2012

  • Treemotional

    As Canadians will proudly tell you, Canada is really big and really beautiful. Home to 10 percent of the world’s forests, covering more than 53.8 percent of its total surface area, Canada even uses a tree leaf -- the famous maple leaf -- on its flag. Now for one lucky Canadian, publicly declaring love for their favorite tree could win them an all-electric 2012 Nissan Leaf SL. As part of Canada’s National Tree Day on September 26, Canadians are being invited to get treemotional, sending in a picture of their favorite tree along with a description of what makes it special. The...

  • Screen capture from video by Aaron Wood of fire in 2012 Fisker Karma in Wooside, CA, August 2012
    Second Fisker Karma Fire Casts Fresh Doubt On Plug-In Hybrid

    Given the hurricane of bad publicity for the Chevrolet Volt last year over a battery-pack fire (in a crash-testing vehicle, a week after it was wrecked), any fire at all in a plug-in car is one too many. So the occurrence of a second fire among only 1,000 Fisker Karma range-extended electric luxury...

  • Prius V Science
    Toyota Uses Science To Sell Prius V Wagon, But Will It Work?

    As scientists have been warning for some time, the U.S. is at risk of losing its leadership in areas like Physics and Chemistry, thanks in part to a lack of public interest in the sciences. So when we found out that Toyota had paired its 2012 Prius V wagon with How Things Work for a web TV series...

  • 2012 Mitsubishi i
    Mitsubishi ‘i’ Electric Car Recalled For Faulty Airbag System

    This morning, Mitsubishi North America announced an official recall of certain 2012 Mitsubishi i electric cars after it became apparent that there may be an incompatibility between the air bag sensors and the car’s on-board diagnostics system. According to the official recall notice posted on...

  • 2014 Tesla Model X all-electric crossover with 'Falcon Doors' open
    2014 Tesla Model X Vs. 2012 Toyota RAV4 EV: Electric SUV Showdown?

    The 2012 Toyota RAV4 EV is unique, the only all-electric compact sport-utility vehicle sold by a major automaker in the U.S. Behind the wheel, its Tesla-developed powertrain makes it peppy but quiet, while it maintains all the cargo and people space of the original gasoline version. There's really...

  • 2012 Tesla Model S, brief test drive, New York City, July 2012
    2012 Tesla Model S: 50 Cars Built, 29 Delivered, Maker Says

    Tesla likes to do things its own way. So while the company still refuses to report sales in the usual manner--at the end of every month like every other automaker--it does release bits and pieces of data on its corporate publicity site. On Thursday, Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] said that since June 22...

  • 2012 Toyota RAV4 EV, Newport Beach, California, July 2012

    The new 2012 Toyota RAV4 EV is quick, relatively fun to drive, and the only all-electric crossover utility vehicle on the market today. It has a good, intuitive touchscreen display and instrument cluster that shows both the maximum possible range and a constantly updated range based on both the climate-control settings and its most recent usage and driving style. Now we can show you on video what it's like from behind the wheel. Just view the video above--it's a bit more than 3 minutes--to see what it's like inside the new electric RAV4. For more details, you can read our complete RAV4 EV...

  • 2012 Toyota RAV4 EV, Newport Beach, California, July 2012
    2012 Toyota RAV4 EV: First Drive Of Tesla-Powered Crossover

    If the ideal electric car has a real-world range of 100 miles or more and the practical utility that American families buy crossovers for, the future may be arriving this year. The 2012 Toyota RAV4 EV has every bit of space that the gasoline versions do. Its Tesla-engineered battery pack and...

  • 2011 Nissan Leaf SL
    GE WattStation Vindicated, Leaf Blamed In Charging Station Woes

    It isn’t a good time to be Nissan right now. For a start, its first all-electric car, the 2012 Leaf, is suffering from poor sales. Then there’s the matter of Leafs in hot states like Arizona exhibiting premature battery capacity loss to attend to. Then, over the weekend, more bad news...

  • 2012 Chevrolet Volt
    2012 Chevrolet Volt: Most Loved Compact Car, Most Satisfied Drivers

    According to a recent, very peppy General Motors ad campaign, many Chevrolet Volt owners are brimming with enthusiasm about their plug-in hybrid. Then again, having Chevy Volt owners evangelize about their cars in an ad designed to sell the plug-in hybrid is hardly a fair yardstick to gauge how...

  • 2012 Tesla Model S, brief test drive, New York City, July 2012
    Tesla Buoyant After 2012 Model S Launch, Despite Losses

    After nothing to sell for nearly six months, an age of anticipation, media hype and short, chaperoned rides, Tesla began official deliveries of its all-electric 2012 Model S sedan just over a month ago. So its hardly surprising that the fledgling car company has just posted net losses of $105.6...

  • 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid
    2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In: Quick Drive Report

    In the spectrum of alternative fuel vehicles, there's something on sale to suit almost every taste. Whether you're buying an all-electric vehicle or simply want a mild hybrid to save a little on gas, there's a lot of choice in between. The 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In sits virtually in the center of...

