Those of us who live near major cities spend a great deal of time stuck in traffic, when we’re unfortunately enough to be forced to drive at rush-hour, or encounter some special circumstance like an accident. I’m sure many of us, in addition to the frustration we feel, wonder about the nature and cause of heavy traffic and how it may be avoided. (more…)

I have been driving a Chevy VOLT for a year and a half. I have more than 26,000 miles on it, and have used 100 gallons of gasoline. That works out to more than 250 mpg. Of course, I have been charging the VOLT at home every night, and at the office during the day but my electric bills at both places are not noticeably higher. It would be nice if the electric range were a bit longer (more…)

A host of proposed class action lawsuits (e.g., Krauth-Hyundai Complaint; Quiroz-Kia Complaint; Graewingholt-Hyundai Kia Complaint; Olson-Hyundai Kia Complaint) have been filed in the last several weeks against one or both of Kia and Hyundai accusing the Korean automakers of making false or misleading fuel efficiency claims in their advertising and marketing materials. (more…)

It’s not every day that you see an electric vehicle driving down the street. Certainly for me, I don’t see electric vehicles parked in the garage of my building. So, when given the opportunity to test drive the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, I jumped at it. I always wondered what it would be like to drive an electric vehicle on the streets and freeways of San Diego. (more…)

Here’s an article co-written by environmentalist superstar Bill McKibben that speaks to the need for better public transportation. The authors point out that transportation generally contributes 27% of the total greenhouse gas emissions. Since transportation is 98%+ based on gasoline and diesel, it comes with a huge price tag in terms of not only CO2 but damage (more…)

The BMW i3 represents one of the biggest parts of the manufacturer’s Project i series, which is focusing on electric city cars. The i3 is expected to be released in 2013, and converts what has been a long process of developing all electric vehicles at BMW into a reality. The i series cars, which will be marketed separately from other BMW marques, are primarily defined by their all electric drivetrains, zero emissions, and (more…)

A new means of transport needs a new name. ELF is a “ velomobile” , a combination of bicycle and automobile powered with solar energy and good old pedaling force is raising funds via KickStarter. At the time of writing the project had raised US$26,397 out of the targeted US$100,000. The deadline is January 13. (more…)

Here’s a consumer-oriented piece from the U.S. Department of Energy: 10 Things You Didn’t Know about Electric Vehicles. Nicely done.

There are a couple of issues with EVs, however, that make this a trickier issue than the article implies:

• Even though the fuel savings versus gasoline are significant, (more…)

Here’s a cool infographic called “The Fastest Electric Vehicles on Earth” that I thought readers would enjoy. What they say here is certainly true: we tend to think of EVs as slow, glorified golf carts. Yet those of us who have driven a Tesla have quite a different impression; they’re little rockets, with better acceleration than Porsches. (more…)

Researchers from the University of Michigan said this month that the crop of new cars and trucks sold in the U.S. in October are the most efficient ever to hit American roads. Their average fuel was 24.1 mpg combined. That’s a four mile-per-gallon improvement from five years ago.

This gain in fuel efficiency equates to a collective (more…)