Green Car News
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Back in 2009, the MINI E electric car was BMW's very first attempt at building a battery-electric vehicle. The fleet of several hundred electric MINIs was leased out to volunteer test drivers in the U.S., Europe, China, and the U.K. to let the company gather data on how drivers used plug-in cars in real-world circumstances. Now it appears that BMW is testing a new generation of MINI E, though it's quite unclear when and even whether the company would launch such a car. Motor Authority has published spy shots of an electrified MINI Coupe--the current-generation two-seat model with the...
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Ohio Car Dealers Sue To Block Tesla From Selling Cars In The State
With legislation defeated, Ohio car dealers are turning to the courts to block Tesla's company-owned stores.
Stephen Edelstein -
Hybrids, Subaru, Mazda Clean Up In Consumer Reports 'Best New-Car Value' List
The Toyota Prius was named 'Best New-Car Value" by Consumer Reports.
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla, Irvine Fire Dept Disagree Over Cause Of Garage Fire
Authorities are currently investigating the causes of a fire in a garage in Southern California that contained a Tesla Model S. While the actual cause of the fire remains undetermined, Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] and the Orange County Fire Authority are publicly disputing possible causes, thought to...
Antony Ingram -
Magnesium The Next Material For Lighter, More Efficient Cars
A car's mass affects virtually every aspect of its performance, handling and efficiency, and reducing it has become an all-encompassing pursuit for carmakers aiming to meet tough new fuel economy targets. High-strength steels, aluminum and even carbon fiber are now widely used, but the industry is...
Antony Ingram -
Volkswagen Tiguan TDI: Forbidden Fruit Drive Report
It seems to be the season for diesel compact crossovers. Since September, we've driven the 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK 250 BlueTEC and the new 2014 Audi Q5 TDI. Now we've added some forbidden fruit to that list: the European-market diesel version of the Volkswagen Tiguan, sold in North America only with...
John Voelcker -
Ford, Samsung, and Tesla make headlines today.
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Samsung To Make Electric Cars As Well As Smartphones, Etc.?
Recent patent filings from Samsung include important electric-car technologies.
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla To Add Production Capacity For 35,000 More Electric Cars
Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] is gearing up for increased production over the next few years with the aid of healthy tax breaks from its home state of California. It'll save the company as much as $34.7 million on the purchase of $415 million of new manufacturing equipment, says SFGate--and would allow...
Antony Ingram -
Will Biofuels Do Better In Aviation Than Anywhere Else?
Given how familiar most of us are with cars, it's easy to see them as the be-all and end-all when it comes to cleaning up transportation. Reduce fossil fuels, increase electric propulsion, increase use of biofuels, job done. With over a billion cars on roads around the world improving them is...
Antony Ingram -
Nissan BladeGlider Electric Sports Car Puts Efficiency, Fun First
Nissan is still making all the right noises over one of 2013's most exciting concept vehicles, the BladeGlider electric sports car. Despite looking like nothing else on the roads and very much the sort of car that's often forgotten about once its auto show debut has passed, the company still says...
Antony Ingram -
Ford: Predictive Logic Can Boost Cruise-Control MPG 5 Percent
Cruise control is an American driving staple. We use it on long road trips to reduce fatigue. And with the advent of adaptive cruise control systems, we're even using it on parts of our commutes, and during traffic-jammed holiday weekend slogs. For the most part, cruise control can save a lot of...
Bengt Halvorson -
The 2014 Cadillac ELR is now shipping to dealers.
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Jeep Hybrids, Audi R8 e-tron Resurrection, Electric Cars In Winter: Today's Car News
Hybrid Jeeps and electric Audis make headlines today.
Stephen Edelstein -
2014 Ford Escape SE 1.6-Liter EcoBoost: Gas Mileage Drive Report
The Ford Escape, entirely redesigned for 2013, is one of the best-selling entries in the popular category of compact crossover utility vehicles. The real-world gas mileage of the latest Escapes, however, does not quite seem to equal those cars' combined EPA ratings. Ford has put a great deal of...
John Voelcker -
Nissan Leaf, Chevy Volt Range Loss In Winter: New Data From Canada
Just in time for the holiday-feast season, we now have published charts that detail the effect of cold weather on the battery range of Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt electric cars. Think "range shrinkage". The data comes courtesy of FleetCarma, the Canadian company whose app MyCarma tracks vehicle...
Matthew Klippenstein -
Annual 10 Best Engines List: Diesels, Turbos, And Electric Too
You might think that a list of the best engines on sale would be dominated by screaming sports car engines or a muscular V-8 from the latest muscle car. And while it's true that both feature on the Wards Automotive list of its 2014 Ten Best Engines, as well as several other high-performance units...
Antony Ingram -
Audi R8 e-Tron Electric Supercar Back From The Dead, With Greater Range?
The on-again--then off-again, then on-again, then off-again, then on-again--Audi R8 e-tron all-electric sports car may in fact hit showrooms next year after all. And it's all due to what Audi suggests are unspecified advances in battery technology. The Australian site Drive (via Motor Authority)...
John Voelcker -
Jeep has only recently nailed its colors to the diesel mast, but already the famous off-road arm of Chrysler is looking to other propulsion technologies--namely hybrid vehicles. Executives at the company have called the move to electrification "inevitable", according to Drive--but they're also concerned by the reliability of such systems in an off-road environment, an arena in which many Jeep owners are still interested. Jeep's interest in hybrid models isn't difficult to understand. Steve Bartoli, Chrysler's Asia-Pacific product planning manager, told Drive that Jeep sees "a lot of...
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Tesla Stores Changing Dealer Relationship, Says Ex-Apple Exec At Ford Seminar
An ex-Apple executive says Tesla Motors' dealer model could be the future of car sales.
Stephen Edelstein -
BMW i3 Hot-Lap Video, Ford Start-Stop Proliferation, Electric-Car Lessons: Today's Car News
Electric cars, electric motors, and start-stop systems make headlines today.
Stephen Edelstein -
Volkswagen XL1 138-MPG Diesel Plug-In Hybrid: Drive Report
We didn't expect the Volkswagen XL1 to be as much fun to drive as it is. Which makes it doubly a shame that Volkswagen won't be selling its radically efficient, two-seat, plug-in diesel hybrid XL1 model in North America. At a price of € 111,000 (roughly $153,000), the 250 XL1 cars that...
John Voelcker -
Modern Electric Cars, Three Years Later: Lessons Learned
Three years ago yesterday, the first retail buyer of a brand-new Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric car was handed his keys in Denville, New Jersey. Just three days earlier, the first Nissan Leaf buyer had received his battery-electric car in a large ceremony at San Francisco's City Hall...
John Voelcker -
Ford To Have Start-Stop On 70 Percent Of Vehicles By 2017
Stop-start systems have taken much longer to infiltrate the U.S. market than they have elsewhere, but several manufacturers are finally coming around to the idea of the gas-saving technology. One such automaker is Ford, which has announced that 70 percent of its North American vehicle lineup will...
Antony Ingram