Fuel
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We're now well and truly on the road to plug-in vehicle nirvana, with the 2011 Nissan Leaf, the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, and various other plug-in and electric vehicles due to hit the market within the next couple of years. But there now seem to be hundreds of car companies, enthusiastic business people, and hard-core green freaks trying to sell us revolutionary breakthrough car designs--every one of them, of course, the most ethical and responsible car ever created. Many of these companies will flounder on hitting their first hurdle: publicity. Long ago, companies and individuals with...
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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 -
Tata Nano Hybrid Headed for the U.S.?
Is the diminutive Tata Nano Hybrid coming to America? According to a report in The Maeil Business Newspaper out of Korea, Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata Motors, says the Indian automaker could sell the gas-sipping four-seater in more established markets like those of the U.S. and Europe. Tata was...
Robert Scardino -
2010 Gas Mileage Ratings Released, Hybrids Take Top Slots
Gasoline may be averaging around $2.50 a gallon right now, but gas mileage remains an important factor in choosing a new car. Now the EPA has released 2010 fuel efficiency figures for all new cars and trucks sold in the U.S. Hybrids from Ford, Honda, Lexus, Mazda, Mercury, Nissan, and Toyota...
John Voelcker -
Flex-Fuel Future: Cars Are Coming, But Where's the Fuel?
We don't hear so much about ethanol these days, now that gasoline is back down to $2.50 a gallon. But we still get e-mails, so here's a post to answer the question: What's going on with flex-fuel cars? Short answer: Manufacturers are slowly increasing the number of vehicles they build that can...
John Voelcker -
2010 Prius Supplies Still Scarce, Toyota Considers US Factory...Again
As global demand remains high for the 50-MPG 2010 Toyota Prius, stocks of the car at U.S. dealers are down to a one-week supply, which is all but sold out. A normal supply is considered to equal 60 days' worth of sales. Sales of the 2010 Prius spiked in late July and August, due to a combination of...
John Voelcker -
While discussing two upstart electric car companies, contributors to the self proclaimed "fair and balanced" Fox News Channel (FNC) have proven that they are not smarter than a fifth grader. Jeff Foxworthy didn't even have to ask a single question. In reports criticizing recent Department of Energy (DOE) loans offered to Fisker Automotive and Tesla Motors, FNC managed to murder the truth so brutally that hosts, Martha MacCallum and Neil Cavuto should appear on an episode of Cops. To their credit, Fox correctly reported that the DOE has committed $529 million to Fisker. Beyond that, accuracy...
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MPG Follies, Or, Why Electric Cars Can't Get 367 MPG. Sheesh.
One of our most popular posts in August was a piece that broke down how General Motors projected a fuel efficiency of 230 miles per gallon in the city for its 2011 Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric car. Soon after GM's elaborate press event, Nissan announced with a straight face that their...
John Voelcker -
Electric Supercharger Gives Gas Engines Diesel Efficiency
If you frequent this site, you've read all about electric vehicles and gas-electric hybrids. In those applications, electricity is stored in a battery, which powers an electric motor. That electric motor can either move the vehicle or assist the gas engine in hybrid configurations. One U.K. company...
Robert Scardino -
Your Tax $$$ At Work: Argonne Lab's Better Batteries, Greener Fuels
If you watch TV or read the papers, you'll see lots of coverage of people who are pretty unhappy with one facet or another of the U.S. government. This post is about something government seems to do relatively well: pre-commercial research and development. Here at GreenCarReports.com, we usually...
John Voelcker -
2010 Hyundai Elantra Blue: Higher MPG, Just $25 More
The 2010 Hyundai Elantra is the latest iteration of a compact car known for frugality and low price. This year, Hyundai has boosted the mileage, raising the standard five-speed manual model to 26 mpg city / 35 mpg highway from last year's 24 mpg city / 33 mpg highway. The 2.0-liter, four-cylinder...
John Voelcker -
Toyota Vice President Says Electric Cars Are Too Expensive
"Electric vehicles of today are less costly than in 1990s, but if you compare them with the other vehicles out there they are still too expensive." Those were the words of Toyota Executive Vice President, Takeshi Uchiyamada, at the Frankfurt Motor Show which opened to the press today. "Unless there...
