Green Car News
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The 2013 Fiat 500e may be a compliance car, but its engineers created an electric car that's so much fun to drive that seemingly they want it to be more. And with remarkably aggressive pricing--the same $199 monthly lease payment as on a top-of-the-line gasoline 500--Fiat's marketers are trying hard to eliminate cost as a barrier to driving electric. Last week, we drove a bright orange 500e over a varied 60-mile route that included Los Angeles freeways, suburban stop-and-go, and a lot of wonderful winding roads up and down the canyons of Malibu. The Fiat 500e held its own on the road, handled...
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Is This The World's Most Beautiful Electric Bicycle?
A complaint we hear a lot about electric vehicles is that they're simply not beautiful enough. We can't think of a good reason that few seem capable of making electric transport look good, though in fairness the same can be said for many internal combustion vehicles too. Lack of beauty is not a...
Antony Ingram -
Aston Martin Rapide Hydrogen Racer To Debut Next Month
Aston Martins evoke images of racing success and James Bond, but green technology hasn't often been at the top of the company's agenda. Times change though, and next month the British luxury automaker will field a hybrid hydrogen Rapide S race car in the ADAC Zurich 24 Hours of Nürburgring...
Antony Ingram -
2013 Tesla Model S: Now Available In Red, At Last
If you want a red Tesla Model S and didn't get in there with the Signature models, you're in luck. The photo above was revealed in a Tweet by Elon Musk on Tuesday, showing new red Model S cars heading down the line, prior to completion. "New Tesla red going down assembly line for the first time. We...
Antony Ingram -
Nominee To Head EPA Had Key Role in 2025 Gas-Mileage Rules
It's long been known that Lisa Jackson, the current administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, would step down now that President Obama is in his second term. But while Jackson had four years in the spotlight, somewhat less is known about Gina McCarthy, the woman designated to...
John Voelcker -
The Mercedes-Benz SLS Electric Drive Is "Mega" (Video)
Most people probably think of electric cars as an environmental solution, if the concept is to be pigeonholed. While that's certainly the case, what many people don't know is that electric vehicles can also be a lot of fun. Nowhere is this demonstrated better than the video you see above, as a...
Antony Ingram -
President Barack Obama has said he wants to boost the Department of Energy's vehicle research budget 75 percent to help develop more efficient cars. In his 2014 budget proposal to Congress on Wednesday, Obama proposes $575 million extra for research, and a further $2 billion trust fund to help research into getting off foreign oil in the next ten years. According to The Detroit News, it's partly aimed at boosting the slow uptake of electric vehicles, and the budget speech included a call to hike the Federal income tax credit for electric vehicles to $10,000. Back in 2008, Obama called for 1...
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Tesla Model S Loaners For Tesla Model S Owners, Elon Musk Says
Loaners cars are now routinely provided by luxury carmakers when their customers have cars in for servicing. Now Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] is joining the crowd, providing Model S luxury sports sedans to its Model S (and Roadster) owners while their cars are in the shop. But according to CEO Elon...
John Voelcker -
Mercedes-Benz AMG Exec Says Hybrids Dominate Diesels In Future
Mercedes-Benz in-house tuner AMG is best known for its thunderous, cacophonous V-8 gasoline engines. The brand's latest model is something of a departure, though. The 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA 45 AMG still offers ballistic performance, but uses only a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine--albeit...
Antony Ingram -
Nissan Leaf Customers Get Battery Leasing Option In Europe
In America, if you want a new electric car, you go to a dealer and buy one. You might have to wait a bit of course, but generally your money gets you access to both the car and its batteries. In Europe, things are a little different. If you're Renault, you sell people a car and offer its batteries...
Antony Ingram -
Tesla Testifies In Texas, Takes On State's Auto Dealers Over Stores
Texas is tough, and Texas car dealers are no exception. But electric-car startup Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA], in the person of its CEO Elon Musk, testified yesterday at a hearing in the Texas legislature on a bill that would allow it to sell its cars directly to Texas buyers. That's presently illegal...
John Voelcker -
Audi LED Lights Actually Save Fuel, Cut Emissions, EU Says
Many people imagine that fuel efficiency stops and starts with engine technology and driving technique, but there's a little more to it than that. Making a fuel-efficient vehicle involves a holistic approach that examines every aspect of a car's design and tries to reduce its impact on fuel...
