Green Car News
-
Hyundai and Kia's recent EPA mileage overstating scandal has attracted sharp criticism from one top Honda Motor Co. U.S. executive. John Mendel, executive vice president of Honda's U.S. car sales, feels the Korean duo betrayed the trust of customers under competitive pressure. Mendel told industry representatives during the Automotive News World Congress that the industry's reputation is at stake, reports The Detroit News. "We have to be mindful that the actions we take reflect on the industry as a whole — how something that happens to one of us can undermine public trust in all of us,"...
-
Boeing 787 Batteries Same As Those In Electric Cars? Umm, NO
Gird yourself: It's possible we're about to see a new wave of attacks on electric cars that ignore battery science. This time the culprit is the troubled Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. The FAA has grounded all 787s after a string of fires in their lithium-ion battery packs; other countries have...
John Voelcker -
Third Better Place CEO In Four Months Departs
Better Place, the battery-swapping network operating in Israel and Denmark, didn't have an easy 2012, and 2013 is looking little better. Indeed, Reuters now confirms the departure of their current CEO, Evan Thornley. Better Place founder Shai Agassi was ousted last October, following losses of $490...
Antony Ingram -
Trees For Trade-Ins Programs Junk Gas Guzzlers, Plant Trees
A new scheme in the UK offers to plant dozens of trees whenever someone recycles their old car through the program. Called "Scrap Car, Plant Tree", it's aimed at getting people to donate their old, inefficient vehicles to raise money for the creation of inner-city "green spaces". According to...
Antony Ingram -
Bob Lutz: Volt's Electric Tech Should've Gone Into Escalade First
Ex-GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz played an instrumental part in getting Chevrolet's range-extended electric car, the Volt, to market. So important was his role that he's often considered the "father of the Volt"--but at the Detroit Auto Show, Lutz has said that he'd not have launched the car's...
Antony Ingram -
2012 Coda Sedan Electric Car Price Slashed to $25,000
Coda Automotive, the startup maker that builds the 2012 Coda Sedan electric car, is going through some very tough times. But it looks like one of its three dealers is trying to figure out the right price point for the all-electric compact sedan--which was originally priced at $38,145, including a...
John Voelcker -
Luxury brands have been expanding into smaller vehicles for a while now, and the Lincoln MKC Concept unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show continues that trend. The smallest member so far of Ford's struggling lxuury brand has been the MKZ mid-size sedan, but the compact crossover concept shows the brand will go smaller. While it's built on the underpinnings of the 2013 Ford Escape, the MKC shares no body panels with that popular crossover. Instead, it layers on the luxury and shows off the usual Lincoln styling cues and the brand's signature all-glass roof. Inside, it replaces Ford's practical...
-
VIA Motors XTRUX Electric Truck: 2013 Detroit Auto Show Live Photos
What does an 800 horsepower electric truck look like? Just that little bit meaner than any other production truck, as it turns out--if Via Motors' XTRUX electric truck is anything to go by. The wildly powerful range-extended truck was unveiled at this week's Detroit Auto Show. Loosely based on the...
Antony Ingram -
Nissan Resonance Hybrid Crossover: Detroit Auto Show Live Photos
Hinting at the look of the next Murano, Nissan debuted the Resonance Concept at the North American International Auto Show this week. Much like the original Murano, the Resonance features striking styling that previews the look of future Nissan vehicles, while taking the crossover concept to new...
Antony Ingram -
2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel: Live Photos From Detroit Auto Show
The Jeep Grand Cherokee isn't usually what people think of when you say "green car," but the new diesel version that's coming for 2014 moves it somewhat closer to that category. Unveiled first thing Monday morning, the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel is part of an updated 2014 lineup for the...
John Voelcker -
2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA: 2013 Detroit Auto Show Live Photos
You'd struggle to tell at a glance, but the car you see here has the most aerodynamically-efficient shape of any car on sale. The 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA is the firm's smallest sedan, based on the front-wheel drive A-Class sold in Europe. Already an efficient shape, the elongated tail of the CLA, a...
Antony Ingram -
ACEEE Announces Greenest Cars Of The Year
The American Council for Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) has announced its 'Greenest' and 'Meanest' vehicles of the year. Each year vehicles are given environmental scores based on fuel efficiency and emissions standards, as well as new measurements for estimating the environmental impact beyond...
