2012

  • 2012 Jeep Compass

    Earlier this month, the EPA announced a voluntary recall by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles of nearly 900,000 older vehicles for excessive emissions. The announcement may have raised eyebrows and prompted a few wagging fingers, but it was hardly new; last year automakers recalled more than 5 million vehicles in 85 separate recalls. Now, officials from the EPA say that those recalls of older vehicles for excess emissions may be more common and open. DON'T MISS: Not just diesel: FCA recalling 860K cars for emissions failure "(The) EPA is looking to make car owners more aware of emissions recalls so...

  • 2012 Chevrolet Volt crosses 300,000 miles, March 2016  [photo: owner Erick Belmer]
    Durable 2012 Chevrolet Volt: 300,000 miles, no battery loss

    One of the biggest worries about electric cars--and hybrids for that matter--is whether their expensive high-voltage battery packs will last the life of the car. If not, potential buyers worry, they may be saddled with thousands of dollars of cost in years to come. The evidence on hybrids is...

  • 2012 Fisker Karma from the Rogers' Classic Car Museum collection
    The New Fisker Is Live: Original Karma Owners Get Most Support

    A new Fisker website offers parts support for current owners.

  • 2012 Fisker Karma + Aero L-39 Albatros jet trainer, Hollister Municipal Airport, CA [by Refael Azi]
    Want A Fisker Karma? Lots Of Used Ones For Sale

    A significant number of used Fisker Karma sedans are currently available used.

  • 2012 Fisker Karma during road test, Los Angeles, Feb 2012
    Fisker To Be Renamed Elux, New Karma Not On Sale Before Next Year

    Chinese maker Wanxiang, which bought the defunct Fisker Automotive out of bankruptcy, will rename the carmaker Elux, according to a Reuters report this morning. The company has also pushed back the planned relaunch of the Karma range-extended electric sport sedan until at least the middle of next...

  • 2012 Fisker Karma during road test, Los Angeles, Feb 2012
    Fisker Karma Owners Can Soon Buy Spare Parts, Wanxiang Says

    Owners of the 2012 Fisker Karma range-extended electric luxury car got some good news last week: The company that now owns the carmaker has promised that supplies of spare parts will soon become available. Fisker stopped producing its striking sedan in July 2012 after it had built roughly 3,000 of...

  • 2012 Chevrolet Volt

    General Motors will perform free servicing to fix potentially low battery coolant in certain Chevy Volts.

  • 2012 Coda Sedan
    Coda Sedan Electric-Car Rolling Bodies For Sale On eBay

    The 2012 Coda Sedan electric car had a long, troubled gestation and a brief life before joining other failed automotive startups in the history books. But at least few hundred cars were built, all told, and now some of them are for sale as rolling "gliders," without their battery packs. If you...

  • 2012 Coda Sedan
    So What's A Brand-New (Defunct) Coda Sedan Electric Car Worth?

    For every success story in the electric car world, there's also a less than successful endeavor. Coda would find itself in the latter category. Years of hype deflated like a burst balloon when the company went bankrupt in May 2013. The company's cars are still available though, through a firm...

  • 2012 Fisker Karma
    Fisker Finally Files For Bankruptcy, DoE Loan Sold For $25 Million

    It's the news we've been expecting for over a year now: Fisker Automotive filed late Friday afternoon for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The range-extended electric car company has lain dormant for months now, while a frenzy of activity behind the scenes tried to secure its future at the hands...

  • sketch of wider, U.S.-specification 2012 Mitsubishi i-MiEV
    Will Next Mitsubishi i-MiEV Be Shared By Nissan Too?

    Six degrees of separation: The theory that every person on the planet is connected to every other person in six steps or fewer--Elon Musk perhaps, or his polar opposite, Jeremy Clarkson. The automotive world is similar. A new technology partnership between the Renault-Nissan Alliance and Mitsubishi...

  • 2012 Fisker Karma with owner Meurice Lefevre, Alpharetta, GA, Oct 2013
    Who's Still Buying Brand-New Fisker Karmas, And Why?

    The 2012 Fisker Karma remains a stunning car, regardless of its range-extended electric powertrain. While the struggling-though-not-yet-bankrupt company remains in limbo, with a purchase reported but not yet confirmed, it hasn't built cars since July 2012. MORE: 2012 Fisker Karma - full review The...

