Green Car News
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For some time, we’ve known that Nissan’s long-term electric car strategy includes developing several more electric models over the next few years, including commercial vehicles and luxury cars. Now it appears that an all-electric SUV may feature in Nissan’s future, with the news that it plans to unveil an electric compact SUV concept car at this year’s Paris Motor Show. “At Paris...[Nissan will] have an SUV concept, with zero emissions; so an electric SUV concept vehicle,” Jeff Fisher, Nissan Australia’s General Manager of Media Enquiries told...
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Will Available Natural-Gas Cars Pull Fueling Stations With Them?
The relationship between natural gas vehicles (NGVs) and natural gas stations is a 'catch-22' situation. Without the former, companies are reluctant to built more natural gas stations, as the demand won't be there. But without the latter, manufacturers see no reason to produce natural gas vehicles...
Antony Ingram -
2012 Tesla Model S: 50 Cars Built, 29 Delivered, Maker Says
Tesla likes to do things its own way. So while the company still refuses to report sales in the usual manner--at the end of every month like every other automaker--it does release bits and pieces of data on its corporate publicity site. On Thursday, Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] said that since June 22...
John Voelcker -
What Will 'Low Carbon Fuel' Mean For You?
California is often at the forefront of clean vehicles, whether that's through startups like Tesla producing electric vehicles, or regulations that encourage the sale and manufacture of low-emissions vehicles. That trend is continuing says Pike Research, as the state aims to push through a new...
Antony Ingram -
Tesla's Elon Musk Has More New Business Ideas & A Lot To Say
If you had a mediocre superpower, what would it be? If you're Tesla CEO Elon Musk, "always beating the traffic" would be your power of choice, though given Elon's ideas past, present and future, some would argue that it's a long way off what he's actually capable of. Musk sat down for a "fireside...
Antony Ingram -
Portlandia Steps Up For Electric-Car Sharing: We're Not Surprised
You've probably heard about what a model green city Portland, Oregon is, or how Portlanders shy away from car ownership—and, perhaps, how they can be a little uncomfortably earnest and politically correct. Is that how it really is? In short, yes. Now Portland, Oregon residents have another...
Bengt Halvorson -
What turns an electric car into a great electric car? Ask most people, and they will list features like a powerful electric motor, good range and comfortable seats. But these things are set at the factory, long before you even step inside your car. What about things you can do improve how your car handles and feels after it rolls off the dealer lot? Tires, tires, tires Often overlooked, the tires on your electric car not only help you achieve maximum range, but also help give your car its handling and performance characteristics. Like most new cars, electric cars tend to ship from the factory...
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Rolls-Royce Customers Shun Diesel Engines Like They Did Electric Cars
Modern diesel-engined cars are quiet, provide lots of torque, get great gas mileage and are much cleaner than diesel engines of yore. Prejudice, however, not to mention some old-fashioned snobbery amongst Rolls-Royce customers, means that the Sprit of Ecstasy is unlikely to throb to the sound of an...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2012 Toyota RAV4 EV: First Drive From Behind The Wheel (Video)
The new 2012 Toyota RAV4 EV is quick, relatively fun to drive, and the only all-electric crossover utility vehicle on the market today. It has a good, intuitive touchscreen display and instrument cluster that shows both the maximum possible range and a constantly updated range based on both the...
John Voelcker -
Convert Your Car To A Plug-in Hybrid? All You Need Is $3,000
Not everyone can afford a new hybrid, plug-in hybrid or electric car, but those who still wish to drive such a vehicle can still take the conversion route. Electric car conversions have been around for many years, and many people have converted their regular hybrids to plug-ins too, but a team at...
Antony Ingram -
Electric Mini MINIs Help Out At London Olympic Games
The 2012 Olympic Games might be based in London this year, but the official car sponsor is distinctly German, with BMW supplying all the official games vehicles. Still, Brits can take some solace that a selection of MINIs make up part of the fleet, adding a traditional touch to the games. Forty of...
Antony Ingram -
2011 Chevy Volt Owner Takes on the Electric Range Challenge
Last week, an article on this site asked, "How Far Can The 2012 Chevrolet Volt Travel on Electricity Alone?" As a Volt owner, I felt duty-bound to answer that question, and to take up the challenge of beating the 60-mile figure claimed by the driver of an Opel Ampera, the European version of the...
