New York
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In 1990, the Clean Air Act amendments set out special rules regarding the manufacture and sale of gasoline in the U.S. This week, some of those rules have been suspended in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. The amendments require that reformulated gasoline, or RFG, be used in cities with high levels of smog (though other cities can mandate its use if they like). RFG burns more cleanly than conventional gas, usually because it's been treated with oxygenates. Today, RFG is used in 17 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Which is fine most of the time. But earlier this week, Sandy swept ashore...
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2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid: Very Short First Drive
Memo to carmakers: Midtown Manhattan on a weekday can be a challenging, frustrating place to hold a test drive. Two days ago, we drove the new 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid at a Ford media event, one of a handful across the country to show off its redesigned mid-size sedan. The 2013 Fusion will be...
John Voelcker -
Nissan's Taxi Of Tomorrow Could Kill Off NYC's Hybrid Taxis
Just as London has its iconic black cabs, New York would be a distinctly different place without thousands of Ford Crown Victorias cruising its streets, in their distinctive yellow livery. Even so, the past decade has seen vehicles like the Ford Escape Hybrid becoming a popular yellow cab...
Antony Ingram -
New York's City Council Wants Electric Taxis: Why?
If you want to change things in New York City, it pays to take the long view. Some real-estate deals take decades to assemble, with families hanging onto key development sites for generations. So a recent bill introduced by two New York City Councilmembers can be viewed as the latest step in a long...
John Voelcker -
Electric-Car Charging In The Heart Of New York: How Easy?
Our recent test of a 2012 Mitsubishi 'i' electric minicar was actually the first time we've tested a pure battery electric car in New York City. While the relatively short distances covered in NYC would seem well suited to plug-in cars, there's the big issue of recharging. With most residents not...
John Voelcker -
Little Car, Big Apple: Renault Twizy In New York City
When we drove the Renault Twizy on the island of Ibiza last month, we asked whether Renault would actually sell any. A vehicle that's virtually ideal for a sun-drenched island may not work so well in a rainy country like the U.K, or the colder climates of Eastern Europe. We did find it very much...
Antony Ingram -
A week ago today, you may have seen a small caravan of green cars wending its way through the streets of Manhattan. Or you may not have noticed them at all amidst yellow cabs, delivery trucks, sport utilities with drivers texting or talking on their phones, and all the other hazards of driving in a world capital designed before the invention of the car. The green fleet ended up at Times Square after completing an "E" pattern through the street grid of the city, part of a global Earth Day art project conceived by Danish artist Jacob Fuglsang Mikkelsen. We were lucky enough to drive one of only...
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Nissan e-NV 200 Concept Electric Minivan: NYC's Electric Taxi?
The vehicle in the photos is blue, but imagine it in New York City taxicab yellow, complete with a black checkboard stripe and mismatched fonts in the logo. The Nissan e-NV 200 Concept electric minivan shown here could well be NYC's next taxi sometime toward the end of the decade. The vehicle it's...
John Voelcker -
Nissan Leaf Electric Taxis Take On NYC In Pilot Plug-In Plan
With good reason, it's often said that the toughest auto endurance testing in the world is in taxi duty on the streets of New York City (and Jakarta, and Beijing, and Rio). While the New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission has pushed aggressively for high-mileage hybrids--mostly Ford Escape...
John Voelcker -
Ford Transit Connect Hits NYC And LA Taxi Fleets
The Ford Transit Connect, in both gasoline and CNG versions, has begun deployment for taxi duty from coast to coast.
Kurt Ernst -
Las Vegas Gambles On Chevrolet Volt For City Fleet
Las Vegas is better known for its excess than its frugality, but city bosses are turning that image around by trialling a fleet of electric cars, the first of which is GM's range-extended electric vehicle, the 2011 Chevrolet Volt. The trial will make the city the only government agency in the state...
