A few plug-in taxis are plying the world's roads, but almost all are in pilot programs and special tests. Don't our planet's polluted cities deserve zero emission fleets? The world's still waiting for a full-blown commitment to electric taxis, which would be ideal for battery swapping and other innovations.
The U.S., European and Chinese markets have their challenges. But a perfect storm is aligning over the tiny island nation of Iceland, which has geothermal electricity almost too cheap to meter. The big news this week is a major tax break for EVs.
Audi's electric e-tron division has unveiled battery-powered city cars and the high-performance R8, the first that will actually be produced. I finally got behind the wheel of an e-tron on a rainy Manhattan afternoon. This A3 won't be produced, but a plug-in hybrid version will be out in 2014.
Cracker Barrel, home of sock monkeys, antique butter churns and chicken and dumplings, is bringing its Texas stores up to date with electric vehicle charging stations. And why not, since the original store had gas pumps, and patrons getting charged will have some time to kill. Where else are they going to go but into the restaurant? Texas doesn't have many EVs yet, but the market is growing.
Tesla Motors is just three weeks away from launching its all-new sedan, with twice the room and half the price of the celebrated Roadster. No test drive yet, but here's the sum of what we know.
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