The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Apple has committed to trying to produce an electric car by 2019. Some see it as assuring the transformation of the auto industry, while others see it as Apple’s Waterloo.
Earlier this month the nation celebrated National Drive Electric Week, with events in 195 cities.
People tend to think that Teslas and the Nissan Leaf are new developments, but in fact the electric car has a history stretching back to the 19th century. The first electric car was built in 1884 by Thomas Parker, the man responsible for designing the London Underground, plus various overhead tramways in Liverpool and Birmingham, […]
The month of September will mark a turning point as to whether Tesla Motors will be just another overhyped technology stock or whether it is truly about to lead a revolution in the auto industry. The month will mark the introduction of Tesla’s Model X, a $90,000 crossover SUV that will test the company’s ability […]
Without much fanfare, the number of fueling stations offering an alternative to gasoline has passed the 20,000 mark, according to the federal government’s Clean Cities program. The number of gasoline fueling stations, according to the American Petroleum Institute, is 153,000. The figure shows that alternative infrastructure is gaining ground even as the number of alternative […]
The more you look at the contemporary scene with gasoline and imported oil, the more you have to wonder why we’re not switching some of our fuel needs to methanol. Look at what’s happening: Oil has become so plentiful that we’re reverting to the old situation of the 1950s, when the big concern among oil […]
In his State of the Union address on Jan. 28, 2003, President George W. Bush proposed $1.2 billion in research funding so that America “can lead the world in developing clean, hydrogen-powered automobiles.” “With a new national commitment,” the president added, “our scientists and engineers will overcome obstacles to taking these cars from laboratory to showroom, […]
J.W.G. Turner and R.J. Pearson et al, Lotus Engineering The authors of this research argue that since there isn’t enough E85 to power all the flex-fuel vehicles on the road, “the introduction of methanol (which can be made extremely simply and cheaply from natural gas) into gasoline-ethanol mixtures, can be used to create drop-in fuels […]
As oil prices have tumbled, one thing has become clear: Electric vehicles are making much greater headway in the rest of the world than they are in the United States. U.S. sales have remained flat over the past year after increasing steadily over the last decade. But sales have actually accelerated in some European countries, […]
Over the last month, the following incidents have taken place in the Middle East: On July 4, a car bomb exploded in a crowded market in Baghdad, killing nine people and injuring 24. Although no one took credit for the attack, suspicion fell on ISIS, which had been responsible for previous bombings in Baghdad. The […]
