Ford Begins Taking Orders for 2012 Focus Electric | Upcoming Cars | Car Review

Ford has started taking reservations for its 2012 Focus Electric ahead of initial deliveries to dealers in California, New York and New Jersey. The vehicle is Ford's first all-electric passenger car and the first of five all-electric vehicles the company has planned for the next three years.

With a 23 kWh lithium-ion battery pack powering a 130 kW (130 hp) permanent-magnet electric motor producing 181 lb-ft of torque (245 N-m), the Focus Electric boasts a range of up to 100 miles (161 km) on a single charge and a top speed of 84 mph (135 km/h).

Revenge of Electric Car Takes a Wild Ride | Upcming Car | News | Latest

In his 2006 documentary, Who Killed the Electric Car, filmmaker Chris Paine examined the birth and premature death of battery electric cars in the mid-1990s.

Now Paine is back with the commercial release of Revenge of the Electric Car, an insider’s view of an historic shift in the automotive industry, filmed behind closed doors between 2007 and 2010.

How Electric Cars Work | Electric Vehicles | Latest Car | Batteries Car | Car Review | Car News | Latest Technology

Electric cars are something that show up in the news all the time. There are several reasons for the continuing interest in these vehicles. Electric cars create less pollution than gasoline-powered cars, so they are an environmentally friendly alternative to gasoline-powered vehicles (especially in cities).

Any news story about hybrid cars usually talks about electric cars as well. Vehicles powered by fuel cells are electric cars, and fuel cells are getting a lot of attention right now in the news. An electric car is a car powered by an electric motor rather than a gasoline engine.

Universal Charging System Developed for EVs | Electric Power Vehicle | Upcoming Concpet Car | Market in Next Year | Batteries | Automotive

While the thought of building a worldwide infrastructure of charging stations for electric vehicles may seem daunting, you know what would make it even more challenging? If each station had to separately cater to each make of EV on the road - think of how many different styles of mobile phone chargers are currently out there, for instance, and then picture that applying to cars.

Fortunately a consortium of automakers has developed the Combined Charging System that will allow any one vehicle to charge its batteries using a variety of different charging methods. The system was developed by Germany's Audi, BMW, Daimler, Porsche, and Volkswagen, working in partnership with America's Ford and General Motors.