Dial 'D' For Dapper

From international to Pakistani fashion weeks, we notice a plethora of designers but only a few that stand out.

From international to Pakistani fashion weeks, we notice a plethora of designers but only a few that stand out. When it comes to men’s fashion, that already small number becomes almost miniscule. There are two distinct categories when it comes to menswear in Pakistan: the effeminate that always borders on queer costume and the classic masculine, which we love whether it comes in traditional or western avatar.

Discarding the impractical costumes, Instep looks at various trends seen in menswear, as viewed at various and recently held fashion weeks…

A Casual Summer

When it comes to classic precision, Omar Farooq of Republic is the designer to refer to; it’s no wonder that man of the moment, Fawad Khan is the face of his brand. But stars and showstoppers apart, it was the collection that had its own star power. The trends that we took away: a spotlight on white and camel, high trousers, cool and casual shapes. The designer also allowed some florals into the well structured jackets to allow men to connect with their sensitive side. Much needed, we think!

The Bejeweled Armoire

The Amir Adnan collection showcased at the Telenor Pakistan Fashion Week was the perfect mix of royal tones and deep colours. From the gold and bronze to the deep ruby red and emerald green, the collection spoke of a rich heritage. The piece de résistance was definitely the bejeweled tie, which was encrusted with various gemstones. The whole concept, whether seen on a sash, an armband or a belt, was bedazzling!

Connect the dots

Some pieces from the HSY menswear collection for TPFW spoke volumes for summer trends. One guaranteed-to-always-work trend was the combination of polka dots and stripes. Classic and well cut with an undertone of fun, the bright stripes, plaids and polka dots paired with solid colours came across as a definite mood lifter for menswear in Pakistan, which often borders on safe and conventional.

Stripes Do a Solid

The Fall/Winter Fendi collection showcased at the Milan Men’s Fashion Week displayed a use of stripes contrasting with solid monochromatic colors. It seems that if nothing works, stripes do. However, the use of greys and blacks seemed quite overused and made one wish that brighter complimenting colours could have been used. The stripes, however, picked up the collection.

The British Invasion

Leave it to Vivienne Westwood to introduce sleek and smart British style to the runways of Milan. From her ethnically British style long coats to the plaid trousers, it all screamed ‘I am Britain and I am proud of it.’ Using some of the same trends that have been seen globally, plaids, stripes and deep colors seemed to compliment Westwood’s collection more than anyone else.  The bold looking British Jack stylized cardigan stood out and confirmed why Vivienne Westwood is Vivienne Westwood!

Pictures from TFPW and PSFW by Tapu Javeri and Faisal Farooqui

Dial "D" For Dapper

After peaceful May Day protests in Oakland, California, group damages cars, smashes windows

OAKLAND, Calif. — Oakland’s mayor and police chief acknowledged Saturday falling short in controlling what police said was a night of some of the heaviest damage yet in peaceful marches that have turned violent.

Up to 400 people roamed dozens of blocks of Oakland’s downtown Friday night to Saturday morning, breaking the glass fronts of banks and a few other businesses and systematically smashing the windshields of rows of vehicles at one car lot.

Police Chief Sean Vincent, speaking Saturday to reporters at City Hall, said the overnight damage “was amongst the worst we had seen” in more than 1½ years of sometimes-violent protests here over instances of police killings of African-American men around the country.

After a long day Friday of May Day marches by labor supporters and by protesters against police violence nationally, Oakland police had trouble dealing with a nighttime crowd that turned “larger than we expected and angrier than we expected,” Vincent said.

The rampage came on the same day that prosecutors in Baltimore, Maryland, charged six officers in a high-profile death of an African-American man. While that news brought people out on the streets to celebrate in Baltimore, it also contributed to new and occasionally violent protests in some cities.

At a downtown Oakland car lot on Saturday, security-company owner Steve Tittle walked through what had been a plate-glass door of a business storing new Hyundais and Hondas for car dealers. “Step into my office,” Tittle joked, while avoiding the broken window glass that now surrounded the smashed and empty door frame.

Protesters had smashed the front and back windows of dozens of new cars in the lot, and set alight a Hyundai Elantra.

“This is not civil disobedience,” Tittle said. “This is an anarchy, chance-to-destroy mob, nothing else.”

Asked what he thought would stop the vandalism to businesses, Tittle said, “Punishment.”

The auto lot marked the heaviest damage in downtown Oakland, a center of political activism in the San Francisco Bay Area as well as home to some of its poorest neighborhoods.

Police said they arrested a dozen people on charges that included burglary, failing to disperse and vandalism.

The only injury reported was a cut leg suffered by one officer. Police used force only twice — once when officers fired a tear-gas canister and once when an officer tackled a violent protester, Vincent said.

Mayor Libby Schaaf, who stayed on the streets overnight monitoring the crowds and talking to owners of damaged businesses, said city officials “did not do as good a job as we should have protecting property.”

She gave no details of what she wanted to see done differently to protect property.

Not every Oakland resident wanted to see a crackdown, however.

Community organizer Ruby Reid, who lives within earshot of the sound of breaking windows and police loudspeakers overnight, said the violence of the protests was overstated and the messages against heavy-handed policing important.

“Actual violence is people getting hurt, people getting shot” in police custody, she said.

After peaceful May Day protests in Oakland, California, group damages cars, smashes windows

More wives, more problems - New study links polygamy with higher rate of heart disease

A new study by cardiologists in the Persian Gulf region indicates that polygamy increases the risk of heart disease for men.

The results of the study, which were announced at a health conference held over the weekend in Abu Dhabi, said that men who have at least four wives were more vulnerable to cardiovascular defects.

 “There is evidence that married people have better overall health and longevity but until now no study has assessed the effect of polygamy on cardiovascular health,” said Dr. Amin Daoulah, a cardiologist at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. “Men who practice polygamy have up to four concurrent wives who can reside in the same or different regions but do not normally reside in the same house. Polygamy is practiced mainly in North and West Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and Southeast Asia.”

The study was conducted by monitoring the healths of 687 married men who were treated for health ailments at five hospitals in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Of those men studied, 56 percent had diabetes, 57% suffered from high blood pressure, and 45% had a history of coronary artery disease.

“There were significant baseline differences according to the number of wives,” the study said. “Men with more than one wife were more likely to be older, live in a rural area, have a higher income and have a history of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).”
   
“We found an association between an increasing number of wives and the severity and number of coronary blockages,” said Daoulah. “This could be because the need to provide and maintain separate households multiplies the financial burden and emotional expense. Each household must be treated fairly and equally, and it seems likely that the stress of doing that for several spouses and possibly several families of children is considerable.”

Nonetheless, the authors of the study caution that it is premature to state with certainty that polygamy was a root cause of heart disease, since other factors like nutritional habits, levels of intimacy, and the amount of physical exercise done were not taken into account.

More wives, more problems - New study links polygamy with higher rate of heart disease

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Triumph Motorcycles Value Hits the £1 Billion Milestone

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According to the Sunday Times Rich List, John Bloor, the owner of Triumph Motorcycles managed to transform a dying motorcycle manufacturer into a billion-pound sterling business. The mentioned source adds that the value of Triumph Motorcycles is estimated today at £1.025 billion. That is $1.577 billion or €1.430 b.

