Slow sales causing electric vehicle makers to slash prices and add incentives

By John LeBlanc With almost five months of inventory sitting on its U.S. dealer lots — more than double the supply analysts’ say is normal — General Motors’ Chevrolet brand has started offering up to $5,000 U.S. dollars (USD) in purchase incentives on its Volt plug-in electric gas electric hybrid.

First Drive: 2011 Nissan Leaf

[svgallery name=”2011_Nissan_Leaf_hirez”] Shockingly normal Driving the world’s first affordable and practical EV surprisingly uneventful By John LeBlanc NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE — With the launch of Nissan’s Leaf, the theoretical hype over electric vehicles that’s been building for the past few years finally meets the cold reality of today’s new car buyer’s wallet. Like losing weight or […]

Paris 2010: Is it the end of the car, as we know it?

Story and photos by John LeBlanc PARIS — Woe be the modern automaker. With a lingering economic recession, ever-tightening fuel economy and emissions regulations and a younger population that is more interested in their next cell phone than their next set of four wheels, the global auto industry is seemingly under attack from all sides.

The Crank: Nissan EV only selling to the oldies

By John LeBlanc Here’s a good one: Instead of the young, hip buyers that you would think an electric-vehicle would attract—you know, the types of customers who are busy spending time updating their Facebook account and plotting ways to get Mom and Dad to pay for their next iPhone app—Nissan is saying that the average […]

The Crank: New Nissan EV’s Canadian availability dependent on government incentives

By John LeBlanc If you haven’t heard, Nissan’s new Leaf electric vehicle is becoming a big deal. The five-passenger car will be the first fully electric car launched by a major automaker and could become a future collectible. It is designed to provide a 160 km range on a full charge. And it looks like […]

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