2012

After the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in March 2011, Japanese automakers Toyota, Nissan and Mitsubishi have all been working on technology designed to let electric cars provide emergency backup power. So far, we’ve seen a range of applications for backup electric car...

Less than 30 days hence, the first 2012 Tesla Model S sedans will be delivered to paying customers. Now, one Model S buyer who holds a low reservation number for the all-electric luxury car is using it as a lure to sell a million-dollar home in an upscale Illinois suburb. Not only has the home...

Tesla Motors has released the first installment in its series of "Inside Tesla" articles, whetting the world's appetite in the run-up to the first 2012 Model S deliveries in only 22 days time. Tesla's George Blankenship shares some insights into the Model S production process, the first aspect of...

Ever since a battery pack from a 2012 Chevrolet Volt caught fire weeks after it was subjected to tough National Highway Traffic Safety Administration tests in a laboratory, critics of General Motor’s plug-in hybrid have been quick to question its safety credentials. But after a Toyota Camry...

If reader response is any guide, there's a lot of interest in the 2012 Ford Focus Electric--which logged 12 sales last December and January but hasn't been heard from since. Now, it appears that the first retail customer has taken delivery of Ford's new all-electric compact hatchback. Very, very...

Who buys a Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid car? It’s a question that we’ve tried to answer in the past, examining initial sales data from General Motors to try and create the automotive equivalent of an indentikit Volt buyer. Unsurprisingly, many early-adopting Volt buyers were green car...

By carefully controlling the launch of the 2012 Ford Focus Electric, Ford is trying to appease buyers who want an electric car, while satisfying accountants who are hesitant to invest heavily in the launch.

Small cars are fun to drive--or at least they should be. But there may be a law of diminishing returns in adapting the very smallest cars from Asia and Europe to the U.S. market. We don't much like the driving experience in the Smart ForTwo, so we had high hopes for the 2012 Scion iQ minicar--the...

It’s official: in one month, Tesla will deliver its first 2012 Model S electric sedan to customers in the U.S., webcasting the whole ceremony live on the Internet. A few weeks ahead of schedule, Tesla’s engineering team have been working hard to ensure that production is up to speed at...

When Toyota first announced that it was going to resurrect its iconic RAV4 EV after an absence of nearly ten years, electric car fans rejoiced. After all, the original 1997-2003 RAV4 EVs are so reliable and so beloved that they still command a high price at auction. When the production version of...

With the 2012 Toyota Prius V wagon, 2012 Toyota Prius C, and 2012 Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid all launching within the past 12 months, it’s been easy to forget that there are other Toyota hybrids outside of the Prius brand. In fact, the 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid and 2012 Toyota Highlander...

Last week, we told you about a house fire in Texas on May 3 involving a 2012 Fisker Karma luxury Sedan, which fire investigators believed to be the cause of the blaze. Shortly after the story broke, Fisker Automotive released an official statement stating that it had “not ruled out possible...

We all know electric and plug-in hybrid cars can help cut down consumption of gasoline, but just how do you measure how much gasoline savings can be made? Normally, we measure gasoline savings in gallons, or barrels of oil, but General Motors has decided to measure the gasoline saved by its...

“It’s better to burn out, than to fade away,” once penned songwriter Neil Young, addressing the hazards of a life lived in the spotlight. If you were a fan of the Lexus HS 250h hybrid, you’ll be saddened to learn that fading away is exactly the fate of Lexus’ compact...

Comedian and television host Jay Leno comes away quite impressed with the 2012 Ford Focus Electric after taking one for a quick spin.

These days, we’re pretty sure that most car drivers know that the EPA-approved gas mileage ratings you see displayed on every new car at the dealer are for guidance only. In short, your mileage may (and probably will) vary from the EPA ratings, but by how much? And what effect does poor...

Following in the tire-tracks of its older, larger and wagon-variant siblings,the 2012 Toyota Prius C has been awarded the coveted Top Safety Pick Award by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). A separate set of crash tests from those carried out by the National Highway Traffic Safety...

Oh dear. This could get ugly. The owner of a new 2012 Fisker Karma that burned to the ground in Sugar Land, Texas, is trading accusations with Fisker. The fire destroyed two other cars and damaged the garage it was stored in and other parts of the house. The owner reported a smell of burning rubber...

Although a very small niche group might see minicars like the Scion iQ and Smart Fortwo as a fashion statement, or as a way to reap special parking or commuting benefits, for most Americans—and even a lot of green-car shoppers—it's quite frankly a little hard to see the point in getting...

What makes a new car a success? Is it the awards it wins, initial sales figures, how many people order it, or the average amount of time it stays on a dealer lot before being sold? Together, all of the above help us work out which cars are popular and which ones aren’t, but according to...