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The most recent battle over electric car technology isn't being fought in the showrooms, but on the set of the "Late Show with David Letterman."

GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz was invited on the "Late Show," giving him the opportunity to respond to Letterman's negative comments about the Chevrolet Volt, which is an extended range hybrid.

Not really understanding the concept of a plug-in hybrid, Letterman had previously called the 40-mile all-electric capacity "insane" on a previous episode during which Tesla CEO Elon Musk was a guest promoting the electric Model S sedan prototype.

Lutz offered his rebuttal on Wednesday, Chevy Volt in tow, and tried to explain why GM doesn't sell an all-electric vehicle and is instead is coming to market first with a plug-in. … Read more

German automotive giant Daimler has invested in electric-car company Tesla Motors and plans to use Tesla's battery packs in its Smart electric car due later this year.

At a Tuesday press conference held at the Daimler museum in Stuttgart, Germany, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Daimler management board member Thomas Weber said the contract between the two companies calls for joint collaboration on the Smart electric car and future models.

Daimler has invested a "double-digit million-dollar sum" to acquire about a 10 percent stake in California-based Tesla, Weber said.

"We are about to combine the best … Read more

Miles Electric Vehicles will test the market for all-electric vehicles next year with a $45,000 sedan, though under a different brand name.

The company, founded in 2004, now sells electric fleet vehicles or "neighborhood" sedans that top out at about 25 miles per hour. It has also been developing, through a series of partnerships, an electric four-door, five passenger sedan with a range of about 100 miles.

In the first half of 2010, Miles plans to market test about 200 or 300 of the sedans and then make more available for sale in California by fall of … Read more

The City of Seattle has partnered with Nissan North America to promote the development of an electric vehicle charging network in anticipation of Nissan's release of its highway-legal EV, Renault-Nissan Alliance and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels announced Tuesday.

Nissan's commercially sold EV will have a different look than its EV-02 prototype, but the same functionality. The Nissan EV is expected to have a range of 100 miles on a single charge and be able to be charged within four to eight hours via a 220-volt outlet. The City of Seattle is planning to work with its local utility … Read more

Eizo Nanao has announced the inclusion of an "EcoView Sense" feature into its just announced FlexScan monitors, the 20-inch EV2023W and the 23-inch EV2303W.

The EcoView feature allows the monitors--using motion detectors--to detect if a person is sitting in front of it.

If it senses for 40 seconds that no one is there, it puts the monitor into sleep mode. It then resumes normal operation when the user returns. For example, it won't be fooled by such shenanigans as leaving a cardboard cutout of yourself in front of it. It will only resume if there is movement … Read more

Ecotality is in talks with leading automakers--not only Nissan--concerning its electric charging stations for highway-legal electric cars, according to CEO Jonathan Read.

"We have been contacted by every major automaker about electric vehicle systems relating to charging and infrastructure. We expect to convert these discussions into firm contracts," Read told investors Wednesday at a shareholders' conference that was open to the press.

The Arizona-based company recently announced a partnership with Nissan and the local governments in the Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz., areas to build charging stations for electric cars that would cover the regions and the 116-mile stretch … Read more

Start-up Bright Automotive unveiled a light-use vehicle on Capitol Hill on Tuesday that gets 100 mpg for its first 50 miles.

The Idea, as the plug-in hybrid utility vehicle is called, uses battery power almost exclusively for the first 30 miles when starting with a fully charged battery. It then moves to the electric with gas supplement system found on any typical hybrid vehicle.

Because of this 30-mile electric start, Bright Automotive estimates that in a 50-mile drive the Idea consumes half a gallon of gas, getting it roughly the equivalent of 100 mpg. On a total drive of 70 … Read more

Nissan has promised to supply its highway-legal electric vehicles to the Phoenix area, as well as the previously announced Tucson area, for public and private fleets by the end of 2010, the Renault-Nissan Alliance plans to announce Thursday.

"This is a deployment well in excess of a couple hundred," said Mark Perry, director of product planning for Nissan North America.

In anticipation of Nissan's municipal and eventual commercial electric vehicle (EV) launch, the energy technology company Ecotality plans to also announce on Thursday an expansion of its chain of electric charging stations beyond the Tucson Metro area stations it announced in March.… Read more

Mitsubishi will sell a small electric car in the United States.

The car, a Japan-built ultracompact with a 330-volt lithium ion battery, is being road-tested in Oregon. Mitsubishi plans to begin marketing the car in Japan in July and to introduce it in Europe in 2010. The U.S. launch is tentatively scheduled to happen after Europe's.

Mitsubishi has shown the car, dubbed the i MiEV, to audiences around the world in recent weeks. A left-hand-drive version of the i MiEV was shown last week at the New York auto show.

Moe Durand, a product spokesman for Mitsubishi Motors … Read more