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Nearing the end of our 2010 Detroit Auto Show coverage brings us to a vehicle that got a lot of media attention, though it's unclear when it will actually arrive in the U.S. That's the BYD e6 electric crossover, which could become the first Chinese vehicle sold in the U.S. The crisply styled five-seat midsize crossover is entirely electric, with a claimed range of 205 miles and a top speed of 87 mph from its lithium-ion battery pack. The BYD e6 went on sale last year in China. If confirmed, that electric range would roughly equal that of the 2010 Tesla Roadster, and far exceed that of the...
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Five Questions: Andrew Farah, 2011 Chevrolet Volt Chief EngineerLast weekend, we finally got the chance to drive the 2011 Chevrolet Volt. By and large, we liked it; see our full First Drive report for more details. Riding shotgun was Andrew Farah, the chief engineer for the 2011 Volt. During our ride and after, we asked him five questions--just as we did Volt...
John Voelcker -
2010 Detroit Auto Show: Ford To Bring Hybrid Batteries Back HomeFord was on a roll at this year's Detroit Auto Show. It launched its new 2011 Ford Focus compact sedan and hatchback, which got rave reviews, and its 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid won North American Car of the Year. The company added a late-breaking press conference on Monday to make a further...
John Voelcker -
2010 Detroit Auto Show: Cadillac XTS Concept Revives GM's Plug-In Hybrid HopesSay "luxury hybrid," and very few people think of Cadillac. Sure, the Escalade Hybrid large luxury sport-utility vehicle has been around for a few years, but Cadillac has no hybrid sedans. That may be about to change, if the Cadillac XTS Platinum Concept unveiled this morning at the Detroit Auto...
John Voelcker -
2010 Detroit Auto Show: Volkswagen New Compact Coupe Hybrid ConceptNow that VW has launched its new 2010 Golf hatchback, it will turn its attention to the 2011 Volkswagen Jetta sedan, which shares mechanicals with the Golf. This morning at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show, VW will take the wraps off a new hybrid concept vehicle called the New Compact Coupe. It's widely...
John Voelcker -
2010 Toyota Prius Is Best-Selling Car In JapanIn another sign that Toyota hit a home run with the third-generation Prius hybrid hatchback, the 2010 Toyota Prius was the best-selling car in Japan during 2009. It beat out the Honda Fit, followed by the Toyota Yaris (known in Japan as the Vitz), as well as its closest hybrid competitor, the new...
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The lithium-ion battery pack for the 2011 Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicles officially went into volume production today. The 16-kilowatt-hour battery pack, containing 220 lithium-ion cells made by Korea's LG Chem, will be assembled in a 160,000-square-foot factory in Brownstown Township, Michigan, newly renovated at a cost of $266 million. That plant will be the first in the U.S. in which a major carmaker assembles lithium-ion packs. Almost all current hybrid vehicles use nickel-metal-hydride cells, which contain less energy than the lithium cells. Fear of China Various...
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Diesel Hybrids From Peugeot and Mercedes Get Closer to RealityPeugeot is still on track to launch the world's first diesel-hybrid vehicle late this year. Its 3008 HYbrid4 Concept is a thinly disguised version of a crossover fitted with a mild-hybrid system that will go into production late this year as a 2011 model. Now other manufacturers are joining the...
John Voelcker -
Want An Electric Vehicle? Wait Until Real Carmakers Build ThemOur mission here at GreenCarReports.com is to cover the greener end of automobiles, for both new-car buyers and enthusiasts. But unlike other sites, we rarely cover conversions to add plug-in capability to existing cars or hybrids. Why? First, they're not available to mainstream car buyers and are...
John Voelcker -
Mercedes-Benz To Launch Pricey Plug-In Hybrid S-Class In 2012After lagging in development of hybrid and plug-in cars for years, Mercedes-Benz is now attacking the new technology with a vengeance. The latest proof: reports that it will offer a pricey plug-in hybrid version of its next S-Class large luxury sedan in 2012. The British magazine Autocar writes...
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Faceoff: 2011 Chevrolet Volt Vs 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In HybridToyota and GM are the auto industry's heavyweights. Each has stumbled this year; General Motors collapsed into bankruptcy and Toyota is beset with embarrassing recalls that may dent its reputation for reliability. Each also has a plug-in car coming. The 2011 Chevy Volt will hit dealers in less than...
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Detroit Auto Show Preview: BMW Concept ActiveE Electric CarA little more than a year ago, the all-electric Mini E stole the limelight at the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show. Now, BMW has released details of its next all-electric concept car, which will formally debut at next month's Detroit Auto Show. The BMW Concept ActiveE electric car is based on the BMW...
