Green Car News

Earlier today, German automaker Audi unveiled the latest in its e-tron plug-in concept cars at the 2012 Beijing Auto Show. Based upon the A6 L, a highly-popular Chinese-only variant of the A6 sedan, the A6 L e-tron plug-in hybrid concept combines a 2.0-liter turbocharged, direct injected gasoline...

For years, the V-engine has dominated the American auto industry. Thanks to increasing gas prices and tougher gas-mileage and emissions targets however, the V-6 and V-8 engines once found in everything from family cars to pickup trucks are being slowly replaced by smaller, direct-injection...

Not everyone is a fan of the classic Volkswagen Bug, but nobody can deny that it's an icon. It was certainly no surprise when Volkswagen decided to launch a re-make back in 1998, nor that it would be replaced with the current 2012 Volkswagen Beetle. VW brought the concept even further into the 21st...

Mercedes-Benz announced its first four-cylinder diesel in the U.S. market with the 2013 GLK, and if buyers take to it the way Mercedes is hoping, it may not be the last model to adopt the four-pot diesel. Previously the company has sold five- and six-cylinder diesels in the U.S. market, but the 2.1...

Owning and driving an electric car is very much dependant on personal circumstances right now. You can either afford one, or you can't. You can either get away with the limited range of an EV, or you can't. You're either motivated to reduce your impact on the planet, or you're not. A new survey by...

Today is Friday, which means we, like many other editorial teams around the world, are on the lookout for a fun, lighthearted story to end the week. This week, our chosen light-hearted story comes courtesy of the humble pizza delivery scooter. Hated in cities worldwide for their annoying, buzzing...

How will you be charging your electric car in future? In your garage? At work? At a rest stop somewhere with a fast charger? Or will you be using a wireless charger, embedded in a parking spot somewhere, that you can simply park over and forget about? It's a question many are asking, and one...

NASA has developed a system that captures carbon dioxide and helps to prevent pollution from wastewater while creating renewable algae biofuel, fertilizer and possibly animal feed, too. NASA calls its system OMEGA, for Offshore Membrane Enclosures for Growing Algae, self-contained bags of...

Remember the world's very first production plug-in hybrid? No, not the 2011 Chevy Volt. Not the 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid either. Way back in late 2008, it was the Chinese BYD F3DM, with a lithium-ion battery pack and a combined parallel and series hybrid powertrain inserted into the...

Though it has wandered through a handful of brand identities and images over the past decade, Acura continues to reinvent itself. This time, the next new thing is a hybrid using Acura's first ever implementation of Honda's familiar hybrid system (on a modified Civic platform) in the 2013 ILX. Entry...

If you want a green truck at the moment, your options are limited. By their nature, trucks require large engines, and large engines use a lot of fuel. Until electric and range-extended trucks become a realistic proposition, your best option is either hybrid, or alternative fuels--such as GM's...

Once upon a time, if you wanted to buy a used car, the place to start your search was the local used car dealer or newspaper listings. Over the past decade however, searching for a used car has become a lot easier thanks to Internet auction site eBay and its eBay Motors listings. Listing everything...

A week ago we brought you the news that a chemical gas explosion had injured employees at GM's Alternative Energy Center in Warren. Five people were evacuated from the lab, and one employee remains in hospital following treatment for injuries resulting from the blast. Now, Detroit News reports that...

We’ve often heard people muse that electric car charging stations need to be as ubiquitous as the humble gas station. In fact, we’ve even encountered rare occasions where electric car charging stations are offered alongside regular and premium, but what if electric car charging stations...

We love data, and articles that analyze data. We love them a little less when their opening lines sneer at sites like this one by calling them the "sunshine, lollipops and rainbows electric car press." Still, there are far more interesting problems with a recent analysis on Seeking Alpha entitled...

The 2012 Ford Focus Electric is the company's first-ever production battery-electric vehicle, and that alone makes it noteworthy. But the fact that it's also pleasant to drive--somewhat on the fun side of unremarkable--means that it's the first compact all-electric competitor to the Nissan Leaf...

It's all change at Mazda for the next generation of its engine and product lines. The CX-7 SUV and 6-cylinder engines are out, and a wave of efficient Skyactiv engines, light-weight cars and an improved line of rotary engines is in. Robert Davis, senior vice president of U.S. Operations at Mazda...

Over the past few years, while we've seen a slow and steady increase in the number of electric cars available on the market, the electric motorcycle industry has positively exploded. Primarily designed to satisfy the commuting needs of inner-city residents, most electric motorcycles and scooters...

If you want something to blame for the relatively high prices of the current wave of electric cars, blame the cost of batteries. The technology required to produce the popular lithium-ion batteries used in most electric vehicles isn't cheap, and that cost is passed on to the consumer. Bring down...

Japanese automakers haven't embraced diesels in quite the same way as some other companies have done. Even in Europe, where diesels are popular, the range is limited. That's perhaps not surprising, given the unique demands in the crowded cities of the Japanese home market--making cleaner gasoline...