Author: By DEXTER FORD

The BMW i3’s quirky, design-forward shape, stubby proportions and save-the-world powertrain put it a world apart from any previous BMW.

Harley-Davidson, known for its rumbling motorcycles, is introducing its Project LiveWire Experience, an event that will offer licensed riders a chance to try, of all things, an electric Harley.

The Zero SR is a pumped-up version of the company’s Zero S and a promising indicator that electric motorcycles are closing in on daily-use practicality.

The i8 is BMW’s sci-fi, ultralight showpiece, a plug-in hybrid that has a range of about 20 miles in E.V. mode. But good luck squeezing into the front seat.

The 2014 Cadillac ELR is unique, beautiful, efficient, serenely comfortable and electronically avant-garde, but at $76,000, it’s also bracingly expensive.

How much power drives the Cadillac ELR? It depends on what you mean by power. And by drives.

If online buzz and “Buy Now” buttons were translating into units sold, electric motorcycles would be a major growth industry. In reality, the number of buyers is barely detectable.