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1 in 7 Americans say they might buy an EV next, as sales of electrics surge

About one in seven driving Americans may likely purchase an electric vehicle as their next car, according to an AAA poll, meaning that as many as 30 million Americans may pony up for an EV within the next three to five years. While some of the motivation is environmental, survey recipients say that lower maintenance expenses and solo access to high-occupancy-vehicle lanes are also among the factors behind potentially going electric. Take a look at the AAA press release on the study here. The poll indicates that about as many people are planning to buy an EV for their next car as are looking to buy a pickup, which is impressive given that the best-selling US vehicle is the Ford F-150. And things should only improve, as about 20 percent of millennials polled said that their next car would probably be an EV. The results are all the more encouraging, at least among green-car advocates, because gas prices have fallen about 40 percent within the past five years, meaning that there's less of an incentive to go electric from a purely economic perspective. Through the first quarter of this year, US plug-in vehicle sales were up about 63 percent from a year earlier to about 39,000 vehicles. Meanwhile, when it came to AAA's annual green-vehicle awards for this year, Tesla's Model S and Model X took the large car and SUV categories, respectively, while the Chevrolet Bolt and Volkswagen e-Golf were listed atop the subcompact and compact lists. The Lexus GS 450h hybrid and the Ford F-150 took home AAA's best green vehicle in the midsize and pickup truck categories. Related Video:

Physical and virtual gaming worlds collide in Lexus IS Hybrid promo

This is really, really cool. In order to promote its new IS Hybrid, Lexus borrowed an airplane hangar, a former Formula One driver and what we imagine was some serious technological knowhow to create one of the most interesting games we've ever seen. It's called Trace Your Road.
Lexus invited some of its Facebook fans out for the game, which put them in the passenger seat of a Lexus IS Hybrid with former F1 shoe Jarno Trulli. They were then handed a tablet and asked to trace out a road, which was projected onto the floor of the hangar. Trulli had to follow the ever-changing path as his passenger kept on tracing away. It looks like it'd be an absolute riot.
This is probably the coolest automotive promotional video since Audi strapped paintball guns on a couple of RS4s. Take a look below to watch the full video from Lexus. We promise, it's worth two minutes of your time.

Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla breaks dyno on video, Lexus trademarks 'LS 500h'

A video shows a Tesla Model S P85D breaking a dyno during a test. Starting at a slow roll, the instant torque under full power snapped a belt on the dynamometer. Before it broke, the dyno measured over 700 pound-feet of torque from the all-wheel-drive Tesla. A previous dyno run saw the car reach its 155-mph top speed and a peak 435 horsepower. See the video above, and read more at DragTimes. Lexus has filed a trademark for "LS 500h" in Europe. This calls for some speculation as to what this means for an upcoming model. It could be that Lexus plans to release the LS with a new powertrain, perhaps a 4.0-liter engine with a hybrid system. Maybe it will use the 3.5-liter V-6 with a more powerful hybrid system. The LS 600h could simply be getting a new name. Or, we might not see the LS 500h badge used at all in the near future. Note that Lexus trademarked LC 500 and LC 500h in Canada last year, and we've seen no such cars yet. Read more at Hybrid Cars. Ethanol producers have strong words in response to the American Petroleum Institute's claims for demand for ethanol-free gasoline. The API and National Marine Manufacturers Association have urged the EPA to consider marine and small engine demand for E0 gasoline when setting Renewable Fuel Standard volume requirements. Big Oil is using a "false narrative to discourage the use of a cleaner, less expensive, homegrown renewable fuel," according to Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis. Buis says ethanol doesn't cause problems in marine and small engines, a statement backed by the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute. "What probably does concern boaters is the amount of time they spend dry docked as a result of oil spills, like the one that dumped 21,000 gallons of oil along four miles of coastline in Santa Barbara, California," says Buis. Read more from Ethanol Producer Magazine. Related Gallery 2013 Lexus LS 600h L: Quick Spin View 13 Photos News Source: DragTimes, YouTube: DragTimes, Hybrid Cars, Ethanol Producer Magazine Green Lexus Tesla Alternative Fuels Ethanol Electric Hybrid Videos recharge wrapup