While these figures alone are not necessarily impressive by their own, comparing them with what Bloor paid for Triumph back in the day will certainly put an admirative smile on your faces.

In 1983, Triumph was struggling at the very end of its strength. Bloor bought the company from liquidation for £150,000 ($230,000 or €209,000 by today’s exchange rates) and started to slowly work his way up.

It took years to rebuild Triumph’s damaged image

With a very tarnished image in both the domestic and international markets, the debut of Triumph’s Bloor era was not particularly successful. However, the big change came when the company owner understood that Triumph’s special twin and triple engines was the thing that customers were most attracted to.

In an industry dominated by the traditional Japanese in-line four bikes, Triumph re-discovered a niche worth exploring. With constant investments aided by money from Bloor’s other housebuilding business, Triumph kept on growing and developing models that have found a loyal following, despite some of them still in need of better craftsmanship and QA.

As cool as the Modern Classic machines look, it is not hard to find riders who can provide a hefty list of things Triumph should do to make these bikes significantly better, with suspensions being only one of the entries.

Triumph operates six factories worldwide: two in Hinckley, UK, three in Chonburi, Thailand, and one is in Manaus, Brazil. In 2014, Triumph sold over 52,000 units and topped the sales charts of new bikes over 500cc in the UK. The company accounts for 18.7% of new motorcycle sales in the UK, up a hefty eight percent since 2013, according to visordown. We’s say that after gettinga  brush with demis in 1983, Triumph has become… triumphant, isn’t it?

Triumph Motorcycles Value Hits the £1 Billion Milestone

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Liberian Motorcycle Operators Seek Justice in Death of Rider

Long-running antagonism between police and commercial motorcycle operators in Liberia turned deadly earlier this month when a police officer allegedly struck a motorcyclist with his baton and killed him.  

The officer was reportedly in pursuit of the cyclist for allegedly violating an ordinance which prohibits motorcycles to be in certain parts of the capital, Monrovia.  

Police deny the officer killed the motorcyclist. In protest, motorcycle operators burned down a police station and destroyed other property.

A senate committee has called for a meeting Thursday between the police and a union representing commercial motorcycle drivers. Robert Sammie, secretary general of the Motorcyclists Union of Liberia, said the police officer who allegedly murdered the driver should be disciplined and taken to court.

“In most cases, the police have not been professional with the cyclists.  So, this is not the very first time.  This is [a series of] unsettled grievances that culminated in the burning down of the police station. So, that should be the issue that we should have as a concern,” he said.

A police source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said some of the riders have used their motorcycles to commit petty crimes by snatching things from passersby.

Sammie said the law prohibiting motorcyclists from traveling in certain parts of the capital was passed without the input of the motorcyclists.

“We still think that restriction was not participatory; that restriction didn’t involve our participation to have suggested to the government how we could go about it,” Sammie said.

He said, instead charging the officer, the government has established a committee to investigate the matter, something Sammie said is a waste of resources.

Sammie said the police have arrested about 30 motorcyclists and charged them with criminal mischief resulting in property damage of about $500,000, as well as attempted murder.

“We think it is almost like a death sentence for these indigents, these poor, hungry Liberians most of whom were street vendors who were struggling to survive were charged,” he said.

He expressed regret the motorcyclists destroyed property during their protests instead of channeling their grievances through the legal system.

The police said they have sent for two Ghanaian pathologists to assist with their investigation.

Sammie said the public will have to trust in the Liberian justice system if the police officer is brought before a judge to answer for his crimes.

Liberian Motorcycle Operators Seek Justice in Death of Rider

The Founder of Plus-Size Shopping's Most Popular Boutique on Fashion and Inclusivity

This is why Aimee Cheshire, a former plus-size model and fashion blogger, started Hey Gorgeous. The site, which launched last year, is a curated plus-size fashion boutique stocked with a variety of designers—contemporary as well as indie.

Racked caught up with Cheshire to discuss the start of Hey Gorgeous, the difficulties plus-size shoppers face, and her recent foray into fitness apparel.

Model Dianna D’Amore in a Hey Gorgeous look.

How did you get your start in fashion?

I started out studying psychology but soon realized I wanted to get into fashion. Creating fashion was something I wanted to do but I always felt like an outsider. Growing up, I was the big kid. I was always in jogging suits, and my first pair of jeans that actually fit were men’s jeans. I got a fashion merchandising degree in New York from LIM and worked as a plus-size model but quickly realized that that wasn’t really what I wanted to do. I got a job at One Stop Plus, which was the only plus company in New York at the time. I did product development there and left in 2009 to start my blog, Madison Plus.

And that led to the launch of your clothing company?

Through my blog, I developed great relationships with models and designers in the plus-size space. They really had nowhere to go. They were too small to get into places like Nordstrom and Macy’s, which weren’t really focusing on plus at the time anyway. I wanted to create a site that supported these indie designers and also more mainstream brands. I wanted to cater to women who wanted to shop at a site that was dedicated to them, not a side project that a company was doing to sort of address the market.

What was plus-size shopping like at the time?

Lane Bryant was the only option, or Avenue. When I used to go shopping, I would be creative, which is what a lot of plus girls do. Anthropologie occasionally makes plus size XL, and Gap and Old Navy made larger sizes. But it was really hard to find anything that fit that was fashion forward.

The problem was there were contemporary designers whose clothing I wanted to spend money on but they didn’t make my size. How many times did I go into Intermix and try on an item that was stretchy or trapezy!

Why do you think there’s such a void in the plus-size space?

It’s kind of crazy. When I was a kid, I thought that by the time I was in my thirties, there would be plenty of options for me, but the market’s really underserved. The majority of people in the fashion world assume that anyone who is plus wants to lose weight and be one of them. It’s changing now, though: the power of the internet has a lot of girls knowing that they’re not alone in being plus, that there are other people out there like them.

Aimee Cheshire. Photo by Lily Cummings

How is Hey Gorgeous different from other plus-size retailers?

We curate. We work with many designers and major brands to curate their collections. People assume that everyone in the plus market wants the same thing. So they think, “just give them some T-shirts, some pants, and they’ll be happy.” But when 50 percent of the US population is plus, there are a lot of personality types and a lot of different styles and women who want different options. It’s taken longer for people to realize there’s not just one type of plus-size woman.

How do you decide what to carry?

I try to have a good mix and get creative to find pieces that no one else would have. Usually, there are two blanket style options for plus women. It’s either a bodycon dress, like cheap spandex, hugging all the curves and showing chest and legs, or baggy clothing, like trapeze-style shapes with three-quarter length sleeves. We want different fashion choices. I try to find the piece that makes you want to say, “Oh, I’ve been looking for that forever, finally someone has it!”

“One of the most unexpected challenges is getting women to change their attitudes towards themselves.”

How did you get the business of the ground?

I met my business partner, Dave [Wechsler], at the Facebook offices at a Women in Tech meet up. He started grilling me on the plus industry—he had no idea that it existed and was impressed by the opportunity. We started to work together and then it really just took off. Dave has been able to raise over $22 million for his past companies and with my knowledge of the plus-size industry and idea of what I wanted to bring, we started Hey Gorgeous.

