Electric car range drops by nearly 60% in cold weather

Electric cars like the Nissan LEAF (pictured) can lose 60% of their range when it’s cold We already know that the range of electric cars reduces as the car ages, with Nissan conforming that the LEAF’s range will drop by up to 28 per cent over five years. And now we have confirmation that the ambient temperature can have a big impact on range too, thanks to the AAA, America’s equivalent of the AA. The AAA took three standard EVs on sale in the US - Nissan LEAF, Ford Focus EV and Mitsubishi i-MiEV – and subjected them to test in different ambient temperatures.

Porsche 918 Spyder takes on the Nurburgring

Porsche has taken their concept hybrid supercar – the 918 Spyder – to the Nurburgring to set a time – 7 minutes 14 seconds. But a hybrid halo doesn’t have to mean poor performance, a point Porsche has proved by taking the 918 Spyder to the Nurburgring to set a lap time. The Porsche 918 Spyder can deliver a total of 759bhp from its race-derived V8 and two electric motors which, although less than the likely power available to the F70 of P1, is still a significant amount of get up and go.

Texting tragedy recounted by state trooper

Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood is spreading messages aimed at ending distracted driving in honor of tweet, LaHood shared a touching story written by a Kansas state trooper. In the story, trooper Casey Simoneau recounts taking inventory of a car accident scene. The accident was caused by one driver hitting another car head-on after attempting to pass while texting.