2013

  • 2013 Chevrolet Sonic RS, Catskill Mountains, NY, July 2013

    The Chevrolet Sonic subcompact was an impressive offering when we tested both a 1.8-liter LT hatchback and a 1.4-liter LTZ sedan almost two years ago. Now, with the advent of the 2013 Chevy Sonic RS sports model, we had a chance to revisit the car--and we remain impressed. The RS version uses the same 138-hp, 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine as the standard Sonic. But the sport model rides slightly lower, has new and more aggressive front styling, unique 17-inch alloy wheels and lower-profile tires, and slight changes to the gearing. Inside, it it fitted with two really excellent...

  • 2013 MINI John Cooper Works Paceman ALL4, New York City
    2013 MINI Paceman John Cooper Works: We Ask 'Why?'

    Every once in a while, we end up driving a car that leaves us utterly confused. The 2013 MINI Cooper Paceman John Cooper Works ALL4 we drove for a day last week is one such vehicle. It's striking, but far less functional than the MINI Countryman from which it's derived. The handling is decent, but...

  • Red 2013 Tesla Model S cars roll down the production line (Photo: @elonmusk on Twitter)
    Tesla Model S Electric-Car Production Above 400 A Week, Musk Says

    All is still well at Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA], it seems, with CEO Elon Musk announcing the company is beating its self-imposed production targets. As Bloomberg reports, Tesla is ahead of its 400-per-week production goal, by a margin Musk describes as "not trivial". Meeting such a target is all the...

  • 2013 Toyota Prius liftback
    Toyota Prius Plug-In To Be Driven By 'Eco-Savvy Influencers' In MPG Challenge

    In May, we told you about the first round of Toyota's Prius Plug-In MPG Challenge. If you missed it and don't feel like clicking through to read the magnificently written article, here are the high points: Toyota loaned 2013 Prius Plug-Ins to a handful of nonprofits for 30 days. The nonprofits used...

  • 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek Hybrid at 2013 New York Auto Show
    Subaru Swamped By Demand For XV Crosstrek In U.S., Hybrids In Japan

    If any carmaker should already have had a hybrid in its lineup, it's Subaru. We've said that before, and before the end of the year, we'll know much more about the 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek Hybrid that was unveiled at last spring's New York Auto Show. But it turns out that Subaru now has two...

  • 2012 Tesla Model S
    Yes, Teslas Can Tow: Model S Trailer Hitch Installation (Video)

    If you think about it, the Tesla Model S comes close to being the ideal tow vehicle for lighter loads. It's large, weighty and stable at speed. It's rear-drive, for good traction. And it has plenty of torque. If those aren't good tow car characteristics, we don't know what are. Now, one company has...

  • 2013 Fiat 500c Abarth Cabrio, Catskill Mountains, NY, July 2013

    Although we hate to say it here, for certain cars, sometimes gas mileage really just doesn't matter that much. That's our verdict on the 2013 Fiat 500c Abarth Cabrio, the new convertible version of the hot-hatch 500 Abarth minicar--the one whose television ad people are still talking about. Just in time for the hottest days of a Northeast summer, we borrowed a 500c Abarth and took it out over our usual weekend test route. Both the Abarth three-door hatchback and the two-door Cabrio are rated at 31 mpg combined (28 mpg city, 34 mpg highway). The car comes only with a 160-horsepower...

  • 2013 Nissan Leaf, Nashville area test drive, April 2013
    Nissan To Add Electric-Car Fast Charging At More Than 100 Dealers

    While Nissan Leaf owners in Europe have enjoyed fast charging at Nissan dealerships for some time, the scheme has been slow to make its way to America. That's set to change soon, as Nissan announces the installation of 100 DC quick chargers at dealerships across the U.S. before April 1 next year...

  • 2014 Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid
    Do Tesla Model S And Porsche Panamera Plug-In Hybrid Compete?

    In less than a year, the Tesla Model S has created a new category of car: the electric luxury sport sedan. But with impending launches by two experienced, prestigious German luxury brands, will Tesla find the Model S facing new competition among wealthy buyers who like plugging in to drive? We just...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S
    Tesla Model S Early Orders In Hong Kong Strong, Says Company

    An inordinate quantity of the internet's exotic car pictures seem to originate from Hong Kong. People certainly appreciate their fancy cars over there, that's for sure. That may explain why, despite the city's slow electric car sales up until now, orders for the Tesla Model S electric sedan are...

  • 2013 Toyota Prius liftback
    Toyota Prius Hybrid Tops 3 Million Global Sales

    The records just keep on tumbling, as Toyota announces a new milestone for its Prius line of hybrids. That figure is three million--the cumulative global sales total through June, for all Prius models since the car debuted in Japan in 1997. Since then, the Prius has gone through three main...

  • Tesla's retail store concept
    Petition For Tesla Motors Direct Sales Crosses 100,000 Signatures

    The fans have spoken: Over 100,000 people have now signed a White House petition asking for Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] to be allowed to sell its cars directly in all fifty states. Started by one Tesla supporter on June 5, support from across the electric car world piled in with signatures increasing...