Antony Ingram -
One of the late surprises announced before the Detroit Auto Show was from VL Automotive, and its Fisker Karma-based Destino V-8 sedan. Stripping the 2.0-liter GM engine and electric drivetrain from the Karma might remove its unique selling point, but with the help of Bob Lutz the Karma's appeal has now been extended further for a select few. Little has changed visually from Karma to Destino. The overall shape is essentially identical, though the Destino gets its own front end treatment, losing the distinctive Karma mustache and taking on more of a Maserati or Ferrari vibe. The interior too is...
-
Ford Atlas Truck Concept Demos Fuel-Saving Active Wheel Shutters
In order to improve the aerodynamics of new vehicles—and boost their highway gas mileage—automotive engineers have looked to a new series of seemingly minor features that add up to meaningful gains in EPA ratings. One of them is the active grille shutters that have become increasingly...
Bengt Halvorson -
2014 Infiniti Q50 Hybrid Live Photos From Detroit
Infiniti’s new Q50, the replacement for the G37 Sedan, has made its debut at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show in both gasoline and hybrid trims. The gasoline Q50 packs a 3.7-liter V-6 just like the old G37, while the hybrid Q50 features the same hybrid system found in the bigger M35h. In addition...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2014 Cadillac ELR Live Images: 2013 Detroit Auto Show
Looking considerably more futuristic than the Chevrolet Volt on which its based, Cadillac unveiled its 2014 ELR plug-in hybrid at this week’s Detroit Auto Show. Borrowing heavily from Cadillac’s “French curve be damned” school of design. the ELR manages to progress angular...
Kurt Ernst -
2014 Ford Fiesta 1.0-Liter EcoBoost: Quick Drive Report
Much fanfare has been made about Ford's 1.0-liter, 3-cylinder turbocharged EcoBoost engine. Offering the performance of a 1.6-liter with the economy of a much smaller unit, many would have you believe it represents the future of internal combustion. If not transported to the future, our first drive...
Antony Ingram -
Updated Acura NSX Hybrid Supercar Concept Debuts In Detroit
It’s not quite the production version of the new NSX that we were hoping for, but the updated concept car presented at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show today does give us a much better idea as to what the production version, due sometime in the next couple of years, will be like. We can clearly see...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
The Toyota Corolla remains one of the best selling cars in America, despite its dated design and a powertrain that is, frankly, approaching obsolescence. Its 1.8-liter four cylinder engine still delivers acceptable fuel economy (up to 30 mpg combined), but its transmission choices (five-speed manual or four-speed automatic) leave much to be desired. Even the shape of the current Corolla is getting tired, since it dates all the way back to 2008. Clearly the time is right for Toyota to liven up its best selling compact sedan. If the Furia Concept really does foretell the shape of the next...
-
VW, Eaton Show New CCS Electric-Car Charging Station
Volkswagen Group of America and Eaton have together unveiled a new single-port Combined Charging System (CCS). The CCS meets the approved standard for charging from the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), and combines one-phase AC charging, three-phase AC charging, DC home charging and DC fast...
Antony Ingram -
2014 Cadillac ELR Preview: 2013 Detroit Auto Show
Based on the Converj concept first shown in 2009, the Cadillac ELR is set to become the very first Extended Range Electric Vehicle launched by a full-line luxury automaker when it hits Cadillac dealers in early 2014. Like the Chevrolet Volt, the Cadillac ELR will be primarily powered by a 16.5 kWh...
Kurt Ernst -
Despite AZ Woes, Most Nissan Leaf Batteries Fine, Survey Shows
Last summer wasn't easy for Nissan or its electric car, the Leaf. A spate of owners in Arizona discovered they were quickly losing battery capacity, far earlier than Nissan suggested it might happen--the hot climate was playing havoc with battery life. Luckily for worried Leaf owners, those...
Antony Ingram -
Toyota Furia Concept Previews 2014 Toyota Corolla: Detroit Auto Show
If the 2013 Detroit Auto Show has been rather light on truly green vehicles, concepts previewing the replacement of bread and butter models have been much more exciting. One of those is the Toyota Furia Concept, paving the way for the 2014 Toyota Corolla compact car. Corollas aren't often vehicles...
Antony Ingram -
Honda Urban SUV Concept: 2013 Detroit Auto Show Preview
If you wanted a Nissan Juke before, you probably won't want one now. Honda promised last month that its Urban SUV Concept would debut at Detroit, and the sporty, Fit-based crossover you see here is the result. Hinting at a production model due in 2014, the Urban SUV is a whole nine inches shorter...
Antony Ingram