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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:

Investors storm Volkswagen with $9 billion in lawsuits

Volkswagen's investors are latest group to take up pitchforks against the embattled automaker, and they're seeking $9 billion in damages, Reuters reports. The investor lawsuits were filed in a court in Braunschweig, Germany, near Volkswagen's Wolfsburg headquarters. On Monday, the first business day following the anniversary of the emissions revelations, the court received 750 lawsuits alone. All told, about 1,400 lawsuits have been filed. The largest single claim totals $3.7 billion and was filed more than six months ago. The lawsuits stem from complaints that Volkswagen didn't divulge information on the cheating software to investors quickly enough. Volkswagen has said that it hasn't broken any capital market laws. The $21.5 billion the company set aside to weather the storm may not be enough. The consumer fix is estimated to run the company $14.7 billion, either through buybacks or a fix that still seems unclear. In addition to the lawsuits, Volkswagen CEO Matthias Mueller confirmed that Audi boss Rupert Stadler is under investigation regarding the scandal. Mueller refused to give further details, but this shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. Audi has admitted that its 3.0-liter V6 was equipped with the same emissions-cheating software as the 2.0-liter four-cylinder diesels. Stefan Knirsch, Audi's head of development, has been suspended as part of the overall investigation. Knirsch took over duties after his predecessor quit. Knisch was previously head of engine development at Audi. Related Video: News Source: Reuters Green Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Audi Volkswagen Emissions Diesel Vehicles vw diesel scandal

VW beams in Star Trek stars to promote e-Golf EV

Volkswagen just set its e-mobility commercial phasers on stunning. The German automaker has cast Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock of Star Trek fame (i.e., actors William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy) in a new advertisement for its growing stable of electric vehicles. Even though it's in German, we think you can get the idea. VW went Hollywood and cast the two veteran actors in a futuristic-themed 45-second ad, which sees Shatner cruise up in the e-Golf (with a toothy Trek-fan kid in tow) while Nimoy rocks the XL1 and the Trek theme blares in the background. Forget for a moment that the kid in the commercial wasn't even born when Shatner started pitching for Priceline, let alone the original Trek series and just enjoy the wholesome good humor of Shatner saying that the electric powertrain is just like the one in a spaceship. If you've got any familiarity with Spock, you should be able to understand his punch line, too. Of course, if you'd rather your German vehicle advertisements were set in the Star Wars universe, we recommend clicking here. VW will bring the e-Golf to the states in November at a price of $35,445, about $6,500 higher than the Nissan Leaf's starting pricetag. You can see the new ad and a number of related behind-the-scenes videos (in English) below. Our Quick Spin of the E-up! are available here. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.