You’ll soon be hearing a lot of buzz — and a dose of sales hype
— about a new wave of electric cars that will begin humming down
our roads. The first cars to come from major automakers will be
the much-publicized Chevrolet Volt and the Nissan Leaf, each
expected to go on sale in selected areas by the end of this
year. Models from Ford, Honda, Mitsubishi, Toyota and other
companies will follow. Consumer Reports’ auto experts have
driven prototypes and preproduction models of most of the
forthcoming electric cars and have found them to be very quiet,
quite quick, and viable alternatives to conventional cars.
Electric vehicles (EVs) allow drivers to commute moderate
distances using no gasoline and producing no tailpipe emissions.
They can reduce overall driving costs for some people. And EVs
can be charged by simply plugging them into a household wall
outlet, although the time it takes to recharge depends on the
vehicle and the electrical circuit. But those cars require basic
changes in driving habits and often