2011 Detroit Auto Show
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Possibly the most rapturously received vehicle at last week's Detroit Auto Show was the Porsche 918 RSR coupe, a hybrid race car that isn't even street-legal. And it's about as far from the quintessential Toyota Prius hybrid as you could get. It doesn't use a battery pack at all, in fact, but the flywheel-based Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) that the company's engineers first installed in the one-off Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid factory racer. After a heart-breaking retirement less than two hours before the end of the 24 Hours of Nurburgring this summer, that car (running in a class of...
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Now We Know: This Will Be The New 2012 Ford Escape Hybrid
Ford was clearly one of the stars of last week's Detroit Auto Show, launching green vehicles and concepts across a wide range of fuel-saving technologies. The company unveiled just a single concept, the Vertrek crossover, but it's an important one. The production version of the Vertrek will be the...
John Voelcker -
Five Questions: Peter Rawlinson, Tesla Motors Chief Engineer
If Tesla Motors had a single message to convey at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show, it was this: We're a real car company. Rather than show a completed prototype of its Model S all-electric luxury sports sedan, scheduled to launch by the end of 2012, the company showed the car's shell. That allowed other...
John Voelcker -
Why The 2011 Chevy Volt Won North American Car of the Year
Earlier this week the judges in the North American Car of the Year announced that the 2011 Chevrolet Volt had won the coveted NACOTY prize. At the press conference kicking off the start of the 2011 Detroit Auto Show, the NACTOY team announced that the 50 or so automotive journalists representing a...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2011 Detroit Auto Show: Electric Car Round-Up
Between the wreck of a Volvo and a $300k Mercedes supercar, the 2011 Detroit Auto show is giving the electric car fan plenty of variety, so if you're planning to visit the show between now and closing time on January 23, here are the electric vehicles you should make the time to see and the EV...
Antony Ingram -
Revolutionary or Flop? Li-Ion Struggles With Reservations
Last year Li-Ion Motors were crowned winners of the Progressive Insurance X-Prize Alternative Side-by-Side category with their suitably unusual Wave II electric car. Amidst all the controversy surrounding the X-Prize results and allegations of misconduct and fraud, court cases and even a U.S...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Despite thousands of automotive gasoline fires in the U.S. every year, we've pretty much normalized the risks of the highly explosive liquid that we use to fuel our cars. But for electric cars, there's a whole new set of potential fears. One may be driving through water--it's not like tossing a toaster into a bathtub--and another may be the possibility of accidents, a concern particularly top-of-mind for emergency first responders. Volvo, of all automakers, may be best positioned to alleviate any fears of errant electricity in crashes involving electric cars. While Chevrolet has shown a photo...
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2011 Detroit Auto Show: Sexy Electric Mercedes SLS AMG Due 2013
If the shots we showed you last year of Mercedes-Benz’s electric offering on the now iconic SLS AMG super-car were enough to get your juices flowing, you’ll be pleased to know that Mercedes announced yesterday at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show that the all-electric SLS AMG E-Cell will be...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2011 Detroit Auto Show: 2012 Audi A6 Hybrid
Audi loves clean diesels, but the German automaker certainly hasn't stacked its entire deck with them. In addition to the upcoming 2012 Audi Q5 Hybrid and the brand's e-Tron electric sports cars in the pipeline, it's now taking hybrids and electric cars seriously, too. And one of Audi's best...
Bengt Halvorson -
Ed Begley, Jr. Launches Ford’s Electric Car War On Chevrolet, Nissan (VIDEO)
Choosing a spokesperson for a new brand is pretty tough, especially if someone else has already had a go at selling what you’re trying to. NIssan chose world-champion cyclist Lance Armstrong to be their public face on early Nissan LEAF commercials. It appears Ford has chosen American actor...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2011 Detroit Auto Show: Tesla Celebrates 1500 Roadsters Sold
Tesla celebrated the start of the 2011 Detroit Auto Show today by announcing that it had now sold over 1,500 of its iconic electric sports car, the Tesla Roadster. It was November 18, 2006 when we were first shown the sexy two-door car that very few believed could be as good as the then unknown...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2011 Detroit Auto Show: Toyota Prius C Compact Hybrid Concept
As part of the family of four Toyota Prius hybrids that the carmaker unveiled at the today's Detroit Auto Show, it showed a concept for a new, compact Prius hatchback. Low, edgy, and relatively sleek for a highly aerodynamic Kamm-tailed car, the Prius C concept is actually Toyota's second concept...
