Tesla Motors just announced that it has repaid the entire $465 million loan that it received from the Department of Energy a full nine years early. The development makes Tesla the only US car company in history to have fully repaid loans received from the government.

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Post tags: Department of Energy, electric car, electric motor, electric vehicle, elon musk, green transportation, tesla, Tesla Model X, tesla model-s, Tesla Rpadster

Electric Vehicle buyers in the US looking for a good deal now have three models to choose from, as General Motors just announced that pricing for the 2014 Chevy Spark EV starts at $27,495. Buyers can also lease the EV for as low as $199 a month, which is the same monthly rate as the Fiat 500e and the Nissan Leaf.

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Post tags: chevy, chevy ev, chevy spark, chevy spark ev, electric car, electric motor, electric vehicle, epa, general motors, green car, green transportion

It’s hard to imagine a time when driving cross-country was a challenge, a time when gas stations were infrequent and roads were unreliably paved. But that’s exactly what inspired the people at Moto Electra Racing to attempt to ride their electric motorcycle across the country in a record-breaking three days. With 2,500 miles to cover, that’s an average speed of 70 mph with 20 stops for charging and catnaps — a challenge for any rider.

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Post tags: coast to coast trip on an emotorcycle, coast to coast world record, cross country motorcycle, electric motorcycle, electric motorcycle cross country, electric motorcycle racing, electric motorcycle world record, green motorcycles, green racing, Moto Electra motorcycles, Moto Electra Racing, Moto Electra world record, Thad Wolff cross-country, Thad Wolff racing

Hong Kong is laying the foundations for a zero-emissions city with a brand new fleet of 45 bright red electric taxis. Manufactured by China’s BYD, which is partially backed by Warren Buffet, each five-door BYDe6 crossover sedan is powered by an iron phosphate battery that charges in two hours and has a modest 180 mile range. Hong Kong Taxi and Public Light Bus Association Limited are renting the fleet as part of a six month trial period that some say will earn taxi drivers a better wage and local government officials hail the move as the right step towards a cleaner urban environment.

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Post tags: BYD, china electric vehicles, Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer, Environment, green transportation, Hong Kong electric taxis, Hong Kong Taxi, News, Public Light Bus Association Limited, sustainable transportation

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Post tags: alternative transportation, chevy volt, electric car, electric vehicle, ev, ford, ford EV, ford fusion, ford fusion energi, ford fusion energi plug in hybrid, ford fusion energi test drive, ford fusion hybrid, ford hybrid car, fusion energi, fusion energi test drive, fusion hybrid, green cars, green transportation, hybird electric vehicle, hybrid car, Inhabitat test drive, plug-in hybrid, plugin electric vehicle, plugin EV, plugin prius

Consumer Reports recently tried out the Tesla Model S electric car, and after all the testing was done, the magazine found that the Model S outscored every other car in their ratings. “It does so even though it’s an electric car. In fact it does so because it is electric,” Consumer Reports stated. Consumer Reports gave the Model S high marks for its impressive power, overall balance and comfortable ride.

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Post tags: Consumer Reports, electric car, electric motor, electric vehicle, green car, green transportation, tesla, Tesla electric car, tesla model-s

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Post tags: alternative transportation, aviation industry, aviation safety, electric vehicles, flying car, flying hybrid electric car, future of flight, green transportation, Massachusetts, Terrafugia, TF-X, transition

Tesla Motors has long worked towards producing the car of the future, and the Model S may well be the perfect electric vehicle for the middle class. If getting 265 miles per charge wasn’t enough to certify the sedan as an example of cutting edge technology, CEO Elon Musk recently told Bloomberg that he was in talks with Google to develop an autonomous driving system. Musk could take advantage of Google’s 500,000+ road miles to develop the technology, which he refers to as “autopilot” instead of “self-driving” to assuage fears of malfunction.

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Post tags: autonomous, bloomberg, ceo, electric car, elon musk, Google, lexus, LIDAR, light detection and ranging system, Mercedes-Benz, model s, NISSAN, sedan, self-driving, Tesla Motors, Toyota, volvo

Charging time and cost are two of the biggest obstacles facing electric vehicle battery technology today. Fortunately, researchers at the Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden just developed an integrated motor drive and battery charger that can shorten charging time from eight hours to two while reducing overall cost by $2,000.

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Post tags: chalmers university of technology, cost, electric vehicle, ev, fossil fuel, integrated charger, saeid haghbin, Sweden, time, volvo ab

Many of us would love to own a shiny new car, especially if that vehicle were at the forefront of cutting-edge technology. Electric vehicles seem like an enlightened way to get around without having to resort to a gas-guzzling jalopy or sacrifice personal freedom. Unfortunately, if you are considering buying an EV, you will almost certainly come away from the dealership with a much lighter pocketbook. In an effort to lessen the sting of going green, California Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi has proposed a bill that would use the post-purchase value of the car to reduce taxes and fees for plug-ins.

