Green Car News

  • Production-spec 2014 Porsche 918 Spyder

    Today on GreenCar Reports: Tesla outsells luxury makes in California--but is the electric-car company really a luxury brand? Plus former arch-enemy Fisker may be sold, and the EPA stands by its fuel-efficiency tests. All this and more in today's car news, right here on Green Car Reports. You read it here first: Nissan is testing a new, heat-resistant battery pack for its Leaf electric car, to address complaints from buyers in very, very hot areas. Would you pay $25 million for Fiskere, or what's left of it? A German company may--though we're not holding our breath just yet. The EPA defends...

  • SAE Combo connector in 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV prototype, Sausalito, CA, Nov 2012
    CA To Get Dual-Standard DC Quick-Charging For Electric Cars

    Charging stations rolling out across California will soon be compatible not only with existing CHAdeMO connections, but with newer SAE Combo connectors too. The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) has for some time had plans for a roll-out of more fast charging points in the Sacramento...

  • 2014 Nissan Versa Note
    2014 Nissan Versa Note: Gas Mileage Drive Report

    The Nissan Versa is one of the largest "subcompacts" on the market. For 2014, a new hatchback model called the Versa Note joins the all-new sedan launched last year. We spent several hundred miles with a prototype 2014 Versa Note over three days of this past weekend, and came away relatively...

  • Production-spec 2014 Porsche 918 Spyder
    Porsche 918 Spyder: Plug-In Hybrid Sports Car Photo Gallery

    What do the Porsche 918 Spyder, Ferrari LaFerrari, McLaren P1 and Toyota Prius all have in common? Apart from four wheels and an engine, not a lot, you might be thinking. But there's something else that connects the four--they're all hybrids. Specifically, the Porsche and its supercar cousins are...

  • 2013 Detroit Electric SP:01
    Detroit Electric Sports Cars Delayed Over Factory Deal

    Detroit Electric, which earlier this year unveiled an electric sports car designed to rival vehicles like the Tesla Roadster, was set to produce its first car this month. Those plans have not yet come to fruition, reports The Detroit News--as the automaker has still not finalized a deal on its...

  • 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid, Catskill Mountains, NY, Oct 2012
    EPA's Ford C-Max Hybrid Gas Mileage: "Our Testing Not At Fault"

    It's frustrating buying a car to find its gas mileage falls short of the official EPA ratings, and it's a frustration quite familiar to owners of the 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid. The car was launched to much fanfare with its 47 mpg combined rating--identical to that of the Ford Fusion Hybrid--but it...

  • 2013 Nissan Leaf

    Nissan is testing a revised lithium-ion cell chemistry for its Leaf electric car that the company says appears to be as durable in sustained extreme heat as its current battery is under normal conditions. If tests confirm that the new cells degrade at no more than the standard rate, even at high temperatures, the company hopes to have battery packs using those cells available next April. Those packs would become the replacement for any current Leaf batteries replaced under warranty for loss of capacity. Nissan has not yet decided whether the new battery would be fitted to all new Leafs...

  • 2012 Fisker Karma
    Is What's Left Of Fisker Automotive Worth $25 Million? Maybe

    Hands up all those of you who'd forgotten that Fisker Automotive still exists? The company might not have produced a car in over a year, but the struggling firm is still yet to declare bankruptcy too, as it sits in some kind of automotive hibernation until an investor or buyer can be found. Fisker...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S crash test by NHTSA (Image: crashnet1 Youtube screen grab)
    2013 Tesla Model S Crash Tests: What Cars To Compare It To?

    Earlier this week, trumpets were blown for Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA], whose Model S luxury electric sedan attained the highest-ever rating in the National Highway Traffic Safety Adminstration's crash tests. It's an impressive achievement, particularly for such a young automaker. And while the feds...

  • 2014 Audi A8 TDI
    Tesla Model S Safety Ratings, Diesel Luxury Cars: This Week In Social Media

    When the new guy achieves something great, there will always be haters. But what happens when that new guy touts his achievement beyond the allowed guidelines? Tesla [NSDQ:TSLA] is the new guy in this scenario, and the company did just that this week in a release about the NHTSA's 5-star safety...

  • Powermat wireless charge pad in Chevrolet Volt
    Tesla In China, Diesel Debate, Wireless Charging In Volt: Today's Car News

    Today on Green Car Reports: Two Tesla topics, an electric car that folds itself up, a policy debate over diesel incentives, and wireless charging comes to your garage. All this and more in today's car news, right here on Green Car Reports. Wireless charging hasn't rolled out for electric cars yet...

  • Armadillo-T folding electric car (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology via Youtube)
    Armadillo Electric Car: Fold It, Park It With A Smartphone

    They aren't practical for all, but some of the ideas for future urban electric cars are certainly intriguing. Renault was the first to take the concept seriously with the Twizy, but since then several Japanese companies have had a go, and Europe has also tackled the urban congestion problem with a...