  • Tesla Model S

    Everyone loves a great deal. Just how many times have you bought an extra bottle of soda because it's on a "buy one, get another free" offer? Or shopped 'til you dropped in an "everything must go" sale? It's not often you're offered a free car though, even when buying a house. That's exactly what one San Jose seller is doing, the 1959 house he renovated to modern green standards coming with a free lease of a Tesla Model S electric sedan. As ABC7 reports, it's creating quite a buzz. Listing agent Avis Garoutte is receiving plenty of calls asking about the Tesla alone--though seller Mohan Mahal...

  • 2013 Volkswagen Passat TDI achieves a Guinness record-breaking 78 MPG
    Volkswagen Passat TDI Smashes World Record With 78 MPG On U.S. Trip

    Two drivers have set a new Guinness World Record for achieving the lowest fuel consumption in the lower 48 states in a non-hybrid car. Wayne Gerdes and co-driver Bob Winger returned an amazing 78 mpg around the 48 contiguous states in a 2013 Volkswagen Passat TDI, the highest-mpg diesel on sale in...

  • 2013 Fiat 500e electric car, Los Angeles drive event, April 2013
    2013 Fiat 500e Electric Car 'Sold Out' In California

    Fiat has never hidden the fact that its 500e electric car had been developed primarily for compliance reasons, thus there was little surprise when it was announced that sales would be limited to the state of California, at least, initially. It looks like Fiat may have reason to speed up plans to...

  • Nissan Leaf NISMO aero package
    Nismo Offers To 'Chip' Your Leaf Electric Car For Better Performance

    Nice vehicle though the 2013 Nissan Leaf is, it's just a little... tame, for some people. Those people may be intrigued to know that in Japan at least, there's an option to give it a little more performance. We've covered the Nissan Leaf tuned by NISMO (for NISsan MOtorsport) previously, but the...

  • 2013 Smart Electric Drive, Brooklyn, NY
    Battery Leasing Lands In U.S., Electric Smart Drivers Love It

    Maybe there's a future for battery leasing among U.S. electric-car buyers after all. Nissan had considered leasing battery packs separately before launching its 2011 Leaf, but ended up choosing to sell or lease the entire car. So the 2013 Smart ForTwo Electric Drive is the first car in the country...

  • Fiat's 'Environmentally Sexy' matchmaking site
    Is Buying A Fiat 500e Electric Car 'Environmentally Sexy'?

    We liked the 2013 Fiat 500e electric car, a lot. It may be the best of the low-volume compliance cars, in fact--though the 2014 Chevy Spark EV and 2013 Honda Fit EV are pretty great too. We're less sure how we feel about the ad campaign Fiat is using to pitch the car, under the tagline...

  • Tesla's retail store concept

    European electric car fans will soon get to enjoy the Tesla Model S as much as their American counterparts, when the car is launched in Europe this summer. Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] has spent some of the last year preparing service and repair centers in Europe, but the company's sales network is also expanding before the car hits European shores. Wards Auto reports Tesla is adding dealers in London, Brussels and Amsterdam, covering a dozen cities across the continent. Service centers will also spring up in Amsterdam, Brussels, Frankfurt, Vienna and Hamburg. Perhaps not surprisingly, Tesla is...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S
    Tesla Model S Recall Announced For Rear-Seat Latch Bracket

    Tesla Motors announced this morning that it will conduct a partial recall of Model S electric sedans manufactured between May 10 and June 8 of this year to fix a potentially weakened left-rear seat attachment striker bracket. According to a post on the company's website and signed by CEO Elon Musk...

  • 2013 Nissan Leaf, Nashville area test drive, April 2013
    Nissan Leaf Electric Car Boosts Nissan's Brand Image, Reputation

    Electric vehicles are still considered a risky strategy in the business world, with relatively low sales numbers not enough to convince skeptics of their business case. Nissan has had plenty of recognition for its commitment to the Leaf though, including a high ranking in the latest Interbrand...

  • 2013 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, New York City, June 2013
    2013 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid: Brief First Drive

    Remind us in future to avoid drive routes confined almost exclusively to Manhattan. While they're great for showing off hybrid cars--including the 2013 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid we briefly tested on Tuesday--they take years off your life. We had a chance to put about 10 miles on the new hybrid MKZ, the...

  • 2013 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid - factors affecting real-world gas mileage, from presentation
    2013 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid Underscores 'Your Mileage May Vary'

    It seems Ford has taken to heart the concerns over the difference in its new hybrids between EPA gas-mileage ratings and real-world results. In a media presentation yesterday on the new 2013 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, Ford's luxury brand devoted considerable time to explaining how it helps drivers...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S in Queens, NY, service center, awaiting delivery to buyer David Noland, Feb 2013
    Life With Tesla Model S: Trying Out The Service Program

    Tesla's announcement last month of its new service program sounded almost too good to be true. If anything went wrong with my 2013 Tesla Model S, promised CEO Elon Musk, instead of schlepping to the nearest service center, I would simply await the arrival in my driveway of the Tesla service tech...

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