Electric Cars

  • IndyCar driver Simona de Silvestro at the 2014 Cadillac ELR production line

    IndyCar's Simona de Silvestro, driver of the #78 KV Racing Technology Chevrolet, yesterday visited General Motors’ Detroit-Hamtramck plant to witness some of the first Cadillac ELR extended-range electric coupes roll off the line. The Swiss racing driver is currently in Detroit for the city’s Belle Isle Detroit Grand Prix taking place this weekend, and being a fan of the Caddy was more than happy to take a look at the cars being built. These initial cars are pre-production examples that will be used to validate manufacturing, engineering and other quality measures before the final...

  • Sebastian Vettel driving the Renault Twizy F1 concept
    Sebastian Vettel Gets His First Taste Of Electric Cars, Drives F1-Inspired Twizy: Video

    Formula One triple world champion Sebastian Vettel got his first taste of electric cars, hopping behind the wheel of Renault’s ZOE electric hatch during a promotional stunt organized by the French automaker recently. The drive event took place at Renault’s Z.E. Centre on Seguin Island...

  • 2013 Audi R8 e-tron with 8:09.099 Nürburgring lap time
    Audi Won't Sell R8 e-tron Electric Sports Car: Official

    Audi has confirmed that its R8 e-tron electric sports car will not be sold to the public, ending speculation that the cars may be offered in a limited run. So far, ten examples have been built in the car’s proposed production specifications but these will be retained for testing purposes...

  • Ray Lane takes delivery of the first Fisker Karma
    Fisker Board Member And First Karma Owner Ray Lane Resigns

    It has been confirmed that a board member and key investor of distressed electric car company Fisker Automotive has resigned. Venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers confirmed to Reuters that Ray Lane, the owner of the first Fisker Karma delivered to a customer, resigned from...

  • Drayson Racing B12 69/EV electric Le Mans prototype
    Drayson Racing Aims To Set New Record With Electric Le Mans Prototype

    Green technology motorsport firm Drayson Racing, the brainchild of former British science minister Lord Paul Drayson, is out to break some records using an electric version of a race car originally developed for the American Le Mans Series. Using its B12 69/EV Le Mans prototype, Drayson Racing will...

  • Tesla presentation slide from June, 2012 outlining 'Gen 3' platform variants
    Tesla CEO Elon Musk Reveals Targets For Affordable 'Gen 3' Models

    Talk of an affordable electric car from Tesla dates back all the way to 2009, and we have no doubt the company’s CEO Elon Musk had envisaged launching such a model when he co-founded Tesla back in 2003. Now, with its federal loan out of the way and production of its award-winning Model S...

  • Henrik Fisker

    Less than a week after it was revealed that a consortium that included auto industry veteran Bob Lutz was bidding for control of Fisker Automotive, new reports are out claiming Henrik Fisker has now joined the bidding war. Henrik Fisker, of course, is a co-founder of the distressed electric car company and up until March of this year served as its chairman. He eventually resigned from the company, citing disagreements with the rest of its management. Reuters, citing people familiar with the matter, is reporting that Henrik Fisker has teamed up with Richard Li, a Hong Kong-based billionaire...

  • Zinoro crossover prototype based on the BMW X1
    BMW X1-Based Crossover To Be First Model From China's Zinoro

    About a month ago it was revealed that BMW and its Chinese partner Brilliance were on the verge of establishing a new brand for the Chinese market to be called Zinoro. At the time, we reported that Zinoro was focused on eco-friendly vehicles and would launch in November a new electric car as its...

  • 2012 Tesla Model S Signature
    Tesla Pays Back Government Loan--Nine Years Early

    Tesla has confirmed it has paid off the entire loan awarded to it by the Department of Energy back in 2010--a full nine years ahead of schedule. The Californian startup wired the remaining $451 million amount yesterday. The original loan stood at $465 million, though with Tesla’s latest...

  • VL Automotive Destino with Bob Lutz at 2013 Detroit Auto Show
    Bob Lutz And China’s Wanxiang In Bid To Buy Fisker: Report

    The auto industry can never seem to rid itself of Bob Lutz, but maybe that’s a good thing as where others see failure the inexorable exec sees opportunity. Having spent years in senior positions at major auto firms, Lutz more recently has been flogging extended-range electric trucks for Via...

  • Leilani Münter and the Tesla Model S
    NASCAR's Leilani Münter Gets Tesla Model S, Goes Activist

    If you don't know who Leilani Münter is, you probably should. Apart from being a NASCAR ARCA-series racer, sister-in-law to the Grateful Dead's Bob Weir, and very easy on the eyes, her motto is "never underestimate a vegetarian hippie chick with a race car." And she now drives a Tesla Model S...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S electric sport sedan [photo by owner David Noland]
    Tesla Motors To Issue More Shares, CEO Elon Musk To Buy Some

    You may never have heard of a "short squeeze," but Tesla is benefiting greatly from it right now. The stock of the Silicon Valley startup electric-car maker has soared in recent days after Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] announced its first-ever profitable quarter and plans to build and sell 21,000 Model...

