Green
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What do you get when you take some of the inspiration of Honda’s much-loved CRX two-seater from the 1980s and cross it with the also-much-loved Insight coupe from the past decade, then give it the latest version of Honda’s hybrid system? Honda says you get the 2011 Honda CR-Z. We’re leaning more to “Insight two-door” after our first drive of the CR-Z from Manhattan to the suburbs and back. Even with its own sheetmetal, crisper steering feel and an available six-speed manual transmission, the CR-Z doesn’t add more than a dash or two of driving fun to the...
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First 4,400 2011 Chevrolet Volt Buyers Eligible For Free In-Home Charging Stations
The grant works through the Department of Energy to help expand EV use.
Nelson Ireson -
2011 Chevy Volt Engineers Work Out Final Software Glitches, U.K. Volt Attempts 170 Mile Trip.
GM's answer to the 2011 Nissan Leaf, the 2011 Chevrolet Volt is nearing production readiness. But a European badged Volt is taking part in a publicity long-distance drive in the U.K., GM's Detroit engineers are still tweaking the software responsible for ensuring the 40 mile-per-charge range...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Mercedes-Benz Diesels And Hybrids: Green Goodness, Slow Sales?
Mercedes-Benz offers a clean-diesel Bluetec version of each of its large utility vehicles, the R-Class, GL-Class, and M-Class, along with a Hybrid version of the ML. But even combined, the standard gasoline versions of these vehicles are still far ou
Bengt Halvorson -
Tesla Opens Up About Its New Old Factory
The ink's barely dry on the Tesla - Toyota deal that gives the startup electric-car maker a new manufacturing home. But today, Tesla's going public with some details on how it plans to use the former NUMMI facility in Fremont, California, to build its mainstream 2012 Tesla Model S sedan. The former...
Martin Padgett -
Green Car News: Lincoln MKZ Hybrid Hits 41 MPG
With the impending death of the Mercury Milan Hybrid, there's just one luxury sedan that gets the EPA's top fuel economy ranking for the 2011 model year--and that would be the Milan's surviving sister, the 2011 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid. While it waits patiently for an on-sale date this fall, the MKZ...
Martin Padgett -
We've told you about the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid awaiting an on-sale date later this year. Now, Ford's confirming that its ritzy cousin to the Ford Fusion Hybrid will hit the same 41-mpg city fuel economy rating. The MKZ Hybrid's EPA fuel economy will be 41/36 mpg when it goes on sale later this year, which makes it the most gas-miserly luxury sedan on sale in America. Ford says the MKZ Hybrid will top the Lexus HS 250h by a good 6 mpg. Ford says the MKZ Hybrid will also seat an extra passenger; the Lexus is rated as a four-passenger vehicle. Like the Fusion Hybrid, the MKZ Hybrid combines a...
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Nissan Give Test-Drives Of 2011 Leaf Production Model, Feedback Positive, 80% charge in 30 minutes.
The most anticipated electric car of 2010 has it all: a world-wide following, over 30,000 pre-orders, television advertising, and even a virtual appearance at Apple's prestigious WWDC. Even though it has even been spotted in the wild in Arizona, the one thing Nissan hasn't given many of are test...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
What Will The True Residual Value of a Used EV Be? Toyota May Provide the Answer.
If you're lucky you may already be on a waiting list for the 2011 Nissan Leaf. Or perhaps you've decided to get the 2011 Chevrolet Volt. If your next car is electric it could easily immunize you from fluctuating gas prices and ensure low running costs. But what will that shiny new electric car be...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Two-Mode Hybrid System: GM's Larry Nitz on Lessons Learned
The Two-Mode Hybrid system for large sport utilities and trucks hasn't exactly set the world on fire. In 2006, General Motors, Daimler and Chrysler (then a single company) announced a partnership, soon joined by BMW, to develop the Two-Mode Hybrid system for large rear-wheel drive vehicles. But...
John Voelcker -
Does BYD’s Ultimate Taxi Roadtest Hold Company’s Future?
What does a pizza delivery teen, a taxi driver and a courier have to do with EVs? Not much right now, but could these and other professional drivers hold the key to truly prove that EVs have what it takes to hit the big time, or do they risk condemning EVs to the history books forever? Chinese auto...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
How Many Million Priuses Would Offset the Gulf Oil Spill?
