Green Car News
-
Japanese automakers may have cultivated a reputation for occasionally churning out dull, forgettable vehicles, but they certainly make up for it in other ways. Take Nissan, for example. Its bread and butter may be the Versa, but it's also given us the Juke, and the supercar-slaying GT-R. Honda might crank out Civics by the hundred thousand, but they've also given us the NSX, the first-generation Insight and the S2000. And then there's Toyota. Pick one color to describe the Camry, and you'd probably select beige. But in Japan, the automaker is developing something positively neon--the Winglet...
-
Acura NSX Hybrid Supercar To Make On-Track Debut At Mid-Ohio
Hybrid supercars are officially in fashion. We've been positively inundated by the things over the last year or so, from BMW's upcoming i8 plug-in hybrid, to the exotic Ferrari LaFerrari, Porsche 918 and McLaren P1 trio, to this: The Acura NSX. Like its historical namesake, it's the Acura destined...
Antony Ingram -
MINI Vision Concept: Is This The 2014 MINI Cooper?
The classic Mini wasn't the original gas-saving minicar, but it was certainly one of the most iconic, and modern owners BMW have turned the brand into a successful venture these days with a wide and not always endearing portfolio. It's still the basic hatchback which mirrors the original car...
Antony Ingram -
Tesla Trips Limousine Service Approved In Portland, Will Use Model S Sedans
Want to move around the city with minimal stress? If you live in Portland, you'll now be able to do so in the back of a Tesla Model S, thanks to Tesla Trips. The company, which normally organizes road trips around Oregon in the cars, applied back in April for a license to serve Portland as an...
Antony Ingram -
Yo-Auto Natural-Gas Hybrid Update: Production Now In 2015?
With Teslas and BMW i3s dominating the green car headlines, it's easy to forget that plenty of other automakers are creating their own low-emission vehicles. In Russia, that company is Yo-Avto. The automaker has promised a natural gas hybrid vehicle for some time--and that time could now be 2015...
Antony Ingram -
Plug-In Electric Car Buyers Very Satisfied With Cars: Report
A new report issued today on the current status of plug-in electric cars suggests that buyers are very happy with their cars, and plug-in sales are rising faster than hybrids sales did after they were launched. "Customer experiences have typically been extremely positive," says the report, citing...
John Voelcker -
We're always interested in following the progress of competitors in the World Solar Challenge--a solar-powered race across Australia--but as our readers regularly point out, not immediately useful for the average electric car buyer on the street. Solar Team Eindhoven, from the Eindhoven University of Technology, has changed all that. Sort of, anyway. Most of the Solar Challenge's racers tread a familiar path to sun-powered glory: A single occupant, a flat, streamlined body design, and very little in the way of practicality. We can't imagine they're too pleasant for the poor souls who sit...
-
Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cars More Viable With Cheaper, More Efficient Electrolysis?
Whatever you think of hydrogen-powered vehicles, recent technology-sharing deals have shown the automakers themselves are beginning to push towards fuel cell vehicles. Among other issues, it's hydrogen's production causing a few issues for the burgeoning industry--it's neither very efficient, nor...
Antony Ingram -
2014 BMW i3 Electric Car Revealed In Leaked Images
BMW's long-awaited i3 electric car and range-extended electric car aren't officially unveiled until next Monday--but leaked images finally reveal the production car's form. Unsurprisingly, the pictures of the production i3, spotted by Autocar, show a car that doesn't differ too greatly from the...
Antony Ingram -
Mercedes-Benz Launches Fuel-Saving Nine-Speed Auto
Mercedes-Benz will slowly start rolling out a new nine-speed automatic across its range, starting with the E350 BlueTEC diesel-powered sedan and wagon. The new gearbox, dubbed the 9G-TRONIC, is yet to be announced for the U.S. market but Mercedes says it expects it to be offered as a standard...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Know How To Shift A Stick? Mini Explains Manual Transmissions For You
While automatic transmissions are more efficient than ever before -- and many now beat manual transmissions on gas mileage -- fans of stick-shift gearboxes are quick to point out that guiding your car into the right gear with your right hand is a sure-fire way to give you an enjoyable, efficient...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Certified Used Nissan Leaf Program Details Out--But Only In Japan
Buying used cars is always a little bit of a risk--you can never quite be sure what condition the previous owner has left the car in. That's where manufacturer-certified used car programs come in, and Nissan is launching just such a thing for used examples of its Leaf electric car. While we still...
