2012

  • 2012 Tesla Model S

    Well, they made it! Tesla Model S-driving trio Peter Soukup, Tina Thomas and Luba Roytburd successfully arrived in New York City after almost five thousand miles of driving coast-to-coast. After starting in Portland, Oregon on December 26, the team drove down the West Coast, before cutting across Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, South Carolina, and then up the East Coast. They announced their arrival in NYC with a Tweet on Monday. "If I can make it here, I can make it anywhere and we made it! Electric Road Trip S successfully finished in NYC, final mileage 4887!" The team then...

  • 2012 Fisker Karma during road test, Los Angeles, Feb 2012
    338 Fisker Karmas Wrecked By Sandy Waiting For Recall Parts

    As luxury automaker Fisker prepares to battle in the courts over its Sandy-damaged Karmas, more details have emerged as to why its cars were sitting at Port Newark in the first place--they were there for recall work. 338 Fisker Karmas were submerged during the deluge of Superstorm Sandy, damaging...

  • 2012 Fisker Karma
    Fisker Insurer Won't Pay For 300 Flood-Ruined Karmas; Lawsuit Follows

    Fisker Automotive's succession of calamitous events would be hilarious were it not so tragic--the stream of misfortunes so constant you begin to wonder if naming its first vehicle the Karma was a terrible mistake. After losing 338 vehicles through flood and fire during Hurricane Sandy, the...

  • 2013 Nissan Leaf (Japanese trim)
    Nissan Leaf Battery Capacity Loss: Covered By Warranty, Now

    Nissan is becoming the first manufacturer to offer limited warranty on battery capacity loss, when it implements a new warranty in Spring 2013. Announced via the MyNissanLeaf.com forums, Nissan executive vice president, Andy Palmer, has confirmed that Nissan is to offer an updated New Electric...

  • 2013 Nissan Leaf (Japanese trim)
    Nissan Offers Almost $10K Cash Back On Leaf Electric Cars

    If you want a Nissan Leaf then getting one before the start of January could net you a hefty cashback offer right now. Some Nissan dealers are advertising a $9,775 cashback offer direct from Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp (NMAC), Nissan's car finance arm. The offer has been running since the start of...

  • Tesla Model S
    Tesla Reveals European Pricing For Model S Electric Sedan

    Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] has announced European pricing for the Model S, set to go on sale there next year. Speaking on the Tesla Blog, Tesla vice president George Blankenship revealed that the company is using a transparent approach to European pricing, making no more profit per car than it does...

  • 2012 Tesla Model S

    As the first cars are set to arrive in European dealers next year, Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] has announced its new European distribution center in Tilburg, Netherlands. The facility will serve as a final assembly point for European vehicles, as well as acting as Tesla's distribution hub and regional service center. The 62,000 square-foot facility will be central to Tesla's roll-out of Model S cars through Europe. The first European Model S will enter production at Tesla's Fremont plant in March 2013, before being shipped to Tilburg for final assembly. As well as distribution and servicing...

  • 2011 Nissan Leaf SL
    Nissan Leaf Electric-Car Buyers Really ARE Different, Says Dealer

    So who buys a Nissan Leaf? Not, as you may be unsurprised to learn, the sort of person who doesn't really care what they buy, says one Nissan dealer. As Nashville Business Journal reports, Leaf customers are already pretty sure they want a Leaf when they walk onto the lot. "It's typically a very...

  • 2012 Nissan Leaf
    Nissan Celebrates Leaf Electric Car's Second Birthday

    Happy birthday, Nissan Leaf! Believe it or not, Nissan's electric car is now celebrating its second anniversary. With only relatively small numbers on the road--smaller than Nissan was hoping, anyway--the Leaf still seems like a recently-launched vehicle. But at Nissan's Oppama test track in Japan...

  • 2012 Tesla Model S
    Tesla Model S Already A Future Classic? Auto Library Thinks So

    Put a group of auto enthusiasts in a room, ply them with suitable amounts of alcohol, and soon conversation will turn to 'future classics'. The term refers to a modern car which gains the kind of respect and appeal of a classic vehicle in its lifetime, guaranteeing it a similar status many years in...

  • 2012 Coda Sedan
    Coda In Trouble? Electric-Car Maker Lays Off 15% Of Staff

    If you're a couple of years late launching your car, and it gets only tepid reviews, and then its frontal crash safety is rated at just two stars out of five, it might be safe to say your company has a few challenges. That's the situation for Coda Automotive, which yesterday confirmed that it had...

  • 2012 Coda Sedan
    Coda Electric Sedan: Only 2 Stars In NHTSA Frontal Crash Tests

    As part of standard procedure, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) crash-tests an example of each vehicle on sale, and assigns a rating based on how it performs. Most are expected to get four or five stars out of five these days--while all cars meet basic minimum safety...