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Post tags: ab-1077, assemblyman al muratsuchi, California, credit, electric vehicle, ev, ford, hermosa beach, legislation, plug-in, revenue and tax committee, sales tax, Toyota

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Post tags: "leed", electric car, Green Building, green car, green car dealership, green transportation, Laura K. Cowan, rav4, Sustainable Building, test drive, Toyota, Toyota RAV4 EV

General Motors has released the official EPA ratings for the 2014 Chevy Spark electric vehicle, which goes on sale this summer in California and Oregon. The 2014 Spark EV has a driving range of up to 82 miles when fully charged and an EPA-estimated combined city/highway 119 MPGe, making it the most efficient retail electric vehicle available in the US.

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Post tags: chevy, chevy spark, chevy spark ev, electric car, electric motor, epa, general motors, green car, lithium ion battery

Toyota just unveiled the new ME.WE electric concept, which is a pick-up, convertible, off-roader and small city car in one. Toyota says that the ME.WE is simpler, more appropriate and more realistic than many of today’s cars that are about “passion and status.”

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Post tags: electric motor, electric vehicle, green city car, green convertible, green pickup, in-wheel electric motor, Toyota, toyota electric vehicle, Toyota green car, Toyota i-ROAD concept, Toyota ME.WE concept

In this economy, it isn’t just students and homeowners who are having trouble paying back their loans. In a statement on Monday, the US Department of Energy said that it had seized $21 million from Anaheim, California-based electric car maker Fisker Automotive, Inc. on April, 11. The DOE said that it will continue to seek repayment from a loan agreement made back in 2009. A payment was due this week, but was not met. This decision came several weeks after the company laid off three-quarters of its workers and had part of its $529 million loan frozen back in 2011.

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Post tags: anaheim, aoife mccarthy, California, congress, DOE, Finland, Fisker Automotive, House of Representatives, hybrid car, karma, loan, solyndra

Hyundai just unveiled a series of new concepts for single-person vehicles that can navigate heavily congested cities – including a multi-rotor flying car! The next-gen vehicle is propelled by four electric motors and propellers and it can hover over the ground, keeping the driver above congestion.

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Post tags: HYUNDAI, hyundai E4U egg car, hyundai five-jointed car, Hyundai IDEA festival, hyundai multi-rotor flying car, hyundai portable transforming car, hyundai road car/ bike, hyundai spare tire electric bike

GreenTech Automotive, manufacturer of the electric MyCar, and Chinese automaker JAC Motors have announced a new partnership that will include the development of a five-passenger electric sedan. The new electric sedan will combine JAC’s Rejoice vehicle platform with an electric powertrain from GreenTech Automotive. All vehicles will be assembled in the United States.

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Post tags: battery, electric car, electric motor, electric sedan, electric vehicle, green car, green transportation, greentech automotive, jac motors

Volkswagen has unveiled its newest concept, the CrossBlue Coupe Hybrid, which will debut this week at the 2013 Shanghai Auto Show. According to Volkswagen, the CrossBlue Coupe Hybrid concept offers a glimpse at the automaker’s future with its sleek dynamic exterior and a plug-in hybrid powertrain.

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Post tags: 2013 Shanghai Auto Show, green car, green transporation, hhybrid suv, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, volkswagen, Volkswagen CrossBlue Coupe concept, Volkswagen hybrid, Volkswagen plug-in hybrid

Greek architect Anestis Papaemanouil won the Duo-Gard Charging Station Design Contest with his solar-powered, nature-inspired “TWITT” concept. Duo-Gard challenged designers to create a one-car charging station and canopy that is both sustainable and flexible in its installation and usage. Papaemanouil’s winning design will be built and installed in Philadelphia for Greenbuild 2013, the annual conference of the US Green Building Council.


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Post tags: "energy efficiency", Anestis Papaemanouil TWITT, charging station design, daylighting systems, Design Competition, Duo-Gard, Duo-Gard Charging Station Design Contest, green design, Greenbuild 2013, photovoltaic panels, Solar Power, William Cultrara Franklin Grid

Fiat just announced that its 2013 500e electric car will start at $32,500 before available tax incentives. Starting this summer, California residents can purchase the 500e for as low as $20,500 after federal credits, state incentives and Fiat rebates are included. That’s about $200 less than the current starting price of a comparably equipped Fiat 500 Lounge with a gas engine.

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Post tags: California, electric car, electric motor, FIAT, Fiat 500, Fiat 500e, Fiat electric car, green car, green transportation

Edison2 just unveiled the latest version of its Very Light Car (VLC) at The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. An earlier version of the vehicle won the $5 million Automotive X Prize back in 2010, and the new Very Light Car 4.0 incorporates safety innovations developed for long-distance racing cars and uses batteries and motors similar to those in standard EV’s. The new vehicle weighs less than 1,100 pounds, and the makers expect that their final production version will weigh under 1,400 pounds while still meeting federal safety requirements.

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Post tags: automotive x-prize, Battery powered vehicle, Edison2 VLC, Edison2 X Prize, electric powered VLC, electric vehicles, energy efficient cars, green car design, green transportation, low-mass vehicles, plug-in car design, recyclable car parts, Very Light Vehicle