electric-cars

Tesla's newest store, which opened on April 13 in the Santana Row mall in San Jose, Calif., does not look like a place where you can buy cars. First of all, it is a small storefront, a far cry from typical car-filled dealerships for other manufacturers. Much of the store's space is devoted to educating people about Tesla's vehicles and electric cars in general.

As for selling cars, Tesla brings some of its Web site experience into the store, with large touch screens on the walls featuring the company's model configurator. And sales consultants staffing the … Read more

President Barack Obama's goal of having 1 million plug-in vehicles on U.S. roads by 2015 is on its way to being met, a Department of Energy official said today.

"It's looking good," said Assistant Energy Secretary David Sandalow when asked by reporters on the chances of meeting the goal set by Obama.

"If you look at the plans of the major automotive manufacturers, there's a clear pathway to a million vehicles," Sandalow said.

Sandalow spoke to reporters after his keynote address to the Society of Automotive Engineers in Detroit.

Obama's goal … Read more

Fore! The Smart Electric Drive Passion Coupe is, for all intents and purposes, a golf cart. And we mean that with love and respect. Brian Cooley takes you for a drive to check the tech and how this beast is both the salvation and damnation of the whole Smart thing.

(We also have a CNET First Drive writeup of the Smart Electric Drive.)

The Smart ForTwo seems like an excellent platform for an electric car. Small and lightweight are all virtues for current battery technology, but the Smart just might be too small. Smart fitted the 2011 Electric Drive Passion Coupe with an electric motor and lithium ion battery pack to test the proposition.

The resulting 63 mile-range in EPA testing and about 60 mph top speed falls short of larger competitors such as the Nissan Leaf. Even compared with a gasoline-powered Smart ForTwo, which can hit comfortable freeway speeds and achieve high fuel economy, the Smart Electric Drive has a hard time justifying itself.

Smart is currently leasing its Electric Drive coupes in a test program, but plans on selling these green electric cars starting in early 2012. The company loaned one to CNET for evaluation. … Read more

After years of auto show concepts and parking lot test drives, we finally got a Chevrolet Volt in for a proper review. With no GM minders riding along, we drove the Volt up steep San Francisco hills, along scenic coastal roads, and over miles of freeways at speeds of 65 to 75 mph. In city traffic the Volt contended with stop-and-go traffic and our usual method of jamming the accelerator when the light turns green, getting us to the next red light quickly.

And over all this, the Volt performed more than admirably. When the battery was charged, the car … Read more

The most high-tech Rolls-Royce since FAB1 has hit the road, with a prototype of the Rolls-Royce 102EX Phantom Experimental Electric road-tested for the first time.

The 102EX Phantom is Roll-Royce's first crack at making an electric car, and it's probably the most luxurious 'leccy jalopy yet to draw charge. The BBC has taken the Phantom out for a spin and it lives up to its ghostly name, drifting along in "spine-tingling" silence.

The Phantom sports a socket for charging the car from the mains, but it also comes with an induction plate. The plate sits on the floor of your garage, and you park the car over it. The battery then draws power from the plate via the magic of induction charging.

Read more of "Rolls-Royce 102EX Phantom Experimental Electric in first road test" at Crave UK.

… Read more

Tax by the mile to drive your car: ready for it? Tesla says Top Gear is a bunch of liars. Your next smartphone could be an Aston Martin. And we drive the Cayenne Hybrid's sister: the Touareg Hybrid.

? Taxing driving by the mile instead of the gallon.

? Tesla sues Top Gear

? Survey says buyers are intrigued by EVs, unrealistic about their abilities

? Aston Martin smartphone concept

? VW Touareg Supercharged Hybrid

? CNET's LOLCars gallery!

A report by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), requested by Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), looks at the feasibility of taxing drivers based on miles driven. To implement the tax, the CBO found that technology exists to seamlessly record and transmit mileage.

Conrad requested the report to explore means of raising money to fund a $556 billion budget request by the Obama administration to maintain highways. Currently, funds are raised from an 18.4-cent-per-gallon federal tax on gasoline and a 24.4-cent-per-gallon federal tax on diesel. Conrad suggested an alternate per-mile tax due to lower revenues from … Read more

If you're sick of high fuel prices, Carnegie Mellon is running a car conversion project that takes gasoline-powered Hondas and makes them all electric.

The automaker showed off an electric Fit last year that can travel 100 miles per charge, but if you want a greener Civic, the CMU Robotics Institute's ChargeCar Electric Vehicle Conversion Project might be for you.

Researchers such as Illah Nourbakhsh of the institute's Create Lab work with local mechanics in converting Civics. At an open house near CMU on March 25, they will unveil a 2002 Civic EX four-door sedan that's been electrified.

The Civic's conventional powertrain has been replaced with a 35-horsepower electric motor and 33 lithium-iron-phosphate batteries.

According to a CMU release, the car can drive more than 40 miles in mixed urban and highway driving, and has a top speed of more than 70 miles per hour (CMU would not specify an exact number).

The project has details on the conversion of a 2005 Honda Civic LX with the same stats; charging takes about 10 hours. Check out the photo gallery here.

How much does conversion cost? Jobs vary, but a CMU official said the best estimate he's seen is $17,000 or more. Ouch. … Read more