  • Tesla Model S owner David Metcalf after covering more than 400 miles [photo: Gene Kruckemyer]

    Back in May, Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] released range estimates for the 2012 Model S. While the company predicted that 250-300 miles would be typical for the largest, 85 kilowatt-hour battery, and the EPA confirmed this with an official 265 miles, insiders at Tesla had a sneaky feeling that 400 miles would be possible. That estimate has now been confirmed by Model S owner David Metcalf, and his 12-year old son, Adam. After a 405-mile journey through Florida, the father and son team is the first to break 400 miles in the Model S. That distance is now being verified by Guinness World Records...

  • 2011 BMW X5 M
    2012 BMW X5 Diesel Recalled Over Power Steering Failure

    BMW is recalling certain 2012 model-year X5 diesel models, as well as some 2013 X5 and X6 models, over potential power steering failure. The recall affects 2009-2012 BMW X5 xDrive35d models built between September 1, 2008 and November 15, 2012. BMW estimates that 29,800 vehicles are affected in...

  • 2012 Coda Sedan
    2012 Coda Sedan Electric Car: Track Test Reveals Anomalies

    The new car market is a harsh environment even for the best-funded and most-respected of carmakers. For a brand like Coda, whose electric sedan is not only a niche product by its very nature but also one with a very low market profile, it can be tougher still. Regardless, they say it's the product...

  • 2012 Tesla Model S Signature
    More Updates For 2012 Tesla Model S: Voice Commands, Faster Acceleration

    Tesla has released details of an impending software update, for the 2012 Tesla Model S electric sedan. Among the changes, owners will now be able to use new features like an app launcher and voice commands, while seeing improvements to some of the controls, and even acceleration response. New...

  • 2012 Fisker Karma EcoSport
    Fisker Karma Assembly Stalled Til Bankrupt Battery Maker A123 Is Sold

    Prodution lines at Fisker Automotive have lain silent for a month, the company revealed yesterday at the LA Auto Show. Fisker CEO Tony Pasowatz said that the hold-up is due to bankrupt battery maker A123 Systems, which is currently in the process of being sold. A123 exclusively provides the battery...

  • 2012 Chevrolet Volt
    Chevy Volt Electric Car Has Highest Customer Satisfaction Scores, Again

    Fewer Chevrolet Volt owners would buy another this year than at the same time last year, Consumer Reports has discovered. ...Of course, when that figure is still 92 percent (down from 93) and the Volt has topped Consumer Reports' consumer satisfaction survey for the second year running, perhaps a...

  • 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid

    Toyota is offering up to $5,000 in bonus financing cash for buyers of the 2013 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid. Until December 3, buyers can get $5,000 bonus financing cash on the Plug-In Prius Advanced model (offer #1239), and $4,000 on the regular Plug-In Prius (#1235). The deals also include 0% APR over 60 months, and eligible buyers can still claim up to $2,500 in federal tax credits. Interested parties can find the offers on the Buyatoyota.com website. The 2013 Toyota Prius Plug-In achieves 95 MPGe in electric mode, with a combined 50 MPG as a hybrid, matching that of the regular model...

  • Nissan Leafs break the world record for largest electric car convoy
    Nissan Leaf Breaks Electric Car Convoy Record With 225 Cars

    Agroup of Nissan Leaf owners from around the United Kingdom have broken the world record for the 'largest parade of electric vehicles'. With 225 Nissan Leafs and an overcast, wet Silverstone race circuit, a parade of 225 cars broke the previous record, held by Chrysler with 218 vehicles. Nissan UK...

  • 2012 Tesla Model S Signature
    2012 Tesla Model S: Consumer Reports Joins Chorus Of Praise (Unofficially)

    It isn't easy to impress Consumer Reports. Fisker Automotive knows this better than most, after its Karma range-extended sedan was savaged by the magazine earlier this year. In contrast, the 2012 Tesla Model S looks to have gone down rather well, CR describing it as "a revelation". High praise...

  • Nissan Leaf electric limo for sale on eBay
    Stretch Nissan Leaf Electric Limo For Sale On eBay: What Would You Pay?

    Want a Nissan Leaf but disappointed that you can't take more of your friends along for the ride? Or don't have space for champagne flutes? The Nissan Leaf limo for sale on eBay could be just the thing to meet your needs. If you think the concept of a Nissan Leaf electric limo sounds familiar, then...

  • 2012 Toyota Prius C, Catskill Mountains, NY, Oct 2012
    2012 Toyota Prius C: Real-World Gas Mileage Test

    With the 2012 Toyota Prius hybrid family now comprising four members, the subcompact Prius C hatchback is the one least like its siblings. It's smaller, with a smaller engine and battery, and less cross-section to cause aerodynamic drag. So does it consume less fuel? The EPA rates it at 50 mpg...

  • 2012 Nissan Leaf
    Nissan: Leaf Sales Lower Than Expected, But We're United Behind It

    Electric cars may be the future, but in the present they're still a risk. Nissan knows this more than most, and at a conference reporting its Q2 2012 financial results, chief operating officer Toshiyuki Shiga says that Nissan would still like to penetrate the market more. However, he also expressed...

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