Was it hard to get investors?

It was. It’s a world people aren’t used to investing in. It took some digging to find someone who really believed in this woman and believed in changing the attitude towards plus size.

What will it take for plus-size fashion to become mainstream?

It’s not helpful for us to take time complaining that Victoria’s Secret doesn’t offer our sizes. Let’s not focus our energy on who’s not giving you what you want and focus our energy on supporting the brands who are. We need to create our Victoria’s Secret. Let’s create our own brands that want our business. That’s an important mind shift that people have to make in order to help the plus industry grow.

An Adrianna Papell dress.

Who do you like working with right now?

I love our BB Dakota collection; they’re a great name brand to address the straight-size women as well and they don’t compromise their fashion for the plus girls that they service. I love Ply, our new indie designer, as well as Line & Label. Adrianna Papell does fabulous-fitting dresses for all sorts of occasions. ABS is great, and so is Tiberia, a small designer who has really fun, quirky prints and dresses. We’re also now working with Stephanie B, a designer out of Toronto who does some exclusives for us; her Elle Dress is one of our best sellers.

What are your biggest hurdles?

Our customer hasn’t been conditioned to enjoy fashion in the same way as her straight-size sisters. It’s always been, “I’m gonna lose 20 pounds,” so they’ll hold off on shopping. But we want women to know that they can look great now. Don’t punish yourself. One of the most unexpected challenges is getting women to change their attitudes towards themselves.

How do you feel about the athleisure wear trend?

We actually just starting selling activewear. I know there are strong stereotypes that plus women don’t work out and don’t want to be in that situation, but that’s incredibly incorrect. Just because you’re plus doesn’t mean you’re a couch potato. And that’s why we want to sell activewear.

What are your hopes for Hey Gorgeous?

I would love to launch collections with more mainstream designers like the DVFs of the world. I also want to create an authentic and welcoming place for women to shop so they can play in the world of fashion. The possibilities are endless.

Read more of Racked’s Ladies Who Launch!

The Founder of Plus-Size Shopping"s Most Popular Boutique on Fashion and Inclusivity

Obama says Pacific Rim trade pact won't hurt auto workers

DETROIT, MI – Pres. Barack Obama said he has seen the damage a previous international trade agreement has wrought on automotive industry workers in the U.S., but that the Trans-Pacific Partnership should not be cause for concern. 

The TPP, a 12-country agreement of which negotiations now appear to be nearing a head, merely adapts to the inevitability of globalization, Obama said. 

The President made the comments Monday in an interview with Wall Street Journal, which also pressed Obama on why American workers, particularly those in the auto industry, should not be leery of another international trade agreement about 23 years after the North American Free Trade Agreement was signed.

The full transcript is here: WSJ Interview Transcript: President Obama on TPP, China, Japan, Pope Francis, Cuba

NAFTA, passed through Congress and signed by Pres. Bill Clinton in 1993, is credited with eroding some 700,000 jobs from the U.S. economy because of outsourcing to Canada and Mexico.

“When I was running for the U.S. Senate, I’d go into towns in Illinois that used to be strong manufacturing towns, and they had been hollowed out,” Obama told the WSJ. “And you’d meet workers that felt completely betrayed by, you know, the loss of good middle-class jobs – you know, if you went to a factory, you were willing to work hard, you could get ahead. And some people have been suspicious, feel burned from some of those experiences.”

But Obama argues that NAFTA’s negative results in terms of job loss should not be a reason to avoid entering new free trade agreements, such as the TPP. He, and proponents of the TPP, argue that the agreement between the U.S. and 11 countries in the Asia-Pacific area will be mutually beneficial to the economies involved, raising standards of living while also improving environmental regulations. The pact would open up markets throughout the Asia Pacific region to American exports, including cars. 

Obama also argues that it will help U.S. automakers sell vehicles in Japan, where American cars and trucks are now scarce.

Still, most details of the TPP have not been publicly released, fueling further concern from critics, especially because fast-track legislation that would reduce debate, bar amendments and effectively speed a vote on the trade proposal through Congress was introduced earlier this month.

Wikileaks has released some documents involved with the trade agreement. 

Obama argued to WSJ that because several components of the pact are unavailable because they are still in negotiations, and said the TPP still would be exposed to months of scrutiny before anything is signed. 

Meanwhile, the TPP in general has met resistance from several labor unions and several members of the Democratic party. 

Asked by the WSJ if he could sell the TPP to U.S. workers, Obama responded that there was skepticism about the auto bailouts in 2008 and 2009, but that they were a safe bet and the industry has since prospered. 

Now, he said the industry needs to “seize the future,” as does the American economy in general.

“Detroit needs to be focused on capturing, you know, the lion’s share of the market for fuel-efficient cars,” Obama told the WSJ. “And you know, they worked with us to double fuel-efficiency standards.  And I understand that American consumers sometimes are resistant.  We like big cars and we like driving long ways and we like cheap gas.  And I keep on telling folks, enjoy the fact that gas is cheap right now, but we’ve got to plan for the future.”

As of late, Americans appetite for larger cars has been evident in automaker’s sales, but so too has consumers’ lagging desire for fuel-efficient cars. Last week, Ford Motor Co. announced it was laying off 700 workers at its Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne because of low sales of smaller and fuel-efficient cars.

While today’s announcement of a shift reduction at our Michigan Assembly Plant is unfortunate, it is not completely unexpected,” UAW Vice President Jimmy Settles said in an emailed statement at the time. “We are reminded from time to time that our industry is cyclical and volatile to market conditions.”

David Muller is the automotive and business reporter for MLive Media Group in Detroit. Email him at dmuller@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter

Obama says Pacific Rim trade pact won"t hurt auto workers

Healthy lifestyles study has mixed results for Floyd County; men, women exercising at levels below ...

Women in Floyd County need to get a little more exercise, according to a new study published by the University of Washington. That comes in spite of data that indicates their life expectancy is almost four and a half years longer than their male counterparts.

Life expectancy in Floyd County for both men and women falls below the national average, according to a health report published by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the university.

The report, which covers all U.S. counties, uses the latest available data, from 2011 to 2013. It looks at issues such as alcohol use, life expectancy at birth, poverty levels and the prevalence of smoking, obesity and physical activity.

“I really think that a good diet and plenty of exercise will do more to improve your health than most medical procedures or medications that we can develop,” said Dr. Leonard Reeves, dean of the Northwest Clinical campus of the Medical College of Georgia, Georgia Regents University in Rome.

• Floyd County ranked in the worst 25 percent when it comes to women getting the recommended levels of physical activity.

Just 43.2 percent of local women got the proper amount of exercise — 150 minutes of moderate to rigorous activity a week — compared to 53.2 percent of Floyd County men. The national averages were 52.6 percent for women and 56.3 percent for men.

• Local women were in the middle of the obesity range, with 40.6 percent registering as overweight. The men in Floyd County ranked with the top 25 percent of all counties at 34.2 percent. The national averages were 36.1 percent for women and 33.8 percent for men.

