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The annual event known as "SEMA" (for Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Assocation) has grown from its simple trade show origins into a global extravaganza bigger than most auto shows. Imagine the hugest Kustom Kar event you can possibly conjure. On steroids. In Vegas. SEMA is now a mandatory stop...

November is a time to give thanks...for the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA). These are the people and companies who make car enthusiasts drool with automotive add-ons and accessories fit for a classic episode of Pimp My Ride. Each November, when the SEMA show takes place in Las Vegas...

The next episode of TLC's American Chopper will showcase more than a contentious family feud. The Siemens Smart Chopper will be featured on the show airing tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. eastern time. Orange County Choppers built the Siemens-engineered electric motorcycle, which uses an Advanced DC Motors...

Auto executives know how to get U.S. drivers to save a whole lot more gasoline: Raise the price of gas, to at least $4 a gallon. That was the message at the recent Reuters Autos Summit in Detroit this week. The simplest way to get U.S. drivers into cars with higher gas mileage is economic: Make it...

Continuing our series on 2010 Toyota Prius reviews from around the web, this week we turn to Jason Mick of TechDaily. He spent an entire week with a 2010 Prius V, the most upmarket trim level, and loved it. Mick isn't entirely new to AllAboutPrius.com. In late August, we reported on his...

Researchers at Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) have succeeded in making the world’s first Ni-Li battery, a formulation that holds more than 3.5 times the energy of Li-ion batteries and doesn’t run the risk of catching fire. By including a...

Dates and cities have been announced for the "Zero Emission Tour" that will introduce the 2012 Nissan Leaf hatchback electric car to potential buyers in the U.S. markets where it will first be sold. The car won't be sold nationwide for more than two years. Instead, it will be offered where Nissan...

We seem to be covering the 2010 Volkswagen Golf TDI clean diesel hatchback an awful lot here, but a recent blog post raised an issue we hadn't considered: How far can the 2010 Golf TDI go on a single tankful of diesel fuel? The question comes from blogger, host of #carchat on Twitter, and general...

It's long been the dream of Toyota's U.S. arm that the company would add additional body styles to the Prius line. And Toyota finally gave the nod to that idea earlier this year. Now, details are starting to emerge on the new models that will join the all-new, third-generation 2010 Toyota Prius...

As U.S. carmakers get serious about building world-class compact cars, one of the most eagerly awaited entries is the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze, which will face off against a totally new 2012 Ford Focus as well as revised models of the Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, and Nissan Sentra. Now reports say that...

During a trip to Detroit last week, we had a chance to spend a couple of days with the all-new 2010 Chevrolet Equinox five-pasenger crossover sport-utility vehicle. We'd wanted to try this vehicle for some time, as most reviews deemed it vastly superior to the previous model. Certainly it's got...

  Fisker CEO and founder Henrik Fisker was joined by US Vice-President Joe Biden in a dormant former GM assembly plant in Wilmington Delaware to announce that the plant will be purchased by Fisker. The plant will be used to support project NINA, the company's effort to build an affordable family...

Honda has the highest average fleet mileage of any volume carmaker selling in the U.S. market today. And it's had that distinction for many years. But in the face of the car-market meltdown, oil prices that have risen from $30 to $80 a barrel within months, and growing global environmental...

Daimler recently made the commitment to update and expand its Rastatt factory by 2011.  The company will invest over 600 million euros to retool the facility in time for the release of its next generation, sub-compact and compact A and B Class vehicles.  This decision has been in the works for...

Every so often, we like to take a look at what other reviewers have said about the 2010 Toyota Prius hybrid. So we were excited to hear that the Detroit News, from the bowels of Big Three territory, was doing a hybrid showdown comparison test. The paper rated eight mass-priced hybrids, leaving out...

The Ford Escape compact sport utility, including its hybrid model, is now long in the tooth or beyond. It was first introduced as a 2001  model, and has been restyled twice. It still sells well, though, and Ford continues to update the hybrid model. Nonetheless, it's overdue for replacement. Now...

I've often wondered who names the colors of things like the sweaters, paint, and cars. Who gets to decide which shade of red is spicy enough to be "Caliente" or cute enough to be "Valentine" or hot enough to be "Red Hot?" Are there specialists who deal only in beiges and grays, others who are...

[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...

Volvo may be a newcomer to the hybrid segment, but the company has been actively working on hybrids for nearly 20 years.  Back in 1992, Volvo displayed their first hybrid concept car, but the vehicle never saw production.  Now Volvo has the intention of producing a plug-in hybrid with some high...

Back in April, startup company Bright Automotive unveiled its design for a plug-in hybrid light delivery truck. Now, we've had a chance to drive the prototype, briefly, just as Bright raised its electric range to 40 miles. Our test vehicle was the only Bright IDEA van prototype built thus far by...