OK, looks like the big time electric cars wars are on for real. Not just Tesla, and not just the Volt or Prius (which are hybrids anyway), but recent news of the Nissan Leaf threw fuel on the fire, and now come word that Honda will be making their own EV that will hit the streets by 2015.

Word out of Japan is that Honda plans to roll out an all-electric automobile in America by 2015. Honda, a company that essentially defined fuel efficiency combined with practicality by the early 80s will move to battery power in order to meet upcoming zero-emission regulations.

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First came the news that GM was going to sell Saturn. Then came the news that Roger Penske, of all people, was going to buy Saturn. And now the speculation swirls around just what Penske will do with his newly acquired car company. So far, it can be summed up in one word: electric.

The agreement between GM & Penske says that The General will keep building the Aura, Vue, and Outlook models for The Captain on a contract basis, but that GM would be using the powertrain from the Vue Hybrid on its GM-only Equinox smaller SUV. This arrangement leaves Saturn without any hybrids, and the rest of their models, although given decent mileage, might not be able to cut the mustard as CAFE standards rise.

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Going down swinging, or not dead yet? One or the other (or something I missed) Chrysler will bring three of its EV concepts to the upcoming North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) to make plain the fact that they’re still in this game, and don;t count them out.

Before the proverbial stuff hit the fan in front of congress, Chrysler had a little dog & pony show concerning the possible future of Electric Vehicles (EV) coming from the company. Some of them looked to be quite smart and far along, and Chrysler is looking to bring those cars to the forefront of everyones attention, and (hopefully) put the recent past and financial nastiness out of everyones mind.

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