loans
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Incentives to purchase zero-emission cars come in a wild variety of types, from California's rebates--essentially a four-figure check in the mail--to single-occupant access to carpool lanes. The U.S. government has a Federal income-tax credit of $2,500 to $7,500 for purchase of a plug-in car that varies with the car's battery pack size. Now Scotland has offered one that we've not seen before--though if you have, please let us know. DON'T MISS: World's First Entirely Renewable-Energy Place: Wind-Swept Scottish Island The country's Energy Saving Trust is offering its citizens interest-free...
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As Predicted, Fisker Execs & DoE Get Roasted In House Hearing
Fisker Automotive CEO Tony Posawatz didn't attend yesterday's House committee hearing on the company's loan from the U.S. Department of Energy. He's out desperately seeking saviors to avert bankruptcy for the struggling startup electric-car maker, but he still may have had the better day. The title...
John Voelcker -
Rejected For Loans Tesla Got, Inflatable Car Firm Sues DoE 3 Years Later
Oh, those DoE loans. They arose in the recent U.S. presidential debate--not just once or twice, but three times--and continue to generate debate. So here's more fuel for the fire: A company rejected three years ago for loans is now suing the DoE. Its proposed product? An inflatable electric car...
John Voelcker -
Chrysler Abandons Quest For Energy Dept Low-Interest Loans
The U.S. Department of Energy hasn't made any new loans under its Advanced Technology Vehicle Program in well over a year. At its current rate, it may never do so. The latest company to walk away from applications for low-interest loans from the $25 billion DoE program is Chrysler. This afternoon...
John Voelcker -
Earthquake To Delay U.S. Assembly of Nissan Leaf Electric Cars?
By far the most ambitious plan to build and assemble electric cars in the U.S. comes not from General Motors or Ford, but from Nissan. Now, it may happen a little later than expected, due to the March 11 earthquake and resulting tsunami that severely damaged large portions of Japan's industrial...
John Voelcker -
DoE's Chu Hopes Chrysler Can Play With Big Kids, Get Loans At Last
Well, looks like Chrysler is getting closer to playing with the big kids at last. The back-from-bankruptcy third U.S. automaker, now effectively controlled by Italy's Fiat, is putting together a financial package that will allow it to pay off all the money invested in it by the Obama Administration...
John Voelcker -
Well, give them credit for resolve, anyway. General Motors said today it was withdrawing its applications to the U.S. Department of Energy for $14.4 billion of low-interest loans under the DoE's advanced technology vehicle manufacturing program. That's the program that so far has granted loans to Ford, Nissan, and Tesla in June 2009, and added more for Fisker the following September. Under the terms of the loans, carmakers must refurbish factories to make cars or parts that are at least 25 percent more fuel-efficient than the ones they replace. Ford will use its $8 billion of loans primarily...
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Want To Buy a Toyota Prius Hybrid? This Is The Month To Do It
Auto executives always want you to buy their cars, today. That goes without saying. But it's slightly less common for them to say, in effect, "This is the month to buy, 'cause we're going to be discounting the heck out of 'em." Nonetheless, that was the message from Bob Carter, Toyota's group vice...
John Voelcker -
Struggling Startup Carmaker V-Vehicles Names CEO, Renames Itself
Startups are hard. Automaker startups may be harder. But one of the necessary qualities in startups--tenacity--was on display recently from Next Autoworks. New name, new CEO That's the new name of the former V-Vehicles Inc., which attracted funding from famed Silicon Valley venture firm Kleiner...
John Voelcker -
Senate Energy Bill: $$$ for Natural-Gas Vehicles, EVs Get Less
If there's even a chance for the U.S. Congress to pass an energy bill this year, it's going to be a long and tortuous slog. But the first cut at legislation, introduced yesterday, offers $4 billion for infrastructure and subsidies for natural-gas vehicles (NGVs), but just a tenth of that for the...
John Voelcker -
GM, Chrysler To Join Ford, Tesla in DoE Retooling Loan Queue
Over the last year, the U.S. Department of Energy has granted almost $9 billion of low-interest loans to help automakers retool for more fuel-efficient cars. But until now, General Motors and Chrysler had been shut out while Ford, Nissan, and Tesla were awarded loans last June, joined by Fisker in...
