The Fast Lane Car

Video: A Day in the Life of an Electic Car

In the very near future will we all be driving electric cars?

That's a question that only 10 years ago seemed like a dream, but today with all electric cars like the 2012 Nissan Leaf, it doesn't seem so far fetched.

Unlike, gasoline powered cars, electric cars can't be filled up at your local gas station in a few minutes.

Once they run our of electricity...you are well and truly stuck.

This is called range anxiety and it can be all too real.

We decide to find out just how real by spending a day in the life of the all new Nissan Leaf.

2012 Ford Focus Electric Inside and Out preview and Factory tour video

The 2012 Ford Focus Electric will be available for sale next year and will be the second all electric car from a big automaker to hit the showrooms after the Nissan Leaf.

However unlike the Leaf, the EV Focus is completely based on an existing car and platform so it looks and even drives like the gasoline power version of the Focus. Ford says the Focus Electric  will go over 70 miles on a full charge and take 3 hours to fill up with electrons when plugged into a 240V Charging station. 

We recently had the chance to take a tour of the Wayne, Michigan factory where the EV Focus is being built.

Check out this video preview below of the all Electric face of Ford.

How to build a very cool all electric car on a Sam's Club budget

Earlier this week we featured THIS story where we compared a Nissan Leaf to a replica Porsche Speedster.

The Leaf can be yours for $35K minus the $7500 Federal Tax credit while the Porsche eSpeedster will set you back $59,000K minus a $6000 state tax credit.

But what if you want to go EV green on a Sam's Club budget?

Elbert, from Texas, sent us these photos of his all electric commuter car that he built for under $15,000.

Elbert writes, "My car is based on a 1970 Volkswagen beetle. The roof and  the top of the rear section are an old  kit that is still being produced.

The fenders, visor, and hood are also aftermarket parts still available. This a fairly simple conversion. I am using a kit also purchased on line at.e-volks.com. Batteries are 12 volt deep cycle marine from SAM’ CLUBS. Top speed so far is about 76 MPH and the range is in the 40 mile area.

2011 Nissan Leaf versus Electric Porsche Speedster mashup review

Let's face it, electric cars are here to stay.

In fact many people believe that all electric cars are the future of transportation. In this mashup match-up we take the mundane but affordable 2011 Nissan Leaf and review and compare it to an all electric Porsche Speedster replica built by Duke's Garage just North of Denver, Colorado.

Which car best represents the future of EV cars, and perhaps more importantly can electric cars also be fun to drive?

The answer is in the video below, but here's a serious hint: electric cars can and are as fun to drive as cars with more traditional internal combustion engines...at least as long as you have a full charge in the battery.

Photo of the Day: All electric Porsche 356A Speedster combines fun & fuel efficiency

This all electric Porsche 356A Speedster may be the perfect combination of fun and fuel efficiency. The replica Porsche is built by Duke Altschuler of Duke's Garage (pictured) and can be yours for $59,000.

According to Altschuler, the classic electric Porsche is "turnkey ready,  100% electric Porsche is built on a Beck 1957 356 eSpeedster convertible platform. Red paint job with light whiskey leather interior. Comes with a chocolate imported German Haarts cloth convertible top, full-length button on Tonneau cover/split zipper and acrylic removable side windows. Coil over adjustable shocks, 4-wheel disc brakes and wide five wheels. Pro street 4-speed VW transaxle."

Review: the 2011 all electric Nissan Leaf is probably a second car for most folks

NASHVILLE—The Nissan Leaf hatchback sedan—world’s first mass-produced all-electric car—drives like a regular, pleasant five-passenger economy car. However, some  owners may worry that they’ll run out of juice before reaching their destination.

However, Nissan says 90 percent of the U.S. population, on average, drives less than 100 miles a day. It says typical consumer weekday and weekend driving patterns are mostly less than 50 miles. The Leaf with a fully charged battery is said to go up to 100 miles.

First Drive: Is the all electric 2011 Nissan Leaf ready for a prime spot in your garage?

Let's just be very clear.

Nissan has pretty much already sold out of the 2011 all electric Leafs.

They have over 10,000 reservations on their books and tens of thousands of more people have expressed interest in buying the car.

So the question is not will the Leaf sell?

First Drive: Is the Smart Fortwo Electric the budget shopper's Tesla Roadster?

Let’s say you wanted something fast, sporty and electric to impress your buddies at the local Hot Yoga den but you don’t have an extra 100K to blow – what do you do? Well, if you want two seats and a similar type of battery packs used by Tesla, what about a Smart Fortwo Electric? Okay, it’s not particularly sporty and it won’t go very far past 70 mph, at least it’s chic.

First Drive: The tiny all electric Mitsubishi i-MiEV mystifies gas station goers

This is how it went down (this REALLY happened – I included as many quotes as I could remember):

I nearly got back to the i-MiEV I was testing in the demilitarized zone called Fontana, California from the AM/PM Mini-mart when two men stopped me.

“Suup?” the short one with the prison tattoos and low-rider glass said to me. “That your car?” the massive one asked who smelled like a sweat distillery. I nodded and thought about my situation:

Hybrid vs. Electric: Today's hybrid technology takes on tomorrow's electric car

The hybrid car (read Toyota Prius) has been around for ten years.

On the other hand the all electric car has been around pretty much since cars were invented but only recently have they been perfected as a real answer to most people's transportation needs.

So it just seems natural to wonder which technology is better, and which technology is the future.

World's cheapest electric car the Tata Nano unvieled at Geneva Auto Show

It's small.

It's cheap.

It's all electric, and it is scheduled to arrive on the the market in 2012.

At the current Geneva auto show you'll find this small EV car with big potential.

Playing dirty: We take a Tesla Roadster to 10K above sea level and get it good and dirty

If you ever want the sensation of flying a jet fighter without leaving the earth, the Tesla Roadster may be the car for you… if you have well over 100K. Like any sports car, the Tesla has its limitations, notably a tight cockpit, harsh ride and an amazingly thick pillar that require a driver over 6-feet to remove their lower torso and re-attach after egress/ingress.

Tesla Roadster Rocky Mountain road trip video: driving an EV across the Continental Divide

Take a brand new and very expensive all electric sports car (the Tesla Roadster Sport), add some Rocky Mountains, the Continental Divide, and season with a bit of winter snow, and you have the ingredients for a fun Colorado road trip.

The question of course is a simple one.

Can you take an electric car across country and across the great Continental Divide in the winter and not be worried that it will run out of juice before you get home?

The answer: yes and no.

Video: Will you be driving the production ready all-electric Nissan Leaf in 2010?

The 2010 Detroit Auto Show featured a lot of interesting new electric cars but the one that really stood out as affordable was the new Nissan Leaf which will be for available for sale at the end of 2010, and which will have a range of almost 100 miles on a single charge.

So will you be driving the all-electric Nissan Leaf this year?

Video: Unveiled and exposed the all-electric Tesla Model S gets futuristic Jetsons gee whiz dashboard

Wow---that was the reaction of many jaded journalist to the Jestsons like dashboard of the futuristic Tesla's family car the Model S at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show.

Thinking of it as a giant iPhone touchscreen is perhaps the best way to describe the inter-phase between the driver and car.