TOYOTA HAS ANNOUNCED the development of revolutionary new lithium-ion battery technology, which enables enormous gains in power storage and, ultimately, increased range for electric and hybrid vehicles.

The new battery tech was developed in partnership with Japan’s Tohoku University and reportedly uses single crystals of lithium cobalt oxide to create its prodigious capacity.

Toyota is keeping the [...]

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Ford has announced it is another step closer to production of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Ford America, in conjunction with supplier Johnson Controls-Saft, has announced plans to build its first Lithium-ion battery facility in Holland, Michigan.

The partnership with Johnson Controls-Saft will see an advanced Lithium-ion battery system developed for the company’s first commercial plug-in vehicles, [...]

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Thanks to rising petrol prices and a gaping hole in the automotive market where all-electric passenger vehicles should be found, many enterprising motorists are instead going DIY and converting their own daily drives to EV mode.

One such individual is Brian Blocher, who decided his daily commute was costing him too much in petrol. A Toyota [...]

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GM’s upcoming Voltec drivetrain, as featured in the Chevrolet Volt, Opel Ampera and Cadillac Converj, will bring with it some exciting new possibilities when it debuts in 2010. Chief among these will be the ability to alter vehicle dynamics with nothing more than a simple software update.

Instead of waiting for a traditional mid-cycle-enhancement or model [...]

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