2012

  • 2012 Audi Q5 Hybrid

    Audi has aggressively pushed its clean diesel models in the U.S., including the Audi Q7 TDI luxury sport-utility vehicle. But even the company that wins Le Mans Series races with its turbodiesel race cars is hedging its bets with hybrids. Today Audi released the first video of its upcoming 2012 Audi Q5 Hybrid, the compact sport-utility vehicle it will launch next week at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show. The Q5 Hybrid uses a 2.0-liter gasoline TFSI engine that produces 208 horsepower, mated to a relatively powerful 33-kilowatt (44-horsepower) electric motor between the engine and transmission...

  • 2011 Chevrolet Cruze
    Chevrolet Cruze RS Production Starts After Quality Delay

    The Chevrolet Cruze has been getting a lot of good press from the safety ratings to the interesting commercials they have been running to the Department 180 in-depth video on how Chevrolet is making sure the Cruze is durable. GM ran into a little snag back in October when they announced that they...

  • 2007 Volkswagen up! concept
    2012 VW Up Minicar On Sale In Europe Next Year, Already Priced

    VW hasn't yet unveiled the final version of its upcoming Up minicar, which will be smaller than the smallest vehicle it sells in Europe today, the Volkswagen Polo subcompact. But the company has already discussed the car's price there: around 10,000 Euros, or about $14,100 at today's exchange rate...

  • Map of the U.S.A.
    Top 10 Cities For Commuting By Electric Car

    We've taken a look recently at the five EVs we're most looking forward to driving, and another look at the five EVs you should do your best to see at the upcoming 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show. We're clearly at the beginning of something big for personal transportation, an age where electric travel is...

  • BMW prototype based on Vision EfficientDynamics concept
    BMW Green: Plug-In Hybrid Sports Coupe, MegaCity Plant OKed

    BMW is moving full steam ahead with its plans to offer new, radically more fuel efficient vehicles in the next decade. Today, the company said it would put its striking Vision EfficientDynamics concept car into production, to be offered for sale starting in October 2013. And, it signed off on an...

  • 2010 Nissan New Mobility Concept
    Report: Three More Nissan EVs Coming After Leaf

    Deliveries of the 2012 Nissan Leaf is about to start in just over a month but attention is already turning to what Nissan has in store for us next in the area of electric vehicles. The automaker recently showed off a new concept vehicle dubbed the New Mobility Concept, essentially a rebadged...

  • 2011 Audi A4 TDI

    German automakers have spent time and money on ad campaigns promoting clean diesels as the better way to improve fuel economy, so far with limited results. But that could change when Audi brings a TDI diesel version of its best-selling A4 model to the U.S. So far, its only TDI offerings are the Q7 full-size SUV and the A3 hatchback, neither one a high-volume model for Audi in the States. Starting what will likely be a lengthy campaign to convince luxury sports sedan buyers that diesel is sporty as well as economical, Audi released the results of an A4 TDI fuel efficiency test on the European...

  • AMP Electric converted Chevrolet Equinox electric crossover, Detroit, October 2010
    AMP Electric Thinks Soccer Moms Want Electric Equinoxes; Do They?

    Attending a conference in Detroit a couple of weeks ago, we had the chance to drive a converted "Amp'd Chevrolet Equinox" crossover, offered by AMP Electric Vehicles. Based in Cleveland, the company hopes to sell electric conversions of "best of class" vehicles in several segments to early adopting...

  • 2011 Chevy Cruze EV
    Want To See GM’s Next Electric Car? Head To Seoul G20 Summit

    If you look at the 2011 Chevrolet Volt and malign its on-board gasoline-powered range extending engine then you’re unlikely to be a huge fan of general motors at the moment. But that could all change, if you’re lucky enough to be in Seoul, South Korea later this month. While...

  • Fiesta iPad App
    Subcompacts and Compacts Last To Offer Roll-up Windows

    Ever wonder if you can still get a car with roll-up windows? For those of you that have only ever know electric windows, we are talking about manual windows. Most people attribute manual windows to economy cars now, but the truth is that even in the economy segment mostly come with electric...

  • HPP Custom Chevrolet Camaro And Firebird
    Missing the ’69 Trans Am? HPP Has You Covered

    Since the debut of the 2010 Camaro, we have seen a number of interesting things from the customizing sector, including the T-Top Camaro we reported on earlier this month. However, with the Pontiac brand being a thing of the past, there are people looking for something that GM just isn’t going...

  • Prokhorov CityCar natural-gas hybrid vehicle, design prototype
    Russian Billionaire Gets Gassy To Go Green: Prokhorov City Car

    Russia. Onion domes, remnants of Communism, enormous natural-gas reserves, and a fierce love of Vodka. These elements have now somehow combined to convince Mikhail Prokhorov--reportedly Russia's wealthiest man, new owner of the New Jersey Nets basketball team, newly-minted publisher of the New...