  • Scrooser electric scooter (Photo: Scrooser)

    One of the main criticisms of electric cars is that they often lack the sort of raw appeal that makes you want a product, transcending any notions of buying because you need it. Oddly, the world of electric two-wheelers hasn't had this trouble, particularly as you delve into the realms of simple bicycles. Perhaps their low-budget nature makes great design easier to attain, but many of the cheapest electric vehicles we've featured have also been the most appealing. The Scrooser--pronounced Skroo-zer (via Inhabitat)--is possibly the best example yet of a heart-over-head electric vehicle at the...

  • Website of 'Tesla Motors China', Aug 2013
    Will Tesla Trademark Tangle Delay Electric Car's China Launch?

    With its Model S on sale in the U.S. for more than a year now, and the first European delivery in Norway this month, Tesla is turning its attention to China. The company has already built a showroom in Beijing's Parkview Green Fangcaodi mall, says Reuters, but it sits boarded up without the...

  • Volkswagen Golf TDI BlueMotion
    VW Wants Federal Incentives To Encourage Diesel Sales

    Electric vehicles are already subject to reams of federal and local incentives to encourage the market's growth, and now Volkswagen wants similar incentives for the sale of clean diesel cars. The German automaker feels regulators aren't doing enough to encourage diesel sales, "one of the greenest...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S
    Dutch Drivers Cover 388 Miles On Single Charge Of Tesla Model S

    When Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] first announced a 250-300 mile range estimate for its top-spec 85 kWh Model S, it suggested that 400 miles could well be a possibility for some drivers. Owner David Metcalf was the first to prove that theory last December by extracting 423 miles of range on a journey...

  • BMW Concept X5 eDrive plug-in hybrid
    Tesla's Wrist Slapped, Frugal SUVs & Hybrid Ferraris: Today's Car News

    Today on Green Car Reports: Tesla gets told off over its safety scores, green SUVs are the new black, and we ponder Toyota's disinterest in pure electric vehicles. All this and more in today's car news, right here on Green Car Reports. Tesla Motors isn't the messiah, it's a very naughty boy--that's...

  • 2014 Nissan ZEOD RC Le Mans Garage 56 electric race car
    Nissan's Electric Le Mans Car Tested By Gamer-Turned-Racer

    Nissan has chosen Spanish video game to race-car driver sensation Lucas Ordóñez to test and develop the ZEOD RC electric race car ahead of its Le Mans debut next year. Ordóñez made his climb to fame by winning the inaugural Nissan GT Academy--a competition set up by...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S crash test by NHTSA (Image: crashnet1 Youtube screen grab)

    Small and startup companies often resort to attention-getting publicity to further their causes. Occasionally they get their wrist slapped for overreaching. And that's what happened to Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] yesterday. In a statement both on its website and the SaferCar.gov site, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a rare counter to a Tesla press release that had touted the uniformly five-star safety ratings of its Model S electric sport sedan. In its very first paragraph, Tesla's Monday release said: NHTSA does not publish a star rating above 5, however safety levels...

  • BMW Concept X5 eDrive plug-in hybrid
    BMW Concept5 X5 eDrive: Plug-In Hybrid SUV Destined For Frankfurt

    We often say that the biggest gains in fuel efficiency are to be made by the least efficient vehicles--and recently, several automakers seem to be taking that message to heart. Over the last few days, there seems to have been a constant stream of trucks, luxury sedans and SUVs all offering improved...

  • 2013 Toyota Prius liftback
    Does Toyota's Hybrid Leadership Blind It To Electric Cars?

    Many who follow the progress of plug-in electric cars wonder why Toyota, despite its leadership in hybrids, lags other carmakers in its electric vehicles. The business principle of The Innovator's Dilemma suggests that the company has been slow to embrace electric cars not despite its hybrid...

  • 2015 Land Rover Range Rover Hybrid (European spec)
    2014 Range Rover Hybrid, Range Rover Sport Hybrid Revealed

    Land Rover has announced full details of its two new hybrid Range Rover models, due to hit the streets in 2014. The Range Rover Hybrid and Range Rover Sport Hybrid are the first official hybrid models that Range Rover has sold, both based on the company's new aluminum 'Premium Lightweight...

  • LaFerrari supercar
    No Electric Cars In Ferrari's Future...But Hybrids? Certainly

    The hybrid badge has been applied to plenty of cars over the years, but few are more dramatic than the Ferrari LaFerrari--the firm's next hypercar. The $1.34 million sold-out supercar hasn't even hit the streets yet, but as a statement of intent for hybrid technology it already speaks volumes--and...

  • Opel Monza concept
    Big Mercedes, Bigger Nissans & Frugal Sedans: Today's Car News

    Today on Green Car Reports, we look at the new plug-in hybrid luxury sedan from Mercedes-Benz, celebrate another successful electric road trip, and help you choose the best 40 mpg mid-size sedans. All this and more in today's car news, right here on Green Car Reports. "Go big or go home" isn't...

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