dealers

  • 2004-2009 Toyota Prius battery pack, second generation

    Believe it or not, the humble Toyota Prius has been on sale in the U.S. for 12 years. While many of these original 2000 Priuses are still giving their owners the same gas milage they did when new, traction battery packs inside early cars are reaching the end of their predicted 10 year, 300,000 mile life. If the battery pack in your Toyota Prius dies before the end of its 150,000 (or 100,000) mile warranty, Toyota will replace it free of charge. But if your car is out of warranty, you join the 500 or so owners every month experiencing an expired nickel-metal-hydride battery pack. For them...

  • 2011 Chevrolet Volt on test in Little Rock, Arkansas, July 2011
    Five Reasons Why The Chevrolet Volt Isn’t Losing Popularity

    According to a recent research article by CNW Marketing Research, the 2011 Chevrolet Volt isn’t as cool as it once was. As reported by USA Today, the research firm claims that interest in Chevrolet’s plug-in hybrid electric car is at an all-time low. CNW blames the car’s high...

  • 2011 Chevy Volt front air dam, after modification, on worst slope in driveway
    2011 Chevrolet Volt: Air Dam, Display Issues Fixed By Dealers

    Two early customer satisfaction issues on the 2011 Chevy Volt are being addressed by dealers: a front air dam that's too low, and intermittent blank displays on the instrument cluster.

  • 2011 Chevrolet Volt test drive, Michigan, October 2010
    Are Volt Dealers Really Pocketing Federal Rebates? Maybe Not

    It doesn’t take a scientist to figure out that the 2011 Chevrolet Volt is in high demand right now--despite its May sales numbers, which are behind those of the 2011 Nissan Leaf. But despite General Motors’ planned increase in production, buying the plug-in hybrid is a little more...

  • 2011 Honda Insight
    Chevy Volt Price-Gouging Pushes Buyer Into Honda Insight Hybrid

    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...

  • Shenyan Chevy Dealer
    How Are Car Dealers Getting Ready to Service Electric Cars?

    As we've discovered, some car dealers are less than enthusiastic about the prospect of selling and servicing electric cars. Luckily, others are more game. Either way, what can you expect from your local electric car dealership when you take your shiny new EV in for a service? Training You'd be...

  • 2011 Nissan Leaf

    Just days after Nissan confirmed that customer deliveries of the 2011 Leaf would commence in Japan on December 20, Nissan USA has confirmed that the very first customer vehicle will be delivered in a few days’ time, on December 11. The delivery will be to an unnamed Northern Californian resident and marks the start of Nissan’s official delivery schedule. Yes, we know world-cycling legend Lance Armstrong took delivery of his all-black LEAF back in October, but since Armstrong was actively involved in advertising the LEAF we feel his car, a pre-production model, doesn’t count...

  • 2011 Nissan Leaf
    Not All Nissan Dealers Will Initially Specialize In 2011 Leaf

    Remember how we found out a few weeks ago that some Nissan dealers in the U.K. were blissfully unaware of specifics of Nissan's first publicly sold production electric car? According to the dealers we spoke to, the 2011 Nissan Leaf would charge to full in ten minutes, would not be eligible for...

  • 2011 Chevrolet Volt
    AutoNation Promises 2011 Volt, Leaf To Sell For Sticker Price

    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...

  • 2011 Nissan Leaf
    So What Exactly DO You Have to Service On a 2011 Nissan Leaf?

    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...

  • President Obama inspects the 2011 Chevrolet Volt
    Over 600 Chevy Dealers In Launch Regions To Offer 2011 Volt

    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...

  • 2011 Chevrolet Volt
    Electric-Car Dealerships Struggle, But Why Such Surprise?

    A recent article in the Oakland Tribune highlights the high failure rate of independent car dealerships selling only electric vehicles. Frankly, we're not at all surprised. We worried readers might find a subtext that the slew of EV-only dealerships that have closed--in Berkeley, Concord, Davis...

