Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield, Contributing Writer
Articles
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When General Motors launched the Chevrolet Volt back in 2010, the plug-in hybrid increased GM’s market share by bringing customers to the brand who would have never before thought of purchasing...
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2012 Nissan Leaf Lease Now $219 A Month, Incentives Increase
With ongoing consumer concerns about battery longevity in hot climates, not to mention an all-new 2013 Leaf electric car just around the corner, NIssan has dropped the price of leasing a 2012 model. According to The Washington Post, Nissan started September with enough 2012 Leafs in its inventory...
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2013 Nissan Altima Gets Five-Star NCAP Crash-Test Rating
With all eyes turned to the 2012 Paris Auto Show, Nissan has quietly announced that its all-new 2013 Nissan Altima has been awarded a 5-star overall rating by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in its New car Assessment Program (NCAP) Awarded top marks for both frontal crash and...
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2013 Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid Sold Out Before European Launch
Yesterday, at the 2012 Paris Auto Show, Volvo quietly announced that it had sold out of its first-year allocation of V60 diesel plug-in hybrid wagons, well before the model’s official showroom launch. While it won’t be making the trip to the U.S., the oil-burning plug-in hybrid wagon...
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2013 Honda CR-Z Hybrid Gets Better Acceleration, Boost Mode
The Honda CR-Z mild-hybrid sports coupe will get some evolutionary, not revolutionary, changes for the 2013 model year, the automaker has announced at the 2012 Paris Auto Show. From a distance, the 2013 CR-Z looks very similar to the 2012 model, but on closer inspection the redesigned fascia...
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2013 Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in Hybrid Gallery: 2012 Paris Auto Show
As far as plug-in cars go, the 2013 Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV) has to be one of the most important vehicles making its debut this year at the Paris Auto Show. The first vehicle to launch under Mitsubishi’s ambitious goals to offer plug-in hybrid or all-electric versions of...
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Yesterday, a local news station in Phoenix, Arizona, confirmed that Nissan has agreed to buy back wilting Leaf electric cars from their owners under the state’s Lemon Law.
The news comes less...
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2012 Paris Auto Show: BMW Concept Active Tourer Gallery
For as long as we can remember, BMW has ignored the pull of front-wheel drive cars, preferring to stick with the performance-oriented rear-wheel drive setup that has served it well for decades. But at this year’s Paris Auto Show, the German automaker has unveiled a car that we once described...
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VW Unveils High-Mileage Diesel Golf In Paris That The U.S. Won’t Get
As today marks the start of the 2012 Paris Auto Show, we’re likely to see lots of interesting green cars over the next few days that we’ll never see in the U.S. Among them, the all-new 2014 Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion diesel, capable of a claimed 88.3 mpg imperial, or 73.5 mpg U.S...
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2013 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Electric Drive: Sexy, But Expensive
A few years ago, Mercedes-Benz teased us with the possibility that it would be building an all-electric version of its iconic gullwing supercar, the SLS AMG. Today, on the opening day of the 2012 Paris Auto Show, Mercedes-Benz gave us the news we’d all been waiting for: the 2013 SLS AMG...
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Hyundai Announces Hydrogen Fuel Cell Tucson: 2012 Paris Auto Show
This morning at the 2012 Paris Auto Show, South Korean automaker Hyundai has announced its intentions to begin series production of a hydrogen fuel-cell electric car. Based on the i35 compact crossover SUV, sold in the U.S. as the Hyundai Tucson, the ix35 Fuel Cell will be built from December this...
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2013 Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in Hybrid Makes World Premiere In Paris
We’ve known about it for many months, but Mitsubishi has finally unveiled the production version of the 2013 Outlander Plug-in Hybrid at the 2012 Paris Auto Show. Referred to by Mitsubishi as being a ‘no-compromise’ vehicle, the Outlander PHEV is a series-parallel, full hybrid...
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It’s been six days since results of an independent test were published showing that Nissan Leaf electric cars in hot climates were suffering from premature range loss, and four days since...
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Electric-Car Charging Etiquette: Battery Electrics Better Than Plug-in Hybrids?
Thanks to an increasing number of public charging stations, finding a place to recharge your electric car or plug-in hybrid is easier than ever before. With recharging of a fully empty car like a 2012 Nissan Leaf taking up to 8 hours at a public level 2 charging station however, how should access...
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U.S. Car Buyers Like Hybrids, Europeans Go For Diesels; Why?
If you’re a car buyer in the U.S. looking for a high gas-mileage car, the chances are you’re going to choose a hybrid car for your next vehicle. In Europe, however, hybrid cars are generally shunned by car buyers in preference of high gas-mileage diesel cars. But why do U.S. car buyers...
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2013 Chevrolet Sonic Recalled For Faulty Turn Signals
At the end of last week, Chevrolet posted an official recall notice for all 2013 Sonic cars after it discovered a fault in the system responsible for detecting a blown turn signal bulb. Under normal operation, the unit, called the Body Control Module (BCM) should detect when a turn signal lamp has...
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Nissan To Sell All-Electric Seven-Seat Minivan In Europe
Except for the 2012 Tesla Model S, there are no seven-seat all-electric vehicles for sale on the market today. Earlier this week, however, Nissan confirmed that it plans to sell a seven-seat minivan variant of the e-NV200 all-electric van in Europe when it enters production next year. Based on the...
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GM’s Aluminum Welding Process Means Lighter Cars, Better Gas Mileage
As long as the auto industry has existed, various automated and non-automated processes have been developed to bond two or more pieces of metal together through the art of welding. Normally, how a car is welded together would be of little interest to the average car buyer. However, improvements in...
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Last October, at the official launch of the 2012 Tesla Model S, we told you about Tesla’s plans to build a network of “Superchargers”: fast-charging stations that could add up to...
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Bob Lutz: Gas Mileage Rules Will Make 15 Percent Of All Cars Plug-in By 2022
Earlier this year, when the EPA confirmed new Corporate Average Fuel Economy gas mileage standards of 54.5 mpg by 2025, we told you that it would equate to greener, cleaner cars which cost less to fuel and pollute less. But according to veteran automotive executive Bob Lutz, the new gas mileage...
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Audi Builds ‘Coasting Hybrid’, Saves Gas With Gravity
Over the past few years, using the term ‘hybrid’ when describing a car makes it appear instantly greener to an increasingly gas-mileage obsessed public. In fact, in some situations, using that particular word can even make a high-performance luxury car seem more desirable, even sexier...
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To Get Better Gas Mileage, How Much Should You Cut Your Speed?
It’s fair bet that by now, we all know gas mileage depends on many factors, including how well-maintained a car is, the pressure of the tires, how full the car is, and the road and weather conditions at the time. How fast you drive also affects your gas mileage, with the energy required to...
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Nissan Launches Global Leaf Advisory Board For Better Electric-Car Understanding
For the past few months, Nissan has been investigating cases of premature battery aging and lost range in its Leaf electric car, particularly in hot climates like Arizona. Amidst continuing pressure from Leaf owners, however, and with the results of an independent Leaf range test proving that some...
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Nissan e-NV200 Electric Van Headed To U.S. For Testing
Over the past year, we’ve seen quite a bit of Nissan’s e-NV200, an all-electric minivan, and its taxi-based variant. A cross between the gasoline NV2000, a minivan produced by Nissan in Europe and Japan to rival the Ford Transit, and the 2012 Nissan Leaf, we first heard about the...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield