Car Sales

Sigh. Here we go again. It's the first of the month, which means that auto journalists are scrambling to put together their monthly sales reports. Sales in May weren't great, for a variety of reasons: higher prices and shortages of some Japanese models, among others. Unusual scrutiny But the most...

Driving electric just got cheaper, as Mitsubishi announced that its 2012 'i' electric car would be priced at just $27,990 before incentives when deliveries begin in California next January. That makes the 2012 Mitsubishi 'i' the least expensive plug-in car on sale in the U.S. market. It qualifies...

For all the media furor over the 2011 Nissan Leaf and the 2011 Chevy Volt, you'd think that tens of thousands of them were flooding onto our streets each month. Not so. As of Feb 28, the total sold between both cars was just 1,102, made up of 928 Volts and 174 Leafs. Now, it may be that those...

Two weeks ago, the EPA rated the 2012 Infiniti M35h Hybrid at 27 mpg city, 32 mpg highway, for a combined rating of 29 mpg. That makes it the only car in its class, as Infiniti proudly trumpeted, with both 350 horsepower and a highway rating of 30 mpg or more. Now, the cost of that fuel efficiency...

If you're one of the dwindling number of car buyers considering the Smart ForTwo minicar, now may be a good time to close the deal. Smart sent out an e-mail yesterday offering $1,500 of "customer cash" off the purchase price of remaining 2010 ForTwo coupe models, which apparently are still in stock...

While the 2011 Chevrolet Volt and Nissan LEAF have stolen most of the green-car limelight of late, and the Toyota Prius continues to be the go-to vehicle for those seeking reliable yet efficient transportation, Honda's Insight continues to plug along, with new upgrades to standard equipment and a...

General Motors [NYSE: GM] stock might be up for initial public offering today under the same stock symbol as before, but the company is trying hard to show that it's not the same company in many respects. "We'll do that by demonstrating that GM is doing things differently," said CEO Dan Akerson...

If you're familiar with the 2011 Chevrolet Volt range-extended EV, then you're already familar with the Opel Ampera, since it's essentially the same car. The Ampera will be sold under General Motors' other brands, the Germany-based Opel and in the U.K. as the Vauxhall Ampera. It's not uncommon for...

If you're reading this website, chances are you're already someone giving some consideration to owning an electric car. If so, great! You're one step further than the next guy to an oil-free future. However, for some the next hurdle could be a bigger one - should you lease the electric car of your...

Your shiny new 2011 Chevrolet Volt is sitting in the garage, fresh from its maiden voyage on electric-only power. But it's 2 a.m. and you have to be at work by 8. Charging takes 10 hours on standard 120-volt power, and you didn't buy this thing to run it on gas during the morning commute. The...

Just as dealers have to discount unpopular cars, they often add "surcharges" to models where demand outstrips supply. It's auto dealership yin and yang, or something. Now mega-dealer chain AutoNation has drawn a line in the sand, flatly stating that its dealers will sell their limited allocation of...

Despite initial purchase prices higher than those for gasoline cars of equivalent performance (before incentives, anyway), electric cars undisputably cost less to run. Not only does the grid electricity to drive a mile cost just half to one-fifth the cost of the gasoline to go the same distance...

  The 2011 Chevrolet Volt has been in gestation so long, we've wondered if it ever would become a reality. Now the reality is here. GM announced the price for the 2011 Volt at Plug-In 2010, a conference being held this week in San Jose. The Volt's MSRP will be $41,000, which includes a $720...

Three weeks ago, Chevrolet unveiled two new launch markets for its 2011 Volt electric car and described some of the things dealers would need to do in order to be granted the privilege of selling GM's most advanced and most eagerly awaited car in decades. Now it appears that pretty much every Chevy...

With a fuel economy of 36 mpg in the city and 41 mpg on the highway, the new 2011 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid already lays claim to the title of being the world’s most fuel efficient luxury sedan, and now it’s making the headlines once again. Lincoln will sell its new hybrid at the same base price as...

Last week, electric car maker Tesla Motors made history as the first automotive company to go public since Ford in the 1950s, but its share price continues to drop, down another 9.24 percent so far today. Despite its buzz and sex appeal, it looks like the company won’t be able to escape the fate...

Good news for those of you who shorted Tesla Motors' stock: the electric car company’s shares are already falling in price as the zeal around its $226 million public debut begins to fade — after just two days. TSLA closed at $21.96 today, its third day of trading, after falling $1.87. Yesterday...

When auto editors go on vacation, we rent cars too. Which is how a pair of very plain 2010 Toyota Corollas in South Africa taught us a few lessons about fuel economy, green value, and what other countries drive. The bottom line: U.S. buyers get a lot more car, for a lot less money, than elsewhere...

The Nasdaq is closed, and Tesla Motors [NSDQ: TSLA] is ending its first day on the market at $23.89 a share, a 40.5 percent increase over the $17 pricing it announced last night. This is a rock star showing for the electric car company, which has exceeded expectations that were already sky high. As...

A survey conducted by MBA students at the University of Michigan shows that contrary to popular belief, a large percentage of potential electric vehicle buyers would be willing to trade off vehicle range for price. The survey, released by Norwegian based electric car company Think, appears to have...