Plug-In

Researchers at Nanotek Instruments, Inc, and its subsidiary Angstrom Materials in Dayton, Ohio have developed a breakthrough in energy storage design which outpaces supercapacitor and battery technologies. The new devices could not only power long-range and fast charging future electric cars but also provide efficient energy storage capacity to renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and hydro. Called surface-mediated cells (SMCs), the  fundamental breakthrough behind the technology is that it isn’t actually a battery at all. The elegance of the SMC ...

With many manufacturers now releasing hybrid-equipped cars, the next wave of interest has been plug-in models spun off these products. GM leads the fray, with the Chevrolet Volt becoming an increasingly common sight on American roads. GM’s Cadillac luxury brand has made a significant splash with the announcement of the ELR Coupe based off the Volt’s powertrain. Not to be outdone, Toyota recently confirmed a 2012 Prius Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV). While not a series hybrid in the sense of the GM Voltec ...

  While the traditional fossil fuel vehicle is pretty much a dead weight when it’s not in use, electric cars offer promise of increased utility. Automakers have been on a roll finding - and implementing - novel ways of integrating the electric car into our lives. Ford’s foray into sustainable energy partnership with SunPower is one just positive step forward. On August 2nd, Nissan took a similarly bold step forward in increasing the utility of electric cars in our lives with the introduction ...

One of the great hopes behind electrified vehicles is reduced dependence of not only foreign oil, but all polluting energy sources. In a step towards that greater goal, Ford announced that they have teamed up with solar energy panel manufacturer SunPower. While not the first domestic manufacturer to team up with a solar energy provider (GM recently announced a $7.5million investment in Sunlogics), they are the first to provide a customer-centric solution towards decreased grid-dependence. The fruit of the team up is a ...

Wonder how pricing is determined for the Nissan Leaf? How does GM know exactly how many units of the Volt the market will accept? While consumers might assume a lot of guess work manages these decisions, automakers prefer not to leave multi-billion-dollar risks to chance. Recent research from University of Delaware informs a lot of these complex choices made in the boardrooms of the major automakers and in policy meetings in Washington D.C.   One study from UD revealed the top attributes buyers consider ...

BMW has recently unveiled concept versions of its upcoming i3 and i8 electric vehicles. The i3 is a subcompact hatchback, while the i8 is a sports coupe with a range-extender hybrid drive system. Intriguingly, BMW has designed the i3 with a range-extender version as an optional drivetrain. That model has been called the REx in BMW's press literature. The i3 is the fruit of the Megacity Vehicle project, which showcases BMW’s direction for the 21st century. The i8’s aerodynamic coupe form was ...

When BMW announced the lottery for electric Minis, it found itself awash in interested people all clamoring to get their chance to be early adopters of electric cars. The success of the program, and the bounty of lessons learned have been channeled into a different BMW product, with the same aim of tailoring future BMW EV products to best fit consumer needs. The current offering is the BMW ActiveE, a 1-series based pure electric built to further hone the lessons necessary to ...

During a dealer meeting held in Las Vegas on June 29th, Toyota announced a launch date of the highly anticipated Scion IQ city car with a fully electric drivetrain. While knowledge of this compact hatchback has been making the rounds of the internet for a few months, up til now Toyota had declined to offer a release date. The IQ city car has been on sale since 2008 in Japan, and has impressed critics with its novel packaging (3+1 occupants within a ...

To date, the development of hybrids and EVs has focused mainly on prosaic, and affordable cars for the masses, and to a lesser extent augmented luxury cars for a more fortunate few. Come 2013 however, the hybrid world’s range will expand exponentially with the release of the most advanced and powerful hybrid cars the world has yet seen.Porsche, the famed maker of iconic sports cars (and less iconic but highly sought after sedans and SUVs) will start delivery of the 918 Spyder ...