Green Car News
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Chevrolet, Mazda, and Tesla make headlines today.
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New San Francisco Sport: Smart Tipping (Cows Are So Passe)
Smart ForTwo city cars are apparently quite easy to tip over.
Stephen Edelstein -
Is Tesla Motors A Carmaker...Or Really A Grid-Storage Company?
Many among the Detroit auto media were skeptical of Tesla Motors for years, correctly noting just how hard it is to start a car company and build a genuinely appealing product--electric car or not. But as Tesla continues to sell Model S electric luxury sedans, expanding into Europe and China as...
John Voelcker -
'Super Greenhouse Gas' Emissions From Air Conditioning A Climate Concern
Leaking air-conditioner refrigerant may be increasingly contributing to global warming.
Stephen Edelstein -
China's Electric-Car Future: Government Subsidies, Buyer Resistance
Over the last few years, China has experienced some of the highest city pollution concentrations anywhere on earth--with concentrations of pollutants climbing far past dangerous levels on official scales. Roughly a quarter of that is due to heavy traffic, and it's prompted legislation to clean up...
Antony Ingram -
Hybrids More Efficient Outside U.S. Due To Different Drive Patterns: Report
Ever since the first Honda Insight and Toyota Prius arrived on U.S. shores, hybrid vehicles have been among the most efficient vehicles on the road. The latest Toyota Prius is rated at 50 mpg combined by the EPA, a figure that only plug-in vehicles currently top. But in other countries, the Prius...
Antony Ingram -
New jobs and plant updates by carmakers often get little attention outside the towns involved, but sometimes they telegraph information about future models. The Detroit News said Saturday that GM is expected to announce it will update its Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant, spending $450 million and adding 1,400 new jobs. In this case, the car involved is an updated or redesigned Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric car, which will likely launch for model year 2016. MORE: 2016 Chevrolet Volt To Launch Next Year: What We Know So Far The news, attributed to four "sources familiar with the...
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Electric-Car Concept From Japan Floats Like A Boat In Emergencies
The Fomm Concept One is an electric car designed to take on a tsunami.
Stephen Edelstein -
Had To Happen: Hacking Into A Tesla Model S Electric Car
"Jailbreaking" used to mean... well, breaking out of jail. In the modern world though, it typically refers to the process of cracking software codes to take greater control of applications and user interfaces. It's rife in the world of smartphones, and now it's possible with electric vehicles...
Antony Ingram -
2015 Lexus NX Teased, Tesla Norway Sales, CA Electric-Car Incentives: Today's Car News
Lexus and Tesla make headlines today.
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla Model S Sets Record For Single-Month Sales In Norway
In the last few years of electric car sales, the only records cars have been breaking are their own. Nissan, for example, has just had its best March ever for Leaf sales. And we know that global electric car sales have doubled each year for the past few years. But now, reports The Wall Street...
Antony Ingram -
CA Electric-Car Incentive Update: Funds Run Out, Green Stickers Gone
Access to carpool lanes on California's legendarily crowded freeways is a big perk. So is getting a check in the mail that cuts the purchase cost. These incentives were successful in spurring sales of hybrids years ago, and they've helped sales of modern battery-electric and plug-in hybrid cars...
John Voelcker -
While the Nissan Leaf is gaining momentum, the Chevrolet Volt remains in the driver's seat for March in plug-in electric-car sales for Canada. The Chevy Volt returned to triple-figure sales in Canada for the tenth time in March, tallying 105 sales from coast to coast. That figure was up slightly from a strong February (98 units) and year-ago March levels of 82 sales. While it may be premature to project trends for the rest of 2014, General Motors' Canadian division will surely be happy that its Q1 Volt sales are up by half year-over-year (269 vs. 177). The Nissan Leaf followed in second...
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2015 Lexus NX Crossover Gets Beijing Auto Show Debut
Lexus has announced that its eagerly-awaited 2015 NX crossover will debut at the upcoming 2014 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition. Thanks to leaked images back in January, we already have a pretty good idea of what the production NX will look like--but largely the car will be a toned-down...
Antony Ingram -
What Are Tesla Model S Drivers Browsing In Their Connected Cars?
One of the alluring features of the Tesla Model S electric luxury sedan is its always-on 3G 4G cellular connection and built-in Internet browser. But have you ever wondered what all those wealthy electric-car drivers are actually looking at on their in-car browsers? Now we know. Or at least we have...
John Voelcker -
Always Wanted A Harley-Davidson-Powered Prius? You're In Luck!
It's fair to say most Toyota Prius owners are probably quite happy with their cars. Sure, they aren't the quickest vehicles on the road, and plug-in cars use even less gas. But they're quiet, efficient and easy to drive. It might not have crossed many owners' minds to swap the clean-burning...
Antony Ingram -
Ford Escape Gas Mileage, 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder, VW Wireless Charging: Today's Car News
Read on for Porsche and Volkswagen plug-in news.
Stephen Edelstein -
Gas-Mileage Average For March Vehicle Sales: 25.4 MPG, An All-Time High
The trend of increasing average fuel economy continues.
Stephen Edelstein -
Elon Musk, CEO of startup electric-car maker Tesla Motors, is no doubt used to skepticism. Now he faces new doubts over the company's plans for a massive "gigafactory" costing as much as $5 billion to manufacture more lithium-ion cells than any other plant in the world. DON'T MISS: Tesla's Lithium-Ion Battery Gigafactory: What You Need To Know Having mostly convinced disbelieving analysts, journalists, and industry colleagues that Tesla can at least design, engineer, build, and sell good-looking high-performance all-electric luxury sedans, Musk may not pay a lot of attention to "You can't"...
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2014 Ford Escape: Great Small SUV, Not-So-Great Gas Mileage
The previous model of Ford Escape was a popular car in the U.S. from 2001 through 2012--not only for its utility, but also for the availability of a hybrid model. At 32 mpg combined in front-wheel-drive form, the Escape Hybrid was comfortably one of the most economical crossovers on the market...
Antony Ingram -
Electric-Car Sales Surge In South Korea, Supported By Subsidies
Sales of plug-in electric cars are very regional right now, globally as well as within the United States. Norway, for instance, has seen electric-car sales soar because it offers financial incentives and other benefits that aren't available to drivers of vehicles with combustion engines. Now we can...
John Voelcker -
DoE Reboots Advanced Auto-Tech Loan Program That Funded Ford, Nissan, Tesla, Fisker
It's baaaaaaaaaaaack. U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz announced yesterday that the DoE had revised and updated its Advanced-Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) program, which offers low-interest loans to carmakers and their suppliers. Any new loans, according to a Detroit News...
John Voelcker -
Volkswagen Could Offer Wireless Electric Car Charging By 2017
Volkswagen is on a plug-in car push right now, releasing several plug-in vehicles over the course of this year and the next. It's keen to invest in related technology too, hinting that wireless charging could be an option on its vehicles as early as 2017. Speaking to Ecomento (via Autoblog)...
Antony Ingram -
2015 Porsche 918 Spyder Plug-In Hybrid Supercar Driven
Hybrid technology is no longer the preserve of fuel-sipping family cars. In recent years, we've seen it used on SUVs and large luxury sedans too. And more recently still, the latest breed of supercars has driven down the hybrid route. One such supercar is Porsche's 918 Spyder, driven by Motor...
Antony Ingram