2013

  • The Tesla Model S in winter testing.

    Mention snow and ice in relation to electric vehicles, and many people will first think of the impact of cold weather on driving range. It's true that driving range will decrease in cold weather in most electric vehicles, but the way the car drives is important too. For the Tesla Model S driver in the video above, the best way to discover how his vehicle handled was taking it to the ILR Winter Driving School in Minden, Ontario. Icy surfaces and coned courses let owner Colin Bowern explore his Tesla's limit in total safety--not something that can always be guaranteed out on the roads. Electric...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S
    Tesla Now Making, Delivering 500 Model S Electric Cars Weekly

    With a backlog of more than 10,000 depositors for the Tesla Model S, its maker is making and delivering electric luxury sedans as fast as it can. Among other benefits, that may allow Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] to achieve CEO Elon Musk's suggestion that the company could be profitable for the first...

  • 2013 Nissan Leaf
    2013 Nissan Leaf Real-World Range: Is It Any Higher?

    it might not have been the number people were hoping for, but at 75 miles, an extra two miles of EPA range for the 2013 Nissan Leaf still represents an improvement. Even more so considering the EPA's electric car testing procedure for 2013 averages results from 100 percent and 80 percent charges...

  • 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid
    Discounts Soar On Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrids--In New York

    Live in the New York area? If you do, you're perfectly placed to get some hefty discounts on Toyota's Prius Plug-In right now. In fact, you're in the right place to get a discount on several green models at the moment, including the regular Prius, as well as Ford C-Max and Fusion hybrids. According...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S electric sport sedan [photo by owner David Noland]
    Life With 2013 Tesla Model S: 'Vampire' Thirst For Electricity At Night?

    A couple of weeks ago, shortly after I took delivery of my 2013 Tesla Model S, I noticed that my home electric meter seemed to be running a bit faster than normal. I keep a close eye on my meter, but that seemed odd. After all, the long-awaited new luxury sport sedan delivered to my house in...

  • 2013 BMW 3-Series
    2014 BMW 328d Diesel To Be Unveiled At NY Auto Show

    Though we’ve known since last summer that BMW would once again sell a diesel-powered 3-Series sedan in the United States, we’re now officially one step closer to the 2014 BMW 328d appearing in U.S. dealer showrooms. BMW has announced the U.S. debut of the 328d sedan at this...

  • 2013 Nissan Leaf 'Facts' television ad, frame capture

    The 2013 Nissan Leaf electric car has some lofty sales goals associated with it--certainly higher than the 9,750 deliveries that Nissan averaged each year in 2011 and 2012. So it's encouraging to see a new television ad for the 2013 Leaf that actually highlights the fun and special features of driving electric cars. The new ad is a quick-cut 30-second spot that packs a lot into its voiceovers, with visuals of an attractive young couple on a dinner date in their new Leaf. You can watch it below. Experienced electric-car advocates, among them Chelsea Sexton, have pointedly criticized much of...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S electric sport sedan on delivery day, with owner David Noland
    Life With 2013 Tesla Model S: The Good & The Bad At 600 Miles

    Two weeks and 600 miles ago, I took delivery of a 60-kWh 2013 Tesla Model S electric sport sedan. I won't dwell on the ear-flattening acceleration, nor the magic-carpet ride and handling, nor the mesmerizing 17-inch touch screen controls. Those features have been exhaustively analyzed and reported...

  • 2013 Kia Optima Hybrid
    2013 Kia Optima Hybrid: More Space, Improved Gas Mileage

    Kia has announced details of its updated Optima Hybrid, new for the 2013 model year. Just about every aspect of the car has been improved, resulting in a car that now offers greater fuel efficiency, improved space, better performance and a higher standard of equipment. Central to the changes are...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S
    Don't Cry: Tesla Model S Torn Apart For Safety's Sake

    Modern cars feel so substantial and safe they can often feel impregnable--you're just rolling along in your little bubble, protected from the world outside. The Model S, the luxurious electric car from Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] with its large body, incredible refinement and luxurious interior is...

  • 2013 Nissan Leaf
    Nissan Offers Leaf Owners $1,000 To Buy Other, Non-Electric Models Too

    Own a Nissan Leaf? Nissan wants to thank you for it. 2011 and 2012 Nissan Leaf owners, for their loyalty, will be eligible for $1,000 off any model in Nissan's lineup. The offer runs through December 31, 2014, so you've plenty of time to decide. Nissan's research shows most Leaf owners are new to...

  • 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid
    2013 Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid: Quick Gas-Mileage Test

    The 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid is VW's second hybrid model, and the first hybrid sedan we've had in the U.S. market from the German automaker. It's also interesting because the Jetta is available with a fuel-efficient TDI turbodiesel engine--and VW discovered that hybrid and diesel buyers are...

