2011
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The eagerly awaited 2011 Ford Fiesta subcompact has had more than its share of challenges, but Ford wants you to know it has resumed shipping the little sedan and hatchback models. New ones should be showing up at your dealer within days. The latest issue was a problem in an unidentified part that caused Ford to issue a stop-shipment order until it could determine whether potentially faulty parts had been fitted to vehicles. The problem was fixed and shipments have now resumed. Sources from inside Ford told Automotive News that the part was a seat lever, although that could not be confirmed...
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The First Minicar To Win IIHS Top Safety Pick AwardFord Adds Another Success To The Already Popular Fiesta
Jonathan McGrew -
2011 Ford Fiesta: Hatch Versus SedanFrom A Style Perspective The Hatch Is Totally The Way To Go
Jonathan McGrew -
2011 Ford Fiesta Gets IIHS Top Safety Pick, First Subcompact To Do SoYou've probably heard it through the years: "I'd love to drive a small car but, you know, they're just not safe." Sometimes it's followed by: "That's why I got a [insert name of gigantic SUV], to protect my family." (Which isn't necessarily true.) But now you can conclusively rebut those tired old...
John Voelcker -
Tomorrow's Power Today? New Battery Is Most Powerful EverThe electric motor is a great invention, but it's entirely limited by the power that the battery can feed to it, and that power is limited by the amount of energy the battery can store. Battery technology is in constant development behind the scenes, though, and the latest to emerge in research at...
Antony Ingram -
Ford Fiesta Back At The Shipping ChannelsAfter A Brief Stop-Shipment Order, Ford Is Ready To Ship Again
Jonathan McGrew -
Remember how we found out a few weeks ago that some Nissan dealers in the U.K. were blissfully unaware of specifics of Nissan's first publicly sold production electric car? According to the dealers we spoke to, the 2011 Nissan Leaf would charge to full in ten minutes, would not be eligible for purchase assistance grants or credits and was only being sold because governments around the world were forcing Nissan to. But as we soon found out, the dealer we spoke to had yet to be trained on Nissan's eco-baby. Why? Nissan doesn't plan to train every dealer from the first day. It makes sense...
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Ford Saves Scrap Steel, Stamps Explorer Parts From Pickup LeftoversA century ago, Henry Ford was known for insisting that parts be shipped to his factories in wooden crates whose slats were sized so they could be reused to build parts of the Model T body. Now a similar spirit of saving scrap is being used to stamp fender baffles for the new 2011 Ford Explorer out...
John Voelcker -
BYD Embroiled In Court Case, Puts Back Plans to Go PublicBuild Your Dreams, one of China's largest battery and electric vehicle companies, has been telling us for months that it plans to bring affordable, competitive and safe electric vehicles to the U.S. market very soon. But as the months roll on, BYD's claim to get a car to market sooner rather than...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
GM China Confirms Development of All-Electric Sail ConceptGeneral Motors has been through the wringer over the last 18 months, nowhere more so than in North America, where it declared bankruptcy and was quickly restructured with $60 billion of Federal funds. But its overseas operations haven't had an easy time of it either, including its on-again...
John Voelcker -
2011 Chevrolet Volt Price Gouging Banned At AutoNationEarlier this month, sister-site Green Car Reports posted news about less-than-scrupulous dealers already telling potential customers for the upcoming 2011 Chevrolet Volt that there might be a significant markup--as much as $20,000--on the first batch of cars because of limited supply. And as...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Coda Automotive Aims For Perfect Sales Cadence To End 2010The end of 2010 is seen by many in the automotive industry as the first hurdle for many budding electric car companies. By the end of 2010 both Chevrolet and Nissan will have plug in vehicles on the market, both at prices that will outcompete much of the competition. For the smaller automakers...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Scion Takes A Crack At Enticing the Youth Market
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2011 Ford Fiesta: Taking Ford’s Newest Small Car For a SpinDoes the New Fiesta Live Up To the Hype?
Jonathan McGrew -
Video: Six 2011 Chevrolet Volts On Pikes PeakChevrolet continues testing of the Volt on Pikes Peak to ensure it's ready for the harshest real-world environments.
Nelson Ireson -
Up From the Ashes: CA Refits 10-Year-Old EV Charging StationsEverything old is new again. At least that's the hope of the California Energy Commission (CEC), who have just announced that they will be overhauling many of California's old charging stations. California has long been the at the centre of EV development and thanks to several EV programmes in the...
Antony Ingram -
AutoNation Promises 2011 Volt, Leaf To Sell For Sticker PriceJust as dealers have to discount unpopular cars, they often add "surcharges" to models where demand outstrips supply. It's auto dealership yin and yang, or something. Now mega-dealer chain AutoNation has drawn a line in the sand, flatly stating that its dealers will sell their limited allocation of...
John Voelcker -
Charging the 2011 Chevrolet Volt: What You Need To KnowWe've covered the 2011 Chevy Volt a lot here at AllCarsElectric.com, and for good reason. It'll be one of the first affordable and usable EVs to hit the market. Of course, it isn't just a simple electric vehicle. The Volt uses a small gasoline engine as a range extender to allow the Volt to travel...
Antony Ingram -
Despite initial purchase prices higher than those for gasoline cars of equivalent performance (before incentives, anyway), electric cars undisputably cost less to run. Not only does the grid electricity to drive a mile cost just half to one-fifth the cost of the gasoline to go the same distance, but electric cars have far fewer maintenance items. What's missing? A 2011 Nissan Leaf requires no: oil changes spark plugs air filter transmission fluid muffler radiator hoses or flushes It has no check-engine light, and its brake pads are likely to last much longer than those in conventional cars...
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MTTS2010: MINI Puts the M In Community Across the U.S.From the Countryman to a Wedding Ceremony MINI Brings People Together
Jonathan McGrew -
Recharging Electric Cars Away From Home: What To ExpectIf there's one thing any advocate of the electric car gets asked more than anything else, it's about range: "How far will it go? How long does it take to recharge? 8 hours!? I'd take me weeks to travel across the country!..." Help is at hand though, as there are several organizations here in the...
Antony Ingram -
Innovative Cambered Tire Helps Saves Fuel, Boost HandlingWe already know that it’s possible to curb your fuel consumption just by having your tires properly inflated, or better yet, installing a set of low rolling-resistance tires, however, soon there may be an additional avenue to look at when picking the most fuel efficient rubber for your ride. The...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
What Do Nissan Dealers Really Know About The 2011 Leaf?It's hardly a secret that the 2011 Nissan Leaf is one of the most anticipated electric cars this year. Nissan now has over 20,000 customers who have paid $99 to be placed on the waiting list, securing a place in electric car history. But as with any new car roll-out, those who eagerly sign up for a...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Who's Buying Green Cars? Not Only Consumers, But Big Fleets TooMost of the focus on new green cars--like the 2011 Nissan Leaf, the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, and a slew of new and existing hybrids--has been on how consumers will adapt to them. But in fact, a portion of early years' production of any of those cars is likely to go into car fleets maintained by state...
John Voelcker