Sigtronics Spa-400 Intercom & Connector on 2040-parts.com

Best Western Hotels rolling out EV charging points in the UK

We’re electric car sceptics – or at least sceptical about their ability to replace the ICE car as our principal form of personal transport – although EVs do have their place as runarounds in urban areas, where their limited range isn’t really a factor. But taking your EV off for a weekend jaunt does pose logistical problems when the average range is probably no more than 80 miles, and something worth making the effort for a weekend away is almost always going to be further away than that. But a bit of smart marketing by Best Western Hotels – a group of 270 or so independently run hotels round the UK – means EV drivers will soon be able to plot their weekend away on the basis of Best Western Hotels en route, with Best Western planning on fitting EV charging points in their car parks, with half their hotels having free charging points by September.

Smart Forvision concept (2011) first official pictures

Smart will show this Fortwo design study at the 2011 Frankfurt motor show. Called – futuristically enough – the Smart Forvision concept car, it's a good stab at what 2014's new Fortwo could look like. It's brimming with the sort of tech designed to keep the Fortwo's eco credentials alive and kicking.

Hyundai Blue Will at Seoul motor show 2009

By James Foxall Motor Shows 02 April 2009 15:18 What’s new on Hyundai’s Seoul motor show stand? The big noise on Korea’s best-selling car maker’s stand was its eco-friendly Blue Drive strategy and, more significantly, the launch of its first hybrid production car. The Elantra petrol-electric vehicle uses a 1.6-litre LPG-powered engine with power boosted by a 15kW electric unit.