November 2012

The most surprising electric car at the LA Auto Show

November 30, 2012
Thumbnail image for The most surprising electric car at the LA Auto Show

Next generation 2013 Smart Electric Drive Back in June we wrote about the start of production of the next generation Smart Electric Drive (found here). Already available in Europe, look for this new electric vehicle (EV) to show up in the states next spring. Our first acquaintance last January with the electric Smart car didn’t […]

More →

Hitting LA Auto Show tomorrow

November 28, 2012
Thumbnail image for Hitting LA Auto Show tomorrow

Looking to check out the new EV action There will be some interesting electric vehicle (EV) launches at the LA show this year – Chevrolet Spark EV and Fiat 500E – along with the availability of some existing EVs that we haven’t driven yet. We hope to get behind the seat of the Honda Fit EV as well as the […]

More →

2013 LEAF announced – for Japan

November 27, 2012
Thumbnail image for 2013 LEAF announced – for Japan

Still awaiting US Spec LEAF announcement Last week Nissan Global announced the updated 2013 Nissan LEAF for the Japanese home market. Think evolutionary, rather than revolutionary. There is a launch video of the announcement – in Japanese. We tried to suffer through it to watch the slides at least, but couldn’t make it more than […]

More →

Blue is the new green

November 25, 2012
Thumbnail image for Blue is the new green

If an electric vehicle just won’t work for you We spend our time looking for information about the Nissan LEAF and other electric vehicles (EVs) to analyze that information and pass it along to you. But as we have discovered (we actually knew it all along), an EV is not the right vehicle for everyone. […]

More →

J. D. Power EV Study analysis continued

November 13, 2012
Thumbnail image for J. D. Power EV Study analysis continued

Wrong size and not reliable? Really? In our last article, we took a look at the issue of the cost of driving a Nissan LEAF. In this one, we will examine the two other reasons cited for not going electric – vehicle size and reliability. One of the most likely reasons one might buy a […]

More →

Evaluating the new J.D. Power EV ownership study

November 11, 2012
Thumbnail image for Evaluating the new J.D. Power EV ownership study

Does an EV lease make more sense? J. D. Power and Associates has just released a study (found here) of the issues surrounding and driving the move into the electric vehicle (EV) segment. With a significant history of focusing on and evaluating the automobile market in general, it is worth taking a closer look at […]

More →

Volvo’s 1.5 hour EV charge time unrealistic

November 6, 2012

Volvo’s 22 kilowatt charger requires 3 phase power Volvo has just announced a new fast charger that cuts recharge time to just 90 minutes, as opposed to the eight hour time required of a typical 240-volt charging dock. The problem is, it requires a three-phase, 400-volt electrical supply to provide that level of service. This […]

More →