Obesity is based on a weight versus height formula. For example, a 5-foot-6-inch person weighing more than 186 pounds would be considered obese, as is someone 6 feet tall weighing more than 221 pounds.

• When it comes to life expectancy, Floyd County women were still in the worst 25 percent at 77.8 years while men were in the mid-range at 73.4 years. The national average was 81.2 years for women and 76.5 years for men.

Reeves said that advances in medicine have certainly improved life expectancy for both men and women.

• On the whole, Floyd County residents are not heavy drinkers, according to data completed through 2012.

Heavy drinking for women is defined as more than one drink a day for 30 days. For men the definition is more than two drinks a day for the same time span.

Only 3.3 percent of Floyd County women were described as heavy drinkers, putting them in the best 25 percent of the survey. The national average was 6.7 percent.

Men in Floyd County were also in the best 25 percent at 8.3 percent. The national average for men was 9.9 percent.

• In Floyd County, 28.5 percent of men and 22.6 percent of women said they smoked.

Both were well above national averages of 22.6 percent for men and 17.9 percent for women. The smoking data was based on reports through 2012.

“The one thing you can do for yourself if you are a smoker is quit,” Reeves said. “That will improve not only your life expectancy but your quality of life in the long run.”

• The poverty level analysis lumped men and women together and found that Floyd County was in the worst 25 percent of all counties in the nation, based on U.S. Census Bureau data for 2012.

Al Hodge, president of the Greater Rome Chamber of Commerce, said that clearly the community has work to do to improve income levels. “One of the initiatives is to continue to work for improved jobs for the unemployed and underemployed in the community,” Hodge said.

Healthy lifestyles study has mixed results for Floyd County; men, women exercising at levels below ...

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Expect Street Closures As Steel Horse Rally Rolls Into Fort Smith This Weekend

FORT SMITH (KFSM)- The Steel Horse Motorcycle Rally will shut down parts of Garrison Avenue in Fort Smith on May 1 and 2.

On both days, Garrison Avenue will be closed to all but motorcycles between 6th Street and 10th Street. There will also be partial closures one block to the east at 11th Street and one block to the west at 5th Street.

The closures are scheduled from approximately 6:30 p.m. on May 1 until 2:30 a.m. the following morning and from approximately 3 p.m. on May 2 until 2:30 a.m. the following morning. Those times may be adjusted depending on traffic.

Motorcycle parking will be allowed at the curbside along the closed portions of Garrison Avenue as well as in the center traffic lanes. All motorcycles have to be moved from the center lanes before the street is opened to normal traffic at 2 a.m., otherwise they’ll be towed at the owners’ expense.

Westbound traffic onto Garrison Avenue from Rogers Avenue will be detoured north onto North 11th Street. Drivers heading to Oklahoma can use North B Street to reach North 5th Street and then move back to Garrison Avenue into Oklahoma. Eastbound drivers entering Fort Smith via the Garrison Avenue Bridge will be detoured at 5th Street. Drivers can then either turn south onto 5th Street and then east onto Rogers Avenue or north onto 5th Street and then east on North A Street to bypass the closed areas.

Drivers should also be aware of a motorcycle procession that’s going to take place at 5 p.m. on May 2. The procession will start at Fort Smith Park, head toward the downtown area via Riverfront Drive, then turn east onto North A Street until reaching North 10th Street, where it will turn south, passing Cisterna Park, then turn west onto Garrison Avenue where it will move into the closed motorcycles-only section.

The Fort Smith Police Department is urging drivers in the downtown area to be patient and plan ahead.

Steel Horse Rally Director Dennis Snow said he is expecting 5,000 people to show up to the inaugural event.

Expect Street Closures As Steel Horse Rally Rolls Into Fort Smith This Weekend

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Around 46000 motorcycles recalled by Harley-Davidson

There has been a massive recall strategy being conducted by Harley Davidson. Recently after complaints in clutch disengagement, the company had to recall more than 45,000 of its motorcycles. This includes the models released in the past few months like the Police Electra Glide, Road Glide, Electra Glide, Road King and various other models of 2015 as well as 2014.

In the larger recall, the company is repairing 45,901 examples of 2014 CVO Road King, the 2014-2015 Electra Glide Ultra Classic, Ultra Classic – Twin Cooled, Ultra Limited, Police Electra Glide, Street Glide, Street Glide Special, and CVO Street Glide; as well as the 2015 model year units of the Electra Glide Ultra Classic Low, Ultra Limited Low, Ultra Classic Low – Twin Cooled, Road Glide Special, and Road Glide. For these bikes, the clutch master cylinder may lose the ability to fully work, especially after long periods of being parked. According to documents submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (as a PDF, here), this is because “a chemical reaction inside of the sealed clutch system creates gas bubbles which may cause loss of clutch lift.”

If this occurs, the bikes can move unexpectedly when the rider puts the transmission in gear. According to the NHTSA report, this problem is responsible for 313 warranty claims, 31 customer complaints, 27 incidents or crashes, and 4 minor injuries possibly linked to the issue. To fix things, Harley-Davidson dealers will flush the system and rebuild the master cylinder.

In a second, smaller campaign, Harley is also recalling 8,904 examples of the 2015 XG500 and XG750. Some of these motorcycles might not be manufactured with a rear reflector assembly, and therefore they don’t meet federal guidelines. Dealers will install the part for affected owners.

Around 46000 motorcycles recalled by Harley-Davidson

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New RI options for high-end men's clothing

By Jenna Pelletier

Journal Staff Writer Posted Apr. 26, 2015 at 12:15 am Updated at 2:42 AM

Suit up, gentlemen. Men’s fashion is having something of a moment.

Globally, the luxury menswear market is growing at 14 percent a year, nearly double the pace of womenswear, according to a study by consulting firm Bain & Co.

Nationally, The Council of Fashion Designers of America recently announced the creation of New York Fashion Week: Men’s, a standalone showcase for menswear launching in July with lines such as Tommy Hilfiger, Michael Kors and Rhode Island School of Design grad Robert Geller.

And locally, new options for high-end men’s clothing, including custom and made-to-measure suits and shirts, have entered the shopping scene.

Custom clothing can benefit hard-to-fit men

If you think custom clothing is only for the top 1 percent, you haven’t heard of J. Hulburn.

The company offers made-to-measure garments personalized with the buyer’s choice of details including fabric and thread color, buttons and pocket design starting at $99 for shirts and $745 for a suit.

Mike Tullie, of DownCity Style Studio, is a J. Hilburn dealer — or what the Dallas-based company calls a personal stylist — operating out of Nude boutique in Providence’s Arcade.

By appointment at the shop or in a home or office, he assists customers with design decisions and takes multiple measurements (13 for a single shirt) to ensure proper fit.

“Men are used to buying shirts by the collar size and the sleeve length and the rest is sort of a crapshoot,” Tullie said. “These are made exactly to your specifications.”

Orders, made with Italian fabrics in Asia, typically arrive in about a month.

The service is especially beneficial for especially tall or short men and those with other hard-to-buy-for body types.

“Regardless of your size, a nice-fitting shirt makes everybody look better,” Tullie said.  

