Green Car News

For a two-seat car priced at more than $100,000, not sold in North America, and with just 250 built, the Volkswagen XL1 gets an extraordinary amount of attention. That's due to the hugely high fuel-economy ratings for the tiny carbon-fiber vehicle powered by a diesel plug-in hybrid system. It's...

The Silicon Valley electric-car maker Tesla Motors seems to be in the news almost every day. Over the last two weeks, the company faced fallout over glitches in early Model S cars, and upgraded its powertrain warranty. It also turned the screws on states competing for its multibillion-dollar...

The Ford F-150 pickup might be one of America's best-selling vehicles, but the move to build the 2015 model from aluminum has required significant investment from Ford. To ensure that investment is worth it, the company is likely to use aluminum in several other vehicles to spread the development...

One indication that electric vehicles are clearly ready for the mainstream market is that they're already becoming desirable in the rarefied atmosphere of the supercar and sports car markets. The Renovo Coupe might not be much use for the average commuter--if only for budgetary reasons--but as a...

Chevrolet and Volkswagen make headlines today.

Time was when mid-size sedans routinely came with V-6 engines of 3.0 to 3.6 liters. But these days, those are rare and expensive high-end options--if they're even offered at all. The 2015 Ford Fusion sedan now has a simplified lineup of engines, and all of them continue to have just four...

The average new vehicle transaction price in the U.S. today is around $32,000. Now it appears that the upcoming 2016 Chevrolet Volt may possibly have two model variants, one of them targeting a base price of $30,000. That price could potentially equal--or undercut--every plug-in hybrid offered...

The Volkswagen XL1 is a high-technology, high-cost plug-in hybrid that, while intriguing, will do very little do directly change the automotive landscape. Like many such projects though, lessons learned from its development and status as a rolling economy experiment could help production...

Sometimes mathematical logic is simply swept aside by the more primal emotions: fear, anxiety, and insecurity. Which is why so many car buyers make choices that cost them money in the long run. Some of those choices may be luxury items they want but don't need; others may be capabilities they'll...

Plenty of Honda and Tesla stories today.

The 2014 Honda Accord Hybrid received very positive reviews when it was launched almost a year ago. Its EPA fuel-efficiency rating of 47 mpg combined approaches that of the 50-mpg Toyota Prius, but the Accord is a more conventional looking mid-size sedan--a plus for many buyers. Yet sales have been...

The first BMW i8 plug-in hybrid coupes were delivered amid the appropriately-upscale atmosphere of Pebble Beach.

The last time Honda made a 1.0-liter gasoline engine, it broke new records for fuel efficiency. Found under the hood of the original Insight hybrid, it still has the highest gas mileage of any EPA-rated non-plugin. It also took International Engine of the Year in 2000, and won that competition's...

Saleen used the 2014 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance to unveil its take on the Tesla Model S electric sedan, the FourSixteen. More familiar to fans of high-performance gasoline-fueled road cars, Saleen has gone green with its latest modified vehicle, a car company boss Steve Saleen describes as...

Tesla will expand the drivetrain warranty for all Model S electric cars, including ones already on the road.

Hydrogen fuel, a hybrid garbage truck, and an electric luxury car make headlines today.

Ford will install a solar canopy over parking spaces at its Michigan headquarters.

While battery-electric and plug-in hybrid cars have had much of the spotlight to themselves for the past four years, we're going to be hearing a lot more about hydrogen fuel-cell cars over the next few. And a new study just released by the University of California--Davis suggests that we are...

Mark Reuss, the head of global product development for General Motors, has acknowledged that GM may not have a vehicle that competes directly with the Tesla Model S electric luxury sedan. Speaking yesterday at a business breakfast associated with the weekend's Dream Cruise event in Detroit, Reuss...

We can buy a hybrid or electric vehicles and cover the roof of our homes in solar panels, but when it comes to other aspects of our daily lives a fossil-fuel reducing lifestyle is often a the whim of local governments or private businesses. One we often forget about, at least until they wake you...