Electric Vehicle Authority

The Zero Emission No Noise (ZENN) car company, which was founded in 2001 in Toronto by marketing executive Ian Clifford, has released it's first model, the CityZENN, which can travel just over 30 miles per hour with a 50 mile range. The base model goes for just over $15K and is available all over the United States, unlike some other EV's only available in Europe.The ZENN website has several images of the new electric vehicle cruising around the streets of San Francisco and the University of California in Berkeley, which are perfect environments for the low speeds that these cars...

T. Boone Pickens appeared on The Daily Show with John Stewart on November 12th to share his new book "The First Billion Is the Hardest: Reflections on a Life of Comebacks and America's Energy Future" and ended up sharing some of his thoughts on renewable energy, natural gas and electric cars. We've got a short clip below and the full episode is available here.Pickens is known for his work chairing a hedge fund called BP Capital Management and his philanthropic nature, having given away over $700M to charities. He has long invested in and worked for the oil industry but...

It's been mentioned several times on the campaign trail by Barack Obama, the need to build up US infrastructure around clean energy and electricity (to send wind and solar energy into major cities to be used by cleaner devices). In a recent video interview with Rachel Maddow, the first video on this page, he connected the vision of renewable energy production to plugin hybrid cars and ultimately electric cars and other EV's. A direct quote from that interview follows:"if you're going to spend deficit spending...then it better be in rebuilding our roads, our bridges (instead of Iraq)...one of the most...

Triple A auto insurance is promoting green transportation through it's new Greenlight Initiative program which provides information on alternative fuels and sustainable transportation. You can see a list of upcoming events in your area related to electric vehicles and hybrids by visiting the website www.aaa.com/greenlight and entering your zip code. Currently the Northern California AAA Greenlight events page is promoting the upcoming San Francisco International Auto show and Triple A is offering a 2 for 1 discount to its members.We found out about the AAA Greenlight Initiative a week ago when we saw a Toyota Prius (not quite an EV)...

In 1999 Ford Motor Company bought Pivco Industries, the parent company of the Think electric car, Think City. Several years later in 2003 Ford sold the company as demand in the US for electric cars was soft and it was not able to turn a profit. Fast forward to 2008 and Think is still around in Norway where it is releasing an updated version of it's old car the Think City.This tiny car can be fully charged in just 12 hours and has a max speed of 68 with a range of ~100 miles. The new Think City has been...

Last month I was living in Menlo Park on the Edge of Redwood City so that I could work at a place called The TechShop without having to drive too far. For those of you who haven't heard of it, TechShop is a 15,000 square-foot membership-based workshop that provides access to tools and equipment, instruction, and a creative and supportive community of members and instructors. They've got everything from band saws to welders to plasma cutters and it's open for use as long as you're a member and have taken relevant certification classes (through TechShop).I was acutally living in the...

The plugin hybrid Fisker Karma is turning heads worldwide with it's Q-drive technology, basically a small gas engine that turns a generator which charges Lithium Ion batteries (like those in the Tesla and other high end EV sports cars). The car is due out in 2009 but has sold out and is now taking reserve orders for 2010 models. In many ways this car resembles the Chevy Volt (also due out around 2010) having a driving range emission free for up to 50 miles before the generator kicks in. Chrysler has announced a minivan and Jeep that follow suit with...

Segways have finally debuted in the main stream, they are now available in two flavors through 10 select Best Buys across California (and are available to be shipped nation wide to local Best Buy's by calling one of the participating stores - our store can be reached at (650) 903-0591 extension 3). For $5,300 you get the standard, smooth tired version made for roads and sidewalks. For an extra $400 you can upgrade to the off-road version with larger tires, wider track, and more aggressive tread. According to store reps both versions are "water proof" but we'll on the side...

The Napa Valley Unified School District has taken delivery of California's first hybrid school bus, joining Napa's existing bus fleet for the first day of school on August 20. The bus was manufactured by the IC Corporation, an affiliate of Navistar International Corporation, which is based in Warrenville, Ill, and is the fifth of 17 plug-in hybrid electric school buses sold across the country recently. This hybrid school bus, has higher gas mileage and improved safety features that promise to help save the environment, while keeping its precious cargo even more safe as well. The bus gets 12.2 mpg, twice the six...

What's the difference between AC and DC electric car motors and which one will work best for your application? This article introduces the basics of EV motors and compares DC vs. AC in terms of cost, popularity, and DIY vs. premade. Direct Current DC motors are the most popular do it yourself choice for EV conversions for a few reasons. Firstly, they are the least expensive and most readily available EV motors. The NetGain WarP 9 is a popular choice which retails for ~$1,800 and has enough power for a small or medium sized car. DC Series wound electric motors...