Green Car News
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The rear-view mirror has now been with us exactly 100 years, having first been introduced in 1914, and it hasn't changed much in all that time. It's a small area of mirrored glass--three of them now, actually--for the purpose of seeing through the rear window or along each side of the car without the driver having to turn his or her head more than slightly. For decades, concept cars have shown one or more of these mirrors replaced by video cameras that show real-time images on a small display screen the same size as the mirror. Tesla taking lead Now Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] appears to be one...
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Southern California Utility Girds For 350,000 Electric Cars
One of the long-standing concerns over electric cars is just how much demand the electricity grid would have to cope with should millions of people start plugging in every night. California will be a good test-bed for such concerns, with as many as 350,000 electric cars expected on the state's...
Antony Ingram -
Gordon Murray's City Cars, iStream Production Soon A Reality?
Lackluster sales of cars like the Smart Fortwo have illustrated that the market for really tiny cars still doesn't really exist in the U.S, but elsewhere things are quite different. In some European or far-Eastern cities, size--or lack of it--is everything. Those are the markets the T25 and T27...
Antony Ingram -
2011-2012 Zero Electric Motorcycles Recalled For Corroding Brake Bolts
One of the most prominent manufacturers of electric motorcycles, Zero Motorcycles, is recalling a number of 2011-2012 motorcycles due to corroding brake bolts. Affected motorcycles may be susceptible to corrosion of bolts in the front brake caliper mounting assembly. This corrosion could cause...
Antony Ingram -
As Predicted, Tesla To Launch All-Wheel-Drive Model S For 2014?
Three months ago, we speculated that Tesla's next product might not be the delayed Model X crossover, but an all-wheel drive version of the Model S. Guess what? It turns out we might have been right. Sources for The Verge say a new all-wheel drive Model S could debut as soon as 2014, possibly in a...
Antony Ingram -
Nissan's Twizy Urban Electric Car Tour's Japan's Vacation Spots
When we first drove Renault's tiny Twizy electric car on the Mediterranean island of Ibiza, we got the impression it'd be at its best in some of Europe's warmer climates. In fact, it could be the ideal vacation island rental car. Simple to operate, economical to use, that wind-in-your-hair...
Antony Ingram -
The late and much lamented GM EV1 electric car is by now a mythical creature. It's been the subject of a much-discussed documentary, and is still cause for blind loathing of General Motors in some quarters. Designed, engineered, and offered for lease in California and a few other locations from 1998 to 2003, the two-seat EV1 was likely the most sophisticated electric car ever built at the time. It used a lead-acid battery pack that weighed almost four times as much as that of the lithium-ion pack in the modern-day Chevrolet Volt, with almost the same capacity, giving a range of 60 to 80...
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Bi-Fuel Mercedes-Benz E-Class Runs On Natural Gas, In Germany
While electric cars get a lot of press, electricity is hardly the only way to power vehicles without using gasoline. Discussion of natural gas as a vehicle fuel is rising again, in part due to huge supplies coming online in North America. Now Mercedes-Benz has launched its latest vehicle powered by...
John Voelcker -
Life With Tesla Model S: Owner's Report After 5,000 Miles
It's now been more than five months and 5,000 miles since I took delivery of my 2013 Tesla Model S. The four-year wait after I put down my deposit in 2009 created a huge burden of pent-up hopes and expectations. With the initial glow of ownership now dulled by the daily routine of real-world...
David Noland -
Tiny Kei-Car Engine For Iconic Caterham 7 Sports Car
Putting a tiny engine in a hairy-chested sports car doesn't seem like the perfect recipe for fun, but British sports car companies have always been a little... different. Caterham is one of those companies. Back in 1972, it bought the rights to Colin Chapman's lightweight Lotus Seven sports car...
Antony Ingram -
2014 BMW i3 Electric Car: Roundup Of Driving Impressions
For the last few weeks, only one electric car has displaced the Tesla Model S from the top of news stories--the 2014 BMW i3. That's an impressive feat considering Tesla's news-making abilities, but not without good reason: BMW has a reputation for pleasing driving enthusiasts and the badge-obsessed...
Antony Ingram -
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Average Vehicle Now 11.4 Years Old, Oldest Since WW2
How old is your car? Are you still driving a mid- or late-Nineties model, or maybe one (like us) from model year 2000? You're not alone. The cars on U.S. roads have continued to age, meaning that the average vehicle is now older than at any time since the aftermath of World War 2, when U.S...
