Green Car News
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Rossi Honda of Vineland, New Jersey is the first dealer to go electric-grid neutral.
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Virginia Sees Sense, Scraps 2013's Hybrid Vehicle Tax
Taxes are rarely popular, but if they're to be accepted by the populace the bare minimum they have to do is make sense. Virginia's annual tax on hybrid vehicles did not make sense. Proposed and enacted early last year, the tax added a fixed yearly sum to the cost of running a hybrid vehicle, in an...
Antony Ingram -
Tesla & China: Priced At $121,000, Country Could Be Biggest Market, Musk Says
$121,000 sounds like a lot of money for the Tesla Model S, considering you can pick up the 85 kWh car in the U.S. from $80,000 or so, before incentives. And it is a lot of money, but in China, where that price tag will be attached, Tesla promises it represents good value for buyers. CEO Elon Musk...
Antony Ingram -
U.S. Oil Demand, London Electric Taxis, Nissan e-NV200 Trial: Today's Car News
Today's news includes a spike in demand for oil in the U.S., and trials for electric taxis and vans.
Stephen Edelstein -
Electric Cars & Solar: Will They Make Gasoline & Utilities Obsolete?
These are interesting times in the automotive and electric-utility businesses. While the reasons are different, it turns out they may intersect. It's been quietly discussed among electric utilities that increasing amounts of distributed solar power and other renewable energy may destroy their...
John Voelcker -
Nissan e-NV200 Electric Vans Join FedEx Trial Fleet
On the back of successful trial programs in other countries, delivery giant FedEx will trial a fleet of Nissan e-NV200 vans this year. The all-electric cargo van has already been tested by FedEx in Japan, Singapore, the United Kingdom and Brazil, but now Nissan and FedEx are teaming up for U.S...
Antony Ingram -
With increasing energy efficiency in cars, homes, and industry, plus a surge in domestic natural-gas production, U.S. demand for oil is widely said to have tapered off and in fact begun a structural decline. Except that, as it turns out, last year it seems U.S. demand for oil actually rose by 390,000 barrels per day, according to the International Energy Agency. That represented fully one-third of the total global increase in demand. An article in today's Financial Times from London notes that global energy analysts have been startled by an apparent increase of 4 to 5 percent in U.S. oil...
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Nissan, Metrocab Work On 2018 London Zero-Emission-Taxi Target
Starting in 2018, all new taxis in London will need to be capable of running as zero-emission vehicles--a policy recently announced by Mayor Boris Johnson. That's quite a promise, and a significant engineering push will be needed to make it happen. But already, several manufacturers are working on...
Antony Ingram -
Temple Priest Reflects On Owning Nissan Leaf Electric Car: Video
One of the first Nissan Leaf owners was a Japanese priest, and three years later he still enjoys it.
Stephen Edelstein -
Should Everyone Lease Cars All The Time? Elon Musk Says Yes
Sometimes, it's nice to have a shiny new car sitting in your garage, knowing that you own it. At others, it's preferable to pay a modest amount for it each month knowing that, in two or three years, it will be taken away and is no longer your problem. The latter is what we know as leasing, and it's...
Antony Ingram -
Minicar Crash Tests, More Tesla Superchargers, Electric-Car Prices: Today's Car News
Safety and pricing are in the news today.
Stephen Edelstein -
Electric Car Risk: Different, Not Worse, Says Top NHTSA Regulator
NHTSA deputy administrator David Friedman says consumers aren't aware of the "new challenges" of electric cars.
Stephen Edelstein -
After a disappointing 2013, a year in which Tesla fell short of ambitious goals for expanding its Supercharger network, the company has picked up the pace remarkably. Just last week, seven new Superchargers came on line, the latest of a wave of 40 of the proprietary Supercharger DC fast-charging stations worldwide since mid-November--of which 32 are in the U.S. A total of 81 Superchargers in the U.S. and Europe have so far provided more than 7 million miles of Model S travel. Cross-country close With the opening last week of three new stations in Ohio and Pennsylvania, a cross-country...
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Electric Car Prices: Less Important Than Buyer Awareness They Exist?
Back in December, we covered a survey by Navigant Research that suggested most car buyers were hoping to spend $25,000 or less on their next vehicle--a figure that many modern electric cars find themselves on the wrong side of. It led us to wonder whether, with many consumers setting themselves...
Antony Ingram -
Very Small Cars Fail New IIHS Small-Overlap Frontal Crash Test
Minicars are the worst-scoring group in the small-overlap frontal crash test, the IIHS says.
Stephen Edelstein -
Will 'Charge Rage' Join 'Range Anxiety' As Electric-Car Owner Emotion?
"Range anxiety" is the term attributed to the fear of running out of charge in an electric vehicle before you've reached your destination. In reality, the feeling fades once you've got used to your vehicle and daily usage patterns--in as little as a few weeks, in many cases. Now, there's a new...
Antony Ingram -
2014 Smart Electric Drive, Small Land Rover, Nissan Micra In Canada: Today's Car News
Today's news is all about small cars, including the Nissan Micra, Smart ForTwo Electric Drive, and a possible small(er) SUV from Land Rover.
Stephen Edelstein -
Rare 1980 Ford Fairmont EVA Electric Conversion For Sale
A 1980 Ford Fairmont station wagon converted into an electric car by Electric Vehicle Associates (EVA) is currently for sale.
Stephen Edelstein -
Want the looks of an SUV but not the size or running costs? You're probably in the market for one of the new, ever-expanding breed of subcompact and compact crossovers. Hot on the heels of Ford's announcement that it could bring the new EcoSport to U.S. shores, Land Rover has trademarked a new name for a car that could be its own entrant into the small SUV classs. According to Autocar, Land Rover has recently applied to trademark the name 'Landy'. Previously, the 'Landy' name has been an affectionate nickname for Land Rover models--but now it could appear on a vehicle too, as well as...
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2014 Smart ForTwo Electric Drive: What It's Like On The Road
With minimal changes from the model launched last year as the least expensive electric car in the U.S., the 2014 Smart ForTwo Electric Drive remains the smallest and shortest plug-in electric car sold in the U.S.--as well as the only one offered as a convertible. The two-seat electric Smart comes...
John Voelcker -
Need An 'Electric Vehicles Only' Parking Sign? Sun Country Can Help
Signage could stop internal-combustion vehicles from blocking parking spots with electric-car charging stations.
Stephen Edelstein -
Nissan Micra Minicar: Now Available In Canada, U.S. Still Denied
Compared to Europe and Asia, the U.S. market for subcompacts and minicars is tiny, with dozens of models available elsewhere that will never hit U.S. shores. One of those is the Nissan Micra, slotting below the Versa Note in Nissan's range. Versions of the Micra have sold for decades in other...
Antony Ingram -
New Data Shows Electric Cars Won't Be A Problem For Utilities
One of the popular criticisms of electric cars is that, as more of them roam our roads and are charged in garages at night, electrical grids will struggle and fail under the pressure. It's popular because it seems plausible--while we're all used to having electrical goods in our houses, few use...
Antony Ingram -
2015 Ford Focus Energi, 100K Nissan Leaf Sales, 2014 BMW i3 Lease: Today's Car News
The Nissan Leaf, BMW i3, and Cadillac ELR make headlines today.
Stephen Edelstein