Green

  • 2009 Ford Escape Hybrid

    Yeah, yeah, we know. The only people who buy hybrids are the ones who want to show off their green credentials. They're effete, elite coastal residents who probably drove Subarus before they got their hybrids. Uh huh. Tell it to the Marines. Or, more accurately, tell it to the Israel Defense Forces. According to an article in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz yesterday, no less a fighting force than the IDF is evaluating whether to buy Ford Escape Hybrids to cut its fuel consumption. The Escape Hybrid crossovers would largely be used as field-force support vehicles. They might also be pressed...

  • Replaceable cartridge oil filter used in Ecotec engines fitted to 2011 Chevrolet Cruze
    2011 Chevy Cruze Green Oil Filter: Everything Old Is New Again

    Sometimes a "new" green idea is actually just the way we used to do things, before disposability and convenience became primary consumer values. Consider the "cartridge filter" that GM touts on the Ecotec engines fitted to its new 2011 Chevrolet Cruze. Instead of a one-piece metal cannister that's...

  • Lutz Drives Volt
    Lutz Predicts Range-Extended EVs Like Chevy Volt Here To Stay

    With GM's 2011 Chevrolet Volt now in pre-production and due to launch in November 2010, Former GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz fully supports range-extended electric vehicles but remains doubtful of the near future of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. In an interview with GM-Volt.com before his retirement...

  • Charging Port: Think City.
    Electric-Car Buyers Will Rethink Range Needs If Price Is Right

    A survey conducted by MBA students at the University of Michigan shows that contrary to popular belief, a large percentage of potential electric vehicle buyers would be willing to trade off vehicle range for price. The survey, released by Norwegian based electric car company Think, appears to have...

  • Nissan President and Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn
    Nissan Posts Q1 Losses, Confident of Future Leaf Success.

    Nissan Motor Company, the maker of the 2011 Leaf EV, posted today a net loss of $125 million for the first quarter of 2010 and a $45.8 million profit for the full fiscal year ending March 2010 -- a distinct improvement on the $2.9 billion loss for the financial year ending March 2009. With orders...

  • Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors
    Musk divorce case could hang over Tesla for up to a year

    This story, written by Camille Ricketts, was originally posted on VentureBeat's GreenBeat, an editorial partner of AllCarsElectric. Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk may have won an initial ruling in the divorce dispute with his now-separated wife, novelist Justine Musk, but the case is far from over...

  • 2010 Ford Super Duty F-450 4WD Crew Cab Lariat Grille

    Our article last week on Ford's doubling of its flex-fuel models included a mention that diesel models of the new 2011 Ford Super Duty pickup trucks will run on either pure diesel fuel or a mix of up to 20 percent biodiesel, known as B20. Reader Suzanne Johnson responded with the following question: I live near a biodiesel production facility and have learned from an engineer there that not all new diesels will run on pure biodiesel. Audi and Volkswagen only allow a max of 10 percent biodiesel mixed in with regular diesel. Given the severity of the Gulf oil spill, how about including info on...

  • nissan leaf ev 013
    Nissan, GM Are Right to Quiz Potential Electric-Car Buyers

    Nissan has been criticized by consumers and EV owners alike for the online questionnaire that accompanies the signup process for reserving a 2011 Nissan Leaf. As part of the process, Nissan tries to ascertain if potential customers have a lifestyle compatible with the Leaf's range, recharging...

  • 2010 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid, 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show
    Why Can't Toyota's Plug-In Prius Recharge Its Larger Battery?

    Toyota has come under some fire from electric-vehicle enthusiasts for what some perceive as a grudging, halfhearted approach to building vehicles that plug in. Its first U.S.-market plug-in vehicle--not including a thousand or so RAV4 electric crossovers a decade ago--will be the 2012 Toyota Prius...

  • Euro-spec 2011 Ford Fiesta in New York City
    3 Green-Car Trends: Smaller Cars, More Turbos, Luxury Hybrids

    Everyone has opinions. But if you had to wrap up what's happening in green cars today by naming three trends, what would they be? The ever-eager publicists at auto-classified site AutoTrader.com sent us their list of three changes in the world of eco-friendly vehicles. We've reproduced them below...

  • Fisker logo
    Fisker bumps up latest funding round to $175 Million

    This story, written by Camille Ricketts, was originally posted on VentureBeat's GreenBeat, an editorial partner of GreenCarReports. Having already banked $100 million Fisker Automotive has raised its sights on a new round of venture capital funding, now seeking $175 million, according to a filing...

  • prototype 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid, April 2010
    Prius Plug-In Hybrid: It Won't Compete With the Leaf or Volt

    We've been thinking a lot about the prototype 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid since our test drive of a prototype last month. And about the rest of the plug-in cars that will come to market over the next two years. To our surprise, we decided we don't think buyers will directly compare the Prius...