Antony Ingram -
Sometimes the most significant divorces are handled in the most minimalist way. So it was with a brief press statement from Toyota today, noting that after completing a "feasibility study" that took almost two years, the two companies have chosen not to pursue a collaboration on hybrid powertrains for large pickup trucks. The two companies, each with a decade or more of experience in building hybrid vehicles, said that they had agreed to "develop hybrid systems individually." It's an amicable split; the two will continue to work together on "next-generation standards for telematics," as well...
-
2013 Zero S: Proof That Electric Motorcycles Have Grown Up At Last
As any parent will tell you, watching children grow up and mature is a powerful, life-changing experience. We’re not sure the same can be said watching a car or a motorcycle grow and evolve from one generation to the next--but if the 2013 Zero S were to have parents, we think they’d be...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Electric Cars Sell Faster Than Hybrids Did At Same Point
Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. Above is a graph comparing the relative sales volumes of hybrids (starting in 2000) to those of plug-in electric cars (starting in 2011). It comes from the U.S. Department of Energy, which tweeted the image last Friday. (We're not sure why the units on...
John Voelcker -
New Hybrids Enter List Of Cars With Highest Gas Mileage Ever
Back in 2010, we asked why so few of today's cars were among the most fuel efficient ever. Look down the list of the most fuel-efficient vehicles sold in the U.S, and only a small handful had been built in the previous decade--cars such as the familiar Prius, and the all-too-brief but brilliant...
Antony Ingram -
100,000 Electric Cars Sold By Nissan, Renault...And Counting
As more electric cars hit the roads it's only natural a few milestones will fall here and there--and the latest is for the Franco-Japanese duo Renault-Nissan. The companies have now sold over 100,000 electric vehicles between them--the milestone car a Nissan Leaf, sold to American grad student...
Antony Ingram -
2014 Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid Caught Testing In CA ('Spy Shot')
The 2014 Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid will be the first-ever plug-in electric car sold by the German brand. And the company's engineers are still testing the car in driving tests through the heart of Silicon Valley, where the luxury four-door plug-in hybrid sedan will compete with the Tesla Model S...
John Voelcker -
There's currently a significant gap in the Volvo range between the sporty C30 hatchback and sleek S60 sedan. That gap used to be filled by the S40 sedan. It's a car Volvo no longer sells in the U.S, but for European buyers its role is now occupied by the V40. Not only that, but the V40 comes with a range of diesel engines denied to U.S. buyers--a familiar scenario for American diesel fans. We've been driving just such a model in the UK over the past week, and predictably, you're somewhat missing out. For a start, the V40 is quite a looker. In sports-orientated R-Design trim and 'Rebel Blue'...
-
More Chrysler Electric Cars Coming, Lots Of Catching Up Needed
Now that Chrysler-Fiat reluctantly has the surprising good 2013 Fiat 500e--its first electric car--on the market, what's next for the smallest of the Detroit Three? There will be more plug-in vehicles, according to an interview in the Detroit Free Press with Mike Duhaime, the company's global...
John Voelcker -
Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric On The Way, More FWD Models In A Few Years
Mercedes-Benz is best known for its big sedans, but lately the German automaker has been looking into smaller and more efficient vehicles. That lineup is expected to increase over the next few years, reports Automotive News. Mercedes will expand its roster of front-wheel drive models when a new...
Antony Ingram -
Mitsubishi Lines Up Plug-In Hybrid, 500 HP Evolution Model
Electrically-powered vehicles that match regular combustion cars for performance are no longer a surprise, many of those barriers eroded thanks to companies like Tesla Motors. Now it's the turn of the performance plug-in hybrid, with Mitsubishi's next Evolution model expected to deliver a...
Antony Ingram -
2014 BMW i3 Finally Priced in U.S: $42,275 Pre-Incentives
With just a week to go before the production version of BMW's i3 electric car is revealed, the German automaker has announced pricing for the car. The 2014 BMW i3 has a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price of $41,350, before BMW's $925 destination fee--for a starting price of $42,275. That's also...
Antony Ingram -
Honda Electric Micro Commuter Car To Begin Testing In Japan
America's wide open spaces have never been conducive for small car sales success, but the story is quite different elsewhere. We already know how popular the tiny kei-class cars are in Japan, for example--but some automakers are exploring even smaller vehicles to meet future transportation needs...
Antony Ingram