David Noland -
If the ideal electric car has a real-world range of 100 miles or more and the practical utility that American families buy crossovers for, the future may be arriving this year. The 2012 Toyota RAV4 EV has every bit of space that the gasoline versions do. Its Tesla-engineered battery pack and electric motor give it better performance than the RAV4's most powerful V-6 version, plus a real-world range of 100 or more miles (depending on how you use the climate control). It's too bad that the RAV4 EV will only be sold in California as a "compliance car," in a limited run of just 2,600 over the...
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Baja 1000 Goes Electric With New Solar-Powered Category
The Sun Cup Challenge sounds like something you might find in a Mario Kart video game, next to the Mushroom Cup and Star Cup, but the reality is much more significant. This year, the Sun Cup Challenge is a competition within the mighty Baja 1000 race, where competitors tackle a thousand miles of...
Antony Ingram -
Production Porsche 918 Spyder Plug-In Hybrid Supercar: Naked At Last (Video)
One of the most exciting hybrid vehicles appearing in the future is coming from quite an unusual source. A decade ago, it would have been unthinkable for Stuttgart sports car maker Porsche to release a hybrid, but the 918 Spyder plug-in hybrid supercar is joining a much-changed range, full of SUVs...
Antony Ingram -
A Free Electric Car With Every Gas-Guzzler? It’s Happening In Spain
As we pointed out yesterday, sales of purely electric cars in the U.S. aren’t as high as many in the industry hoped they would be. In an attempt to get more customers, Nissan has lowered the lease prices of its 2012 Nissan Leaf SV and 2012 Nissan Leaf SL, while automakers in Europe have...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Renting Electric, Hybrid And Green Cars: What Are Your Options?
If you drive an electric car, hybrid, diesel or other green vehicle day-to-day, you might like to know that you can rent similar when you go abroad, or even when you fly across country to visit relatives. Luckily, many rental and car-sharing firms offer green vehicles on their fleets, and some even...
Antony Ingram -
EVSE Upgrade Testing 6.6-kW Upgrade To Halve Leaf Charging Time
In the world of electric cars, there are a great number of engineers who like to tweak, modify, and improve the various electric cars on the market today. So far we’ve seen everything from advanced remote monitoring devices to jet-powered range extenders, but now one prolific Californian...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Lexus is voluntarily recalling some of its now-discontinued HS 250h entry-level hybrid luxury sedans after it determined that incorrectly-adjusted components on the rear suspension arm could age prematurely and cause suspension failure. According to its official release, the safety recall only affects 2010 model year Lexus HS 250h cars, approximately 18,000 of which were sold in the U.S. The fault stems from nuts fitted to the rear suspension arm which Lexus believes may have not been tightened to the correct torque specifications following routine rear-wheel alignments. Incorrectly...
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Chevy Volt No Good Because You Have To Rearrange Your Garage?
After a rough period last year, the Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric car has settled down and is now the best-selling plug-in car in the U.S. General Motors is continuing a program, launched a year ago, that makes Volts available for loan both to interested buyers and members of the...
John Voelcker -
The Rest Of The World Loves The 2013 Chevy Spark: Will Americans?
There’s something about the tiny 2013 Chevrolet Spark that has made General Motors go crazy for infographics. We’ve already seen Chevrolet use them to compare the pint-sized Spark to a 1973 full-size car. Now they’re back to prove how popular the tiny Spark is around the world...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
ECOtality Offering Free Electric Car Charging Stations: Is Your City Included?
Wherever you charge your electric car, it's nice to have access to the latest equipment and a good network of charging sites. That's the aim of ECOtality, as it offers Blink chargers at an increasingly wide range of sites, with Philadelphia, Chicago and Atlanta the latest cities joining the list...
Antony Ingram -
Hydrogen-Fueled Olympics Taxis Sent 130 Miles To Refuel--On Diesel Trucks
The London Olympics now underway are a showcase for green cars. Automotive sponsor BMW is getting massive exposure for 4,000 of its greenest vehicles, including lower-emission ActiveHybrid models, fuel-efficient diesels, and much-anticipated i3 all-electric city car and i8 plug-in hybrid sports...
John Voelcker -
July Plug-In Electric Car Sales: Volt Steady, Leaf Lethargic (Again)
Last month, sales of the Chevrolet Volt stayed strong while the Nissan Leaf languished. This month, it's more of the same. In July, Chevrolet sold 1,849 Volts, bringing its total for the first seven months of the year to 10,666--and its total U.S. sales since launch to 18,663 (including 7,671 in...
John Voelcker