric vehicles by grafting its own 'leccy car drive trains onto existing models from Malaysian manufacturer Proton. The plan is to develop two models, one called the e46 that will have a range of 180km (111 miles) for city and suburban use, and another called the e63 that will be available in two versions: one with the same range as the e46 and another that will have a range for 325km (200 miles) for extra-urban use. The two models appear to be based...

When Tesla Motors launched its all-electric Roadster sports car, celebrities lined up to order one — including Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Now we hear he's been trying to return it for months. Like Detroit, cash-strapped Tesla is currently a supplicant to the government, counting on money earmarked for alternative energy to carry it through its trying times. In other words, a good time to have a political celebrity in their corner, right? Alas, no. Schwarzenegger frequently cited Tesla as an example of California's nascent green industries in speeches in previous years, and appeared with Tesla CEO Elon Musk at various events....

Instead of investing in a gorgeous new design, Miles had just picked a workable, practical five-seater sedan already in production in China, and adapted it into an electric vehicle, designed it to stay below $40,000 before subsidies (which would be $7,500 off, under the current legislation - and likely more with the new probably filibuster-proof Senate majority) and just kept going with developing it. Then they limited the top speed to a sensible 85 MPH in order to keep the range to a practical 100 mile round-trip per charge.

If the Tesla Roadster just isn't enough for you...not fast enough, not weird enough, and not expensive enough, then you should probably start looking out for Eliica's. Just two of these Japanese peculio-mobiles currently exist, but the Eliica team is looking to get corporate sponsorship to produce 200 of them. And, if they get that sponsorship, you'll be able to pick one up for the low, low price of $255,000. Now, I know what you're thinking...why eight wheels? Well, very simply, so it can go faster. Traditionally, more rolling resistance would be a bad thing, but not if each of...

Now that automakers are all busy gearing up to make electric vehicles, consumers should be getting a choice of roomy, speedy, gasoline-free models that charge up at a standard 110-volt socket. So when will those cars roll out of factories so plentifully that prices drop to what ordinary people can afford? That was the question at the Electric Drive Transportation Association conference and exhibition in Washington this week, and on Capitol Hill as well, as the Big Three automakers made a pitch for aid. The recession, the credit crunch and the dominance of oil-driven transportation will make it difficult. However,...

Interesting video of a guy that converted his 1972 Datsun 210 to run on batteries. He takes it to the track and smokes a late model Corvette as well as a BMW. It broke several speed and time records for an electric vehicle that particular day. It is a must watch kind of video. Enjoy it.

THE Tesla Roadster is an electric car that goes fast, looks sensational and excites envy. The seductive appearance, however, obscures some inconvenient truths: its all-electric technology remains woefully immature and don’t-even-ask expensive. If enough billionaires step forward to inject additional capital to keep the doors of its manufacturer, Tesla Motors, open, I’m happy for all parties. If investors pass up the opportunity, however, why should taxpayers fork over the capital that Tesla needs? The Roadster is not much more than a functioning concept car that sells for $109,000. The company is requesting $400 million in low-interest federal loans as part...

ARGONNE, Illinois (Reuters) - A future of all-electric cars coasting along streets and highways may be illusory, given that their range may be cut in half by aggressive drivers speeding along with the air conditioning blasting, U.S. scientists said on Monday. < > Aggressive driving -- faster acceleration and driving at faster speeds -- may cut that range to between 28 and 32 miles. Using the air conditioning may reduce the vehicle's range to around 15 to 20 miles, he said. < > Another Argonne researcher told the conference a highly efficient diesel engine was much more cost-effective for highway...

Free parking for electric cars axed - for being too successfulDavid Williams, Motoring Editor 24.06.08   Charging time: owners of electric cars like this Nice Mega City will now have to pay to park in the City of London   A pioneering scheme that rewards owners of electric vehicles with free parking is being scrapped - because it works too well. Since 2001, the City of London has issued free roadside parking passes to nearly 500 drivers of the zero-emission cars in a bid to encourage other people to buy one. It has also handed out 539 permits for...

ot News: BMW's Electric Car BMW is poised to give the go-ahead to a tiny Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) that will help to revolutionise city-centre driving. The rear-engined city car could be called Isetta and will first arrive in American showrooms in 2012. The project was created because of new Californian regulations (soon to be copied by 12 other US states) which require big car makers to sell between a few hundred and a few thousand ZEVs every year from 2012.