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Entries Tagged as 'electric vehicles'

Smart Fortwo Electric Drive – Old Fulton Street, (DUMBO) Brooklyn

June 9th, 2010 by Stu

SmartUSA invited us Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass to drive some early prototype versions of their Fortwo EV due out in January 2012. Outside of the pleasing electric whine coming from the motor positioned behind you, the little Fortwo Electric Drive performs much in the same darty, well-planted way that the gasoline version does despite the additional 308 pounds brought on by the batteries. And much like the gasoline version, people ooh and ahh at every intersection, red light, and attempt to park the little bugger. The green wheels and massive “Electric Drive” sticker weren’t exactly helping us fly below the radar.

More after the jump…

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Nissan Leaf – Skylight West Gallery, NYC

February 16th, 2010 by Ian

New York City was particularly green on the night of February 11th. Well, the nightlife was at least. Not only did Nissan hold a promotional event for their soon-to-be-released Leaf electric vehicle, but the New York Academy of Sciences hosted an expert panel to discuss NYC’s infrastructure readiness for the flurry of EV’s on the way. In case you didn’t know, the Leaf will be the first affordable (i.e. not a Tesla), mass market EV to hit the streets when it rolls into dealerships this December. Yes, I know…Chevy’s Volt is due out first in November. But the Volt is technically not a pure EV – it’s a range extended EV. That means an internal combustion engine, or ICE for short, adds longevity to the electric motor when the battery is kaput. Only time, and consumer demand, will tell how drastically these alt energy vehicles will affect energy consumption in major cities. But there is certainly no shortage of buzz on the matter. More pics from the snazzy Nissan Leaf event after the jump.

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Segway Human Transporter – Madison Avenue, NYC

January 20th, 2010 by Stu

Nine years ago eccentric engineer Dean Kamen unveiled the Segway Human Transporter (HT) — a gyro-stabilized, two-wheeled scooter that he claimed would transform personal transportation. His promise and self assuredness echoed that of Henry Ford about the Model T. But Kamen may have exaggerated. Even in a crowded and wealthy (the HT costs around $3,000) metropolis like Manhattan, you seldom hear the HT’s electric buzz. And though company financials are hard to come by, it seems clear that Segway sales are not living up to the hype. This New Yorker remains intrigued.

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Garage Queens – Tesla Roadster Sport: W25th Street, NYC

January 19th, 2010 by Stu

I am convinced that automakers hold quarterly brainstorm sessions where product planning and bean counting executives get loopy on highballs and spout off crazy premiums to tack onto today’s special edition models. Take this Tesla Roadster Sport for example – it has a bit more grunt courtesy of a hand wound stator, an adjustable suspension set up for more hard core handling, some unique badging to rise above plebian non sport models and a slick set of black forged alloy wheels wrapped in more aggressive rubber. Certainly the content sounds meaningful, but is improved handling and a 0.2 second improvement from 0 to 60 mph (3.7 seconds in the Sport) worth $19,500 more than the base Roadster? The answer is no.

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New York Tesla Gallery – West 25th Street, NYC

September 10th, 2009 by Ian

Tesla

Tesla’s Manhattan dealership is live and kicking and the less-is-more decor screams high priced artwork not electric sports car retailer. Although that seems to have been the point in Tesla choosing to open shop in Chelsea’s art district rather than the obvious Park Avenue (Ferrari/Maserati, Audi Forum, Mercedes) or “dealer row” locations that all the other brands have flocked to. They even go as far as to brand the dealership, which used to be an actual gallery, as the “New York Tesla Gallery”.

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