2012

In the fourteen months since Nissan launched the all-electric Leaf, we’ve seen owners do just about everything with their green ride, from dressing them up for halloween to drag racing, giving them a tow hitch and even racing at Laguna Seca. But now we can add the sport of Autocross to the...

"The Ultimate Driving Machine" - It's one of the most well-known taglines of the motoring world, and each successful generation of BMW is designed to improve that driving experience further. However, in times of austerity and rising gas prices, it's not enough to simply concentrate on performance...

After four years, an economic crisis, an industry meltdown, and plug-in cars becoming politically problematic, the 2012 Fisker Karma is on the streets at last. And it's a real car. We've driven it, shot video behind the wheel, and now we've formally reviewed it. We're still sorting out what we...

Real Americans only drive pickup trucks (imported oil be damned). It's obvious because slaps at green cars and fuel-economy rules have become a staple of political campaigning among certain candidates. Yesterday, Newt Gingrich mocked the current Administration's promotion of fuel-efficient cars in...

We already know that appropriately-equipped electric cars can be used to provide emergency backup power to homes cut off from the electricity grid in a natural disaster, but can they also be used to help a city run as normal? Could they, for example, be used to power stop lights? It’s a...

Back in November, we reported that Ford was planning on starting deliveries of its 2012 Ford Focus Electric to customers in New York and California before the end of 2011, with sales in other areas due to follow some time this year. In reality, while Ford technically did get all-electric Focuses to...

Honda has managed to raise the gas mileage ratings on all of its new 2012 Civic models, including the 2012 Civic Hybrid, which is rated at a combined 44 mpg. In a road test over several days last May, we managed to get a real-world 45.3 mpg over a route that was about two-thirds highway, one-thirds...

Let's imagine for a second that you have a family, and you need a vehicle to transport them around in. However, you're also looking to get a good mix of practicality and gas mileage, as gas prices aren't making those long vacation trips any easier. Your eye may have been caught by the 2012 Toyota...

Toyota’s all-new compact hybrid -- the 2012 Prius C -- isn’t due to go on sale for another few months, but that hasn’t stopped it from being an instant hit in its native Japan. Known as the 2012 Toyota Aqua in Japan, the gas-sipping hybrid has proved so popular that Toyota has...

Nissan North America has announced its second voluntary service campaign for the all-electric Leaf since it went on sale in December 2010. Offered for free to all existing owners of the 11,000 Nissan Leafs that have been sold in the U.S. and Canada so far, the software update is designed to improve...

If you think that the Chevrolet Volt Bullfrog Power Edition sounds like a rather odd limited edition model, we can understand the confusion. It's nothing to do with the green, hopping creature though, nor is Bullfrog Power an aesthetically-challenged superhero. Instead, it's a 100 percent green...

The 2011 BMW 335d is quite a machine. With gasoline-rivalling power and performance and gasoline-shaming economy, it seems to offer the best of both worlds. That's only set to improve in the next generation based on the new 3-Series, but will U.S. buyers be getting the ActiveHybrid 3 instead of a...

Is the Chevrolet Volt being outshone by its own little brother? The Wall Street Journal suggests that - just like millions of Americans - the Volt is a victim of some good, old-fashioned sibling rivalry - at the hands of the Chevrolet Cruze. On the face of it, there's not a lot of reason that the...

There are many reasons to choose an electric vehicle - saving money on gas, to reduce dependency on foreign oil, or maybe simply because you like the way they drive - but one of the main reasons has to be green appeal. To prove the theory, the Mitsubishi i electric car has just topped the American...

The 2012 Chevrolet Volt might cost nearly $5,000 cheaper more than the 2012 Nissan Leaf, but over the next five years, it might cost you less to run. At least, that’s the verdict of Kelley Blue Book (KBB) which crowned the 2012 Chevy Volt the electric choice in its inaugral Total Cost of...

People are rarely lukewarm about the Chevrolet Volt. Like health-care reform or pajama jeans, the Volt inspires love, loathing, and little in-between. That hasn't exactly helped Volt sales, which aren't yet living up to expectations, but fans insist that the car itself isn't the problem. They blame...

It was quite small and very, very red. This weekend's test car, a 2012 Toyota Yaris LE three-door liftback, attracted far more attention than we expected. Pedestrians and other drivers turned their heads. Even our New York City garage attendant mumbled, unprompted, "Muy bonita, muy, muy bonita!" as...

According to recent research, 95 percent of all trips could be made by electric cars -- but that doesn’t stop the majority of consumers from suffering electric car range anxiety. So when automotive journalists Roman Mica and Nathan Adlen from TFLcar.com decided to put a 2012 Nissan Leaf...

In today’s gadget-obsessed world it’s not unusual to see brand new computers, cellphones and gadgets taken apart hours after their release on websites like iFixit.com in the interests of education and curiosity. But earlier this week, engineers at Munro & Associates took apart a...

With last month's sales of the 2012 Chevy Volt less than half what they were in December, Chevrolet has stepped up its efforts to sell its innovative but pricey range-extended electric car. And it's doing it the old-fashioned way, by "putting money on the hood," as salespeople say. According to...