Electric Cars

Recently natural gas vehicles received additional funding from the federal government.  The House of Representatives voted highly in favor of a bill reauthorizing the Department of Energy's natural gas automotive research program.  The bill passed with a vote of 393 in favor and only 35...

Ontario, Canada is not widely recognized or discussed when talking about advanced technology vehicles, but now they can lay claim to a title of "World's Best" in this category. Ontario recently announced an incentive program for buyers of hybrids and EVs.  This program will start next July and...

Honda denies that insight imitates the look of the Prius

BMW X-6 Hybrid offers 480 HP and 20% Better Mileage

Behind every iconic brand is a skilled marketing team led by a brilliant visionary. Think Mini, think VW. Kerri Martin is the visionary leader to iPod-ify those brands, to make them hip, interesting, desirable. Today, Coda Automotive announced that Martin, 39, will be their first Chief Marketing...

Piaggio is Europe's number one producer of scooters.  Scooters are a vital part of many people's day to day adventures throughout Europe.  They are used much more frequently there than here and are essential to the transportation needs of many individuals.  Now, Europeans will have the...

As mentioned yesterday on our site, the Plug-In 2009 Conference in Long Beach, California is underway.  Many products, ideas, and innovations will be presented during the three day expo focusing on plug-in technology.  One product comes from a company called GridPoint.  Called Smart Charging...

When Hyundai releases their Sonata Hybrid in late 2010 they'll be entering a crowded field. The critically acclaimed Ford Fusion Hybrid, the Toyota Camry Hybrid, and the Nissan Altima Hybrid, already compete in this "green" midsize sedan segment. Hyundai hopes that the Sonata will distinguish...

GM Announces EPA Mileage Rating For Volt

Coming this September, the Senate is expected take up discussion on the looming and unsure Climate Bill.  This bill will have a major impact on the automotive industry, but little is known about the specifics surrounding the bill.  Right now, the bill is loosely referred to as the Climate and...

Lo and behold, the New York Times got it right. Four days ago, we highlighted a story in the Times about an all-electric Volvo C30 hatchback. Today, Autocar has confirmed that the Swedish automaker is indeed working on a drivable electric C30 for its Innovation for Life event, which will take place...

California EV company acquires more juice

Chrysler and GM have battled with bankruptcy concerns for some time now, but Ford has remained on level ground.  With certain vehicles driving the new Ford, they seem able to support themselves and stave off bankruptcy.  Why is Ford surviving as the other American automakers are struggling?...

According to official rules released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China, the country has agreed to support the development of lithium-ion batteries for full electric and hybrid electric passenger vehicles. Effective immediately, the new guidelines are outlined in a...

In the automotive world, one thing is almost a given. Secrets don't stay secrets for long, and nothing remains unknown until the day it is revealed. As hard as companies try, leaks get out and eventually the press has news to write about. The same is true about GM's new 230 ad campaign pictured...

If you think 18' tall flowers can only be the product of your imagination, an acid trip or a sci-fi novel, a visit to Navy Pier in Chicago may change your mind. As part of the launch of the 2010 Prius, so-called "Solar Flowers" will be on display from August 8 - 22 in the City of Broad Shoulders...

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...

The Senate voted on and approved $2 billion in additional funds for the CARS, Cash for Clunkers program.  The vote passed with those in favor numbering 60 and those against coming in at 37. The bill has also been signed into law by President Obama.  The additional funds could not come quickly...

On August 7th, Silicon Valley-based Tesla Motors announced that they have achieved profitability, something CEO Elon Musk had previously predicted would happen. In the month of July they had $1 million of earnings on revenue of $20 million. In the same month they delivered 109 Roadsters, the most...

In a word: comfortable. That is the best one-word summary of our long road trip in the Lexus HS 250h. Two words? VERY comfortable. Our road trip was from metro Detroit to Cedar Point, a round trip of about 250 miles, mostly on the freeway using cruise control. Our average miles per gallon was 37.6...