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Coulomb Technologies has inked deals with service stations throughout California to provide smart equipment for charging electric vehicles in the first quarter of 2009.

Solar panels will power some of Coulomb's networked equipment, which can provide electric cars about a 10-mile driving range after an hour of charging.

The dozens of planned locations include gas stations along Interstates 101, 5, and 99, which snake north to south through much of California's length. A few of the stations will be closer to cities, and some already offer a mix of cleaner fuels, such as hydrogen, biodiesel, and ethanol.

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Legendary rocker Neil Young made a special appearance during Salesforce.com's Dreamforce conference keynote address. He didn't mention cloud computing, but talked about his 1959 Mark IV Lincoln Continental.

Young has spent more than $100,000 to green his 5,000-pound "Thinkin' Lincoln" former gas hog. "It's a piece of America art," said Young, who is an avid car collector. He hopes to get the equivalent of 100 miles per gallon and take the $10 million Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize. "We are over halfway there (to 100 mph) with this car,&… Read more

After many years struggling for recognition, electric cars suddenly are big news in Europe.

At the Paris auto show last month, Chevrolet, Nissan, Renault, Mitsubishi, Subaru and Smart displayed electric passenger cars. Other companies presented hybrids, battery-powered sports cars, light commercial vehicles and tiny electric city cars.

No model captured the change in attitude more dramatically than the B0 (pronounced "B zero"). The B0, a collaboration between French industrialist Vincent Bollore and the Italian design house Pininfarina, was unveiled on the Pininfarina stand alongside a Pininfarina-styled Ferrari California. The stylish, battery-powered B0 stole the attention from the Ferrari.

Adding zero

None of this would have seemed possible two years ago. But recent fuel price spikes and the threat of mandatory carbon dioxide emissions standards in Europe have led automakers to add zero-emission vehicles into their product plans.

In London, the city-center congestion charge has led to a number of tax-exempt, battery-powered commuter vehicles from start-up companies. Stockholm and Milan, Italy, also levy a congestion charge. With other cities likely to follow, automakers now are taking electric-car development much more seriously.

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GM gives the Chevy Volt its first auto show exposure at the 2008 Paris Motor Show. With a game-changing power train, the Volt is as relevant in Europe as it is in the U.S. The Volt uses a series hybrid system, using an electric motor to drive the wheels with a gas engine to generate more electricity once the car's lithium ion battery pack is depleted.

Under electric power alone, the car has a 40-mile range and can be recharged at any AC outlet. For many people, that range will cover their daily commute, which will result in … Read more

It's all been very gentlemanly so far. No name calling. No punches thrown.

But a fight is brewing between heavyweights Toyota and General Motors over the way the government should support plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.

Robert Wimmer, a Toyota research manager, told a Senate committee last week that proposed legislation "redefines plug-in electric vehicles to seemingly eliminate consumer tax credits for all but one plug-in vehicle design. Toyota believes this approach is counterproductive."

He didn't identify the Chevrolet Volt by name. But the GM hybrid would be the main beneficiary of the bill, which would provide … Read more

GM unveiled the 2011 Chevy Volt this week, and is obviously so hungry for publicity that it even had Bob Lutz, Vice Chairman of Global Product Development, appear on The Colbert Report. It was an odd interview for a show that usually features politicians and writers, but the hook seemed to be Bob Lutz's previous statement that global warming is a crock of expletive deleted. Stephen Colbert, as the (faux) arch-conservative talk show host, suggested that producing the Volt showed that Lutz was giving in to the tree huggers. Lutz stuck by his position on global warming, although modifying … Read more

GM has rolled out the "production" version of the Chevy Volt this week (a cheeky move since it won't go into production for another two years) and it was received more warmly for proving the Volt is real than wowing us with styling.

But looks aren't the point of the Volt: lofty and sustainable miles per gallon is. Here's a look at the car in motion with some thoughts on its challenges as it begins the longish road to showrooms.

See all coverage of the 2008 Paris Motor Show.

Although the car won't be available until 2010, GM introduced the production version of the game-changing Chevrolet Volt today. The Volt is an electric vehicle that recharges its lithium ion batteries from an AC outlet or an onboard gas engine. The production version looks very different from the concept car that was shown in 2007, with a design intended to be more aerodynamic while providing seating for four. GM also released pictures of the cabin, giving us a look at the cars futuristic controls and LCDs.

Click here for photos of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt.

The Chevy Volt was the centerpiece of General Motors' centennial celebration on Tuesday with executives heralding the electric car as the first step in the reinvention of the automobile.

GM Chairman Rick Wagoner introduced the plug-in hybrid car in Detroit, showing a production version with a different look than the concept car rolled out in January 2007.

The company also released photos and a number of technical details, including a projected top speed of 100 mph and two in-car touch-screen controls. The five-door sedan, which GM calls an extended-range electric vehicle, is scheduled to be available for purchase in the … Read more