2010
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Our reader Javier M writes: I'm 99 percent convinced I want a Prius. However, there is one question: Does the "Prius V Model" come with a regular sunroof standard (within the $28,875 price)? I want to purchase the "basic" Prius V, but I do not wish to get any major upgrades (no navigation, etc). However, I was wondering if the Prius V has a NORMAL SUNROOF, or does it come with a hard top (no sunroof)? Thanks a lot! Love the blogs. Well, Javier, thanks for the good words. We spent some time checking out the 2010 Toyota Prius online configurator on the Toyota.com website--just to double-check...
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St. Patrick's Day Special: The Most Popular Cars Painted Green
We write a lot about green cars, here at GreenCarReports.com. Surprise, right? Now our partner TrueCar has provided some data about which cars are greenest. That is, which cars are most often ordered in the color green. Consider this our automotive celebration of St. Patrick's Day. Lá Fhéile...
John Voelcker -
Californians: Buy a 2010 Tesla Roadster, Get $12,500 Off!
The nice thing about buying advanced-technology cars is that many of them, at one point or another, come with financial incentives meant to encourage fuel efficiency. Even if the car in question is a 2010 Tesla Roadster, the $109,000 two-seat all-electric convertible that blasts from 0 to 60 mph in...
John Voelcker -
Green-Car Tip: Hybrid Vehicles Get Discounts, Incentives Too
While the auto industry in general offers an average incentive of more than $1,000 off the sticker price of any new vehicle, many buyers somehow assume this doesn't apply to hybrids. Oh, but it does. You can get money off pretty much any hybrid out there at the moment, since gasoline prices are far...
John Voelcker -
2010 Toyota Prius Reigns As Japan Sales Champ Despite Recalls
Unlike some of its Toyota brethren, the 2010 Prius hybrid was never pulled off sale due to recalls. But U.S. sales fell 6.1% in February anyway, against the previous month, though they rose versus February 2009, when the new 2010 model hadn't yet hit dealers. Currently, the 2010 Prius is the...
John Voelcker -
Clunkers Program Worked, Didn't Hurt Car Sales, Study Says
A new study concludes that last summer's government-funded "Cash For Clunkers" program didn't hurt car sales rates in future months, and in fact did just what it set out to do: get old, low-mileage cars off the road and stimulate auto sales in the U.S. An analysis by Maritz Research refutes one of...
John Voelcker -
The 2010 Geneva Motor Show is over, but we realized that we missed out on covering one significant vehicle: Hyundai's i-flow diesel hybrid concept. While the first gasoline hybrid was the 1997 Toyota Prius, only this year will French maker Peugeot introduce the world's first production hybrid with a diesel engine, the 2011 Peugeot 3008 Hybrid4. Mercedes-Benz will follow with its 2012 E 300 Bluetec Hybrid. Diesel hybrid concepts: rare Despite that pair, hybrid concept cars with diesel engines are still very much the exception. And they're even rarer from Asian manufacturers, who haven't...
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Mazda Moves To Install Brake Override Systems After Toyota Issues
Sometimes It Takes A Major Event To Cause Change
Jonathan McGrew -
2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid Continues Conquest Campaign
Just yesterday, we reported on Ford's first-ever 300 hp/30 mpg ratings for the 2011 Mustang. The company has vowed to achieve best-in-class fuel economy numbers for every new model it launches. Certainly the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid clears that bar, trouncing any other mid-size sedan with an EPA...
John Voelcker -
2010 Geneva Motor Show: 57-MPG Mercedes-Benz E300 Bluetec Hybrid
Earlier today, we ran down our list of new green production cars at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show, where press days are now underway. There's one more we might have added to the list: the 2012 Mercedes-Benz E300 Bluetec Hybrid. At the show today, Mercedes-Benz confirmed that the car "has already...
John Voelcker -
Don't Have A Spare $109K? Now You Can Lease a Tesla Roadster
When the auto market fell apart last year, the era of cheap car leases came to an abrupt end. And only recently have manufacturers tiptoed cautiously back into offering lease payments for some models, rather than selling them outright. The latest maker to join the lease parade is Tesla Motors...
John Voelcker -
MINI Reaches Out For Attention With New Clubman Ad
Something That Can Only Be Classified As Quirky
Jonathan McGrew -
Hi Jessica, Thank you for the quick response; I am sure you get a lot of these kinds of emails interested in new or current technology. I think I mentioned in my note through the site that I live in Denver, Colorado and I am a blogger for a couple
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Bogus Biofuels Blast Rebutted by Bentley Gent
Almost a year ago, we called Bentley's much-touted biofuels strategy "bogus," in an alliterative headline to a piece that was much forwarded around the green-car world. Now we've had a chat with the very reasonable and polite David Reuter, Bentley's head of PR and communications. We still think...
John Voelcker -
Nissan Incentives To Lure Toyota Customers To Affordable Versa
Least Expensive Car In America Tries To Take Market Share From Corolla
Jonathan McGrew -
Prius Recall Nearly Complete
It’s 11:00 on a sunny Thursday morning at a Toyota dealership in a suburb of Detroit, and it’s eerily quiet. It’s been ten days since Toyota recalled 133,000 Priuses in the United States for a software issue that affects braking, but there aren’t any Priuses waiting for upgrades. In fact...
Jennifer Knightstep -
Another Toyota Recall In the Works: Popular Corolla Next
More News That Could Damage Toyota’s Credibility
Jonathan McGrew -
2011 Lexus CT 200h Hybrid Hatch: U.S. Buyers Need Not Apply
Much has been written about U.S. car buyers' aversion to hatchbacks, with many citing the relative sales of the Volkswagen Jetta four-door sedan over its five-door Golf counterpart. It appears Lexus has taken that attitude to heart. At next month's Geneva Motor Show, it will launch a new, dedicated...
John Voelcker -
Citing Hybrid Technology As To Expensive, Scion Remains Gas Powered
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Green Racer: 2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Street Edition
Racing and fuel efficiency have often been considered at odds with each other, but green racing does exist, somewhat below the radar. One of the more accessible competitions is the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup series, now starting its third season. Like the old SCCA Showroom Stock categories, the TDI...
John Voelcker -
Audi To Sell e-Tron Electric Coupes, Hopes Name Has Quattro Clout
After the rapturous reception for three successive models of its e-Tron electric coupe concept at the Frankfurt, Los Angeles, and Detroit auto shows, Audi announced it would build and sell a small number of the electric supercars. Now we know a few more details of Audi's plans. And it seems Audi...
John Voelcker -
2011 Fiat 500 Mini-Car On Sale By End of Year, Chrysler Says
Well, here's some good news: We have less than a year to wait before the neat little Fiat 500 hatchback goes on sale at selected Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram dealers. When it arrives, it'll be Chrysler's greenest car by a pretty big margin. EPA fuel efficiency ratings haven't yet been issued for the...
John Voelcker -
Could Passing Cars Power Wind-Turbine Highway Lights?
And now, for today's great green concept, we present: Overhead highway lights powered by wind turbines, which are spun by the air turbulence generated as cars and trucks whiz past at speed. Like many such concepts, this one's conceptually brilliant: Use all that wasted wind to do useful work, in...
John Voelcker