2013

  • 2013 Tesla Model S

    Good news for rich, impatient, picky Tesla Model S electric-car wannabes! If you're looking to buy right now--but can't abide a car sullied by a few thousand miles of loaner-car duty under the recently announced buy-it-now program--Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] now offers a new but little-known option. Yes, you can purchase a brand new, top-of-the-line Model S with no waiting. Today, if you order an 85-kWh 2013 Tesla Model S Performance version through normal channels, you're looking at a waiting time of about two months, according to the company's website. (The wait is closer to three months if...

  • 2013 Dodge Dart Limited, road test, Catskill Mountains, NY, April 2013
    2013 Dodge Dart Limited: Gas-Mileage Drive Report

    The 2013 Dodge Dart has gotten off to a slow start in the market, but it's a vitally important car for Chrysler. The first vehicle based on shared underpinnings from its parent Fiat, the Dart has to show Chrysler can build competitive cars--and, even more important, top-quality small cars that...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S
    Teslive Event In July To Bring 300 Tesla Owners Together In San Francisco Bay Area

    Few automakers have built a buzz around their products like Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA]. Like many other electric cars, Roadster and Model S owners and fans are a tight-knit community too, and a two-day users conference in July will bring even more owners together. Called Teslive, Silicon Beat...

  • 2013 Ford Escape EcoBoost 2.0-liter, Pennsylvania, April 2013
    2013 Ford Escape 2.0-Liter EcoBoost: Gas Mileage Drive Report

    The Ford Escape is one of the most popular compact crossovers on the market today, and its all-new 2013 model goes head-to-head with the Honda CRV and Toyota RAV4. Both of those vehicles were redesigned in 2012 or 2013, so crossover competition is now fierce. We spent six days with a pale green...

  • 2013 Nissan Leaf
    Watch A 2013 Nissan Leaf Being Built In Tennessee (Video)

    We always love seeing how electric cars are made. There's something fascinating about watching a car go right from the metal presses to rolling out of the factory. In recent years we've brought you videos of such a process for several electric cars, and now it's the turn of the 2013 Nissan Leaf at...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S before DC-to-Boston road trip, Feb 2013 [photo: Aaron Schildkraut]
    Tesla Tunes Up Model S Warranty, Loaner Cars, Service Plan

    On Friday, Tesla held a media call to reveal another in the series of announcements touted in tweets by CEO Elon Musk. This time, the news covered enhancements to the warranty and service experience on its Tesla Model S electric luxury sport sedan. Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] is now delivering several...

  • 2013 Nissan Leaf at Nissan U.S. Headquarters, Franklin, Tennessee

    We've already asked whether the Tesla Model S sells more units than the equivalent BMW, Audi or Mercedes--and now Nissan is outselling regular vehicles with its Leaf. Not Corollas or Ford Focus countrywide, of course--but apparently every other Nissan vehicle in March, in Portland, Oregon. With Jukes, Sentras, Versas and other affordable vehicles available from Nissan, that's quite an achievement for the Leaf. Could it be down to Oregon's 'West Coast Electric Highway?' Oregon is certainly well-suited for electric car use. According to Sustainable Business Oregon, the state has 27...

  • 2013 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid drive event, NYC area, April 2013
    2013 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid: First Drive

    When we first drove the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid in the fall of 2010, it was a pre-production car and--frankly--it wasn't very smooth. The 2011 Sonata Hybrid production car was better, but far from the standards of the best hybrids. Now the Korean carmaker has taken another crack at the car, with...

  • Tesla Model S cars parked on Santana Row, San Jose, CA, April 2013 [photo: Anton Wahlman]
    Does Tesla Already Outsell Audi, BMW, Lexus & Mercedes-Benz?

    The established German luxury brands--Mercedes-Benz and BMW--have sold cars in the U.S. for decades. So how could Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] possibly be beating them at their own game? The answer lies in how you define sales: It appears that the Tesla Model S electric sport sedan is outselling both...

  • 2012 Tesla Model S
    Worst Thing About The Tesla Model S? Driving Anything Else Afterwards

    If early ownership experiences are to believed, there's not a lot wrong with driving a Tesla Model S. The performance is great, it's luxurious, quiet, has a great electric range... but there's still one thing that bugs owners. One thing they wish wasn't part of the Model S ownership experience...

  • 2013 Smart ForTwo Electric Drive (European version)
    2013 Smart Electric Drive To Offer Battery Leasing In U.S.

    It seems automakers in Europe have found the key to increasing electric car sales: battery leasing. With 97 percent of European Smart Fortwo Electric Drive customers choosing to lease the battery, rather than buy it outright, Smart USA will now offer buyers the same option, when the car debuts this...

  • 2013 Fiat 500e electric car, Los Angeles drive event, April 2013
    2013 Fiat 500e Electric Car: First Drive

    The 2013 Fiat 500e may be a compliance car, but its engineers created an electric car that's so much fun to drive that seemingly they want it to be more. And with remarkably aggressive pricing--the same $199 monthly lease payment as on a top-of-the-line gasoline 500--Fiat's marketers are trying...