Go to jhilburn.com to find other locally based dealers. Downcitystyle.com, (508) 254-3667, located at Nude, 65 Weybosset St., Providence.

Luxury menswear store expands to Newport

For the last 10 years, Marc Allen Fine Clothiers has been making suits the old-fashioned way in Providence.

“We measure you, pick out the fabric, draw the patterns and then my tailors cut and build it,” said owner Marc Streisand.

Now Streisand has brought his luxury menswear to Newport. His new Bellevue Avenue store is similar to the Providence location, but has a slightly more casual feel to fit the city’s seaside vibe.

Streisand, who got his start in the business as a personal shopper in New York City, favors high-end Italian fabrics and lines, mixing patterns and unexpected pops of color.

He became interested in clothing as a teenager. Streisand was short and had trouble meeting girls. “My mother said to me, ‘you need to dress bigger,’ ” he said. “So I started wearing things that made me feel more confident.”

In addition to bespoke and made-to-measure suits and tuxedos, the Newport store offers ready-to-wear Italian lines including Loro Piana and Baldassari, plus Marc Allen branded shirts, pants and jackets.

He describes his pricing as 30 percent more than what you’d pay at a better retail store such as Saks Fifth Avenue or Brooks Brothers. Made-to-measure suits start at about $1,500 and bespoke suits start at $3,000.

“Yes, we’re in business and we have to make money, but I love that fact that I can work with somebody and help them feel so much more powerful when they go out in the real world,” he said.

Marc Allen Fine Clothiers, 142 Bellevue Ave., Newport, marcalleninc.com.

Striking out on his own

Jim Fortier has worked in men’s fashion for decades, always for other people.  His new East Greenwich store, Blueprint 5, is the first time he’s been able to bring his own vision to a shop.

The boutique features a carefully selected mix of luxury European and local lines. Lotuff Leather bags and Kingsley 1945 watches, both handmade in Providence, sit alongside Italian Luciano Barbera vests and Di Binaco shoes.

Some items are ultra luxurious, including made-to-measure button-downs by Individualized Shirts and suits by Samuelsohn, while others such as colorful hula girl socks and squirt gun bathing suits, are playful.

The space, filled with fine art and unusual finds from the Brimfield Antique Show, has a gallery-like feel, emphasizing Fortier’s love of fine design in all of its forms.

Blueprint 5, 631 Main St., East Greenwich. (401) 885-2500.

5 tips on how to look your best

Our experts’ best dressing advice.

1. Every man should own at least one suit, says Mike Tullie of DownCity Style Studio. Start with a basic solid color such as charcoal or navy.

2. Get a tailor, suggests Jim Fortier of Blueprint 5. “A man should have a great tailor in his life that he goes to regularly and trusts,” he said.

3. Buy the best quality clothing you can afford, recommends Marc Streisand of Marc Allen Fine Clothiers. “That doesn’t necessarily mean expensive, but don’t buy cheap because it doesn’t last,” he said.

4. It’s best to buy clothing by the outfit, not the piece, Streisand says. “Men are notorious for this and you run the risk of buying a shirt and having nothing else in your closet that goes with it,” he says.

5. Dress well to boost your confidence, Streisand adds. “The right clothing will make you feel good and empower you,” he says.

New RI options for high-end men"s clothing

Electric Car Evolution

Cars

Published on April 26th, 2015 | by Zachary Shahan

April 26th, 2015 by Zachary Shahan 

Sustainnovate.

Following up on my articles on the history of solar power science, history of solar power policy, history of solar power manufacturing, history of wind turbines, and history of trains, here’s a piece on the history of electric cars.

Most people mean “electric car” when they say “electric vehicle.” Electric vehicles could also be electric trains, trams, bicycles, skateboards, and so on, but that’s not what most people think about when they think about electric vehicles. To keep things simple, I’m mostly just delving into the history of “electric cars” in this article. However, at times, I extend a little beyond that category.

If you’re fairly new to electric cars, you might think their history goes back just a few years. However, there have actually been a few eras of electric cars, dating back to the early 1800s. Let’s have a stroll through time.

1828: Hungarian inventor Ányos Jedlik, who had invented an early electric motor, builds a small, model car powered by this motor. (Picture above.)

1834: Vermont blacksmith Thomas Davenport and his wife Emily build a small, model electric car that runs on a circular, electrified track. The Davenports use silk from Emily’s wedding dress as wiring.

1835: In the Netherlands, Professor Sibrandus Stratingh of Groningen and his assistant, Christopher Becker, build a small electric car powered by primary cells (nonrechargeable batteries). (Image on right.)

1837: Thomas & Emily Davenport, and colleague Orange Smalley, receive the first American patent for an electric machine/motor.

1837 & 1841: Large-scale “electric cars” are finally built by chemist Robert Davidson of Aberdeen. Powered by galvanic cells, the larger one, built in 1841, can pull 6 tons at 4 miles per hour for about 1½ miles. It weighs 7 tons. Sadly, it is soon destroyed by railway workers who see it as a potential threat to their livelihood (even though electric cars were still far from economical, with the cost of using zinc in a battery being about 40 times higher than the cost of burning coal in a firebox).

1859: French physicist Gaston Planté invents the lead-acid battery, which actually makes practical electric cars a possibility. (Lead-acid batteries are still used in some electric cars today, and are used in gas-powered cars to help start the engines. However, most modern electric cars use lithium-ion batteries. The lead-acid batteries used to start cars are still very similar to what Gaston created.)

1881: French scientist Camille Alphonse Faure greatly improves the design of lead-acid batteries, increasing their capacity substantially. This leads to industrial-scale production of lead-acid batteries.

1881: An electric tricycle built by Gaston Planté is displayed at the International Exhibition of Electricity in Paris.

1881: Parisian engineer and carriage builder Charles Jeantaud, with the help of Camille Alphonse Faure, builds an electric car using a Tilbury-style buggy, a Gramme motor, and the Fulmen battery.

1881: Englishmen William Ayrton & John Perry build an electric tricycle, the first vehicle to use electric lights. It uses lead acid cells, has a range of 10 to 25 miles, and has a maximum speed of 9 mph.

1884: English inventor Thomas Parker builds in first practical production electric car in London. He uses “high-capacity” rechargeable batteries that he designed. (Parker also electrified the London Underground, was responsible for overhead tramways in Liverpool and Birmingham, and has other such accomplishments to his name.)

(Thomas Parker in middle. On the back may be his son, Alfred.)

1884: College dropout Andrew Riker, while living in his parents’ basement, develops an electric trike using lead-sulfuric acid batteries that has 25 miles of range.

1888: Andrew Riker forms the Riker Electric Vehicle Company, which is based in Elizabeth Port, New Jersey.

1888: Philip Pratt demonstrates an electric tricycle built for him by Fred M. Kimball of Fred M. Kimball Company. Despite Riker’s (lesser known) electric trike being built a few years earlier, many say that Pratt’s electric trike is the first in the US, and Pratt is often given the title, “father of the American electric automobile.”

1888: The first electric car in Germany is built by Andreas Flocken.