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Not surprisingly, automotive journalists compete to be the first to drive the latest new cars. Some crave Chevies, others follow Ferrari. Here at GreenCarReports.com, we want to be among the first to drive electric cars and other plug-ins, new hybrids, clean diesels, and so forth. We've driven a lot of them, but one we haven't is the Fisker Karma extended-range electric sports sedan. But we don't feel singled out. No one outside the Fisker development team has ever driven one. Not a single person. Until now. So who gets the first drive? Noted auto afficionado Jay Leno, perhaps? Vice President...
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Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid On Sale in 2011, Less Than $10K MoreHigh Gear Media has partnered with Tesla Motors on a new writing contest where YOU can win a tour and road test of the 2010 Tesla Roadster Sport. You can submit as many articles as you like and enter multiple times. Enter now! == As a plug-in battle starts to take shape among the 2011 Chevrolet...
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All-Electric Roadtrip From LA to Detroit? No Problem, Says TeslaAs we've noted elsewhere, we write a lot about Tesla. We certainly give them more ink...errr, electrons?...than their share of the sports car market, since they're just delivered their 900th Roadster. Not that they're not wildly fun to drive, mind you. But despite early engineering difficulties...
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2011 Chevy Volt Investment: How Does This Differ From the EV1?Another day, another announcement in the series of carefully timed press releases on the 2011 Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric car. In this case, it's the news that GM's investment in the Detroit-Hamtramck plant where the Volt will be built totals $336 million. General Motors says that sum...
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2010 Toyota Prius Plug-In Launches, But You Can't Buy One NowHybrid and plug-in fans, not to mention the Prius faithful, have been eagerly waiting for Toyota's response to the reams of copy benerated by the 2011 Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle. Surely Toyota, which invented the modern hybrid vehicle and has now built 1.5 million Toyota Prius...
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2010 Toyota Prius Plug-In Arrives Early Next Year, For Fleets OnlyWhile Toyota's press conference today at the Los Angeles Auto Show covered the new 2011 Toyota Sienna minivan, a very special Prius hybrid on the show floor signaled the company's first tentative step into the world of plug-in vehicles. Toyota will deliver the first of 150 Toyota Prius Plug-In...
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Only a handful of U.S. auto shows count as important. Detroit, in January, is one; historically, New York in April has been another. But the up-and-comer is the Los Angeles Auto Show, which now occurs in late November or early December and focuses on green cars of all stripes: hybrids, electric cars, clean diesels, even vehicles powered by ethanol, natural gas, and hydrogen. We'll cover all the green-car events from LA for you, starting tomorrow. The show is open to the public from December 4 to 13. 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show Meanwhile, here's our preview of selected cars and events we'll see...
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Five Questions: Tony Posawatz, 2011 Chevy Volt Vehicle Line DirectorIn another life, Tony Posawatz could be a politician. He's outgoing, upbeat, a man who deftly juggles discussions of technology, green concerns, and the realities of carmaking while seeming to know everyone in the world of electric vehicles by name. Posawatz is vehicle line director for the 2011...
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All-Electric Rolls-Royce Phantom To Awe 2012 London Olympics?We almost never mention the 2010 Rolls-Royce Phantom here on GreenCarReports.com. That's because--at three tons, with 453 horsepower from its 6.7-liter V-12 engine, and an EPA rating of 13 mpg city / 19 mpg highway--it's [ahem] just not that green. Well, Rolls-Royce is looking ahead. Not only into...
John Voelcker -
Four-Way Two-Mode Hybrid Project Ends, Lab Closes; Now What?The Two-Mode Hybrid project was hailed as a model of technical cooperation when it was announced five years ago. But now the partners are going their separate ways, and the complex hybrid system may end up solely as a General Motors technology. GM said in late 2004 it would partner with Daimler and...
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More Hybrids On the Way From BMW, Including 1-SeriesWe've covered BMW's first two hybrid vehicles, just launched for the upcoming year: the 2010 BMW ActiveHybrid X6 "sports activity coupe", the world's most powerful hybrid, and the 2010 BMW ActiveHybrid 7, the world's fastest hybrid sedan. Now a spy photo from the British magazine Autocar shows that...
John Voelcker -
First Photos: 2011 Toyota Prius Station Wagon!We've written before that Toyota plans to introduce more Prius body styles to expand the reach of its most recognized and iconic hybrid car. Now, our sister site GreenCarReports.com has uncovered three photos of a possible 2011 Toyota Prius station wagon. One comes from a blog called Woody's Car...
John Voelcker