Vans
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You can save a lot of money by improving the fuel economy of larger and thirstier vehicles, especially if they cover lots of miles each year. That's why business owners are usually considered to be more rational vehicle buyers than retail customers: The fleet vehicles often consume twice the fuel or more of an average family vehicle. DON'T MISS: 2015 Ram ProMaster City Small Van To Compete With Ford Transit Connect Yet for a long time, even as hybrids grew to 3 percent of the U.S. market and corporate average fuel economy standards took effect for 2012 vehicles, one segment persisted with...
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Ford Transit Van Gets Add-In Hybrid Kit For Better Fuel Economy
XL Hybrids unveils a conversion kit for the Ford Transit full-size van.
Stephen Edelstein -
More Olympics Green Cars: Soviet Hydrogen-Gasoline Minibuses Of 1980
The Soviet Union deployed hydrogen-gasoline prototype vehicles at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
Stephen Edelstein -
Nissan 'Ultimate Smart BBQ' Electric Van: Feast Your Eyes, Feed Your Body
Nissan turns an e-NV200 electric van into a barbecue on wheels.
Stephen Edelstein -
U.S.P.S. 'Long Life' Vehicles Last 25 Years, But Age Shows Now
The U.S. Postal Service seeks a new vehicle type to replace its aging fleet.
Stephen Edelstein -
Deliveries Of Via Motors Range-Extended Electric Vans Start After EPA Certification
Via Motors has begun delivering its Chevrolet Express-based vans following EPA certification.
Stephen Edelstein -
Coca-Cola plans to have over 200 hybrid-van conversions in operation by 2015.
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VW Westfalia Camper Van Spiritual Successor: Nissan e-NV200 Camper
A British company introduces a camper conversion for the Nissan e-NV200 electric van.
Stephen Edelstein -
FedEx Tests Wrightspeed Electric Trucks With Diesel Turbine Range Extender
While electric passenger vehicles get the lion's share of public attention, commercial trucks are often as good or better for electric drive. With a huge global fleet and a constant drive to reduce emissions and fuel costs while improving efficiency and delivery speed, FedEx has long tested...
John Voelcker -
Chevrolet Express, GMC Savana Natural-Gas Vans Recall: Leak Poses Fire Risk
General Motors is recalling Chevy and GMC vans to fix possible natural-gas leaks.
Stephen Edelstein -
Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-In Hybrid: Van Model For Europe, But Still A Year Away For U.S.
American buyers are still enduring what seems like an interminable wait for the Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-In Hybrid. Over in Europe however the plug-in crossover has been on sale for a few months now--and Mitsubishi is adding another variant to the range. Unusually, reports Motoring Research, it's...
Antony Ingram -
Nissan NYC 'Taxi Of Tomorrow': Not Fast, But Great For Riders
If you're driving into rural areas to spend time with nature, there's nothing more noticeable than a bright yellow New York City taxi cab to do it in. A couple of months ago, we had a chance to test out Nissan's new "Taxi of Tomorrow" for New York City, based on its NV200 small commercial van--but...
John Voelcker -
Chevrolet has announced full details of its 2015 City Express van, launched at this year's Chicago Auto Show. Basically a rebadged version of Nissan's NV200 van--best-known in its more fenestrated guise as New York City's "Taxi of Tomorrow"--the City Express promises greater fuel efficiency than full-size vans. The front-wheel drive City Express uses a 2-liter inline-four cylinder engine producing 131 horsepower and 139 pounds-feet of torque. To make the most of the engine's power and torque delivery (and to maximize efficiency), it features a standard continuously-variable transmission...
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Nissan e-NV200 Electric Vans Join FedEx Trial Fleet
On the back of successful trial programs in other countries, delivery giant FedEx will trial a fleet of Nissan e-NV200 vans this year. The all-electric cargo van has already been tested by FedEx in Japan, Singapore, the United Kingdom and Brazil, but now Nissan and FedEx are teaming up for U.S...
Antony Ingram -
2015 Ram ProMaster City Small Van To Compete With Ford Transit Connect
The 2015 Ram ProMaster City is the latest compact van to be sold in the U.S.
Stephen Edelstein -
Via Motors Range-Extended Electric Cargo Van Completes Crash Testing
Via says its Chevrolet Express-based plug-in van will return 100 mpg in mixed driving.
Stephen Edelstein -
The Missing MINI Model: Clubvan Withdrawn After Just 50 Sales
We've always liked small vans, especially those derived from wagons--as rare as wagons are these days. But it turns out that the latest small van--the 2013 MINI Clubvan--both arrived in the U.S. and departed again, pretty much before anyone noticed. We had dropped a line asking about the little...
John Voelcker -
Build Your Own Ford Transit Connect Electric: Gliders On eBay
Remember the now-defunct Ford Transit Connect Electric? It was the all-electric conversion of the Transit Connect delivery van that actually sank Azure Dynamics, which declared bankruptcy in March 2012 after sales fell short of projections. If you've always wanted one, now's your chance. But...
John Voelcker -
This morning, Chevrolet announced that in the fall of 2014, it will start selling a small commercial van called the City Express in the U.S. and Canada. That van will be provided by Nissan, which already sells it as the NV200, with the substitution of a Chevrolet grille and badges. All-electric Chevy van? Here's our question: Since it's well known that Nissan is testing an all-electric version of the NV200 and plans to offer it for sale too within a few years, could Chevy end up selling an all-electric van as well? We asked both Chevrolet and Nissan that question. Nissan corporate...
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Nissan Happy With eNV200 Electric Van Testing, Drivers Happy Too
Regular readers may be familiar with the Nissan NV200 van, soon to be pressed into service in New York City as the much vaunted/maligned (delete as appropriate) "Taxi of Tomorrow". You may also be aware that Nissan is testing an electric version, the eNV200. It's currently in test fleets across the...
Antony Ingram -
Volkswagen e-Co-Motion: Electric Delivery Van At Geneva Motor Show
Electric delivery vans are a relatively unexplored area of the market, yet they make a surprising amount of sense. In many cases, a delivery vehicle will cover relatively modest daily mileage, from depot to various drop-offs and back again--spending much of that time standing still, when being...
Antony Ingram -
2014 Ford Transit Connect Unveiled, New Compact Delivery Van
When Ford launched the Transit Connect small commercial van as a 2010 model, it was a new kind of vehicle. Its closest counterpart was the Chevy Astro van, discontinued in 2005. And by 2010, the Transit Connect had been in production for almost a decade in Europe and elsewhere. Now there's an...
John Voelcker -
Revolve Launches New European Plug-In Hybrid Delivery Van
Hope springs eternal, as Alexander Pope notably said, and so it is in the world of plug-in hybrid vehicles. A new British partnership has unveiled two drivable prototypes of a lightweight plug-in electric urban delivery van with a small diesel range extender. The two companies, Intelligent Energy...
John Voelcker -
Azure Dynamics Bankrupt, Built Ford Transit Connect Electric
Well, that's not particularly good news: Azure Dynamics, the company that converted a handful of Ford Transit Connect small commercial vans to electric power, filed for bankruptcy on Monday. It laid off about 120 employees at a variety of locations in MIchigan, Massachusetts, Canada, and the United...
John Voelcker