  • 2010 Toyota Prius Sweepstakes

    As widely reported yesterday, Toyota has suspended sales of 8 models due to a faulty accelerator pedal mechanism. The defective part apparently causes the pedal to stick, resulting in unintended acceleration and loss of control of the vehicle. So what does a Chicagoland Toyota dealership do when it can't sell Corollas, Camrys or RAV4s until further notice? Give away a 2010 Prius at the Chicago Auto Show. That's what. Thirty Chicago-area dealers are collaborating to reward one lucky attendee with a new Prius hybrid on the last day of the show, on February 21. The contest starts today and...

  • Raging Grannies Protest Tesla
    Raging Grannies Protest Tesla's Possible Use of Toxic Dump Site For Future Model S Plant

      A group of concerned activists is raising questions about one potential location for Tesla's future Model S assembly plant. The Raging Grannies spent last Saturday in front of the Tesla dealership in Menlo Park, California, asking why the electric vehicle company might build their future plant...

  • 2009 Tesla Roadster
    Want $42K Off A New Tesla Roadster? Call Your Colorado Cousin

    [REVISED UPDATE, October 23: For awhile, it seemed too good to be true. The full text of Colorado House bill 09-1331, "An Act Concerning Incentives For Efficient Motor Vehicles," turns out to include a cap of $6,000 on the tax credit available for any low-emission car. The all-important phrase...

  • 2010 Toyota Prius
    2010 Toyota Prius Price-Gouging Pops Up

    We've just read some nice investigative reporting by DailyTech's Jason Mick on a well-known but infuriating phenomenon: auto dealer price gouging, in this case on the sought-after 2010 Toyota Prius. We're far from the only outlet to note that the Cash-For-Clunkers plan boosted sales of the 2010...

  • 2010 Toyota Prius
    Clunkers Success: 2010 Toyota Prius Almost Sold Out

    Last Tuesday, we noted that sales of the 2010 Toyota Prius have soared due to the Cash-for-Clunkers program. In fact, it's the fourth most popular vehicle purchased to replace a clunker trade-in. The unexpected success of the Clunkers trade-in system, formally known as the Car Allowance Rebate...

  • Tesla Model S and Roadster
    Tesla Bids Farewell To Marketing Boss, Prepares To Greet Chicago

    There's rarely a slow news day for Tesla Motors. Today, Tesla spokesperson, Rachel Konrad confirmed that a member of the executive team has resigned. According to Konrad, Michael van der Sande, who has served under the title of Senior Vice President of Global Sales, Marketing, and Service since...

  • Clunkers

    As expected, the US Senate voted yesterday to add $2 billion more to the Car Allowance Rebate Systems (CARS) program--better known as "Cash for Clunkers". President Barack Obama is expected to sign it today. The vote approved a bill identical to the one passed last Friday by the US House of Representatives, before it recessed for August. The cash is expected to last roughly through Labor Day, and provide funds for roughly half a million additional clunker trade-ins. The Clunkers plan has been remarkably successful at getting consumers into car dealerships, and the program appeared to have run...

  • Cash-for-Clunkers engine destruction, using sodium silicate solution, from Wayzata Nissan
    Killing Your Clunker Correctly: How a Dealer 'Disables' It

    The 135 pages of Cash-for-Clunkers regulations rules require the dealer who sells you your new, more fuel-efficient car to 'disable' the engine of your traded-in clunker. But how do those dealers actually destroy the engine? Three words: sodium silicate solution. It's a combination of water...

  • 2009 Fisker Karma
    Fisker Dealership Coming to South Florida

    If you live in South Florida, your Fisker dealership is on its way. Car selling veteran, Warren Henry Zinn, plans to open a Fisker Chic showroom in North Dade County by the fourth quarter of 2009. The new facility will showcase Fisker's $87,900 plug-in hybrid Karma sports sedan. Zinn's current...

  • scrap heap
    BREAKING: Cash for Clunkers Passes in House

    Late this afternoon, the US House of Representatives passed the tax-credit legislation commonly known as the "Cash for Clunkers" bill by a vote of 298 to 119. The House had reached agreement on terms for the legislation more than a month ago,  but the vote did not take place until today. The...

  • Tesla logo
    Tesla To Open Seven Dealerships This Summer

    Tesla Motors has confirmed that they will open seven new regional sales and services centers this summer. The new stores will be located in New York, Seattle, Chicago, Miami, London, Monaco and Munich. The New York, Chicago and London locations will all open within the next few weeks. The electric...

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