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A chatbot would never lie to you, right? That’s what I wanted to find out when I tested a Facebook Messenger chatbot for the 2017 Kia Niro crossover, which recently won the Guinness Book of World Records for the lowest fuel consumption for a hybrid vehicle. (It was an interesting competition, because two people drove across the United States using only around four tanks of fuel or 48.5 gallons.) DON'T MISS: 2017 Kia Niro hybrid: first drive report Surprisingly, the chatbot is pretty smart. I asked it some basic questions about features and how the hybrid tech works. It quickly provided...
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Why Green Car Reports Writes About Full-Size Pickup Trucks
Once in a while, we're blind-sided by responses to an article we publish--and we learn something in the process. On December 23, we wrote about ways that the all-new 2015 Ford F-150 full-size pickup truck might get better gas mileage. We learned that at least some of our readers seem to resent the...
John Voelcker -
Leaf Drivers Publicly Shame Selfish Charging-Station User
Imagine the scenario: You’re heading to a meeting and leave your shiny 2011 Nissan Leaf electric car plugged in at the local charging station, confident that it will have enough charge to get you back home when you return in a few hours. Then you return to find another electric car owner has...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Ford Polls Facebook Fans For 2012 Focus Electric Noises (Video)
Whether you think they're needed or not, all electric and hybrid cars are going to be required to fit noisemakers so that they can't be missed at speeds of 15 mph or below. To involve its fans, Ford posted four possible sounds for the noise that its upcoming 2012 Ford Focus Electric will emit as...
John Voelcker -
Mitsubishi Goes Social For 2012 i Electric Car, Focuses Adverts Online
Traditionally, automakers spend the majority of their marketing budgets on advertising new cars through traditional formats such as television adverts, billboards and glossy adverts in magazines. But Japanese automaker Mitsubishi has chosen to buck the trend, focusing a huge amount of its...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2013 Chevy Malibu LTZ Concept Gets Only Four-Cylinder Engines
It may be named after an exclusive Los Angeles beach community, but the Chevrolet Malibu is going global. In a big way. Chevy has just released a teaser photo and a few details of the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu LTZ concept car it will unveil at the Auto Shanghai 2011 show, just 36 hours before media...
John Voelcker -
You might have seen our coverage earlier this week on “EV Killed the EVO Star: Mitsubishi Kills the EVO.” It seemed like an appropriate play on words and even more appropriate is the response. Yes, that would be denial and redirection. Mitsubishi was quick to post on its Facebook page a response to the reports that the EVO would be dead after this model year. So the update—it won’t be dead until next model year or 2013 for those keeping track. Okay, okay, so it isn’t necessarily that it will be dead, but it might just change. The company is “considering not...
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What Are The Turning Radii Of The New Toyota Prii?
Toyota announced this week that it had ended what it called a “decade-long debate” by decreeing that the plural of Prius would be Prii henceforth and to the end of time. Okay, they didn’t say that last part. Toyota unveiled the winning word at the Chicago Auto Show this morning...
IEEE Spectrum -
MINI Launches the MINI Motorsports Fan Page on Facebook
Earlier this week MINI announced via their Facebook fan page their newest addition to the social media community—MINI Motorsports. The point of the fan page is to promote the brand’s participation in motorsports around the world and not just from corporate sponsored...
Jonathan McGrew -
Revenge Of The Electric Car Trailer: Watch It Now! [Video]
It's finally here! Well, the trailer is anyway... We announced just under a month ago that the long awaited sequel to the film Who Killed The Electric Car?, the logically titled Revenge Of The Electric Car (ROTEC), would be previewed with a trailer released when 10,000 people became fans of the...
Antony Ingram -
Follow Green Car Reports On Our Facebook Page Too!
EDITOR'S NOTE: We originally published this article on September 20, but we wanted to alert readers once more that you can now follow us on Facebook. We're eager to reach out and connect with you wherever you're spending your time online, and the discussion on our Facebook page has gotten pretty...
John Voelcker -
Help Plug In America, MBA Student Analyze Social Media EV Role
As you'll no doubt be aware, websites such as AllCarsElectric and our sister site GreenCarReports use social media such as Twitter and Facebook to allow our readers to keep up to date with the latest EV and green car news. We aren't alone, either. Companies like Nissan, GM, THINK, Smart and various...
Antony Ingram -
You really do have to chuckle at the amount of communication one can have in this era. The irony is that it might all be with the aid of a computer of some shape or form. Ford has really tapped into this concept of social media, as we mentioned in our earlier article today about their Scribd.com rebate announcement. However, not all of the social media is just about selling the cars. Okay, okay, I knew I wouldn’t get away with that. Yes, all the social media in some form is trying to create a sense of community and need for those with or looking to own a car in any segment that Ford...
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Get Green Car Reports Via Our New E-Mail, Better RSS Feeds
Want to follow the latest news and information on green cars of all varieties, from high-mileage to hybrid, clean diesel to fully electric vehicles? Now we're launching a brand-new, redesigned daily e-mail update. If you'd like to have all our headlines delivered to your Inbox in one nice, tidy...
John Voelcker -
Toyota Seeks Country's 'Most Passionate Prius Fan' on Facebook
The Toyota Prius is the quintessential hybrid vehicle, with an instantly recognizable shape and a place in history confirmed by the South Park "Smug" episode. It seems like it's been with us forever, but in fact, Toyota only sold its very first 2000 Prius in the U.S. just 10 years ago. To celebrate...
John Voelcker -
Can GM Convince You a 2011 Chevy Volt Is the Go-Anywhere EV?
As we count down the months before the first 2011 Chevrolet Volts arrive at dealers in California, New York, Michigan, and Washington, D.C., it's time for the latest reboot of the Chevy marketing machine to kick into action. Chevrolet said in a press conference last week it would start running ads...
John Voelcker -
2011 Chevy Volt: Freedom Drive Underway, GM Offers T-Shirts
Taking a break from the relentless drumbeat of news about Tesla Motors, its stock offering this week, and the latest model of its electric two-seater, the Roadster 2.5--we bring you a story about the upcoming 2011 Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric vehicle. Specifically, a Volt is now en route...
John Voelcker -
2010 Toyota Prius: On the Road, And In Social Media Too
Carmakers have dived into the deep end of social media, with iPhone apps, Facebook pages, Twitter streams, and a whole host of other online ways to reach potential buyers and promote their brands. Not surprisingly, given the affluent, environmentally aware nature of its audience, the 2010 Toyota...
John Voelcker