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Volkswagen is intent on becoming the world's leading automaker by 2018 and that means being the top dog in every segment, including hybrid and electric vehicles. Recently the automaker announced plans to start building its own electric powertrains, as well as the launch of a Jetta Hybrid in 2012, and now we have news that Volkswagen is also...

Nissan Motor Co. is launching a gasoline-electric hybrid version of its Infiniti M 35 sedan later this year, and hopes to nearly double the fuel mileage of the gasoline version, while keeping costs down.  "We're aiming for an improvement of 60 to 90 percent," said Koichi Hayasaki, chief engineer of Nissan's rear-wheel-drive hybrid system, using a...

Remember the bright yellow Mercedes SLS AMG E-Cell prototype we wrote about back in June? Equipped with a four-motor, all-wheel-drive system the SLS AMG E-Cell is capable of putting out more than 525 horsepower onto the road and packs electric supercar performance into the iconic gullwing body. As our sister site MotorAuthority announced earlier...

With the increase in coverage that electric cars are enjoying in both the motoring and the mainstream press, you might be forgiven for thinking that the future is bright for EV lovers worldwide. The U.K. newspaper The Telegraph might have you believe otherwise, though. According to a recent article, a study reveals that a fuel tax of 10p a mile...

The small, seaside town of Brighton UK, some 50 miles south of London, has often been the destination for many a weary Londoner keen to take in its pebbled beaches, kitsch souvenir shops and traditional fish and chip suppers. But today it wasn't sticks of sweet sugary 'seaside rock' candy cane or brisk sea air which drew a host of electric...

The small, seaside town of Brighton UK, some 50 miles south of London, has often been the destination for many a weary Londoner keen to take in its pebbled beaches, kitsch souvenir shops and traditional fish and chip suppers. But today it wasn't sticks of sweet sugary 'seaside rock' candy cane or brisk sea air which drew a host of electric...

One of the best parts of the electric-vehicle world is the camaraderie. Someone knows someone who passes us along to a friend who knows a guy ... you know the story. Which is how we ended up in San Francisco on a sunny Friday, driving a well-used--but still reliable--example of one of the highest-volume modern electric cars built to date, the...

President Barack Obama isn't hiding his support for electric vehicles one bit, with the nation's leader heading to Kansas City, Missouri on Thursday to visit one of a growing number of electric vehicle startups. Obama will be visiting Smith Electric Vehicles, a small firm specializing in building battery-powered commercial vehicles and the...

How well do drivers interact with electric vehicles, both driving and charging them? Smart has just launched a trial to answer that question, providing Smart Electric Drive vehicles to 100 Britons as part of a year-long research study. It may seem like overkill in the details, but it will probably provide some very useful insights to Mercedes-Benz...

 Concept cars are often no more than an automaker's chance to dream about a future of fully autonomous vehicles, sweeping curves and Jetsons-style glass panels, but once in a while a concept is unveiled which has what it takes to make it to production. And these days, no concept would be complete without a green drivetrain. Cue Renault, Nissan's...

What can you do in three minutes? Boil a egg? Buy a Coffee? Check your Mail? Visit the bathroom? Thanks to Japanese based JFE Engineering, you can now add half-charging your EV to the list, courtesy of its ultra-fast charge station. Designed to comply with the CHAdeMo standard developed by Tokyo Electric Power Company, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Subaru...

Imagine going on a  vacation to London, or Paris. You've just got over the jet-lag and are feeling like exploring the city.  You've done all the usual tourist activities and have some friends on the other side of town to visit. Do you navigate a strange subway system, take a taxi, or make your own way? If driving yourself sounds like a fun and...

Taking a break from the relentless drumbeat of news about Tesla Motors, its stock offering this week, and the latest model of its electric two-seater, the Roadster 2.5--we bring you a story about the upcoming 2011 Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric vehicle. Specifically, a Volt is now en route from Austin, Texas, to New York City, scheduled to...

When Tesla (Nasdaq:TSLA) finally listed on Nasdaq on Tuesday its share price went from $17 up to $23.89 at the end of trading, a gain of almost 41 percent in just one day alone. Scores of profit takers would have been rejoicing; among them Tesla CEO Elon Musk who managed to walk away with a cool $24 million after selling some of his own shares in...

When Tesla (Nasdaq:TSLA) finally listed on Nasdaq on Tuesday its share price went from $17 up to $23.89 at the end of trading, a gain of almost 41 percent in just one day alone. Scores of profit takers would have been rejoicing; among them Tesla CEO Elon Musk who managed to walk away with a cool $24 million after selling some of his own shares in...

Good news for those of you who shorted Tesla Motors' stock: the electric car company's shares are already falling in price as the zeal around its $226 million public debut begins to fade — after just two days. TSLA closed at $21.96 today, its third day of trading, after falling $1.87. Yesterday saw the wildest ride with shares skyrocketing up to...

 Tesla have taken cues from the world of software design as it announces the latest set of upgrades to its world-famous Tesla Roadster. But unlike a minor software upgrade, the Tesla 2.5 model gives customers a whole lot more than a few performance tweaks. Just days after its IPO and with shares almost doubling in value on the first day of...

We've been keeping you in the loop as High Gear Media--well, me in particular--angles to be among the first to drive and own the 2011 Nissan Leaf electric car. Since Nissan opened up the ordering process to potential buyers earlier this year, the company's been aiming to release more specifics on the Leaf delivery process by June 30. In an email I...

I just sat down with Alan Salzman, CEO of VantagePoint Venture Partners — perhaps better known today as the first venture capital firm to invest in Tesla Motors — to see how he's feeling about the big win, and what it might mean for VPVP's growing green strategy. As you can imagine, he was pretty pleased yesterday, watching Tesla's stock close...

There was a time when 'electric vehicle racing' was nothing more than an oxymoron. While teams of dedicated engineers, speed junkies and volt-heads have lit up drag strips with custom-built EV quarter-mile kings for years, the concept of racing production electric vehicles has yet to take off. But Scandinavian EV company Think is about to change...