Green Car News
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The diesel engine for the 2014 Ford Transit van will be a five-cylinder PowerStroke model, the company announced today, extending the fuel efficiency benefits of clean-diesel powertrains into its upcoming commercial van. The new 3.2-liter PowerStroke Diesel will be the only five-cylinder turbodiesel sold in the U.S. It's already used in other products outside the U.S., including the Ranger small pickup truck that Ford does not intend to sell in the States. Ford says the new engine will offer "smooth, responsive performance" and power as well as good fuel efficiency, reducing its operating...
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Green Car Reports 2013 Best Car To Buy: Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid, Honorable Mention
Volkswagen has sold small numbers of its Touareg Hybrid crossover utility vehicle for two years now, but it's never had a mass-market hybrid entry. That will be the role of the 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid, a new entry this year that complements VW's long-established line of fuel-efficient TDI...
John Voelcker -
Charging Networks Struggle To Survive Slowly Growing Electric Car Market
Do you build electric cars first, and worry about the chargers later? Or do you build a network up-front, and hope the buyers follow? Public charging networks are necessary to give buyers confidence that they can charge their cars anywhere. But often, they're not used that much, owners typically...
Antony Ingram -
Toyota Announces 2013 Pricing For Prius C, Camry Hybrid
Toyota has revealed pricing details for a large selection of its 2013 model year vehicles. Among pricing for many of its SUVs and trucks, the 2013 Toyota Camry Hybrid and 2013 Toyota Prius C see small price increases. The Camry Hybrid now ranges from $26,140 for the LE grade, to $27,670 for XLE...
Antony Ingram -
Fisker Hires Investment Bank To Find Funding, Partner Companies
Fisker Automotive, often referring to in the media as "struggling," is looking for additional funding and a carmaking partner. According to a story in the Wall Street Journal (subscription required), the company has now hired an investment bank, Evercore Partners, to assist in those quests. Fisker...
John Voelcker -
Incapable In Amsterdam? Call An Emission-Free Electric Scooter Taxi
Amsterdam in the Netherlands is known for many things--canals, beautiful architecture, and a relaxed attitude to drugs and carnal pleasures. It's also, as it happens, an excellent city to explore on two wheels. Not only are there few hills to contend with, but Amsterdam is very much geared towards...
Antony Ingram -
U.K. Tesla fans jealous of their counterparts in the U.S. are finally able to reserve their own 2013 Tesla Model S. Buyers will be able to choose between Model S and Model S Signature, and will get to enjoy the same specifications as buyers in the U.S. That means the same color and trim options, and the same choice between regular models and Performance versions. Likewise, Tesla is quoting the same 230-mile and 300-mile range estimates, at 55 mph, for 60 kWh and 85 kWh batteries. There's no mention of a 40 kWh version, however. Prospective customers will have to pay a hefty deposit if they...
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Consumer Reports: New Ford Hybrids Don't Meet Mileage Ratings
it's always nice when the big boys say, "You're right." We reported three weeks ago that Ford's new 2013 hybrids were not achieving their 47-mpg EPA gas mileage rating in real-world usage. Now Consumer Reports has confirmed that finding, based on its own testing, in videos and a blog post published...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model S 60-kWh Version: EPA Range Rated At 208 Miles
Without any fanfare, the EPA has released its range rating for the second version of the Tesla Model S to come to market. The 2013 Tesla Model S fitted with a 60-kilowatt-hour battery pack has a rated range of 208 miles. That compares to 265 miles for the Model S version with the largest 85-kWh...
John Voelcker -
2012 BMW X5 Diesel Recalled Over Power Steering Failure
BMW is recalling certain 2012 model-year X5 diesel models, as well as some 2013 X5 and X6 models, over potential power steering failure. The recall affects 2009-2012 BMW X5 xDrive35d models built between September 1, 2008 and November 15, 2012. BMW estimates that 29,800 vehicles are affected in...
Antony Ingram -
GM To Offer Not One, But Two, Smaller Pickups: El Camino Too?
Usually Ford and GM follow the same playbook for their pickup trucks. But in pursuit of higher fuel economy goals, the two may diverge in years to come. While Ford is fitting more fuel-efficient EcoBoost turbocharged V-6 engines to its pickup trucks, it has no plans to offer any pickup smaller than...
John Voelcker -
25% Of Today's New Cars Can Hit 2016 Emissions Goals
The past couple of years, auto industry headlines have focused on 2025 and its high benchmarks for corporate average fuel economy. But there's a nearer-term deadline that's fast approaching, and it comes with its own set of emissions and fuel-economy standards. The good news is that many cars on...
