A few days ago the news was full of reporting that a Tesla-based patrol car owned by the Fremont CA police ran out of power during a hot pursuit. Apparently the story allowed news editors to push the idea that obviously electric cars aren’t suitable because they run out of…
We’ve seen this story come out again and again: An electric supercar comes out that is faster than the fastest Tesla car. Therefore Tesla is dead meat because this other car creams Tesla in 0-60 miles/hr times. The problem with that story line is that anybody saying this is completely…
A car-oriented news blog wrote an article claiming that Toyota “spurred a movement toward automotive electrification that can be traced directly to modern EVs like the Tesla Model Y and Rivian R1T“, and claims that Toyota is making a huge misstep, huge mistake in other words, in not currently selling…
Nissan Motors has announced its former CEO and current Chairman, Carlos Ghosn, is alleged to have under-reported his compensation to Japanese authorities for years, hence committing tax and securities fraud. Subsequently he, and another Nissan board member, have been arrested by Japanese authorities, and there are allegations of similar misconduct…
On a newly-launched Medium publication, Ford Motors announces a new effort at electrified vehicles, and teases us with a “Mustang-inspired fully electric performance utility” vehicle with a 300 mile electric range. That’s a lot to swallow at once, so lets break it apart. Ford has launched a new Medium publication, Live Electric,…
Elon Musk is either trying to save the world or destroy it. Stephen’s not sure which one.
Today, Audi showed us teaser images of the Audi e-tron quattro electric SUV concept. Immediately the news filled with articles claiming Audi is planning to use that car to compete with Tesla. It is true that Audi’s concept car (that shouldn’t go on sale until 2018) is an all-electric SUV with…
The Audi e-tron quattro is an all-electric SUV that’s expected to have a 310 mile range. The concept vehicle is to be shown at the 2015 Frankfurt International Motor Show, and Audi promises an “outlook on the brand’s first large-series electric car”. It’s been designed from the ground up as an…
The A3 Sportback e-tron plug-in hybrid is the first step towards an electrified future for Audi, combining a premium driving experience with the efficiency of an electric motor. The effective cost to buyers nationwide can be even lower with applicable federal and state incentive and tax credits. Vehicle is the first of…
What if it’s time to buy a new car, what do you choose? Thanks to lithium-ion battery technology, we now have a new drive-train choice. Rather than being limited to variant of gasoline engined vehicles, we can now buy electrified cars or motorcycles. Assuming you’ve already chosen to go electric…
From the viewpoint Silicon Valley’s award-winning National Drive Electric Week celebration yesterday, electric cars are becoming mainstream. Our region is enjoying the highest rate of electric car sales in the country, and for our 2014 NDEW event we had the intention to have the largest assemblage of electric vehicles anywhere.…
The PlugIn2014 Conference has come to San Jose, and I managed to snag a press pass, so expect to see a few reports over the next couple days about conference sessions. The activity today was getting to do test drives with a few electric vehicles. I got to drive…
Jalopnik, a so-called “automotive news” website (so far as I can tell, they rely on luridness rather than journalism) just posted a “10 worst electric cars of all time” list, placing the Coda electric sedan at the #10 spot. Really? I think they missed on some real gems they put…
You don’t think of the head honcho of a major corporation like General Motors (GM) doing something altruistic like changing the company’s vehicle strategy just to save the polar bears. The GM shareholders hope their CEO will be making choices that improve the bottom line, and aim the company into…
A few days ago I wrote about GM’s CEO Dan Akerson talking about 200 mile driving range electric cars. This piece triggered an idea in the back of my mind, recalling the Osborne Effect, or the result which happens when a company announces the next generation product and customers stop…