  • Tesla Supercharger fast-charging system for electric cars

    As the brand-new owner of a 60-kWh Tesla Model S, I was eager to try out a Supercharger, the ultrafast 90-kilowatt DC fast-charging stations that Tesla is establishing along Interstate highways across the country. Model S owners--and nobody else--will be able to plug in and grab up to 150 miles of extra range in 30 minutes, about the time it takes to empty their bladders and then eat a fast-food meal and/or check their mobile devices. Astonishingly, the Superchargers are free for Model S owners. So far, Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] has installed five Superchargers in California and two along I-95...

  • 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid, Los Angeles, August 2012
    Ford C-Max Does Not Beat Prius V Wagon In Real-World Use

    We've written quite a lot about the gas mileage of Ford's two new 2013 hybrid models, the C-Max and Fusion hybrids. That's because a lot of shoppers and buyers have been talking about it. Both cars are rated at 47 mpg combined, and neither car seems to achieve anything close to that rating in...

  • 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid, test drive, Catskill Mountains, NY, Mar 2013
    2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid: Quick Winter Gas Mileage Test

    The 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid is the second of Ford's two hybrid models, both all-new for 2013. The Fusion Hybrid, unlike the C-Max Hybrid compact hatchback, is a four-door mid-size sedan aimed right at the heart of a high-volume market segment. Competitors for the Fusion lineup include the Toyota...

  • 2013 Toyota Prius liftback
    California Is Unlike Anywhere Else: Toyota Prius Most Popular New Car

    Years ago, tourism officials in the Lone Star State adopted the saying, "Texas: It's Like A Whole Other Country". There's some truth to that, but the slogan might be most appropriate for California. Like Texas, California, is home to a diverse array of cultures and a wide range of environments...

  • 2013 Buick Encore, Catskill Mountains, New York, Feb 2013
    2013 Buick Encore: Subcompact Luxury Crossover, Drive Report

    It's a subcompact. It's all-wheel drive. It's sort of a crossover, sort of a small wagon. It's also a Buick. Huh? We recently spent four days and covered 373 miles in a 2013 Buick Encore, the newest and smallest entry in the five-car lineup from GM's near-luxury brand. Despite its subcompact size...

  • 2013 Nissan Sentra, short test drive, Los Angeles, Feb 2013
    2013 Nissan Sentra Quick Highway Fuel-Economy Test Drive

    We hadn't driven a 2013 Nissan Sentra, the all-new compact sedan, until last week. And our drive was hardly representative, since we spent the bulk of it in the peculiar world of freeway traffic in Los Angeles. That means traffic moving at average speeds of anywhere from 60 to 85 mph, with...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S electric sport sedan on delivery day, with owner David Noland

    After 1,386 days of waiting, I first glimpsed my new 2013 Tesla Model S electric sport sedan at a local discount tire store. The Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] delivery rep who was bringing the car up from the New Jersey distribution center to my house in New York's Hudson Valley had called me from the road, to say he was going to be late. The car hadn't yet gotten its New York state inspection, so he was stopping by the tire store, about three miles away from my home, to get the inspection and sticker for the Model S--sitting on a trailer behind his truck. I sat in my kitchen twiddling my thumbs...

  • 2012 Ford Focus Electric, New York City, April 2012
    Ford Focus Electric Won't Sell Well, Says Ford

    Some makers are investing in battery electric cars and doing their darnedest to make them market successes--think Nissan or Tesla, for example. Ford does not appear to be one of those companies. Since the second month that its plug-in hybrid C-Max Energi went on the market, its monthly sales have...

  • 2013 Nissan Leaf
    2013 Nissan Leaf: 75-Mile Range 'Anticipated' In New Test By EPA

    It's the last piece of information on the new and updated 2013 Nissan Leaf electric car that everyone's been waiting for: its range. The projected number, Nissan says, is 75 miles--but that shouldn't be compared to the 73-mile range of the 2011 and 2012 Leaf models. That's because the EPA changed...

  • 2013 Toyota Camry
    2013 Toyota Camry Hybrid Gains Interior, Tech Upgrades

    The Toyota Camry and Toyota Camry Hybrid have been granted a host of interior and technology upgrades for the 2013 model year. Launched in its current format in the 2012 model year, Camry LE models gain a new soft-touch material on the front door panels, replacing a harder plastic. Interior arm...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S before DC-to-Boston road trip, Feb 2013 [photo: Aaron Schildkraut]
    Tesla Model S Owners Crowdsource Trip To Counter NY Times Report

    It's been a week of Tesla Model S hullabaloo, centered around last Sunday's critical New York Times road test, Stalled Out on Tesla's Electric Highway. Now a set of defiant Tesla Model S owners are setting out to prove Times reporter John Broder wrong. They will replicate his trip from Maryland to...

  • 2013 Honda CR-Z hybrid coupe [UK specification]
    2013 Honda CR-Z Hybrid Coupe: Quick Drive Report

    Honda launched the CR-Z hybrid coupe in 2010, aiming to defy the assertion that all hybrids are slow and boring. It has to be said that as defiant acts go, the CR-Z hasn't been entirely successful. Gearhead circles have criticized its so-so performance, while hybrid fans decry its average economy...

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