Volkswagen’s coming ID Buzz electric microbus is generating loads of interest. The idea of an electrified reincarnation of the iconic VW bus isn’t new, though, as Volkswagen showed its intentions back in 2007 with its Space Up! Blue microbus concept.
Subaru is not one of the brands that springs to mind when talking electrification in the auto industry. That’s now changing as the marque seeks to embrace an electrified future. Here’s a look back at Subaru’s efforts 17 years ago.
Battery safety is a serious concern for makers of electric vehicles today because of potential battery fires. But in earlier years, one of the most serious incidents wasn’t a fire, but a toxic chemical cloud from an EV’s experimental battery.
Back to the future: Clean hydrogen power reaches beyond the fuel cell vehicles being explored today. Back in 2004, Mazda fielded its innovative RX-8 RE, a developmental rotary engine sports car that would drive on either hydrogen or gasoline fuel.
Dodge isn’t all about muscle and performance, though you wouldn’t know it. There was a time in the 1990s when this brand was big on electrification. Then, after a decade-long break, there was the Dodge EV prototype unveiled in 2008.
Pininfarina, the legendary design house and coachbuilder responsible for timeless vehicle designs for makers like Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, and Maserati, created the 1990s Ethos working concept to demonstrate environmental performance. The question: Could an efficient two-stroke engine achieve near-zero emissions?
In 2004, one of the auto industry’s most storied leaders, Lee Iacocca, sat down with Green Car Journal to discuss electrification, boomers, and Detroit vs. Japan. Here’s what the outspoken father of the Mustang and the minivan had to say.
Today, we take the advanced batteries that power electric vehicles for granted. Lithium-ion batteries, which followed advanced lead-acid and nickel-metal hydride, is mainstream. Many exotic EV battery technologies were tried over the years, including the sodium-sulfur battery in Ford’s Ecostar.
Charging an electric vehicle through magnetic induction is being explored today as a new way to energize EV batteries, But it has its beginnings more than 28 years ago at GM’s Hughes Aircraft, long before today’s charging systems were adopted.
It was an exciting time for electric cars in the early 1990s. GM’s Impact concept was unveiled at the 1990 LA Auto Show, with the Tokyo Motor Show exhibiting many electric concepts as well. Among them was Tokyo R&D’s IZA. Green Car Journal editors found the IZA a fascinating counterpoint to the Impact at the […]
We take today’s electric vehicle technology for granted. But it’s been a long road, with automakers fielding advanced technologies and concepts for decades on the way to an EV future. Here’s how the first lithium-ion battery powered EV came about.