  • 2013 Mitsubishi MiEV Evolution II electric race car

    Mitsubishi is returning to Colorado’s famous ‘Race To The Clouds’ with a pair of electric race cars utilizing technology from the automaker’s road-going i-MiEV hatch. Mitsubishi entered the Pikes Peak competition for the first time last year with its original i-MiEV Evolution prototype, coming second to Toyota in the event’s electric car class. This year the automaker is running two upgraded versions of the i-MiEV Evolution (dubbed the MiEV Evolution II), and is aiming for the top spot. Of course, Toyota is also bringing an upgraded car to Pikes Peak this year so...

  • Renault joins Formula E Championship
    Renault Joins Formula E Championship

    Renault, engine supplier to the likes of Red Bull Racing and a former F1 champion itself, has signed up with the innovative Formula E Championship as an official technical partner. The French automaker joins the likes of McLaren, Drayson Racing and Spark Racing Technology as Formula E partners...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S
    Tesla Model S May Get Battery Swapping Soon: Report

    The 2013 Tesla Model S has received rave reviews, including the best score that Consumer Reports has given any car in six years. The stock of Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] is on a roll, the company is delivering hundreds of its Model S all-electric luxury sport sedan every week, and it just turned in...

  • High school kid builds all-electric 700-hp Honda S2000. Photos by Juan Ehringer.
    700-HP Electric Honda S2000 Built By High Schooler: Video

    While most of us were worried about cliques, clothes, and kisses in our teens, this high school kid is building his own electric S2000. And he's doing it like an engineer. From CAD designing and building his own parts to wiring and programming the hardware and software that control the car's...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S
    Handicapping Tesla's Fate: Independent Or Acquired?

    It's been a great run for Tesla Motors these last few months. The startup electric-car maker delivered 4,900 Model S luxury sport sedans from January through March, got a rave review from Consumer Reports, and reported its first-ever profitable quarter. CEO Elon Musk even dropped hints that it...

  • 2012 Tesla Model S
    Tesla Models S Rates 99/100 In Consumer Reports Testing

    Not that you'd have much doubt about the Tesla Model S's qualities as a legitimate sports-luxury sedan (that just happens to be electric) if you'd read The Car Connection's full review or noticed Green Car Reports' award of Best Car To Buy 2013, but Consumer Reports has confirmed our own...

  • Tesla Model S

    Despite sinking hundreds of millions of dollars in developing its Model S electric sedan, which only went on sale last year, Californian startup Tesla has reported its first profit in the company’s history during the first quarter of 2013, something predicted by the automaker’s CEO, Elon Musk, as far back as November, 2011. Tesla earned a respectable $11 million for the quarter, the first time it’s been in the black in its 10-year history. Those profits were based on revenues of $562 million (up 83 percent on the same quarter a year ago), brought about mostly from sales of...

  • 2014 BMW i8 spy shots
    2014 BMW i8 Hits The Nürburgring: Video

    The 2014 BMW i8 has taken to Germany's Nürburgring race track for some high-speed testing ahead of the car's reveal later this year and eventual sales launch next spring. First previewed in concept form back in 2009 with the Vision EfficientDynamics Concept, the i8 is BMW’s answer to...

  • 2013 Toyota EV P002 electric race car
    Toyota To Defend Pikes Peak Electric Title With Upgraded EV P002

    After breaking the Pikes Peak record for an electric car in 2012, and coming a respectable sixth overall, Toyota is set to return to the famous ‘Race To The Clouds’ this year with an improved version of its EV P002 electric racer. Toyota has also secured a new driver for its 2013...

  • Tesla Model S Performance Plus
    Tesla Model S Performance Plus Gets Supercar-Like Handling

    Tesla has quietly announced a new performance option for its Model S electric sedan, which is said to not only boost the car’s driving range but also its handling ability. Late last year we first told you Tesla was working on a handling package for the Model S that was being benchmarked...

  • BMW i3 Concept MkII
    BMW i3 To Be Priced Similar To 3-Series

    BMW’s upcoming i3 electric car will be priced similar to a well-equipped 3-Series sedan, which means a starting price in the low $40,000 bracket. This is in line with previous reports that claimed BMW was targeting a low price point for the i3, with a previous estimate of $35,000 being...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S
    Tesla Model S Residual Value Increased, Is It Enough?

    Tesla continues to amend its financing plan.

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