Hasta La Gadget!

Gadgets come in all shapes and sizes, but it’s safe to say this is a big’un. Sure, it isn’t exactly portable in the traditional sense, and no 24 month contract is going to make it fit into our budget, but that doesn’t mean it can’t have a place in your life. It’s the Roadster Sport, the latest addition to the Tesla family and released to the world last summer. Version 2.5 is the fastest yet on the road, leaping from zero to 60 in 3.7 seconds yet still getting a rated 245 miles of range.

Of course, we all know that rated range doesn’t necessarily equate to real-world range, and real-world car performance doesn’t always live up to what you read in the magazines, either. Indeed in our testing we weren’t able to make it the full 245 miles that Tesla says you can in a roadster, nor did we come close to approaching this thing’s 125mph top speed. But, after spending plenty of hours wedged inside the cockpit of this $128,500 sporty EV we did walk away mighty impressed, not only with how it drove but in how it sounded. Read on, and you might just be too.

Continue reading Tesla Roadster 2.5 Sport review

Tesla Roadster 2.5 Sport review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 16:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Manufacturers are constantly optimising the driving range for electric vehicles, and sure enough, a Japanese startup recently made a breakthrough with its first prototype. Dubbed the SIM-LEI, this cute four-seater from SIM-Drive sips juice off a Toshiba 24.9kWh lithium ion battery, and can go from zero to 100km/h (62mph) in just 4.8 seconds, with maximum speed topping at 150km/h (93mph). What’s more impressive, though, is that SIM-Drive managed to squeeze out a driving range of 333km (207 miles) on a JC-08 cycle (a standardised test that simulates driving in congested Japanese city traffic), putting the LEI well ahead of its competitors on the chart — Nissan’s Leaf does about 100 miles, for instance. Sadly, mass-production won’t kick off until 2013, which should hopefully let the others do a bit of catching up with this remarkable newcomer.

SIM-Drive’s SIM-LEI electric car achieves 207-mile driving range in Japan originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 21:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Green Car Congress  |  SIM-Drive  | Email this | Comments

Lack of public EV charging stations got you down? Range anxiety a frustrating part of life? Wouldn’t life be grand if you could just carry around an outlet in your trunk? Smile, friend, because Leviton‘s got just the bit your boot’s been looking for. It’s the Evr-Green 120 Level 1 Portable Charger, able to be plugged into any 15- or 20-amp household outlet before the other end goes into your car’s receptacle. Level 1 chargers are not the fastest, often taking 20 or more hours to put a full charge into big batteries, but if you just need to top-up and do it on the go this could be a great solution. It’s also one of the first truly portable chargers we’ve seen. The Best Buy charger for the Focus Electric (which is also from Leviton) is technically portable, but it’s obviously meant for bolting to the wall. This one looks to fit neatly in the trunk right next to all your hockey gear, though the ice might well be thawed before this releases — Leviton is only pledging a rather vague “2011” for availability.

Continue reading Leviton announces Evr-Green 120 portable EV charger, pledges no unsightly shedding of leaves

Leviton announces Evr-Green 120 portable EV charger, pledges no unsightly shedding of leaves originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 11:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Leviton  | Email this | Comments

When was the last time you rode in an electric vehicle almost entirely constructed of carbon fiber and good for 250 miles on a charge? We’re laying odds on “never,” which is why we turned a shade of violent green when we saw Fully Charged host (and part-time Series 4000 Mechanoid) Robert Llewellyn set foot in just such a car. Delta Motorsport’s E4 Coupe, originally designed to win an Automotive X-Prize, is the vehicle we’re referring to here, and despite the fact that only one-third of its full projected power was available to coax Mr. Llewellyn firmly into his racing seat (four-wheel drive and regenerative braking are also TBD) and set his teeth on edge, we have to give the man some major props for documenting the experience for us on film. Watch it after the break.

Continue reading Delta E4 electric coupe goes out for a spin, carrying lucky humanoid (video)

Delta E4 electric coupe goes out for a spin, carrying lucky humanoid (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 08:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Autoblog Green  |  fullychargedshow (YouTube)  | Email this | Comments

There’s unfortunately still no Android version, but Coulomb has now rolled out a fairly significant update to its ChargePoint app for iOS and BlackBerry. In addition to helping you locate EV charging stations in the United States, Europe and Australia, the app will now also provide realtime charging status information, including things like the total cost to charge and the current charging station configuration. Other improvements include a new landscape mode, the ability to view your home ChargePoint station, and the ability to just search for nearby ChargePoint stations (within a thousand foot radius). Full press release is after the break.

Continue reading Coulomb’s ChargePoint app now provides EV charging station status

Coulomb’s ChargePoint app now provides EV charging station status originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Mar 2011 17:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Telematics News  |  iTunes Preview, BlackBerry App World  | Email this | Comments