'electric vehicles'

Peachtree City, Georgia is a planned community that boasts more than 90 miles of multiuse paths that connect neighborhoods, shopping centers, schools, and recreation facilities. A large percentage of families own at least one golf cart to tool around town on, including hundreds of students who drive to school in them. The community's low-car appetite helped earn it a spot on Money magazine's Top 100 cities to live.

But the community is about to weigh in on the green-versus-really green debate, as the town is considering to ban the future registration of gas-powered golf carts.

The city of … Read more

How do you make a drag racing, Nissan GT-R beating monster out of a 1970s vintage Datsun 1200? If you're John "Plasma Boy" Wayland, you start by yanking out the almost 40-year-old internal combustion engine and all of its support systems. In its place, Wayland installed a lithium ion battery pack that sends 355.2 volts to an electric motor with a 2,000-amp controller.

The end result is the White Zombie, an EV that makes 772 foot-pounds of instant-on torque, hits 60 mph in less than two seconds, and tears up the quarter mile in 10.… Read more

A "hands free" electric-vehicle charging station from Evatran powers nearby vehicles wirelessly, eliminating the need to remember to recharge at the end of the day--or dirty your hands.

The Plugless Power charging station, introduced this week at the Plug-In 2010 conference in San Jose, Calif., uses electromagnetic induction to deliver power to an electric vehicle's battery within its proximity. The station consists of a model-specific vehicle adapter that's mounted onto the car and a charging station with a floor-mounted magnetic charging block close to where the driver parks.

The wireless charging station is about 10 percent … Read more

Once considered a step behind in plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles, Honda on Tuesday outlined plans to introduce a range of plug-in electric vehicles to the U.S. and Japan.

Honda said it will introduce both a battery-electric and a plug-in hybrid to the U.S. in 2012. It also said that it plans to use lithium-ion battery technology in the next-generation hybrid Civic, which will be introduced in 2011.

Among the planned models are an all-electric, or battery-electric, "commuter vehicle" and a plug-in hybrid system for mid-size and larger vehicles, both of which will be introduced to … Read more

After being curiosities for decades, electric vehicles designed for everyday use are just around the corner.

Expect to start seeing more advertising for the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt as those cars come to market toward the end of this year and start of next. But there are many more electric cars under development from other major automakers and start-ups. See our photo gallery here.

Electric vehicles let you cut your oil addiction or, in the case of hybrids, scale back significantly. And, in general, they're fun to drive because they tend to have zippy, smooth acceleration.

But even … Read more

Zap's founder and director of research and development, Gary Starr says the future is here, all we have to do is plug in.

"The Zap approach is to make electric cars more cost effective and more comfortable," Starr said during a tour of the downtown Santa Rosa, Calif. showroom and factory on Monday.

If you're unfamiliar with with Zap's vehicles, don't feel bad. The car maker is right smack in the middle of Sonoma County, a Northern California region more known for its wine than its electric cars.

Truth is, Zap has been the … Read more

Global sales of electric vehicles are set to rise this year due to worries about security of oil supply, the environment and fuel costs, UK consultancy J.D. Power said on Friday.

Global sales of electric cars are expected to reach 940,000 units this year compared with 732,000 units last year, with the number jumping to 3 million in 2015, J.D. Power analysts said in a report.

The uptake of battery powered cars is seen as key to fighting climate change by cutting carbon emissions, as well as a way to wean economies off imported or difficult … Read more

Electric-car maker Telsa Motors said it expects to raise about $185 million in its planned initial public offering and an investment from Toyota.

On Tuesday, Tesla filed an amendment to its S-1 document in which it raised to 11.1 million the number of shares in the company it will offer, with an initial price range between $14 and $16. When it first filed to go public on the stock market, Tesla said it expected to raise $100 million.

If the stock sells at the high end of that range, the company will be valued at about $1.46 billion, … Read more

Nissan Motor on Friday kicked off a week-long test-drive event for its Leaf electric car, saying it had a combined 20,000 orders in Japan and the United States six months before the car goes on sale.

Japan's No. 3 automaker is inviting 500 journalists, shareholders, government officials, and some customers who have placed reservations to drive the five-seater hatchback at its test track near Tokyo in an exclusive preview through June 19.

Nissan is counting on the zero-emission Leaf to regain its reputation as a technology leader after trailing Toyota Motor and Honda Motor in fuel-efficient hybrid cars. … Read more