Antony Ingram -
Move Over Ford: Nissan Plans All-Electric Future For NY Taxis
From the iconic Ford Crown Victoria through to the Ford Escape Hybrids replacing many of them as part of air quality legislature coming into force in 2012, Ford’s relationship with the New York taxi is a long one. But Ford’s chance to electrify the humble New York City taxi with its...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Now that the 2011 Chevy Volt is on sale, car buyers can experience electric vehicles with range-extending engines in everyday driving. And the Volt is just the start. In the future, range extenders to generate electric power will move beyond the Volt's standard car engine to purpose-built designs. One could be the tiny Lotus 1.2-liter three-cylinder engine-and-generator set, and another might be small diesel or gas turbine engines. Jaguar was the first major automaker to pioneer this concept, with the striking C-X75 concept coupe it debuted last fall. The design study was praised for its...
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Weekend Wheels: 2011 Nissan Juke--What Do You Want To Know?
We like small cars, not only because they're fuel efficient but because they're usually more fun and engaging to drive than larger ones. But this being winter in the Northeast, we also need an all-wheel-drive vehicle on weekends, when we head up into the mountains. And that severely limits the...
John Voelcker -
Big Success For GM's IPO, But Symbolism Sows Seeds of Worry
By all accounts, the initial public offering of General Motors stock yesterday was a huge success. Demand for the shares was five times the initial allocation, prompting the company both to raise the amount it sold and raise the price. At the end of the day, GM stock [NYSE:GM] closed higher than...
John Voelcker -
New York Power Authority Embraces Ford's Electric Future
New York City has one of the best mass transit systems of any major metropolis. But the City itself is still noisy, polluted and congested. The first two may soon be eased, thanks to continuing work from New York’s Power Authority (NYPA), which showcased a range of all-electric and hybrid...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Cities Want High-Mileage Hybrid Taxis; Judge Says It's Illegal
If you've been to New York City lately, you may have noticed an increasing number of hybrid taxis on the roads: mostly Ford Escape Hybrid SUVs, but also Toyota Camry Hybrid and Nissan Altima Hybrid sedans, and a scattering of others too. It's part of a long-term plan to green the fleet of 14,000...
John Voelcker -
New York And Texas To Join 2011 Chevrolet Volt Launch Markets
The 2011 Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric vehicle will be upon us soon, very soon in fact, but for a few select markets, the Volt will arrive much earlier than elsewhere. GM has confirmed that the Volt will be launched initially in California, Michigan and Washington D.C. this fall but...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Sales of the new 2010 Volkswagen Golf (MkVI) are picking up pace all around the country and considering the car’s solid feel, classy styling and German engineering, it’s easy to understand why. Oh, did we mention that it’s also available with a dual clutch transmission and a frugal turbodiesel engine that returns more than 40 mpg on the highway? It’s little wonder the Golf is such a sales success all around the world--but in a country that prefers sedans over hatchbacks, there’s one very important model in the Volkswagen lineup that’s yet to be released. Sales of the new 2011...
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2010 New York Auto Show Preview: 40-MPG 2011 Chevy Cruze Eco
The trend started in Europe, and now every car make seems to have a green sub-brand. For a while, Chevy used the "XFE" label, but its highest-mileage 2011 Chevrolet Cruze is to be called the Eco. The EPA hasn't released final gas-mileage figures, but Chevrolet expects the 2011 Cruze Eco to be rated...
John Voelcker -
Early EVs Won't Need Many Public Charge Points, Says NYC
New York City often startles people, and it stayed true to form in a recent analysis done by McKinsey & Company for the city's PlaNYC planning group, "Exploring Electric Vehicle Adoption in New York City." In particular, one of the report's conclusions may come as a shock to many...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Taxi? Hybrid Cab Owner Customizes Electric Roadster
Anyone in the world who's ever seen a movie set in New York City can recognize a New York taxi. It's yellow with black graphics. So would you mistake this 2009 Tesla Roadster Sport for a taxi and hail it on the streets of Monaco? Probably not, but it's a tribute to the hacks of New York just the...
John Voelcker -
NYC announces deal for 10 MINI Es
Of the 50 MINI Es that MINI USA is making available for fleet use testing, today New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced that ten of them will be prowling his streets, looking for graffitti, potholes, and other unsightly blemishes as part of the city's Street Condition Observation Unit...
Jennifer Knightstep