  • Red 2013 Tesla Model S cars roll down the production line (Photo: @elonmusk on Twitter)

    If you want a red Tesla Model S and didn't get in there with the Signature models, you're in luck. The photo above was revealed in a Tweet by Elon Musk on Tuesday, showing new red Model S cars heading down the line, prior to completion. "New Tesla red going down assembly line for the first time. We spent a lot of time on this color!" tweeted Musk. Red was initially available on the first run of Signature edition cars, but it's taken some time for Tesla to introduce the color into regular Model S production. The shade, called Multi Red, is different from that of Signature red cars, slightly...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S
    Tesla Model S Loaners For Tesla Model S Owners, Elon Musk Says

    Loaners cars are now routinely provided by luxury carmakers when their customers have cars in for servicing. Now Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] is joining the crowd, providing Model S luxury sports sedans to its Model S (and Roadster) owners while their cars are in the shop. But according to CEO Elon...

  • 2013 Nissan Leaf
    Nissan Leaf Customers Get Battery Leasing Option In Europe

    In America, if you want a new electric car, you go to a dealer and buy one. You might have to wait a bit of course, but generally your money gets you access to both the car and its batteries. In Europe, things are a little different. If you're Renault, you sell people a car and offer its batteries...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S electric sport sedan on delivery day, with owner David Noland
    Life With 2013 Tesla Model S: Some Bikes Don't Fit

    I've now had my 2013 Tesla Model S for six weeks since it was delivered in late February, and I'm getting used to living with it. I've recharged at the Supercharger network, measured its vampire current usage at night, tested the impact of speed on range, and even experienced my first software...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S electric sport sedan [photo by owner David Noland]
    Life With 2013 Tesla Model S: How A Software Update Worked

    One of the many cutting-edge features of my new 2013 Tesla Model S is the ability to download software updates over its cellular connection. With its touch-screen controls and electronic motor and battery systems, the Model S all-electric sport sedan is almost certainly the most highly computerized...

  • 2013 Hyundai Sonata
    2013 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid: Minor Updates For Better Mileage

    The 2013 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid is the third year for the carmaker's first hybrid-electric vehicle. And Hyundai's made some minor updates to the mid-size hybrid sedan that competes head-to-head with the Toyota Camry Hybrid (which pioneered the segment), the Ford Fusion Hybrid, and later this year...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S electric sport sedan [photo by owner David Noland]

    I've been surprised and delighted by how efficiently my new 2013 Tesla Model S has been running at higher speeds. Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] hammers home the message that high speeds can drastically reduce the range of any Model S. It cautions that its original range figure of 230 miles for my 60-kWh car is based on a steady 55-mph speed, on level ground, and that higher speeds can significantly reduce this number. (The official EPA range, based on a variety of speeds and conditions, is 208 miles.) But who drives 55 mph? On multilane highways, certainly not me. According to a range-vs-speed...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S
    100 Tesla Model S Cars Join Las Vegas Project 100 Sharing Scheme

    Let's assume for a moment that you're interested in electric cars. (Not a far-fetched idea, since you're reading a blog called "Green Car Reports".) You're intrigued by the growing number of options in extended-range vehicles like the Chevrolet Volt, but most of all, you're interested in fully...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S
    Big Mystery Unveiled: You Can Now 'Lease' 2013 Tesla Model S

    And now we know: Tesla's Big Mystery Story, teased via more than one tweet from CEO Elon Musk, is this: You will soon be able to "lease" a brand-new 2013 Tesla Model S. That's a good thing (though not nearly as much fun as some of the ideas proposed under the Twitter hashtag #TeslaPredictions). But...

  • 2013 Nissan Leaf
    2013 Nissan Leaf Electric Car: Updates, Video At NY Auto Show

    Later today, we'll find out how many 2013 Nissan Leafs the company delivered last month. March was the first month that Nissan's electric car reached dealerships in volume from the Tennessee production line where all U.S. Leafs are now assembled, using lithium-ion cells from a plant right next...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S
    Tesla Model S Electric-Car Deliveries For Q1: 4,750-Plus, Says Company

    When the news is good, you want to get it out there. Last night, Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] released a statement saying that it had delivered more than 4,750 Model S cars from January 1 through March 31 of this year. The statement came before the first quarter of 2013 had even technically ended...

  • Carlos Ghosn
    Nissan CEO Talks Electric Car Sales And Chinese Production

    Carlos Ghosn is a busy man. In charge of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, his remit includes the diverse product lines of each company and most recently, each carmaker's electric vehicle range, too. Speaking to Leaf owners at a jamboree at Kansai University, Japan, Ghosn is still positive about each...

News First Drives Electric Cars Hybrids Guides Green Life