Nissan Leaf as home energy device: Wallbox will soon enable it in the U.S.

Wallbox Quasar, for bi-directional DC chargingIn the wake of Japan’s 2011 earthquakes, Nissan was particularly proud of something its new Leaf electric car was designed to do from the start—like power an office building for a short time, or a home for a full day, or even traffic lights in a pinch. The Leaf’s capability to fill in as needed as a mobile backup power source, or...

VW stokes electric Microbus buzz with e-Bulli conversion

1966 Volkswagen Samba Bus with EV conversion from eClassicsVolkswagen plans to launch a new electric vehicle inspired by the classic Microbus, but in the meantime the automaker has partnered with eClassics on an electric conversion of the original. The two companies previously teamed up on an electric Beetle conversion, which used powertrain components from the e-Up minicar sold in Europe. Conversions are...

UK project builds electric-car charging into a half-mile of lampposts

London lampposts equipped for electric-car chargingThe great thing about electric-car charging is that it can take advantage of existing grid infrastructure. A new project in the United Kingdom demonstrates the benefits of that. Siemens built charging stations into 24 lampposts on roughly a half-mile of Sutherland Avenue in London. The section of street was rechristened, appropriately enough...

This American hybrid concept faced spiking gas prices with six wheels

Briggs & Stratton HybridLong before the Toyota Prius and the GM EV1 were conceived, an U.S. company not otherwise known for making cars showed a most unusual vehicle possibly described as a progenitor of plug-in hybrids. The company was Briggs & Stratton. And the car, first shown on the heels of the 1979 oil crisis and simply called the Hybrid, had six wheels. The...

This Tesla Model 3 sounds like a gasoline car

Milltek Sport Active Sound ControlWhen it comes to electric cars, one of the hardest things for automotive enthusiasts to get over is the lack of engine noise. But even if an electric car doesn't have a sonorous V-12 or a bellowing small-block V-8, that doesn't mean the owner has to drive along in silence. UK-based Milltek Sport, which currently makes exhaust systems for...

Renault launches new all-electric car-sharing service in Paris

Renault Zity car-sharing serviceAutomaker-operated car-sharing services haven't achieved much success, but that hasn't deterred Renault from launching one in Paris. Renault's Zity car-sharing service, which started in Madrid in 2017, will launch in the French capital in March. Zity will make 500 Renault Zoe electric cars available to Parisians through a mobile app. Similar to...

Hot Wheels helps feed Tesla Cybertruck hunger with electric toys

Hot Wheels 1:64-scale remote control Tesla CybertruckThe Tesla Cybertruck generated quite a lot of buzz when it was unveiled in November 2019. Three months later, Hot Wheels is trying to cash in on that buzz with toy versions of the electric pickup truck. Hot Wheels will release radio-control Cybertruck models in two sizes—1:64 scale and 1:10 scale, referring to the size of the model in...