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  • Toyota Project Portal 2.0 fuel cell-powered semi-trailer truck

    After showing its second-generation fuel-cell semi-truck at the Port of Los Angeles in July, Toyota announced last week it will build 10 more fuel-cell trucks for the project. In addition to the trucks, the project will add two new heavy-duty hydrogen filling stations, two new hydrogen forklifts at Toyota's warehouse at the next-door Port of Long Beach, and two new zero-emissions yard tractors at the nearby Port of Hueneme. The California Air Resources Board will provided $41 million of funding for the project. Toyota, Shell, and Kenworth, which builds the trucks, will provide the balance of...

  • 2014 BMW i3 REx fast-charging at Chargepoint site, June 2016  [photo: Tom Moloughney]
    ChargePoint invests in commercial charging for buses, delivery vans, taxis

    After opposing the settlement over diesel emissions cheating that led VW to spend $2 billion building out a nationwide network of fast chargers, and suing one of Electrify America's suppliers for patent infringement, ChargePoint, the last of the original charging-network providers for electric...

  • Anheuser-Busch Nikola Two fuel cell semi
    Budweiser-maker taps Nikola for up to 800 hydrogen-powered semi trucks

    Anheuser-Busch bet big on hydrogen fuel for its semitrailer trucks Thursday. The Budweiser beermaker announced it would buy up to 800 big rigs from Nikola Motor Company by 2025 and nearly replace its entire dedicated corporate fleet with trucks powered by renewable energy. The agreement is largely...

  • U.S. Postal Service Grumman "Long Life Vehicle"
    U.S. Postal Service urged to choose electric delivery trucks

    The current fleet of delivery trucks used by the United States Postal Service have stood the test of time, but their high maintenance costs mean it's time to retire the iconic boxy vehicles. The USPS began soliciting bids in 2016 and five finalists now remain in the running: they are...

  • Freightliner Inspiration Truck self-driving truck concept
    Several states want far cleaner diesel trucks; EPA to start rulemaking?

    Almost one-third of the heavy trucks on U.S. roads now use the most stringent emission-control systems, which radically reduce their emissions of nitrogen oxides, soot, and other pollutants. Commercial trucks log much higher annual mileage than passenger cars, especially the semi tractors that haul...

  • Workhorse W-15 extended-range electric pickup truck
    Workhorse W-15 range-extended electric pickup truck revealed (video)

    Workhorse may have the ultimate proposal for commercial fleets with the reveal of its W-15 pickup truck, the first range-extended electric pickup truck to be built from the ground up with fleets in mind. While Tesla says it is developing an all-electric pickup, which will supposedly be revealed in...

  • Nissan e-NV200 revolutionizes iconic Harrods fleet

    In the U.S., electric-car advocates and green energy fans have been dealt some setbacks during recent weeks. In Europe, however, the push toward electrification remains as strong--and trendy--as ever. Delivering on zero emissions In Germany, courier service Hermes (not to be confused with French luxury goods retailer, Hermès) is going electric with a little help from Mercedes-Benz. The process begins next year with a pilot program in Stuttgart and Hermes' hometown, Hamburg. During the pilot, Hermes and Mercedes-Benz will collaborate to find the most efficient, emissions-free means of...

  • Deutsche Post StreetScooter electric van prototype
    VW 'annoyed' it won't get order for electric vans it didn't make

    Suppose you're one of the world's three largest automakers. You don't offer a type of vehicle that a relatively small but highly visible customer in your home market wants. Do you have the right to be annoyed if that customer designs those vehicles itself? DON'T MISS: USPS picks AM General to help...

  • Mack Pinnacle series
    Truckers Slowly Warm To Cold Liquified Natural Gas

    Changes to the tax code could make LNG more attractive to truckers.

  • Workhorse Walk-In van, now produced by Amp Holdings and electrically powered
    Amp Electric's Workhorse Wants To Be 'Tesla Of Trucks' For Electric Delivery Vans

    Aside from economic recession and cautious buyers, one of the biggest challenges for companies that want to sell electrified commercial trucks turns out to be ... making or converting trucks. Amp Electric, a surviving veteran of several generations of electric-truck development, decided to solve...

  • Brian Maragno of Nissan USA in Nissan Leaf electric-car television ad, frame capture
    Nissan Leaf Ad Crosses A Line: 'Not Why Electric; Why Gas?'

    The question isn't, "Why electric?" It's, "Why gas?" And with those eight words, Nissan marketers crossed a line that no other established carmaker has dared to cross. In a 20-second ad for the 2013 Nissan Leaf electric car now running on television--you may already have seen it--Nissan said it out...

  • Screencap from Toyota Auris ad
    Toyota Auris Ad Complains About Auto Emissions, Doesn't Mention Electric Cars

    By now, you've probably seen it: the new ad for the Toyota Auris Hybrid. But on the off chance you haven't, here's the Cliffs Notes version: Sometime in the future, a man and woman awake in their stylish apartment. It's got enough bells and whistles and Roombas to give Michio Kaku a heart attack...

  • Screencap from web ad for the BMW i3

    Although its arrival is still months away, we already know a lot about the all-electric BMW i3. We have a good idea of its range (with and without the optional range-extender), we've hypothesized about its sticker price, and a few lucky journalists have even gotten to drive around in it. But there's one thing we haven't known: who's going to buy this thing? Luckily, a new video from BMW has answered that burning question. THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF ADS There are many, many types of ads -- classified ads, display ads, radio spots, and on and on. Most of the car commercials that we see on...

  • Ryan Reynolds and Ryan Hall in an ad for the 2012 Nissan Leaf
    Ryan Reynolds Gets Funny With The 2012 Nissan Leaf: Video

    Isaiah Mustafa has ruined advertising. He may not have written his own monologues for those popular Old Spice ads, but Mustafa's deadpan delivery and sublime quirkiness have inspired a thousand would-be imitators. Even talented actors like Ryan Reynolds can't measure up, as we see in a new clip for...

  • Screencap from the 'People Person' spot for the 2012 Toyota Prius family
    Behind The Disturbing Ad Campaign For The 2012 Toyota Prius

    To make its new ad for the 2012 Toyota Prius family, Toyota tapped some of the same talent that made its previous "Harmony" campaign a success. But as intriguing as the behind-the-scenes footage may be, we're not entirely sold on the new "People Person" clip. You might recall that when Toyota...

  • 2012 Ford Focus
    Did Hyundai Elantra Ad Make Ford Stretch Focus Leg-Room Claim?

    We're eagerly looking forward to driving the 2012 Ford Focus. It's won raves in reviews--including the first-drive report on TheCarConnection--and been the subject of downright fawning coverage in Detroit media. It has many unique features and options for a compact car, from Ford's excellent...

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