1888: Elwell-Parker Company and rivals merge in England to form the Electric Construction Corporation. The Electric Construction Corporation thus gains a monopoly on the production of electric cars in the coming decade.

1890-1891: The first American electric car is built by William Morrison of Des Moines, Iowa. The 6-passenger wagon can travel up to 23 km/h (14 mph). The car may also be the first land vehicle steered with a wheel. Morrison, a chemist, moved to Iowa from Scotland in 1880.

1893: William Morrison’s electric car is shown at the “World’s Colombian Exposition” in Chicago, seen by basically everyone who would become influential in the early years of electric vehicle development.

1894: Louis Antoine Krieger begins building electric “horseless carriages” in Paris. They use regenerative braking, with the captured energy stored in a battery and later used to help power the motor.

1894: Mechanical engineer Henry G. Morris and chemist Pedro G. Salom build the first “successful” electric car. With backgrounds in the dwindling battery streetcar market, Morris and Salom develop the “Electrobat” like a small battery streetcar. It has a top speed of 15 mph and uses a lead acid battery. It goes into production the following year, 1895.

1895: The first known US auto race is won by an electric vehicle.

1896: The first car dealer is set up in the US. It only sells electric vehicles.

1896: Morris and Salom build a 2-seat “Electric Road Wagon” and form the “Electric Carriage and Wagon Company,” apparently the first electric car company in the US. Developed as coupes and hansoms for New York City taxis, the Electric Road Wagons each have rear-wheel steering, two 1/2 hp motors, 44 lead-acid cells, and a range of 30 miles.

1896: To overcome range limitations and lack of charging infrastructure, a battery exchange (aka battery swap) service is proposed. Implemented by Hartford Electric Light Company, the service is initially available for electric trucks.

1897: A fleet of electric vehicle taxis is brought to London by Walter C. Bersey. They receive the nickname “Hummingbirds” because of the light humming sound they make.

1897: A fleet of electric hansom cabs is brought to New York City by Samuel’s Electric Carriage and Wagon Company.

1897: The first car with power steering is built. It’s an electric car.

1898: Dr. Ferdinand Porsche, 23 years old, builds his first car, the Lohner Electric Chaise. It has a hub motor at each driving wheel and is reportedly the first front-wheel-drive car in the world.

1898: Count Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat of Paris sets the first known speed record in a car, going faster than any human before at 39.245 mph (62.8 km/h) in his electric Jeantaud. This earns him the nickname “Electric Count.” Incidentally, the world record lasts for just a few days before being beaten by another electric vehicle. (Picture below.)

1899: Camille Jenatzy and Count Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat trade speed records several times throughout the year, ending in Camille Jenatzy breaking the 100 km/h (62 mph) speed barrier in an electric vehicle. He reaches a top speed of 105.88 km/h (65.79 mph). Jenatzy’s vehicle is named La Jamais Contente (“The Never Satisfied”), picture on right.

1899: Riker Electric Vehicle Company, Electric Carriage and Wagon Company, Electric Storage Battery, and Samuel’s Electric Carriage and Wagon Company merge to form the “Electric Vehicle Company,” attempting to create a monopoly in the US electric vehicle market.

1899: MIT electrical & mechanical engineering graduate Clinton Edgar Woods incorporates Woods Motor Vehicle Company, 3 years after forming American Electric Vehicle Company, which then became Waverly Company.

1899: The Baker Electric, the first production electric car, is born. It is produced by Baker Motor Vehicle Company.

1900: 38% of US automobiles, 33,842 cars, are powered by electricity (40% by steam, and 22% by gasoline).

1901: Thomas Edison patents the nickel-iron battery.

1902: Dr. Ferdinand Porsche builds second car, a hybrid with an electric range of 40 miles.

1902: Walter Baker goes 104 mph (167 km/h) in his electric “Road Torpedo,” setting a new world speed record in Ormond Beach, Florida. It is also the first vehicle to utilize a safety belt. Later, he reportedly reaches 127 mph (204 km/h) but without officially being recorded. He later builds an even more powerful vehicle, but he crashes into the crowd at Staten Island Speedway, killing two spectators, and never races again. His 104 mph record stands for 64 years.

1907: Detroit Electric, an electric car produced by the Anderson Electric Car Company, is born. 13,000 Detroit Electrics are produced between 1907 and 1939.

1908: Thomas Edison improves the design of his nickel-iron battery.

1908: Henry Ford starts producing the Model T, but he also buys his wife, Clara, a Detroit Electric Model C coupe (since she preferred electric cars). The Detroit Electric Model C coupe comes with a special baby seat. (The Ford family eventually buys a second Detroit Electric, a Model D, officially sold to Edsel Ford; and then a third one, a Model 47, for Clara.)

1911: The first gasoline-electric hybrid car is released by Woods Motor Vehicle Company, which is based out of Chicago.

1912: 38,843 electric vehicles are on the roads in the United States.

1912: The electric starter is invented by Charles Kettering. Ironically, this harms the electric car market, as gasoline-powered cars can now be easily and quickly started (without having to use a hand crank).

1913: Mass production of the Ford Model T on the first modern assembly line deals a strong blow to early-era electric cars, as it brings down the cost of gasoline cars considerably (making electric cars two or even three times more expensive in the coming years). Electric car sales would slowly taper off over the coming years. (Other main factors leading to the demise of electric cars were: cheap Texas oil; a more developed road network and the ability/desire to travel long distances — electric cars typically had driving ranges of 30 to 40 miles (50 to 65 kilometers) and limited charging infrastructure; the electric starter — see above; slower speeds — about 20 mph or 32 km/h; tough economic times during World War I; and the stigma that electric cars are for women.)

1914: Baker Motor Vehicle Company merges with Cleveland automaker Rauch and Lang to become Baker, Rauch & Lang.

1923: Milburn, one of few remaining electric vehicle companies, sells out to main body client General Motors.

1929: W. C. Anderson, 75 years old and in poor health, sells his Detroit Electric company. The last entirely new Detroit Electric was likely sold in 1926 anyway.

1957: Sputnik is launched and the US space program engages in advanced battery research & development.

1959-1961: The Henney Kilowatt, a small electric car, is produced by Henney Coachworks and the National Union Electric Company. It achieves a top speed of 60 mph (97 km/h) and a range of 60 miles (97 kilometers), but its high price keeps away potential buyers.

1967: The Electric Auto Association is founded by Walter Laski.

1967-1969: American Motors Corporation (AMC) & Gulton Industries team up to produce a few electric cars using a lithium-based battery and a nickel-cadmium battery, such as the Amitron (1967, lithium batteries) and and all-electric Rambler American (1969, nickel-cadmium batteries). The Amitron introduces regenerative braking.

1971: The first manned vehicle to drive on the moon, the Lunar Rover, is an electric car.

1972: The Electric Auto Association holds its first annual electric vehicle rally.

1973-1977: The Enfield 8000 (pictured above) is built by Enfield Automotive in the UK. Using lead-acid batteries, the car has a top speed of 48 mph (77 km/h) and a top range of about 40 miles (64 kilometers).