One million gallons a day is a lot of oil. According to estimates late last week, that could be the daily rate of oil escaping from the Deepwater Horizon well in the Gulf of Mexico. To put that number in perspective, we decided to look at what it would take to compensate just for the lost gasoline...
John Voelcker -
Electric cars like the 2011 Nissan Leaf require lots of lithium and other precious heavy metals to make them go. Today's sources of lithium are far and few: Bolivia has something like 40 percent of the world's deposits, while Russia, South Africa, Chile and Argentina have some. This weekend, the New York Times reported that the war-ravaged country of Afghanistan could have as much lithium as all of them. In an irony that tweaks environmentalists and neoconservatives equally well, the huge deposits of lithium in Afghanistan could forever change that nation's economy and could turn its nearly...
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2011 Smart Electric Drive: Mercedes Price, Maybach Exclusivity?
Want to be among the first to lease a 2011 Smart Electric Drive? You’re probably too late, as the brand only plans to make 1,500 of them available globally.
Bengt Halvorson -
Five reasons why electric cars are still being produced in limited numbers.
Chevrolet and Nissan both have electric vehicles set to hit the streets this Fall. But unless you're extremely lucky the chances are you won't be driving one until at least the middle part of 2011. Why? Because of limited production runs, demand is outstripping supply. Is it part of some big...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
First Look: 2012 Mini Cooper Countryman, A Much Maxier Mini
When it launched in the States in 2002, the Mini Cooper taught the auto industry that U.S. buyers will pay real money for very small cars. If, that is, they offer personality, charm, cheekiness, and good handling. But can you make a Mini into a crossover sport utility and still keep its...
John Voelcker -
2011 Nissan Leaf Spied Testing on Arizona Roads
As far as we know, no one has yet done a road test on the 2011 Nissan Leaf, which will go on sale in certain markets this December. We've driven the Leaf powertrain mounted in a Cube mule, and our colleague Bengt Halvorson has driven it in a Versa mule--but never the completed car. Still, we know...
John Voelcker -
2011 Smart Electric Drive: Better Than The Gasoline Fortwo?
The electric revolution is underway. With testbed vehicles including the Mini E, and big-name models like the Ford Focus EV and Nissan LEAF on the way within a year or two, it's no longer a question of whether electric cars will come back.
Bengt Halvorson -
The 2011 Nissan Leaf is out and about testing, and some intrepid fans have caught it in the wild.
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Smart ForTwo Electric Drive Goes Stateside, But Is It U.S. Ready?
Forget the 2010 Nissan Leaf or the 2010 Chevy Volt. A small, chic electric vehicle is set to be trialled in the U.S. this fall that has the potential to redefine inner city commuting. But are consumers ready to drive around in an electric car smaller than most people's closets? Smart U.S.A. has...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Tesla Cashes In, Sells Zero-Emission Vehicle Credits to Honda
Ever wondered how car companies make money fast? Sexy electric sports car creators Tesla motors have figured it out: sell off its excess zero-emission vehicle credits for much-needed hard cash to Honda, the only mainstream automaker to not yet fully commit to making an EV. In 2008, a revised...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
GM Sells 570 Hybrid Pickups To Phone Company, Jubilation Ensues
Last year, General Motors sold about 7,200 of its full-size hybrid SUVs--but just 1,600 hybrid pickup trucks using the same system. So the company took the unusual step last Friday of issuing a press release to announce that it had sold 576 of Silverado Hybrid pickups in one fell swoop. The buyer...
John Voelcker -
Steve Jobs: How To Demo New iPhone? Reserve a Nissan Leaf EV!
The 2010 Tesla Roadster is seen by many as the ultimate boy's toy. But Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs added another car to his garage today by walking through the Nissan Leaf signup process live at the Apple WorldWide Developer Conference (WWDC) 2010 live on stage. In photos snapped by Apple...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2010 Nissan Leaf Hits Japanese Sales Goals, 60% of Pre-orders from Baby Boomers
Nissan announced this morning that Japanese pre-order sales for its 2011 Leaf electric car have enabled the company to meet its fiscal 2010 domestic sales target before the car even hits the showrooms. The fully electric hatchback will be sold in Japan later this year at a cost of ¥3.76 million...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield