In response to my recent piece on electric vehicles, a few readers sent me John Peterson’s position on the subject. Thanks, but I’m already quite familiar with it. John’s a brilliant, honest, and levelheaded guy; in fact, I plan to visit him in Switzerland when I’m in Europe next spring. Having said this, I disagree with him here. For starters, the concept that EVs are overhyped and destined to failure because “Cheap Beats Cool” does not ring true of the auto market generally. Since the dawn of the automobile, and certainly since World War II, cars may be about sex, or about the wish to appear affluent, but they certainly aren’t about getting around as inexpensively as possible; “cheap” really isn’t the motivating force here. If John lived in the U.S., he’d see what we all ...

In the latest effort to educate people about the tremendous advantages of combining electric vehicles with solar power, Nissan and leading solar panel company SunPower are teaming up to help electric vehicle owners (well, Nissan LEAF owners) learn how a solar panel system (from SunPower) can help them to both cut CO2 emissions and control their EV charging costs.

The companies are offering some basic online info and a video on how solar power works and how it reduces global warming pollution.

More from Nissan:

“Nissan LEAF owners are conscientious about their energy use, and it makes sense for them to understand how they can offset the power that their all-electric LEAF requires with clean, renewable solar power generated from their own rooftop,” said Brendan Jones, director, Nissan LEAF marketing and sales strategy, NNA. “SunPower is ...

I have to say, I’m more of a Nissan Leaf fan, but it’s nice to see the Chevy Volt is also picking up steam and achieving some sales milestones (including finding more buyers in October than the Leaf).

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Nissan Leaf Disses Chevy Volt in New Commercial {VIDEO} Nissan Leaf Taxi Testing Begins Nissan Explains Leaf Battery (Video)

The dream of gasoline freedom is becoming a reality as electric cars are slowly filling showrooms and attracting a lot of customers. The Nissan Leaf, for example, has its sales reaching 10,000 as of August this year. Other manufactures like Mitsubishi, Porsche and Audi are poised to join in. Greener cars are indeed hitting the mainstream with one thing dragging their progress: a standard charger plug. The problem with the older charging systems of electric cars was the amount of time needed to charge one. The Level 1 Charging, as it is called, plugs the car into a 120 volt power. Hybrid cars can use it for overnight charging but for a pure electric car like the Nissan Leaf, it would take 20 hours to fully charge its battery. A second level has been made using a 240 volt power ...

TESLA ROADSTER

If Chris Paine’s earlier movie, “Who Killed the Electric Car” (WKtEC), was about people being deprived of their vehicles and used as pawns in a struggle between government regulations and established business, then his latest film, “Revenge of the Electric Car,” is about the Kings.

The Journey For the trip to the theater, I used an electric vehicle,.. though many don’t consider how the subway’s are powered. The train was stopped two stations short of my destination for a passenger with a seizure and I decided to walk. Many can be subject to what affects one train, but is this so different than a traffic accident on a highway? The air was crisp and most New Yorkers are under-dressed for spending much time outside. Along the way, newspapers proclaimed in headlines the demise of ...

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10 Minutes or Less: Another New Charging System from Nissan Tiny, Adorable, Inexpensive — New Nissan Quick-Charge System Austrians Have a Superpower — Charging EVs at Parking Meters with Renewable Energy

Back in 2003, for those who know the history of the second coming of electric cars, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) was convinced to rewrite the definition of zero emission vehicles to include hybrids. About the same time, Chevron was suing everyone to keep the nickel-metal-hydride battery out of electric vehicles. However, they became the standard for hybrids. The movie “Who Killed the Electric Car” may have been inconclusive but attention did shift to hybrids, which continue to use gasoline, as the EV was crushed.

With this in mind, I have been rather surprised to find a number of recent articles promoting hybrids over battery electric vehicles due to lithium usage. A NREL study concludes lithium is used more sparingly in hybrid cars per pound of carbon saved than in an EV. Bill Moore of EV world ...

“Range anxiety” for pure battery-powered electric car owners wears off quickly as a driver begins to understand the capabilities and charging patterns of their car, according to a new study by the Technology Strategy Board. Around 35 percent of electric car owners were concerned about reaching a destination before running out of juice three months after buying a car, compared to 100 percent of car owners when they first bought the electric car, according to the report. More car owners drove the cars until the battery fell below 50 percent charge. But the report also showed that electric car owners still desire longer ranges. Most battery-powered electric cars are limited in their range, which can make car purchasers skittish and less likely to buy a pure battery-powered electric car. It’s ...

The idea that electric vehicles could be used as power storage for the home is not new, but in current blackout-prone Japan, the country needs to find ways to secure some level of energy security. Enter the Nissan LEAF. Recently, in Japan, Nissan unveiled a system for using its LEAF electric vehicle model to feed power back to a house at moments of power outage or shortage. The two-way system made of lithium-ion batteries can help ease load on the grid during peak hours and allows EV owners to buy their power during the cheaper night hours. The system operated from a 200V single-phase three wire AC input. A switch on the display panel gives users the option to either charge the battery or supply power to the home. A display shows battery power level and ...

General Motors today announced that it is ramping up sales of its plug-in hybrid electric car, the Chevy Volt, in two new states: North Carolina and South Carolina. Like other new electric cars, the Volt is only available in a few states. Before today’s announcement, it was available in New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Connecticut, California, Michigan and Texas, a representative of the company said. The Leaf initially rolled out in California, Washington, Oregon, Arizona and Tennessee. California is the only state where the two cars overlap right now. Volt deliveries will begin in North Carolina and South Carolina in August, company officials said. Nissan has taken the lead in the small, but fiercely competitive, low-end electric car market. The company sold 1,708 Leaf cars in June. That puts it well ahead of General Motors, ...