Hasta La Gadget!

Thank you Toyota, for teaching us the plural of Prius, because somehow, “Toyota sells one million Priuples” just doesn’t jive. That’s right, the Japanese automaker announced Wednesday that it has officially sold its one millionth Prius on American soil. It’s reportedly also reached a couple of other sales milestones in the last six months, with worldwide Prius sales reaching two million in October and overall Toyota hybrid sales exceeding three million in March. Now that’s a whole lot of Prii. Full PR after the break.

Continue reading Toyota sells one million Prii in US alone

Toyota sells one million Prii in US alone originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 00:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Thought the Prez was just kidding about those alternative fuel initiatives? Think again. Just hours after stating that the US government fleet would be 100 percent alternative fuel, hybrid, or electric vehicles by 2015, Obama has announced the National Clean Fleets Partnership, an initiative of the Department’s Clean Cities program. It’s a rather unique public-private partnership, and it’ll be assisting large companies to “reduce diesel and gasoline use in their fleets by incorporating electric vehicles, alternative fuels, and fuel-saving measures into their operations.” A handful of Charter members have made themselves known, with AT&T, Verizon, FedEx, Pepsi-Co and UPS all committed to deploying over 20,000 advanced technology vehicles in the years to come — an effort that should save over seven million gallons of fuel per year. Ma Bell in particular will be replacing over 15,000 rides with 7,000 hybrids and 8,000 compressed natural gas vehicles during the next decade, while Verizon looks to use a raft of cars (er, vans) that rely on biodiesel and ethanol. Whether or not such a program leads to the installation of more EV charging stations remains to be seen, but if it’s good enough for Brown, surely it’ll be good enough for your future Tesla. Vid’s after the break, kiddos.

Continue reading AT&T and Verizon join National Clear Fleet Program, thumb their noses at petrol

AT&T and Verizon join National Clear Fleet Program, thumb their noses at petrol originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 15:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Don’t get us wrong, we think electric vehicles are totally rad and all, but there’s still the whole recharging thing that makes us a little wary. That’s why we’re stoked to hear that Better Place’s first battery swap station for EVs (and not just special Japanese cabbies) has officially opened its doors in Israel… for owners of the Renault Fluence Z.E. All it takes is an RFID card to enter the carwash-esque structure, and robots from below swap out your empty battery for a fully charged alternative while you occupy yourself for three minutes. No word on how much it’ll cost for the opportunity, but we’ve got an inkling it won’t be cheap. Fortunately, we’ve got apps and “get you home” guarantees for that additional peace of mind, but we do hope the concept eventually makes its way over to our shores. Of course, we’re also still waiting for eternal battery life in all of our electronics, but until that day comes invisible robots changing batteries for us will suffice.

Israel gets its first EV battery swap station, makes charging stations obsolete originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tesla’s looking to take reality shows to a whole new level. The high end electric car manufacturer has sued the British Broadcasting Corporation, alleging that its Top Gear program faked a racing scene involving one of the company’s vehicles. In the scene, the Tesla vehicle grinds to a halt after running out of energy.

We’ve seen it adorned with a giant Honeycomb and an oversized Gingerbread man, and now Google’s bringing a more practical addition to its Mountain View campus — specifically, a Plugless Power EV charging station. Its maker touts the installation as “the first public release” of the handsfree re-juicing system, and says it will eventually provided power to a fleet of low-speed EVs already in use at El Goog HQ — the first of which has already been retrofitted to get pumped up. Who knows, maybe now we’ll see something come of Google’s claims to make electrical vehicles charge more efficiently. Full PR after the break.

Continue reading Google HQ gets juiced with Plugless Power EV charging unit

Google HQ gets juiced with Plugless Power EV charging unit originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 18:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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