Electric cars such as the Nissan Leaf and Toyota Prius Plug-In began 2013 with a sales slump. In the months ahead, automakers hope to boost sales with increased production and cheaper prices.
Nissan Leaf
Are Electric-Car Enthusiasts a Little Too Enthusiastic?
Some electric vehicle owners have over-the-top praise for their cars’ performance and practicality. Does that mean the vast majority of drivers on the road are stupid for not being EV early adopters?
Hybrid-Car Competition Heats Up: Does the Toyota Prius Finally Have a Worthy Challenger?
In January, Ford sold five times as many hybrid vehicles as it did the year before. New hybrids from Volkswagen, Honda and pretty much every other automaker also mean that Toyota, which has dominated the market for years with its …
What Would Make an All-Electric Car Appeal to the Masses?
It’s widely assumed that the car of the future will be powered by gasoline. At least partly powered by gas, that is, and at least for the near future. When, if ever, will the pure-electric car — one powered solely by battery, …
Auto Navigation Systems: Too Complicated, Too Pricey, Just Plain Unnecessary?
A factory-installed navigation system adds more than $1,000 to the sticker price of a car. Maybe that’d be worth it if the systems worked better—and if there weren’t cheap or free, arguably superior alternatives readily …
At Under $19K for a Nissan Leaf, Does the Math on Electric Cars Finally Add Up?
Nissan’s Leaf has a long way to go to expand beyond its status as a niche commuter car. Sales have been underwhelming, even with cheap lease offers, leading some to declare the Leaf an overpriced, impractical flop. Will this …
Why the Car of the Future Will Be Powered by … Gasoline
The consensus among auto insiders is that hybrid cars that run on battery and gas have a much brighter future than vehicles powered by electricity alone. And hotter still in the decade or so ahead? Cars that just use plain old gas.
Electric Cars: More Models, Cheaper Prices Coming in 2013
The electric car has already gone through so much—from being pumped up as a game changer to all but being declared a flop—that it’s easy to forget the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf have only been widely available to the public …
Free Fuel! Ultra-Cheap Leases! Automakers Sweeten Deals on Alternative-Energy Cars
What with gasoline prices rising unexpectedly lately, drivers are more likely than usual to consider a vehicle powered by cheaper energy sources. Sensing an opportunity, Honda is now offering the equivalent of three years’ free …
Meh, No Thanks: 3 Hyped Tech Products Consumers Are Passing On
Can consumers be relied upon to jump onto the latest tech, regardless of price, practicality, and whether the product at hand actually represents worthwhile innovation? Well, if we’re talking Apple products, to some extent the …
Is It Time to Declare the Nissan Leaf a Flop?
The headline for a recent Detroit News story has it that the “20,000 sales target [is] unlikely” for the Nissan Leaf. But “unlikely” is probably understating things. It appears as if Nissan won’t get halfway to its 20,000-Leaf …
Where a Nissan Leaf Costs Over $50K
Even when the national average for gas neared $4 per gallon, very few American drivers were opting for electric cars such as the Nissan Leaf, largely because of the limited mileage range (100 miles max before requiring a …