  • Toyota Highlander Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicle (FCHV)

    Toyota's first production vehicle powered by a hydrogen fuel cell will be a sedan model with the range of a gasoline model, said a company executive last week. It will be priced at roughly $50,000, and go on sale in 2015. That's more expensive than upcoming electric vehicles like the 2011 Nissan Leaf, to be priced at $32,800, and the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, which hasn't yet been priced but is expected to cost $40,000 or less. For both cars, a Federal tax credit of $7,500 helps offset the price. At a price of $50,000 (minus any applicable Federal and state tax incentives), the market for such a...

  • Lithium Air Battery
    GM Confirms Lithium-Air Battery Research to Revolutionize EV

    General Motors is quietly conducting research into Lithium-Air batteries, the next Holy Grail of electric vehicle technology, according to a Friday article in The New York Times. GM acknowledges that while the battery technology has some way to go before it is used in commercial electric cars, the...

  • Gasoline consumption per capita by state, from Infrastructurist
    Saturday Selection: Stuff Sort-of-Relevant To Green Cars

    We read a lot of stuff here to cover the world of green cars. No surprise there. But there's a lot we see that doesn't lend itself to a full article, though we hate to let it pass by altogether. So this is a new type of piece, one that brings together stuff that's sort-of-relevant to green cars...

  • Three-seat, three-wheeled electric vehicle in traditional Japanese style, photo by Kyodo Photo.
    What Wacky Forms of Electric Tourist Transport Can YOU Invent?

    It must be Friday, when the silly stuff comes up. According to Japan Times, in the Kansai region of Japan, four companies have got together to produce a new vehicle which they hope will capture the hearts and minds of eco-minded visitors needing a way to get around the ancient cities of Kyoto and...

  • 2010 Lexus HS 250h
    2010 Lexus HS 250h Luxury Hybrid Not Selling As Expected

    Last summer, when we first drove the 2010 Lexus HS 250h luxury hybrid--and then did a full test drive--we were quite puzzled by it. Neither as fuel efficient as a hybrid nor as elegant and refined as other Lexus models, it seemed neither fish nor fowl. And in the end, while we appreciated its...

  • Hawaii
    Hawaii: Island Paradise for Electric Vehicles As Well As People

    You'd be forgiven for thinking Hawaii is the center of the electric vehicle universe. Wednesday, Nissan announced it would be one of the first markets for the 2011 Leaf electric vehicle. Then yesterday South Korean manufacturer CT&T signed a deal with the state's governor, Linda Lingle, to...

  • Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric car at quick charging station

    At the moment, drivers of cars from the  2011 Mitsubishi i-MiEV to the 2010 Mini E are struggling to achieve the official mileage-range figures. So far, only Tesla's 2010 Roadster seems to be able to deliver on its range promises, and that's just when driven conservatively. Why are we hearing so many tales of stranded EVs that couldn't reach their claimed mileage? Do car companies exaggerate their ranges, or are there other forces in play? Manufacturers' range-per-charge claims are as tough to tie down as fuel economy figures. They're often obtained under laboratory test conditions, with...

  • 2010 Toyota Prius
    Buying a Green Car: It's All About Being Seen Being Green

    On the surface, buying a "green car" often doesn't make sense. Or rather, it doesn't make dollars and cents: The extra cost of the necessary technology--whether it's a hybrid, a clean diesel, or a plug-in electric car--is often never recouped in fuel savings. So why do people do it? Turns out it's...

  • Comedian Adam Carolla complains about electric cars and energy policy on Gizmodo
    OK, We Get It: Adam Carolla Likes, and Hates, Electric Cars

    As if legitimate news outlets didn't have enough trouble covering electric vehicles sensibly, now we get the comedians weighing in. Late-night talk-show host and stereotypical grumpy guy Adam Carolla recently lit into electric cars, in an interview with Gizmodo's Jason Chen in which he was invited...

  • Corn Ethanol Pump
    More Ethanol in Gasoline Bad For Existing Cars, Say Automakers

    Adding more ethanol to gasoline may help the U.S. meet a Congressional mandate to use more of the renewable fuel, but it could damage many of the cars now on the road, say automakers. Last year, U.S. vehicle manufacturers went public with their alarm that the EPA might increase the permissible...

  • First 2011 Chevrolet Volt built on production tooling at Detroit Hamtramck plant, March 31, 2010
    2011 Chevy Volt Marketing Theme Emerges: An EV for Road Trips

    GM has been talking about the 2011 Chevrolet Volt for three and a half years now. After absorbing an enormous amount of Volt propaganda, we've learned that subtle shifts in message can be important. A conference call yesterday revealed what we suspect will become a main marketing message for the...

  • President Bill Clinton
    Bill Clinton: Feds Should Subsidize Buyers' Switch to Electric Cars

    Former President Bill Clinton recently visited social network digg.com  for a special Earth Day interview that touched on electric-vehicle policy and legislation. He answered user questions about many ecological and environmental topics--including third-world development and global warming--as...

News First Drives Electric Cars Hybrids Guides Green Life