  • 2012 Mitsubishi i

    There's something fascinating about "how it's made"-style programs. Even the most mundane items can seem interesting as they whirr down a production line gaining attributes as they go. When the object is already interesting, like an electric car, that's even more reason to watch. To that end, keep your eyes peeled on Discovery Channel on August 4, as a program detailing the history and construction of the 2012 Mitsubishi 'i' will air. The program, as yet only confirmed in Canadian listings, is called 'Birth of a Mitsubishi i-MiEV', and you can watch the video above to get a taster of the...

  • TuneIn streaming radio integration  -  2012 Tesla Model S
    Tesla Model S Gets First Direct TuneIn Internet Radio Integration

    Deliveries for the 2012 Tesla Model S have started, and in case you missed editor John Voelcker's first drive of the Model S this past week, one point of note was how calm and quiet the cabin remains even when accelerating. That said, while we've spent more time sitting in the Model S than driving...

  • 2012 Nissan Versa 1.6 SL, New York City, July 2012
    2012 Nissan Versa 1.6 SL Sedan: Weekend Drive Report

    When auto writers drive test cars, they're usually loaned out from carmakers' regional fleets. So when we asked for an 2012 Nissan Versa sedan to test over a four-day weekend, following our brief test drive of the all-new Versa in May, the car we got seemed rather familiar. It was, in fact, the...

  • 2012 Chevrolet Sonic
    2012 Chevrolet Sonic: Orange Paint Almost As Popular As Black

    Last year, worldwide car buyers were pretty refrained in the color choices they made for their cars, with white accounting for 23 percent of global car sales. But when it comes to cars like the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic five-door hatchback, vibrant colors like orange are becoming almost as popular as...

  • 2012 Tesla Model S Signature
    2012 Tesla Model S: Seven Little Things A Buyer Doesn't Like

    Let's make one thing clear right up front: I think the 2012 Tesla Model S is the coolest freaking car in the history of Western Civilization. I put down my $5,000 deposit more than two years ago. I've chugged the Tesla Kool-Aid, extra-large size. But after a 7-minute spin in a dark green Model S...

  • 2012 Tesla Model S, brief test drive, New York City, July 2012
    2012 Tesla Model S: First Drive Video

    With Tesla Motors opening new Tesla Stores at a rapid pace, the 2012 Tesla Model S all-electric sport sedan has now been seen by hundreds of thousands of people. Thus far, however, very few of them, however, have gotten behind the wheel. Tesla's working to change that, with a traveling nationwide...

  • 2012 Tesla Model S, brief test drive, New York City, July 2012

    After an hour in a 2012 Tesla Model S all-electric sport sedan, one thing became clear: It's a viable car. The Model S gives Tesla Motors a shot at turning into a real car company. That's a provisional judgment; as many journalists have noted, 10-minute drives or an hour driving and riding in limited New York City traffic hardly provides the time or mixed conditions for a proper review. But the Model S can make the case for electric cars in a way that the odd-looking Nissan Leaf or the politically controversial Chevy Volt never will. It's good-looking, in a Jaguar vein. The performance of the...

  • red 2012 Mitsubishi i
    2012 Mitsubishi i Electric Car Owners Speak Up: Pros And Cons

    There might not be many on U.S. roads--less than a thousand in total--but Mitsubishi's 'i' electric car is one of the few all-electric cars on sale at the moment, and has a small, dedicated band of owners only too happy to sing its praises. Someone has to, that's for sure, as reviews for the little...

  • 2012 Nissan Leaf electric car - net pricing shown on Nissan website
    2012 Nissan Leaf Electric Cars Offered At Up To $5,000 Off

    dealerships are showing 2012 Nissan Leaf SL models at fully $5000 off MSRP

  • 2012 Tesla Model S
    Tesla Cuts Model S Production Goal For Third Quarter To 500, Analyst Reports

    Tesla Motors said today it would cut the third-quarter production target for its 2012 Model S all-electric sport sedan, according to a stock analyst who follows the company. A report by Wunderlich Securities analyst Theodore O'Neill notes that Tesla is now saying it would probably only deliver 500...

  • Nissan Leaf: Lost Battery Capacity
    Nissan's Mark Perry: We're Investigating Arizona's Wilting Leafs

    More than two months after a few Nissan Leafs in Arizona began to lose capacity bars in the extreme heat and suffer premature battery aging, Nissan has started formal investigations into the issue. While being interviewed over the telephone by Arizona’s KPHO 5 station in Phoenix, Mark Perry...

  • 2012 Chevrolet Volt
    If 63% Of Volt Miles Are Electric, Isn't It An Electric Car?

    One of the most common complaints we get at GreenCarReports is that we refer to the 2012 Chevrolet Volt as an electric car. Because it has a range-extending gasoline engine, some say, it is only a plug-in hybrid and therefore not worthy to be classed as an electric car. As we’ve illustrated...

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