1976: The US Congress passes the Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Research, Development, and Demonstration Act, which increases research and development of electric motors, batteries, and other components of electric and hybrid vehicles.

1977: AMC & Gulton Industries again team up to produce the AMC Electron, a 3-passenger, electric, commuter, city car. (Pictured above.)

1983: A fleet of electric vehicles drive from San Jose to San Francisco and back (100 miles / 161 kilometers) without recharging.

1985: Saied Motai drives an electric vehicle 230 miles (370 kilometers) on a single charge.

1990: General Motors (GM) introduces the GM Impact, an electric concept car, at the Los Angeles Auto Show. GM President Roger Smith also announces that GM will produce electric cars for the consumer market (which finally happens in 1997, but the car is only available to lease).

1990: The California Air Resources Board (CARB), the government of California’s “clean air agency,” pushes for automakers to produce more-fuel-efficient, low-emissions vehicles and eventually transition to zero emissions vehicles (e.g., electric vehicles). The main law is the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate, which requires 2% of California’s vehicles to have 0 tailpipe emissions by 1998, and 10% by 2003. As a result, automakers develop several electric vehicle models in the coming years. However, the automakers don’t really get behind the idea, don’t market their electric vehicles well (if at all), and eventually sue CARB, resulting in a dropping of the ZEV Mandate.

1991: The Kewet, a 100% electric microcar produced in Norway, is introduced. (Pictured above.)

1992: The Škoda Favorit ELTRA 151L & 151 Pick-Up is released, selling for under $20,000 without subsidy. It has a top speed of 50 mph (80 km/h) and a top range of 50 miles (80 kilometers).

1992: California passes a $1,000 tax credit for electric vehicles.

1994: 12 other US states adopt California’s ZEV Mandate.

1994: The GM Impact EV (later named the EV1) drives 187 mph (301 km/h), breaking the electric vehicle speed record.

1994: The REVA Electric Car Company is formed in India, a joint venture between the Maini Group India and AEV of California.

1996: GM releases the EV1 (pictured above). It has a top speed of 80 mph (129 km/h) and a top range of 160 miles (257 kilometers). It is produced until 2003, but is only available for lease. And GM reclaims and destroys the electric cars, not allowing owners in love with the vehicle to buy them off of GM. EV1s that were donated to engineering schools and museums are not reclaimed but are deactivated. (Honda, Nissan, and Toyota similarly offered their vehicles under closed-ended leases and repossessed/crushed them at the end of the lease periods.)

1997: GM releases the Chevrolet S10 EV, an electric pickup truck. It has a top speed of 73 mph (118 km/h) and a top range of 90 miles (144 kilometers). It is produced until 1998.

1997: Honda releases the EV Plus, which has a top speed of over 80 mph (130 km/h) and a top range of 80 to 110 miles (130 to 180 kilometers). It is produced until 1999.

1997: Toyota releases the RAV4 EV, which has a top speed of 78 mph (125 km/h) and a top range of 87 miles (140 kilometers). It is produced until 2002.

1998: Ford releases the Ranger EV, which has a range of 74 miles (119 kilometers). It is produced until 2002.

1999: The Honda Insight and Toyota Prius, hybrid electric cars, go on sale in the US. These are the first hybrid vehicles on the US market since the 1917 Woods hybrid.

2001: REVA Electric Car Company releases the REVAi (aka “G-Wiz” in the UK), an electric microcar powered by lead-acid batteries (pictured above).

2002: GM and DaimlerChrysler finally sue CARB over the ZEV Mandate, and are joined in the suit by the Bush Administration. They win the lawsuit and the California ZEV Mandate is changed to allow ZEV credits instead of ZEVs.

2003: Tesla Motors is founded in California.

2004: Tesla Motors begins work on the Tesla Roadster, a 100% electric sports car based on the design of the popular and stylish Lotus Elise.

2005: Who Killed The Electric Car? is released in cinemas.

2005: Plug In America is launched in the US.

2006: Tesla Motors unveils the Tesla Roadster (pictured above) at the San Francisco International Auto Show. The car changes the image of electric cars for many, and also spurs some major automakers to genuinely jump into the electric car market.

2007: The Kewet gets rebranded as “Buddy.”

2008: The Th!nk City electric city car (pictured above) goes into production in Norway.

2008: The Tesla Roadster becomes the first production electric vehicle to use lithium-ion battery cells as well as the first production electric vehicle to have a range of over 200 miles on a single charge.

2008: While campaigning for the presidency, Barack Obama states that he would push for 1 million plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles on US roadways by 2015 if elected president.

2009: BYD releases the world’s first plug-in hybrid compact sedan, the F3DM (pictured above). It uses lithium-iron-phosphate batteries, which have less energy density but are more stable than lithium-ion batteries used in the Tesla Roadster.

2009: REVA Electric Car Company releases the REVA L-ion, an updated version of its electric microcar this time powered by lithium-ion batteries.

2009: $2 billion goes toward the development of electric vehicle batteries and related technologies under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and another $400 million goes toward the development of plug-in vehicle charging infrastructure.

2009: The UK announces a £2,000 subsidy for consumer electric cars.

2009: The US Department of Energy awards $8 billion in fuel-efficient vehicle loans to Ford, Tesla Motors, and Nissan, part of $25 billion dedicated for such a purpose under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.

2009: Tesla unveils the Model S electric sedan (pictured above), which quickly gets top ratings from leading auto journalists and consumer technology review company Consumer Reports. By many, it is considered the best mass-production car of any type in the world.

2009: The Mitsubishi i-MiEV (pictured above) goes on sale in Japan. It hits the European, Chinese, and Australian markets in 2010; and then the US and other markets in 2011.

2010: Mass production of the 100% electric Nissan Leaf (pictured above) begins in Japan, and the car is sold in Japan and the US. It has a max speed of over 90 mph (145 km/h), has a top range of 100 miles (161 kilometers), and can be recharged to 80% of battery capacity in 30 minutes.

2010: Production of the BYD e6 (pictured above) begins in China, initially just for fleet customers.

2010: Mass production of the Chevy Volt (pictured above), an extended-range electric vehicle (also referred to as a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle), begins in the US. The instigation of this car and possibly all other modern plug-in cars was the Tesla Roadster. Bob Lutz, who was vice chairman of GM at the time, said in 2009: “All the geniuses here at General Motors kept saying lithium-ion technology is 10 years away, and Toyota agreed with us – and boom, along comes Tesla. So I said, ‘How come some tiny little California startup, run by guys who know nothing about the car business, can do this, and we can’t?’ That was the crowbar that helped break up the log jam.”

2010: Tesla Motors goes public with an IPO on NASDAQ.

2010: ~25,000 electric cars are on the roads globally (fewer than were on US roads in 1912, but many more than just a few years prior).

2011: The Bolloré Bluecar is released in France, initially just used in Paris’ Autolib’ carsharing program.

2011: The Mitsubishi i-MiEV becomes the first electric car to see more than 10,000 sales (including under various other badges — Citroën C-Zero and Peugeot iOn).

2011: ~80,000 electric cars are on the roads globally, more than three times the number from the year before.

2012: Tesla unveils the Model X, an electric SUV/crossover with similar performance to the Model S.

