Electric cars have the great advantage that their batteries can be recharged anywhere there's electricity. It may not be particularly fast, though modern plug-in vehicles get at least 60 miles overnight, and often double or triple that. But a century ago, drivers of gasoline cars had just as much range anxiety as electric-car... Gasoline range anxiety 100 years ago made electric-car charging seem easy
Electric cars have the great advantage that their batteries can be recharged anywhere there's electricity. It may not be particularly fast, though modern plug-in vehicles get at least 60 miles overnight, and often double or triple that. But a century ago, drivers of gasoline cars had just as much range anxiety as electric-car... 
In the beginning, there was Tesla, although it wasn't started by current CEO Elon Musk. While Musk has now become synonymous with the electric-car brand, Tesla was actually founded by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, who had previously founded and sold a eBook reader company. While both left the company in 2008, they have kept their hands in... 
With a new, all-electric Mini E set to arrive in dealerships in a year or less, BMW wants to highlight the idea of a Mini Cooper powered by batteries. That's what led it to display an "old Mini" converted to electric power at a reception before last week's New York auto show. Sadly, the car wasn't on display at the show itself because—as... 
Think back, if you can, to early 2008. In the real world, that's just 10 years ago, but in electric-car time, it's several millennia. The Tesla Roadster had been announced, but hadn't yet struggled into production. The Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt were still deep in development, and the plan for a Tesla Model S hadn't been announced beyond a vague... 
![Paul Scott and Barbara with Zero electric motorcycle [photo: Charles Ryan-Barber]](https://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/paul-scott-and-barbara-with-zero-electric-motorcycle-photo-charles-ryan-barber_100644912_t.gif)
Most of the U.S. was unaware that modern electric cars got their start in California between 1996 and 2002. Many of the earliest owners and EV advocates from those days remain involved 20 years later, though their names may be familiar only to a small group of activists. One of those people is Paul Scott, who's been part of several important... 
Startup carmaker Tesla is just coming up on the 10th anniversary of its first delivery, the first of the 2,500 Roadster two-seat electric sports cars that launched it into world awareness. The company recently delivered its 300,000th car, putting it well ahead of all but one other startup carmaker in U.S. history. That would be Kaiser-Frazer... 
In a recent video posted to YouTube, environmental advocacy group The Sierra Club dialed up production values to call out Ford's lobbying efforts to roll back fuel-economy standards. The video showed a man getting into a modern-day Ford, starting the engine, then noting the shift lever had an array of reverse gears but no forward drive. When the... 
This month marks the 75th year since the death of famed inventor and and electrical innovator Nikola Tesla, a man whose life is as interesting as his technical achievements. Tesla, a Serbian who was born in what's now Croatia, brought the world numerous innovations in electricity that, to this day, define how we live. On January 7th, Tesla was... 
Looking at yesterday's visions of tomorrow is always entertaining, from flying cars to cities of the future. In the case of the electric car, there have been two futures: one from 1890 to about 1910, and then another starting 100 years later in 2011. The intervening century saw many, many predictions about mass-market electric cars, but none of... 
So here's a question for you: when was the last time you traveled by horse to ... well, to anywhere other than the stable you started from? In 1900, horses were the de facto way for Americans to travel, whether riding them or in horse-drawn carts. By 1925, that had changed: 15 years of the Ford Model T, or "Tin Lizzie," had revolutionized road... ![One of two 1909 Studebaker electric cars built for underground use [Architect of the U.S. Capitol]](http://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/one-of-two-1909-studebaker-electric-cars-built-for-underground-use-architect-of-the-u-s-capitol_100610517_t.gif)
One advantage of electric cars is that unlike gasoline or steam cars, they have no emissions. More than a century ago, that was why the U.S. Capitol acquired two custom-built electric cars, nicknamed "Tommy" and "Peggy." They were built by Studebaker, an early and hallowed U.S. car brand that finally folded up shop in 1965. DON'T MISS: Electric... 
For almost a century, many people have blamed oil magnate John D. Rockefeller for the demise of ethanol as a viable fuel for internal-combustion engines. He fought its use, the theory goes, to eliminate competition for the gasoline derived from his Standard Oil business—whose descendant companies still extract and sell fossil fuels today... 
The myth surrounding the car that's credited with putting America on wheels simply isn't true: the Ford Model T was never meant to run fuels other than gasoline. The myth has circulated throughout the car's history, most recently thanks to the internet. It has mostly taken the form of a legend in which Henry Ford supposedly included a switch on... ![Smog obscures George Washington Bridge, 1973 [From EPA Documerica series]](http://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/smog-obscures-george-washington-bridge-1973-from-epa-documerica-series_100594067_t.gif)
It can be argued that the current presidential administration appears to lack interest in the traditional mission of the Environmental Protection Agency. As a candidate, Donald Trump advocated wholesale repeal of environmental regulations and increased production of fossil fuels. He has also called climate science a "hoax" created by China to hurt... 
The average fuel economy of the new cars and light trucks sold in the U.S. is appreciably higher than it was 10 years ago. The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute has demonstrated that in its regular reports calculating new-car average fuel economy since October 2007. But researchers Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle found... 
As an auto company that exclusively produces electric cars, Tesla Motors has a very appropriate name. It is, of course, named after Nikola Tesla, a famed engineer who pioneered technologies related to electricity. So what might Nikola Tesla think of his namesake? DON'T MISS: Pilot production of Tesla Model 3 to start Feb 20: report That's the... 
When it comes to alternative fuels, the discussion usually centers around compressed natural gas, or biofuels like ethanol or biodiesel. But before the concept of low-carbon or carbon-neutral fuels even existed, a few early makers and desperate drivers tried something completely different. They powered their vehicles with wood, the same fuel used... 
Twenty years ago today, the very first GM EV1 electric cars were delivered to 40 lessees in California in a blaze of publicity. Since then, plug-in electric vehicles have seen more than their share of ups and downs. That first EV1 was a high-tech two-seater created specifically to meet California's then-current zero-emission vehicle rules... 
More than a year after it was revealed that Volkswagen used illegal "defeat device" software in diesel cars to cheat on emissions tests, the company is still working to rebuild its reputation. Another crisis and ensuing public criticism is the last thing VW needs right now. But opaque statements and the effect of German labor laws may have... 
Hybrid cars are often thought of as a fairly recent development, but few things under the sun are truly new. In response to the 1970s oil crises, engineers began contemplating ways to move the auto industry beyond fossil fuels, using much less sophisticated technology than what became available in the ensuing decades. One of the leaders of this...