John Voelcker -
GM To Invest $890 Million In Making Its V-8 Engines Save Gas
Going green on the road may involve smaller engines, electric cars, and clean diesels, but it also requires making all engines far more fuel efficient. To that end, General Motors will announce this morning that it will invest almost one billion dollars in five separate plants to build a new, far...
John Voelcker -
Just a month after being turned down for low-interest loans by the U.S. Department of Energy, the reclusive V-Vehicle Co. has shown a drivable prototype of its affordable, green V-Car to Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal and members of the press in Baton Rouge. While no photos were allowed, many more details have emerged of the car and its equipment. V-Vehicle says the V-Car would sell in the very low five figures--perhaps for no more than $11,000. Before now, the mystery car had been seen only by a handful of investors. Loan quest ongoing Under interim CEO (and noted venture capitalist) Ray...
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DoE Says No, Denies Secretive Startup V-Vehicle Loan Request
Looks like secretive startup V-Vehicle Co. won't be joining Ford, Nissan, Tesla, and Fisker in getting government guarantees for low-interest loans to invest in advanced vehicle technology. Yesterday the U.S. Department of Energy turned down a $321.1 million loan application by V-Vehicle (VVC)...
John Voelcker -
Wait A Month For Details of 2e Electric Car, Aptera Says
On Friday, Aptera held its first online Town Hall Meeting--a chat among eager followers and some of the Aptera marketing team. Their intent, according to the opening spiel, was to "reduce some of the mystery around the company and open our supporters and depositors up to some of the great things...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
It's Official: Aptera 2e And Other Three-Wheelers Are Cars Now
By voting 80 to 17 to approve a compromise bill allocating $33.5 billion to fund energy and water projects, the U.S. Senate yesterday also redefined what qualifies as an "automobile". Once President Barack Obama signs the measure, a vehicle with only three wheels can--for the purpose of allocating...
John Voelcker -
Video: Fox News Criticizes DOE Loans to Fisker and Tesla
While discussing two upstart electric car companies, contributors to the self proclaimed "fair and balanced" Fox News Channel (FNC) have proven that they are not smarter than a fifth grader. Jeff Foxworthy didn't even have to ask a single question. In reports criticizing recent Department of Energy...
Robert Scardino -
More Tesla Turmoil? Executive Turnover Continues
Executive turnover continues at Silicon Valley electric-car startup Tesla Motors, with three executives leaving in nine months and two more hired. The turnover comes both in Vehicle Engineering--the group that must executive and deliver the 2012 Tesla Model S electric luxury sports sedan--and in...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Motors wants you to know that they won't be a niche automaker for long. CEO, Elon Musk has repeatedly affirmed that he expects his electric vehicle company to compete in the mainstream market with the big boys. With a lineup consisting of two-seat sports cars costing more than $100,000, and limited to 244 miles per charge, the average American can only lust after Musk's creations. That's about to change. Tesla plans to augment their vehicle roster in a major way over the next six to seven years. Their 7-passenger Model S sport sedan is expected to debut in 2011. After a $7,500 tax...
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Poetry In Motion? It's the 2010 Tesla Model S Electric Sedan
Back in April, GreenCarReports.com was lucky enough to get a ride in the world's only running version of the 2012 Tesla Model S electric sedan. It happened at the car's New York City preview, the first time since its unveiling in an LA rocket factory that it was seen in public. Now, a prototype of...
John Voelcker -
Why $2.4 Billion of Battery Grants? To Get US Competitive in Electric Cars
It's now clearer than ever: Electric cars are coming to showrooms near you. They will be fully competitive, their makers are deadly serious, and they will be "real cars" rather than the golf carts people seem to worry about. At GreenCarReports.com, we've experienced the 2011 Chevrolet Volt mule...
John Voelcker -
Nissan Exec Says Investments For Battery Production Will Exceed $1 Billion
Last month Nissan received $1.6 billion in subsidized loans from the U.S. Department of Energy to prepare their plant in Smyrna, Tennessee for the production of electric vehicles and lithium-ion batteries. At the Reuters Japan Investment Summit on Wednesday, senior vice president and head of...
Robert Scardino -
Five Questions To Ask About Those DoE Advanced-Tech Loans
On Tuesday, we covered the news that Ford, Nissan, and Tesla had been granted a total of $8 billion in low-interest loans by the US Department of Energy to retool for advanced automotive technologies. With a few days under our belt, we've considered the story and have a few questions for you to...
John Voelcker