Robert Scardino -
If you like premium compact hatchbacks, Lexus has something for you - provided you live in Europe. As we've previously reported, Toyota's luxury brand will unveil their LF-Ch hybrid concept in a few days at the Frankfurt Motor Show and their most recent press release called our attention to some of the vehicle's finer qualities. The "LF" in the name stands for the Lexus "L-finesse" design language characterized by fastback profiles and flowing lines on a number of their concept vehicles. Lexus points out that the blacked-out B-pillar and the rear door handles hidden in the C-pillar give the...
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Frankfurt Auto Show: Plug-In Hybrid Mercedes S-Class Concept
Every other year, Mercedes-Benz unveils a "Vision" concept car at the Frankfurt Motor Show that points the way to cars it will launch in future years. This year's concept car looks just like a standard 2010 Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Instead, it's the mechanical parts that are remarkable: It's a...
John Voelcker -
Want To Go Even Greener? Power Your Prius on...Algae ?!?!?
There's something about the Toyota Prius that makes people want to modify it. Maybe it's the Hybrid Synergy Drive system, maybe it's the electric running, maybe it's even the car's shape. We're not quite sure. Now, joining the growing parade of Prius plug-in conversions (whether professional or...
John Voelcker -
2010 Honda Insight a Top Safety Pick By IIHS
It may be subcompact in size, but the 2010 Honda Insight hybrid just got handed a big award. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has awarded the 2010 Honda Insight EX its "Top Safety Pick" designation, which it bestows on vehicles that do the best job of protecting their occupants in front...
John Voelcker -
How Does The 2011 Chevy Volt Get 230 MPG? By Making Assumptions
UPDATE: GM confirms that the 2011 Chevrolet Volt will get 230 mpg city, and a composite fuel economy (city and highway) of more than 100 mpg according to draft regulations being developed at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). If the rumors are correct, this morning General Motors CEO Fritz...
John Voelcker -
Keep It Green: Add A Little PZEV To That Subaru!
Like CVT, which stands for continuously-variable transmission, PZEV is one of those acronyms floating around the auto world that mean nothing to most car buyers. It stands for Partial Zero-Emission Vehicle, one of a number of arcane emissions brackets created by the very aggressive California Air...
John Voelcker -
There's been a fair amount of grumbling about so-called "Prius perks," including parking spaces set aside for hybrid vehicles at Ikea, Whole Foods, and other retailers. In fact, the spaces--although designated "hybrid"--are more properly allocated to any alternative-fuel vehicle. That includes electric cars, natural-gas vehicles like the 2009 Honda Civic GX, perhaps even one of the world's several hundred hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. Parking perks, express lanes, and more Priority parking is one of an array of measures that helps a building achieve the US Building Council's LEED...
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Driving Green Becomes a Game, Now On Your iPhone
Even if you're not in a 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid, you too can grow green leaves on your dash display when you save fuel by driving with a light foot. Except in this case, the leaves appear on your iPhone 3G or 3G S, courtesy of Bliss Trek. It's the first eco-driving app for Apple's cult favorite...
John Voelcker -
2010 Toyota Prius Technology: Bidding Bye-Bye to the Bladder
Reading the reams of coverage pouring out on the 2010 Toyota Prius, we realized we hadn't covered one new feature that corrects an irritating problem with its predecessor, the 2004-2009 Prius hybrid. That was the earlier car's fuel "bladder" gas tank, a flexible membrane that expanded and...
John Voelcker -
Cars.com Survey: $4 Per Gallon Gas Spurs Interest In More Efficient Cars?
At first glance, a recent survey published by Cars.com appears to reinforce the idea that economics trump eco-consciousness when drivers choose which vehicles to buy. The survey, which polled 1,088 men and women over age 18 found that 40% of car shoppers would consider purchasing a more fuel...
Robert Scardino -
The Truth About Cars Reconsiders: 2010 Toyota Prius Is Fantastic
Three weeks ago, when Jay Shoemaker from The Truth About Cars reviewed the 2010 Toyota Prius, he didn't hold back. He hated it. Loathed it. Despised it. He didn't like the car, its looks, the driving experience, the interior, or the instruments. We poked some fun at him, and at the cranky...
John Voelcker -
Advanced Auto-Tech Loans Go To Tesla, Ford, and Nissan
US Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced the first three loans to be granted under the government's Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program. The lucky winners, totaling $8 billion worth of low-interest loans from the US Department of Energy: Ford, Nissan, and Tesla. FORD Amount...
John Voelcker