2012: Tesla begins building a North American Supercharger network, which Tesla owners can use for free.

2012: ~200,000 electric cars are on the roads globally, 2.5 times more than the year before.

2013: The Nissan Leaf becomes the first electric car to see over 50,000 sales.

2013: The Nissan Leaf gets a $6,000 price cut in the US thanks to the start of production in the US (Tennessee).

2013: For certain months, the Nissan Leaf and the Tesla Model S each become the top-selling car of any type in Norway.

2013: The Renault–Nissan Alliance passes 100,000 plug-in electric vehicle sales globally, the first company to do so.

2013: ~405,000 electric cars are on the roads globally, more than twice the number from the year before.

2014: Numerous 100% electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles are now on the market, such as: BMW i3, BMW i8, Bolloré Bluecar, BYD e6, BYD Qin, Cadillac ELR, Chevy Spark EV, Chevy Volt, Citröen Berlingo Électrique, Citröen C-Zero, Fiat 500e, Ford C-Max Energi, Ford Fusion Energi, Ford Focus Electric, Honda Accord Plug-in, Honda Fit EV, Kia Soul EV, Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric, Mia Electric, Mitsubishi i-MiEV, Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in, Nissan e-NV200, Nissan Leaf, Opel Ampera, Peugeot iOn, Peugeot Partner EV, Porsche Panamera S-E Hybrid, Renault Kangoo ZE, Renault Twizy, Renault Zoe, Smart Electric Drive, Tesla Model S, Tesla Model X, Toyota Prius Plug-in, Toyota RAV4 EV, Via Motors VTRUX SUV/Truck/Van, Volvo C30 Electric, Volvo V60 Plug-in, Volkswagen e-Golf, Volkswagen e-Up!, Volkswagen XL1, Wheego LiFE, Wheego Whip.

2014: Tesla announces plans to build a battery “gigafactory” in order to ensure it has enough batteries for its current and upcoming vehicles.

2014: Tesla opens up its patents to anyone wanting to use them “in good faith.”

2014: Tesla announces that its 3rd-generation, much more affordable vehicle will be called Tesla Model III. It is supposed to have a range of about 200 miles (320 kilometers), be about 20% smaller than the Model S, have a base price of about $30,000, and go into production in 2017.

2014: Tesla starts working on production of the Model X.

2014: The Nissan Leaf becomes the first electric car to see over 100,000 sales.

Image Credits: First 7 images: original source unknown; LIFE magazine ad photographed by Bob Post; Georgios Michael; AMC; GM; MilborneOne (CC BY-SA 3.0); Tesla Motors; Mahlum;BYD; Tesla Motors; Mitsubishi; Zachary Shahan / EV Obsession / CleanTechnica (CC BY-SA 4.0); BYD; GM; Bolloré; Tesla Motors

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Tags: AEV, AMC, AMC Electron, American Electric Vehicle Company, American Motors Corporation, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Amitron, Anderson Electric Car Company, Andreas Flocken, Andrew Riker, Ányos Jedlik, Baker Electric, Baker Motor Vehicle Company, Baker Rauch & Lang, Battery Swapping, bmw i, BMW i3, bmw i8, Bob Lutz, Bollore Bluecar, Buddy, Buddy EV, BYD, BYD E6, BYD F3DM, BYD Qin, Cadillac ELR, California Air Resources Board, Camille Alphonse Faure, Camille Jenatzy, car dealers, CARB, Charles Jeantaud, Charles Kettering, Chevrolet S10 EV, chevy spark ev, Chevy Volt, China, Citröen Berlingo Électrique, Citroen C-Zero, Clara Ford, Clinton Edgar Woods, Consumer Reports, Count Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat, DaimlerChrysler, Detroit Electric, Edsel Ford, Electric Auto Association, electric car sales, Electric Carriage and Wagon Company, Electric Construction Corporation, Electric Count, Electric Storage Battery, electric taxis, electric tricycles, electric trucks, Electric Vehicle Company, Electrobat, Elwell-Parker Company, Emily Davenport, Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, Enfield 8000, Enfield Automotive, EV History, EV sales, EV1, Ferdinand Porsche, Fiat 500E, Ford C-MAX Energi, ford focus electric, Ford Fusion Energi, Ford Model T, France, Fred M. Kimball, Fred M. Kimball Company, G-Wiz, galvanic cells, Gaston Planté, Germany, GM, GM EV1, GM Impact, groningen, Gulton Industries, Hartford Electric Light Company, Henney Coachworks, Henney Kilowatt, Henry Ford, Henry Ford electric cars, Honda, Honda Accord Plug-In, Honda EV Plus, honda fit ev, Honda Insight, Honda Ranger EV, hub motors, Hummingbird, in wheel motors, Japan, John Perry, Kewet, Kia Soul EV, La Jamais Contente, lead acid batteries, lead-sulfuric acid batteries, Lohner Electric Chaise, London Underground, Louis Antoine Krieger, Lunar Rover, Maini Group India, Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric, Mia Electric, Mitsubishi, Mitsubishi i-MiEV, Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in, National Union Electric Company, Nickel-Iron batteries, Nissan, nissan e-NV200, Nissan Leaf, norway, nyc taxis, Obama, Opel Ampera, Orange Smalley, peugeot ion, Peugeot Partner EV, Philip Pratt, Plug in America, Porsche, Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid, power steering, Professor Sibrandus Stratingh, Rambler American, regenerative braking, Renault Kangoo ZE, Renault Twizy, renault zoe, Renault-Nissan Alliance, REVA Electric Car Company, REVA L-ion, REVAi, Riker Electric Vehicle Company, Road Torpedo, Robert Davidson, Saied Motai, Samuel’s Electric Carriage and Wagon Company, Sibrandus Stratingh, Skoda, Škoda Favorit ELTRA, Smart Electric Drive, sputnik, Tesla, Tesla Gigafactory, Tesla Model 3, Tesla Model S, Tesla Model X, Tesla Roadster, tesla superchargers, Th!nk City, The Never Satisfied, Thomas Davenport, thomas edison, Thomas Parker, Toyota, toyota prius, toyota prius plug in, Toyota RAV4 EV, UK, US, US DOE, Via Motors VTRUX SUV/Truck/Van, volkswagen e up!, Volkswagen e-Golf, Volkswagen XL1, Volvo C30 Electric, Volvo V60 Plug-in, W. C. Anderson, Walter Baker, Walter C. Bersey, Walter Laski, Waverly Company, Wheego LiFe, Wheego Whip, Who Killed the Electric Car, William Ayrton, William Morrison, Woods Motor Vehicle Company, World’s Colombian Exposition, Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate, ZEV Mandate

About the Author

Zachary Shahan spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as the director/chief editor. Otherwise, he’s probably enthusiastically fulfilling his duties as the director/editor of Solar Love, EV Obsession, Planetsave, or Bikocity. Zach is recognized globally as a solar energy, electric car, and wind energy expert. If you would like him to speak at a related conference or event, connect with him via social media. You can connect with Zach on any popular social networking site you like. Links to all of his main social media profiles are on ZacharyShahan.com.

Electric Car Evolution