John Voelcker -
Auto show press conferences sometimes resemble mosh pits, but savvy photographers know how to get the best angles while protecting vulnerable body parts. Photographer Joe Nuxoll got most of these shots from the event where Toyota launched its 2012 Prius V multi-purpose vehicle (or, for those of us who are more old-school, station wagon). The 2012 Toyota Prius V is the first of a family of Prius vehicles that will include the standard 2011 Prius five-door hatchback, the Prius Plug-In Hybrid that will appear in dealerships in the first half of 2012, a new smaller compact "Prius C" hatchback...
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2011 Detroit Auto Show: 2012 Toyota Prius V, Wagon / Minivan
At 50 miles per gallon, the 2011 Toyota Prius five-door hatchback is the most fuel-efficient car sold in the U.S. But, says Toyota, its customers told the company they needed more room--for people, for stuff, for stretching out. So the quintessential Prius hybrid is becoming not just a vehicle but...
John Voelcker -
2011 Detroit Auto Show: Ford Focus, C-Max, Vertrek Photo Gallery
From the moment Ford CEO Alan Mulally drove onstage in a 2012 Ford Focus ST, the first of half a dozen new compact Ford models, it was all about small cars. There were small fast cars (that Focus ST) and small gasoline cars (the four-door Focus sedan and five-door Focus hatchback). There was the...
John Voelcker -
2011 Detroit Auto Show: Ford In Love With Electric Cars
Just a few days after unveiling the 2012 Ford Focus Electric at the 2011 Consumer Electrics Show in Las Vegas, Ford has expanded its green fleet for 2012/13 with yet another plug in vehicle: The C-MAX Energi Plug-in Hybrid From the specifications and the way Ford is talking about its new vehicles...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2012 BYD e6 Electric Crossover To Cost $35,000, 200-Mile Range
Later today at the Detroit Auto Show, Chinese carmaker BYD will take the wraps off a new incarnation of the e6 crossover it's shown twice before. This time, however, it comes with an upgraded interior, a more powerful drive motor, and a price: $35,000 before incentives. The company hopes to offer...
John Voelcker -
2011 Chevrolet Volt Electric: North American Car of the Year
It's been quite a year for the 2011 Chevy Volt, GM's range-extended electric car that went on sale last month. It garnered a slew of awards from various car magazines and other auto media, and now it's capped the year by winning the prestigious North American Car of the Year award. Voted on by...
John Voelcker -
While Toyota dominates global hybrid production, Ford was the first company to launch a hybrid SUV: the Ford Escape Hybrid, in 2004. Now, Ford is pioneering another hybrid model: the small minivan, or as Europeans call it, the people carrier. Hybrid mini-minivan Between 10 and 10:30 am today at the Detroit Auto Show, Ford will pull the wraps off a pair of hybrid 5-seat small minivans: the C-Max Hybrid, and the plug-in hybrid C-Max Energi. They will be launched roughly three hours ahead of another hybrid small minivan, the Toyota Prius V, which will be unveiled shortly after 1 pm the same day...
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2012 Ford Focus Electric NYC Debut: What You Need To Know
As you may have seen by now, the 2012 Ford Focus Electric was officially launched today at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas by Ford CEO Alan Mulally. At the very same time, another notable executive--Bill Ford--unveiled it in New York City. He covered the same production details that were...
John Voelcker -
Coming Soon to Best Buy: Electric Car Home Charging Stations
Until recently, getting Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) installed in your home required you to go directly to the manufacturers of the equipment, or buy direct from your electric car dealer. But in a deal announced today at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show, Ford and Best Buy announced...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2012 Ford Focus Electric Unveiled by CEO at CES
Earlier this week Ford hinted on the social media network site Facebook that it had plans to unveil an all-electric car at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. From the shots it released, we guessed the announcement would include an all-electric Focus. As suspected, Ford CEO Allan...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2011 Detroit Auto Show: Electric Car Preview
The Holidays are over, the New Year celebrated, which means it’s the time of year when the auto-world descends on Detroit for the North American International Motor Show. Held over the coming two weeks, it will showcase the very latest in automotive design, innovation and technology. Last...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2011 Detroit Auto Show Preview: 2012 BYD e6 Electric Crossover, Plug-In Hybrid Sedans
Now that the 2011 Nissan Leaf and 2011 Chevy Volt have reached showrooms--a handful of them, anyhow--a new crop of electric vehicles will launch into the market for 2011. One of those may be the e6 all-electric crossover built by Chinese manufacturer BYD. Famed financier Warren Buffet was so...
John Voelcker