2013

If you drive a 2011-12 Nissan Leaf, you’ll know that keeping your car warm in winter can drop its range by as many as 30 miles, due to the inefficiency of the its coolant-to-air heater. Starting with the 2013 Leaf, Nissan has already promised a much more efficient heater that will better the...

In coming years, every car company will make every vehicle it builds greener--meaning more fuel-efficient--courtesy of increasingly stringent gas mileage and carbon emissions rules around the world. That applies not only to smaller, simpler cars, but also large, heavy, fast, luxurious, and...

The 2013 Nissan Leaf that will go on sale in January will be a slightly different car from the 2011 and 2012 models sold in the U.S. so far. We already know the electric car will offer leather seats and a 6.6-kilowatt charger as options, along with a more efficient heating system. Now a report from...

As far as we know, not a single auto journalist has yet driven the upcoming plug-in hybrid Energi models of the 2013 Ford C-Max and 2013 Ford Fusion. But an interesting and illuminating post on HybridCars.com offers more details about those cars' electric capabilities than we'd seen to date. It led...

The 2012 Fiat 500 minicar started out as one model: a three-door hatchback. That was followed by a cabriolet (500C) with a roll-back cloth roof, and then the turbocharged 500 Abarth sporty model. Next up in the lineup may be the electric Fiat 500, which Car and Driver says will be dubbed the 500E...

Hybrid car drivers like to do everything possible to ensure their cars spend as much time as possible in all-electric mode. Ford said yesterday that its 2013 C Max Energi can travel on electricity alone at speeds up to 85 mph. We’re sure plug-in hybrid fans around the world are rejoicing Most...

Used to be, cars were unveiled at auto shows. These days, their makers reveal them in little bits and pieces, just as the best ecdysiasts do (that's "strippers" to you). So today we have the first images of the redesigned 2013 Honda Accord sedan and coupe, the powerhouse mid-size line that competes...

It’s been a while coming, but the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has finally approved gas-mileage ratings for the 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid. As Ford predicted, the $25,995 hybrid has achieved an official rating of 47 MPG City, but its highway rating of 47 mpg improved on Ford’s own...

There’s something about the tiny 2013 Chevrolet Spark that has made General Motors go crazy for infographics. We’ve already seen Chevrolet use them to compare the pint-sized Spark to a 1973 full-size car. Now they’re back to prove how popular the tiny Spark is around the world...

When an existing car model gets redesigned for a new model year, automakers and dealers often offer big discounts and incentives to anyone willing to buy the outgoing model. Usually, some car buyers choose to buy the discounted outgoing model, while others opt for the newer model, but according to...

It’s a well-known fact that most Americans prefer to drive cars with automatic gearboxes over ones with manual transmissions, while others are unsure of how to drive stick at all. So it’s no surprise that Chrysler -- whose manual transmission 2013 Dodge Dart launched earlier this year...

When General Motors began producing the Chevrolet Volt in 2010, many staunch electric car fans dismissed it, saying its on-board gasoline engine meant it was only a hybrid, not a true electric car. With sixty-three percent of all Chevrolet Volt trips to date being made in electric-only mode, most...

When it comes to compact cars, one body style does not a product line make. Ford, for example, offers both hatchback and sedan body styles on its Focus line, while Honda offers the Civic in sedan or coupe form. Kia goes one better, offering its Forte in coupe, hatchback or sedan variants, which...

If you examine the demographics of the ‘average’ electric car buyer, you’re likely to find out that they are educated to at least college level, drive less than 50 miles per day, and have a household income of at least $125,000 a year. The mean age of an electric car buyer? Just...

Honda has been building hybrid cars since 1999, but it's taken until now for the company to offer a hybrid model in the company's upmarket Acura brand. We spent three days with, and covered 300 miles in, a new 2013 Acura ILX Hybrid four-door sedan. And we have to say, while we like the ILX as a...

Regardless of the reason behind them, official safety recalls can be frustrating for both automakers and car owners. But according to Gregory Skwira, copy editor for Automotive News (subscription required), his own personal experience of Ford’s urgent recall of the 2013 Escape crossover SUV...

Sometimes, automakers mark the switch between one model year and the next with some pomp and ceremony, especially if the new model year is significantly better than the outgoing one. Despite the 2013 Chevrolet Volt getting an improved all-electric range, better EPA rating and the addition of a...

Yesterday, Honda delivered its first Fit EV electric car to private buyers--or, more accurately, private lease customers, since the car isn't available for outright sale. Only 1,100 lucky lessors in a small handful of states will ever get behind the wheel of a 2013 Honda Fit EV, because for Honda...

Lincoln has announed pricing levels and more details for its sleek 2013 MKZ sedan, and for the 2013 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid. Continuing a trend started by Lincoln with the last MKZ, the hybrid sedan will cost no more than the regular gasoline version, with both starting at $35,925, excluding the $875...

It’s official: not only does the 2013 Ford C-Max Energi Plug-in hybrid travel further in all-electric mode than the 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in hybrid, but it will cost less too. As Ford detailed last night, its first plug-in hybrid will retail for $33,750, has a combined gasoline + electric...