GM is already the maker of the Chevrolet Volt, the first wide-selling domestic plug-in hybrid electric vehicle to hit the market. With new CAFE standards put in place by the US Government, and with growing public demand for cleaner vehicles, GM has decided to expand its electric vehicle inventory. According to GM’s product development chief, by
plug-in vehicles
The recent projections of $4 – $5 gasoline this summer has been flooding the news, with repercussions predicted for everything from vacation trips to the housing market. This may be especially hard for consumers to stomach after 2011, which saw the most expensive average cost ever for a gallon of gas, at $3.513 per gallon.
We hear a lot about the upcoming democratization of energy. But with the average consumer thinking about energy only six minutes per year, it’s fair to wonder if anyone will show up to ‘vote.’
But this week an alliance that includes the intriguing combination of Opower and Facebook offers promise that this futuristic concept may not be so far
The U.S. Department of Energy announced last week the 16 winning projects in 24 states that will receive funding for projects that support community planning for plug-in electric vehicles and charging infrastructure. The projects won funding as part of the Clean Cities initiative, a competitive program that
Hertz is turning over a new Leaf (or ten, to be exact) by expanding its rental fleet in San Francisco to include electric vehicles (EVs) from Nissan. The rental agency is adding ten of the cars to its fleet and has introduced an electric car sharing service that can take some of the hassle out of renting a car.
Ford Motor Company is clearly on a roll. Despite a hiccup that sank its stock price on January 28th, the company had its most profitable year in more than a decade in 2010, and the Ford Explorer was named Truck of the Year at the recent NAIAS. The company has rebounded without the aid of government assistance, and its focus on
Chinese company BYD will bring its electric and plug-in vehicles to North America in 2011 as one part of a threefold strategy for exporting technology. BYD’s first plug-in car, the F3DM, has arrived in California where it will be used in a pilot project by the Los Angeles Housing Authority. The F3DM has 40-60 miles of electric range and 300 miles of gasoline range, and in a unique
We can thank the arrival of the Toyota Prius, Al Gore, and a few summers of flirting with $4 gas prices for the current rise in consumer interest in vehicle efficiency and reducing emissions. While every year the vehicles – hybrids and ICEs alike – gets more efficient, the 2010 crop of plug-in vehicles will be accompanied by new tools that help drivers to further shrink their
In recent analysis of vehicle sales by segment, the differences between traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle sales and hybrid (HEV) sales show that hybrids are not competitive in several key segments within the U.S. The small car segment accounts for 20% of U.S. sales, but only accounts for 12% of HEV sales (with only 2 models available). While the