Nissan's new electric car, the 2011 Leaf, is rolling out slowly. Recently, it came to light that early-delivery vehicles are failing to start after the air conditioning has been used under certain circumstances.   Nissan has developed a software update to fix the problem, and will install it in all affected Leafs...Read more

What is the basic purpose of the new electric cars?  For most of us, it is as a city or local commuting vehicle. The basic commuting "appliance" might be optimized to:  1. cost as little as possible to acquire; 2. have decent functional range for the typical commute or errand, e.g. 50 miles?; and 3. be able ...Read more

It is apparently quite possible that the local utility company that provides the power to charge your new electric vehicle may not have "all its ducks in a row" when it comes to charging you properly for that electricity. I recently bought both a 2011 Nissan Leaf and a 2011 Chevy Volt, and well beforehand, I applied f...Read more

As of the middle of April, gasoline is approaching $4.00 per gallon across the United States and oil is surging past $110 per barrel.  More and more energy observers are talking about "$5 per gallon fuel" here in the U.S. So how do you minimize your gasoline costs and maximize your mileage? What makes more sense,...Read more

The choices among electric cars just keep getting better, as BMW has now announced the lease details for the first stage of its evolution into BMW-branded electric cars. The ActiveE, an all-electric version of the 1-series, will be available for lease requests later this summer. It will be offered in four California m...Read more

Last week, the Associated Press distributed a video report called "Are Electric Cars Worth the Price?" (It's embedded at the bottom of this article.) The video featured this author as an example of someone who owns both the 2011 Nissan Leaf and the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, and it included commentary from Eric Evarts, a st...Read more

These are exciting times to be a car shopper, as the choices in every possible category just keep getting better and more fuel-efficient. The options for ecologically sensitive hybrid buyers have taken a major step forward with the introduction of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt and the imminent arrival of the 2011 Fisker Kar...Read more

Electric cars like the 2011 Chevrolet Volt and 2011 Fisker Karma get around the problem of range anxiety the old-fashioned way: They use gasoline engines. They do it because the battery systems of pure electric vehicles are large, heavy, and expensive, but the range they produce is still ...limited. A series hybrid, l...Read more

One way for potential buyers to get familiar with electric cars is to rent one. Several rental companies, among them Enterprise, have announced plans to rent 2011 Nissan Leaf and other electric models at selected locations. Renting an electric car lets you spend far more time in one than the typical short demonstratio...Read more

Not all electric cars are the same. Buyers can now choose between "pure" battery electric vehicles and a car with a combination power train termed either a range-extended electric vehicle, which uses a gasoline engine to generate electricity to run the car, or a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) that adds plug-in capability to a ...Read more