John Voelcker -
It's dangerous to assume, as the saying goes. And a lot of assumptions about why people buy electric cars are wrong--including that they only do so because they're "green," meaning to help the environment. Now a new attitudinal survey shows this isn't much true for Tesla owners and fans. A study by Gravity.com (via AutoblogGreen) compared and contrasted Toyota Prius hybrid owners and followers to those for the Tesla Model S. Just not so green? The Prius people, it said, are "keenly interested in Eco-friendly subject matters and Social Change." The Tesla folks? Here's what Gravity.com said...
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Which 2013 Small Cars Are IIHS Top Safety Picks?
It's not hard to see why small cars have increased in popularity over the last decade or so. Always popular among some buyers for their gas-saving abilities, today's small cars are also now quicker, more comfortable, better-equipped and safer than ever before. IIHS has been discovering just how...
Antony Ingram -
Electric-Car Makers Need To Sell More Of Their Existing Cars, Says Renault
The Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt might be leading plug-in car sales in the U.S, but in Europe one in two electric cars sold as a Renault. That doesn't mean high sales of course, but it means Renault has a foothold in a growing market, and one it isn't keen to let go of. And as part of its own brand...
Antony Ingram -
Carsharing Expands So Much It Even Arrives In Downtown Detroit
Detroit has plenty of problems to work on these days, but that doesn't mean life can't go on as normal for its residents. That even extends to introducing the car-sharing schemes found in other big American cities to Downtown Detroit, as popular service Zipcar is doing. According to The Detroit...
Antony Ingram -
Tesla Model S Gets Five Stars For Crash Safety From NHTSA
The Tesla Model S electric sedan has become the latest car to be awarded a full five star crash test rating by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. While it's no surprise for modern cars to score highly in such tests, it's still an impressive feat for a young automaker like Tesla...
Antony Ingram -
Tesla Earns 'Modest' Q2 Profit, Delivers 5,150 Cars, Boosts Margin On Carmaking
Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] slightly increased its profit in the second quarter, and delivered more Model S electric cars than last quarter. The company released its Q2 financial results this afternoon, with net income of $26 million compared to $15 million for Q1. The company said it delivered 5,150...
John Voelcker -
It's been out in the U.S. for over a year now, but today marked the first delivery for a Telsa Model S on European soil. The first 2013 Tesla Model S delivered in Europe rolled out of a Tesla Store in Norwegian capital Oslo, according to the Tesla Motors twitter feed. Norway is Europe's most electric car-friendly country, with strong sales for models like the Nissan Leaf and a proliferation of public charging points around the country's cities. In addition, electric cars in Norway are exempt from the country's hefty sales taxes, road tax fees, license fees and even parking fees--so buying and...
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2013 Smart Electric Drive Coupe Lease Price Lowered To $139
The prices just keep falling on plug-in electric cars. The latest to announce a new, lower lease price is Smart, which cut the monthly cost of a three-year lease on its 2013 ForTwo Electric Drive Coupe from $199 to just $139. That's not the lowest single electric-car lease we're aware of in the...
John Voelcker -
2014 MINI Cooper To Be Unveiled November 18
You might not be familiar with Sir Alec Issigonis, but his name has made as much impact on the motoring landscape, particularly in Britain, as anyone else in the history of the automobile. Issigonis was the man behind the Austin Seven and Morris Mini-Minor--the famous Mini. He died in 1988, but...
Antony Ingram -
Why 'Compliance Cars' Turned Out To Be Good For Electric-Car Buyers
Electric-car advocates spend a lot of time grumbling about compliance cars. But it turns out that even in low volumes, limited mostly to sales in one state, they've unexpectedly produced a benefit for all electric-car buyers: lower prices. Recent price reductions to "move the metal," as Detroit...
John Voelcker -
Toyota Hybrid R Concept Due At 2013 Frankfurt Auto Show
As teaser images go, it doesn't leave us much to go on. But Toyota's Hybrid R logo, in familiar Hybrid Synergy Drive blue and with the smallest hint of a checkered flag graphic, suggests the company's next concept will be rather more racy than normal. Toyota will show the Hybrid R Concept at the...
Antony Ingram -
BMW i8 Plug-In Hybrid Sports Car: More Details Emerge
BMW has only just officially revealed its electric i3 city car, but already the German automaker seems ready to tease us with its i8 plug-in hybrid sports car. The company has released further details on the i8's plug-in drivetrain, with detailed images showing some of the i8's more intimate...
Antony Ingram