Antony Ingram -
This is an exciting time for electric car enthusiasts. From just a handful of choices only a few years ago, buyers in some states now have access to as many as a dozen different plug-in vehicles. It's set to get even better--over the course of the next few years, another six electric vehicles are on the way. Here's our full run-down of the most important plug-in vehicles debuting over the next year. 2014 BMW i3 The 2014 BMW i3 electric car isn't just important, it's exciting too--and it's nice to be able to say that about a new electric car. BMW has explored electric vehicles before with...
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2014 Chevrolet Spark EV On Time, Unaffected By A123 Failure
As Fisker Automotive seemingly enters very public death throes, and its battery supplier A123 Systems works to get back to business after a bankruptcy sale, another electric car might have been caught in the crossfire. The 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV is to launch this summer, after its announcement in...
John Voelcker -
Congress Sets Date For Fisker Loan Hearings: April 24
Green energy and electric vehicles are an easy target for politicians at the best of times, but even more so when they fail, taking down millions in unpaid government loans with them. Fisker Automotive isn't dead yet but it does owe the U.S. Department of Energy a large proportion of the $193...
Antony Ingram -
2015 Smart Electric Drive: Both ForTwo & ForFour Models
Smart is doubling up on electric vehicles with its next generation small cars--as its Electric Drive will come in both two- and four-seat formats. It's been known for a while that Smart would revive the ForFour name with its next city car. The company previously sold a car with this name in Europe...
Antony Ingram -
2014 Ford Fusion: 1.5-Liter EcoBoost Engine For China, Coming To U.S.--Maybe
There have been several rumors flying around as to the full details of Ford's new 1.5-liter Ecoboost engine. The first of these relates to how many cylinders the new unit has. Ford's crypic press release didn't make this clear, with no menion of a cylinder count. Road & Track however has heard...
Antony Ingram -
What Cars Sell Well? Compact Crossover Sales Surge
People love their SUVs. You can't move for the things these days, but the good news is they could be getting smaller. An influx of compact SUVs and crossovers in recent years has struck a chord with buyers, and sales have grown at a faster rate than the rest of the industry in the first three...
Antony Ingram -
I've now had my 2013 Tesla Model S for six weeks since it was delivered in late February, and I'm getting used to living with it. I've recharged at the Supercharger network, measured its vampire current usage at night, tested the impact of speed on range, and even experienced my first software update. According to Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA], one of the original clean-sheet-of-paper design criteria for the Model S was that the rear cargo area--with seats folded down--should be able to accommodate a bicycle without removing the front wheel. As an avid cyclist, this was one of many factors in my...
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China To Build EcoMotors' Efficient Opposed-Piston Engines
History makes fools of us all sometimes, none more so than when we dismiss certain ideas out of hand, only for them to come back years later and eat our words. That's why we're always intrigued by companies claiming to reinvent the engine. One of them might well do so, given the right resources...
Antony Ingram -
Ford Focus Tops Toyota Corolla As Planet's Most Popular Vehicle
Ford sold over one million examples of its Focus last year. That alone is impressive, but there's deeper meaning to the high sales statistic--for the first time, the Focus has overtaken its Japanese rival, the Toyota Corolla, at the top of the global sales charts. Thanks to the U.S. and...
Antony Ingram -
Nissan Happy With eNV200 Electric Van Testing, Drivers Happy Too
Regular readers may be familiar with the Nissan NV200 van, soon to be pressed into service in New York City as the much vaunted/maligned (delete as appropriate) "Taxi of Tomorrow". You may also be aware that Nissan is testing an electric version, the eNV200. It's currently in test fleets across the...
Antony Ingram -
Car Repair Costs Rising--Apart From Hybrids, Which Get Cheaper
There was a time when the average vehicle could be expected to go wrong on a fairly regular basis. That's not the case these days, and in general cars are more reliable than ever--even if repair costs are increasing. Well, they are for regular vehicles anyway, as a study by CarMD suggests the cost...
Antony Ingram -
Life With 2013 Tesla Model S: How A Software Update Worked
One of the many cutting-edge features of my new 2013 Tesla Model S is the ability to download software updates over its cellular connection. With its touch-screen controls and electronic motor and battery systems, the Model S all-electric sport sedan is almost certainly the most highly computerized...
David Noland