Massive $1 billion electric car charging grid planned for San Francisco Bay Area

We've mentioned Project Better Place before, the company that plans to create a network of charging stations and battery exchange locations for electric cars in Denmark, Israel and Australia. Backed by super-rich investors, now it's planning an ambitious expansion into the San Francisco Bay area. The idea is to build a $1 billion network of 250,000 charging ports like you see here, 200 battery-swap stations, and a driver service center.

The remarkable aspect of this grand scheme is that most of this infrastructure is targeted to be operational by 2012. The three big-city (San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose) Bay Area mayors are on board with the idea, especially since this high-tech goodness won't cost them a cent. They will offer incentives for companies to install the chargers, and offered to expedite building permits to speed things along.

Meanwhile, Better Place will sell Renault-Nissan cars as part of the plan, and car companies such as GM and Toyota are interested in the idea, too. Tesla says its upcoming Model S sedan will be compatible with the swappable batteries and charging stations, adding that its battery will charge in the time it takes to fill a car's tank with gas. Better Place's remarkable move shows that the electric car scenario could fall into place quicker than anyone thought.

Electric Porsche 911 tries to show Tesla Roadster who's boss

It had to happen. Now there's an electric Porsche, made by German Porsche modifier/carmaker RUF Automobile GmbH. The company dropped a 204hp electric motor into a Porsche 911 chassis, powered it with 96 lithium ion batteries from California battery maker Calmotors, and the result? An electric Porsche 911 that sprints from 0 to 60mph in less than 7 seconds with a top speed of 160. Whoa.

Don't expect to carry much luggage along, because the back and front trunks are filled with batteries. Its 180-mile range is not quite up to that of the Tesla Roadster, either, nor is its acceleration. But just look at it! We are filled with auto-lust over this gorgeous machine, hoping it will find its way out of the prototype stage and onto an assembly line, pronto.

Launch Chevy Volt Electric Car

There it is, folks. Isn’t she a beautiful? We’ve known for some time what the exterior of the Volt looks like but not much has been seen of the interior. The chaps at Autoblog compare it to something that Apple may have designed. Chevy has thrown out the traditional cluster gauge in favor of a 7-inch LCD with another one located in the middle of the dash. Both displays can be figured whichever way you choose and an additional driver can configure it the way he/she likes. 2011 can’t come soon enough.