In the Driver’s Seat Blog

For many people, it doesn’t matter. DC is faster, and that is all that they need to know. But for the curious, this is a simplified explanation of the difference between AC and DC charging. Technical details are intentionally glossed over here. The reason we have two types of charging[…]

At Plug In 2013 in San Diego, I presented some new and updated results from the Plug In America EV battery longevity studies. The Original 1997-2003 Toyota RAV4 EV First up, let’s take a look at a chart showing results from 62 original RAV4 EV owners. These vehicles started production[…]

Linda Nicholes, co-founder of Plug In America and long-time advocate for solar energy and plug-in cars, has been on the front lines of the plug-in movement since the beginning. When Tesla announced that they would be selling vehicles to the public, Linda was among the first in line. Her roadster,[…]

Posted with permission from the author. Previously published at Clean Technica. Monday night’s email from Nissan’s Tim Gallagher inviting me to visit the El Toro Marine Base on Wednesday was too good to be true. Nissan was going to have the new autonomous driving car, an electric Nissan LEAF, available[…]

Gasland 2: The Problem and the Solution Josh Fox performed a rare feat in cinema – he brought the problem together with the solution all in one frame. The scene I’m talking about comes about 2/3 into the new HBO film Gasland 2, when Chris Paine, the filmmaker of Who[…]

In May 2012, John Voelcker published a great article where he proposed a “real car” test for BEVs: It’s sold outright to consumers, not only leased; and It will sell at least 5,000 or more a year in the U.S. or reach total global sales of 20,000; and It’s offered[…]

A funny thing happens when someone gets a plug-in car for the first time. It’s more than the EV grin that shows up the first time someone drives a plug-in car. Owning (or leasing) an electric vehicle or a plug-in hybrid brings that thrill every single day. It builds up[…]

Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Priorities My wife and I have been driving electric since 2008. Living in the Seattle area means there was no public charging infrastructure back then, so we’ve seen a lot of change. As an early adopter, I’ve promoted public charging and helped individuals, cities, and businesses[…]

Vroom, vroom! That’s the sound of quick charging, Los Angeles style, which Plug In America co-founders Paul Scott and Zan Dubin Scott celebrated last month on a hot afternoon at Nissan of Downtown L.A. Paul, the dealership’s Leaf sales specialist, drew triple the number of usual Saturday test drives with[…]

Check out the press release we circulated to mark this major moment. And if you know somebody who should enter the contest please send them to the contest page. PLUG IN AMERICA MARKS SALE OF 100,000 PLUG-IN VEHICLES: #PIA100K Historic Milestone Expected on May 20 SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., May 17,[…]

Soon, based on recent monthly sales figures, somewhere in the US someone will purchase the 100,000th electric vehicle since highway ready cars were reintroduced to the US market. (Check the new counter on our homepage to see where we are.) As we prepare to celebrate 100,000 PEVs on the road[…]

Last week we had an Earth Day celebration at my work, where 10 EV drivers brought their EVs to display and answer questions. The most common question was “How much do the cars cost?” I’ve decided to do a quick comparison on the cheapest EVs available today. When I leased[…]

Would You Give Up Your Cell Phone? Me neither. I have my life in that little black box: appointments, phone numbers, addresses, birthdays, e-mail, grocery list, music, and more. Texting is the only way I can contact my daughter. I can’t imagine what I would do without it. And yet,[…]

My wife and I are extremely happy owners of 100% battery-electric vehicles. We regularly take road trips in our BEVs, and we don’t have range anxiety. We did when we first got a BEV several years ago, but it didn’t take long for us to get over it. We are[…]

Inside EVs notes that – fueled by continued strong Volt performance, a resurgent LEAF, and the continued ramp up of Tesla production, March 2013 was likely an all-time high month for plug in sales performance. Thank you Inside EVs for pointing out the achievement – the plug in tipping point[…]

We’re headed towards the third iteration of National Plug In Day, scheduled for September 28/29, 2013. We’re hoping to build on last year’s success to see 100 events that reach 100,000 people with test drives and information on how fun and easy it is to own and drive an electric[…]

Do You Live in a Green Car City? The race is on! Some U.S. cities have jumped to the lead in adoption of electrified vehicles. A few of the top 15 are to be expected, and a few others may surprise you. Forbes recently reported on data compiled by R.[…]

The automakers are making some incredible plug-in cars, and owners are more satisfied with them than any other type of car. Between the automakers and the owners are the dealers. It’s more difficult for the dealers; to sell this new type of car, they have to invest in new equipment[…]

By consciously stimulating consumer deployment and in-state industry development, Oregon and California now have evidence that those investments leverage high economic impact. In late 2009 in Oregon, a few EV oriented businesses, manufacturers and professionals created an industry cluster in a third floor conference room of the Portland Development Commission,[…]

New York Times Public Editor Margaret Sullivan has now weighed in on the famous John Broder Model S test drive with a “careless” verdict. A public editor review of any story is notable; for the Times to review the story speaks volumes about this moment for electrification. The carelessness in[…]

One key difference between the recent experience with EVs and those prior has been capacity of the digital era to challenge false information put out about the cars. The New York Times recently got caught in another example of poor EV reporting. NYT writer John Broder touted that he outed[…]

Plug-in vehicle drivers have never been shy about telling people of our experiences with electric drive. Now, more than ever, people are starting to listen even people who historically haven’t listened to much of what we have to say. At the January 2013 meeting of the Golden Gate Electric Vehicle[…]

I’m here in Washington DC today participating as the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) rolls out the first of its new plug-in vehicle initiatives, the Workplace Charging Challenge as part of DOE’s EV Everywhere. The key goal of this program is to increase the number of employers offering plug-in vehicle[…]

As we settle into the New Year, we wanted to look back on last year’s achievements and ahead to what might be in store for 2013. Many would call 2012 the most dynamic year in history for the American plug in vehicle market. Who would have thought entering 2012 that:[…]

Like owners of conventional gas cars, owners of electric cars are naturally interested in understanding expectations of long-term performance and maintenance issues. In the fall of 2012, Plug In America conducted a survey of Nissan LEAF owners to gain a better understanding of the unexpected battery capacity loss reported by[…]

After many months of consistent work with Congress, Plug In America is extremely gratified that two major plug-in tax credits which expired at the end of 2011 were extended as part of the final “fiscal cliff” legislation just signed by President Obama. The bill passed last night (January 1st) extended[…]