Archive for the ‘Electric Cars’ Category

Speaking of the Tokyo Motor Show, hybrid vehicles, and executive pronouncements, Nissan's head honcho, Carlos Ghosn, has made some interesting statements about Nissan's technology plans. Speaking from the exhibition floor, Ghosn said that Nissan doesn't want to be a big player in the hybrid market, having chosen instead to set its sights further down the road: "We are not intending to play a leadership role in hybrids. One company already assumed leadership in the technology. We want leadership on EVs." Sounds a little reminiscent of Honda's view on EVs versus fuel-cell vehicles -- although Ghosn gets points for standing firm instead of...

Proving that city cars don't have to be sleepy little streamlined dice, the Nissan Land Glider EV concept being prepped for the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show ties together easy maneuverability and parking with a sense of excitement behind the wheel, despite being piloted by a surprisingly sedate woman in the press photos.

The Japanese are often keen to liken the experience of driving a car to that of riding a horse--as Mazda terms it, "jinba ittai," or "horse and rider as one." That's the sort of philosophy that's inspired some of the most fun-to-drive Japanese sports cars in history, including the Mazda Miata.

Proving that Mazda doesn't have a...

Shai Agassi, the founder and CEO of Better Place, is by all accounts a supremely charismatic entrepreneur. He has raised hundreds of millions of dollars to wire Israel with electric-car recharging stations and battery quick-swap facilities, and will offer to sell his customers as many miles as they care to drive in Better Place cars at a fixed rate, just like a cell-phone service plan.

But like Elon Musk of Tesla Motors, who also occasionally says things that aren't quite true,  Agassi could use a bit of basic fact-checking. He claims that electric cars offered through Better Place will cost $4,500 to $7,500 less than equivalent gasoline or ...