Richard Read -
Concept cars used to be flights of fancy, vehicles designed solely to grab attention when a carmaker's regular products were lacking visual verve. In more recent times, they've been so much more than that. They still look extreme and showcase blue-sky technology, but concepts now give us a much clearer indication of tomorrow's actual cars. Now the 2012 auto show season is over, we've picked our favorite ten concepts from this year. Think we've missed an important one? Tell us using the comment section below! Lexus LF-CC Want to know what a Lexus IS coupe might look like? The LF-CC should give...
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2013 Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid: German Sales Start, Buy Soon In U.S.
No longer is Volkswagen's Jetta sedan all about diesel engines--it's the hybrid which now wears that car's high-mileage crown. German dealers have just started taking orders for the car, and American dealers should also now be taking deposits, with the Hybrid set to arrive in U.S. dealers in the...
Antony Ingram -
Will Fisker Ask For Rest Of Its Stalled DoE Low-Interest Loan?
For Fisker Automotive these days, no news is probably good news. Its latest CEO, Tony Posawatz, has been at the helm for four months now. And Fisker is putting all its efforts toward developing and producing its next model, the Atlantic mid-size sport sedan, by late 2014. In a recent Fox News...
John Voelcker -
Green Car Reports 2013 Best Car To Buy Nominee: Nissan Altima
Not all green cars are hybrids, diesels, or plug-ins. And with new fuel economy regulations now set through 2025, all cars are going to get more efficient--gasoline cars first and foremost. The new 2013 Nissan Altima mid-size sedan has the highest EPA rating for combined gas mileage of any gasoline...
John Voelcker -
Electric Car Maintenance A Third Cheaper Than Combustion Vehicles?
Driving an electric car has plenty of advantages, but many owners also like the simplicity of their vehicles. An electric motor is incredibly simple in operation. In contrast, internal combustion engines can be made up of hundreds of parts--even thousands, in particularly advanced engines. That's...
Antony Ingram -
BMW i3 Coupe Concept Video Preview
BMW is preparing to launch its i3 electric hatchback, and there could be related models on the way--models like the i3 Coupe Concept from the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show. The i3 Coupe Concept is, as you would expect, a coupe version of the i3 hatchback. If the concept receives a positive reception...
Joel Feder -
A few months back, after riding the Smart eBike, we concluded that it might actually be the best vehicle the company makes. That makes the upcoming Smart electric scooter something worth waiting for--and to build it, the company is getting assistance from electric motorcycle experts Vectrix. Smart's eScooter concept debuted at the 2010 Paris Auto Show. The clean styling, white and green paintwork and single-sided suspension arms on each wheel were eye-catching, but it was the electric drivetrain which really caught attention--particularly as German rival MINI unveiled its own electric scooter...
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Nissan To Fiat: Our Leaf Is Ugly? Look In The Mirror, Buddy!
If you've always wanted to see two large car companies having a good, old-fashioned hair-pulling, nails-out, purse-swinging fight, then you're in luck. Following comments from Fiat at the Los Angeles auto show, hinting that the Nissan Leaf was a form of "visual pollution", Nissan has hit back...
Antony Ingram -
Green Car Reports 2013 Best Car To Buy Nominee: Ford Fusion
The new 2013 Ford Fusion is stunning on the street; it may well be the best-looking mid-size sedan on the market. And it comes with no fewer than five different powertrains, all of them as or more fuel efficient as those in the previous Fusion sedan. The first Fusion in 2005 started to re-establish...
John Voelcker -
Mercedes-Benz Doubles Down On Diesels For U.S.
Several automakers are finally realising that customers in the U.S. are warming to diesel--and Mercedes-Benz is one of those ready to bring even more models to North America. The E-Class executive sedan and ML SUV are the latest to be granted diesel options. Both, as you may be aware, are already...
Antony Ingram -
LA Auto Show Wrapup: Five New Plug-In Electric Cars (Video)
For our final piece on last week's Los Angeles Auto Show, we put together a video on the five new plug-in electric cars officially unveiled there. Three of them are plug-in hybrids, a pair from Ford and one from Honda, and the other two are small battery-electric conversions by the makers of the...
John Voelcker -
2014 Lexus IS 300h Adds Hybrid Model To Smallest Luxury Sedan
Lexus has confirmed that its 2014 IS sedan will debut at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show next month. Continuing the marque's trend towards hybrid models, the range will also tout a hybrid--though it hasn't yet been confirmed whether such a model will hit the U.S. market. Automobile Magazine (via Motor...
Antony Ingram