Electric cars and public charging: hot dog and bun, not chicken or egg?

2015 Nissan Leaf at evGo fast charger at Livingston Mall, Livingston, NJ   [photo: John Briggs]It's an old cliche used to indicate an unsolvable problem: which came first, the chicken or the egg? Sometimes it's applied to the challenge of electric-car charging stations: which comes first, sales of the cars or installation of public charging to support them? Well, Jeff Allen isn't having any of it. He wants to talk about hot dogs, and buns...

Electric-car discovery, education centers are now a thing

Plug'n Drive Education Center TorontoBreaking with routine and tradition is never easy, especially when it comes to buying, owning, and operating a vehicle powered by an internal-combustion engine. Around the world, roughly 1 billion vehicle owners stop at fuel stations and keep cars powered by fossil fuels running—and have done for a century now. Inevitably, it will take more...

Go Forth Electric Vehicle Showcase in Portland: lessons learned

Chevrolet Bolt EV being charged outside Go Forth electric-car showroom, Portland   [photo: Forth]One of the challenges in getting car shoppers to consider plug-in electric vehicles is the education required. Tesla attacked this problem head on, opening its stores in malls and other sites where potential future buyers could dip their toes in and start to learn about electric cars without being pressured to sign on the line. But at all other...

Drive Oregon goes Forth: new name, broader mission, more states

Honda Fit EV at launch, Northeast Portland community electric car sharing program  [PhotosByKim LLC]Oregon is a state that punches well above its weight in promoting and adopting zero-emission vehicles and plug-in electric cars. Smaller than California, it offers a laboratory where EV makers can try out new programs and experiment with new marketing and charging programs to see how they work. That was the pitch, at least, from the state-funded...

Uber urges Portland drivers to lease electric cars

Electric Avenue charging stations in Portland, Oregon [photo: Portland General Electric]In the wake of numerous recent PR setbacks, Uber may be able to help clean up its image with the launch of the Uber EV initiative in Portland, which supports the city’s green vision for the future. When you think of electric mobility, California might be the first state to come to mind—but Oregon is not far behind. It's one of 13...

Four large West Coast cities unite to buy 24,000 electric cars

Seattle Center as night falls (photo by Jeffery Hayes)When it comes to policy efforts aimed at promoting electric cars, the focus is usually on private passenger vehicles. But to cut carbon emissions in a meaningful way, policymakers will have to look at other types of vehicles as well. That includes the thousands of cars and light trucks in the municipal fleets of large cities. DON'T MISS: BYD...