  • The open road

    In recent months we've been lucky enough to get our hands on several different and important electric cars, be they range-extended EVs such as the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, electric family cars like the 2011 Nissan Leaf or even the 2011 Smart ForTwo Electric Drive, a compact electric microcar most at home in the city. However, with so many EVs due in the next few years we've still got a lot to be excited about. So here, in no particular order, is AllCarsElectric's list of the five electric cars we can't wait to drive! 1. 2010 Renault DeZir Concept Okay, so the Renault is currently unconfirmed for...

  • 2011 Chevrolet Volt
    Electric Cars Duke It Out: Will It Turn Consumers Away?

    Yesterday, there was a piece on MSNBC.com talked about electric car rivalry and the potential for that to distract buyers. The writer cites GM and Nissan both taking potshots at each other’s electric vehicle offerings. In the worse case, “In the end, the public could wind up mistrusting...

  • Tesla Motors, Palo Alto, California
    Tesla Gears Up $42 Million Fremont Factory For Model S

    Tesla has officially completed its $42 million acquisition of the former NUMMI factory, a joint venture between Toyota and General Motors that was shut down in April due to the recession. The New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. facilities in Fremont, Calif. spans 5.5 million square feet and will...

  • Kia Soul Flex
    Kia Soul Flex Is Korea’s First Flex-Fuel Vehicle

    At this week’s 2010 Sao Paulo Auto Show in Brazil Kia has taken the wraps off its new Soul Flex hatchback, which the automaker claims is the first vehicle of its kind to be launched by a South Korean brand. The Kia Soul Flex, if you haven’t already guessed, is a fully flex-fuel capable...

  • 2012 Ford Focus ST
    Ask And You Receive: 2012 Ford Focus Gets Handling Upgrades

    When you think of small and affordable cars, responsive handling might not be the first thing that comes to mind. However, it turns out that just because a car is small or reasonably priced doesn’t mean that those looking to purchase them are less spirited in their driving. This is where the...

  • 2012 Toyota Prius Verso small seven-seat minivan
    2012 Toyota Prius Minivan: Better Images From Japan, Via Italy!

    Toyota announced a year ago that it would apply the Prius model name not only to the current five-door hatchback, but to other hybrid vehicles as well. The first of these will be a 2012 Toyota Prius minivan, variously called the Prius Alpha or Prius Verso, though we don't yet know exactly what...

  • Eaton technologies test day, Marshall, Michigan, Sept 2010

    Turbochargers have been with us in volume production only since the Seventies, but superchargers have a long and honorable automotive history. They were used on the Blower Bentleys that won Le Mans 80 years ago, and have appeared ever since on high-performance engines, often larger ones. A boost for boost Now, propelled by new and stricter emissions and fuel economy laws, both types of boost are poised to appear in much greater numbers as carmakers seek to make smaller engines far more efficient. Ford in particular has branded its latest line of turbo engines as EcoBoost, applying both direct...

  • Audi A3 TDI running on RenDiesel Synthetic Fuel
    Audi A3 TDI Completes 1,000 Mile Trek On Synthetic Diesel

    A few years ago the idea of cars running on fuel created by people in a lab rather than dug out of the ground after millions of years of mother nature’s work would have been considered almost science fiction by most. However, just this past week a pair of Audi A3 TDI hatchbacks have traveled...

  • Peugeot EX1 EV concept
    Peugeot EX1: Lion Marque Gives Electric Cars Some Claws

    Here at AllCarsElectric we give you electric car news and views we feel will help our readers make informed decisions should you ever wish to buy an electric car. Sometimes though, it can be fun to look at something you'll probably never be able to buy. Something that makes even the most ardent...

  • The i-MiEV Cargo
    EVs Could Be A Boon In Light Commercial Use, Says Mitsubishi

    Mitsubishi Motors were one of the first vehicle manufacturers to take the plunge and produce an electric car in significant numbers, and it seems they might become the first to do the same for light commercial vehicles, too. The company, who produce the 2012 Mitsubishi i-MiEV microcar due to hit...

  • 2012 Ford Focus
    2012 Ford Focus Electric Will Surpass Volt On Volume, But Not Leaf

    October is the month of electric-car media this year, with major press rollouts and lots of coverage of both the 2011 Chevrolet Volt and the 2011 Nissan Leaf. Next year, several more electric cars arrive on the U.S. market. One is the 2012 Ford Focus Electric, and yesterday, Ford discussed volume...

  • 2011 Nissan Leaf stickers
    Nissan LEAF is faster than you think

    Recently, our counterparts over at AllCarsElectric.com reported on how to make your Chevrolet Volt feel more like a Tesla (more here). Really, it comes down to one basic principle—competition. From the time the wheel was invented, and then motorized, people have been racing or competing...

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