  • 2012 Fisker Karma

    Hands up all those of you who'd forgotten that Fisker Automotive still exists? The company might not have produced a car in over a year, but the struggling firm is still yet to declare bankruptcy too, as it sits in some kind of automotive hibernation until an investor or buyer can be found. Fisker is worth a mere fraction of the $1.4 billion that originally went into the company, including its $192 million Department of Energy loan. As AutoBild reports (via our sister site Motor Authority), a German group is said to be interested in acquiring the company, for a mere $25 million. The...

  • 2012 Chevrolet Volt
    2012 Chevrolet Volts--Just Four--Recalled For Brake Valve Glitch

    It just may be the most minimal safety recall in history. General Motors said yesterday it would recall precisely four 2012 Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric cars to fix a potential problem with a brake component that could have safety implications. As reported in The Detroit News, the company...

  • 2012 Fisker Karma during road test, Los Angeles, Feb 2012
    Orphaned Fisker Owners Offered $4K/Year Service Contract By...Whom?

    Fisker Karma owners are probably feeling a little abandoned right now. As investors pick over the company like vultures around a corpse in the desert, many owners might be wondering just how they'll get their expensive, luxury plug-in sedan serviced. That's where a company called Hybrid Support...

  • VL Automotive Destino with Bob Lutz at 2013 Detroit Auto Show
    What Now For Fisker Karma Owners: Are V-8s Their Likely Fate?

    The 2012 Fisker Karma is one of the most striking vehicles on the road today. It's also on its way to becoming an orphan. With just 2,000 or so made, the low, sleek four-door luxury sport sedan and its range-extended electric drivetrain haven't been produced for 10 months. Some dealers have...

  • 2012 Coda Sedan
    Electric-Car Startup Coda Automotive Files For Bankruptcy

    Coda Automotive has become the latest casualty of the cut-throat electric car industry, today filing for bankruptcy. The company will dissolve the carmaking business and instead put its efforts into Coda Energy, a stationary battery storage business it started in 2011. According to The Detroit...

  • 2012 Fisker Karma EcoChic, New York City, Jan 2012
    Fisker Karma: Range Extended Electric Car Ultimate Guide

    Make a car desirable enough, and people will buy it whatever is powering the wheels. That's the theory anyway, but in a world of unease over the suitability of electric cars, the Henrik Fisker has taken the more comfortable, usable route to creating an electric car: The range-extended Fisker Karma...

  • 2012 Fisker Karma

    If you grew up in the early 90s, or were the parent or older sibling of someone growing up in the early 90s, you'll remember the Captain Planet cartoon. The environmental superhero always managed to vanquish whichever malevolent polluter was doing their dirty deed, thanks to his ring-wearing assistants, able to summon him at will. His name continues to help people today by funding and supporting environmental projects with children explains Autoblog Green. 200 people can help the Captain Planet Foundation just a little more--by buying a $500 raffle ticket. The prize? Two years' lease of a...

  • All-new 2012 Ford Focus Electric
    Ford Boost Dealers Selling Plug-In Electric Cars To 900

    If you're trying to get your hands on a plug-in Ford, it should soon get a little easier. Ford will more than quadrouple the number of dealers able to sell its plug-in models, the Ford Focus Electric, C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid and Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid this year. According to The Detroit...

  • Mitsubishi i $69 per month lease deal
    Mitsubishi i In Cheapest Electric Car Lease Yet: $69 Per Month

    If you're eager to get behind the wheel of an electric car, then there are few cheaper ways of doing it than one lease deal from an Illinois Mitsubishi dealer. O'Brien Mitsubishi in Normal, IL, is offering a new Mitsubishi i electric car for lease from just $69 per month over 24 months--far less...

  • Ad for 2012 Coda Sedan priced at $25,000, from Coda Silicon Valley dealer, January 2013
    2012 Coda Sedan Electric Car Price Slashed to $25,000

    Coda Automotive, the startup maker that builds the 2012 Coda Sedan electric car, is going through some very tough times. But it looks like one of its three dealers is trying to figure out the right price point for the all-electric compact sedan--which was originally priced at $38,145, including a...

  • 2012 Tesla Model S
    How Many Tesla Model S Electric Cars Were Built In 2012? How Many Sold?

    It may be the most eagerly sought piece of information in the plug-in electric car world. And Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] ain't talking. The company has a set policy of not disclosing monthly sales figures or production figures until it has to by law. So it'll be another month or so before we know how...

  • 2012 Coda Sedan
    Coda Woes Deepen: More Layoffs, Electric-Car Store Closed

    The storm clouds continue to darken over electric-car startup Coda Automotive. The day after Christmas, the company announced on its Facebook page that it had closed its Coda Experience Center showroom in the Westfield Mall Century City. Then, last Friday, Coda laid off more staff. That day, the...

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