Green Car News
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The Volkswagen Up is one of our favorite 'forbidden fruit' cars. Sold in Europe, it's a rival to vehicles like the Chevrolet Spark in the 'A' segment. It's lightweight, simple, economical and inexpensive to buy--everything a small car should be. Some of those parameters could be about to change, as Volkswagen debates installing a high-tech powertrain in the car for even greater economy. Volkswagen Up: Forbidden Fruit First Drive According to Autocar, VW is developing an Up using the two-cylinder diesel hybrid drivetrain found in the XL1 plug-in hybrid, newly announced for production. In that...
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BMW i3 Electric Car, i8 Plug-In Hybrid: First Rides For JournalistsTwo of the most exciting electric vehicles due over the next few years both originate from German automaker, BMW. The i3 city car and i8 sports car are both clean-sheet designs, developed from the ground up as plug-in vehicles. With carbon-fiber chassis, purpose-designed interiors and unique...
Antony Ingram -
Tesla Motors, Model S, And NY Times: Google+ Hangout VideoTesla Motors, a notorious review in The New York Times of its Model S electric sedan, and the company's future were the topics of discussion last week among High Gear Media editors during a Google+ Hangout on Air video chat. The participants were editorial director Marty Padgett, social media...
Joel Feder -
2014 Jeep Cherokee: New, Greener 4x4 With Old Name (Photos)Here you are: These are the first photos of the new 2014 Jeep Cherokee. Yep, that's right: Cherokee. No, not Grand Cherokee. Plain old Cherokee, the revival of a name that vanished (in the U.S.) a decade ago, although it's lived on in Europe. The new 2014 Cherokee is Jeep's replacement for the old...
John Voelcker -
Electric Lamborghini? Nope, Just A Rich Guy Who Can't ReadPlenty of supercar makers are getting in on the electric car act, these days. Porsche, Ferrari and McLaren all have hybrids and plug-in hybrids on the way--McLaren's was revealed just the other day. Then there are dedicated electric supercars, like the Rimac Concept One, or Mercedes SLS AMG E-Cell...
Antony Ingram -
Zero Will Now Sell You, Too, An All-Electric Cop MotorcycleImagine, for a second, you're doing some dodgy criminal dealings, and the cops are onto your hideout location. You still have time though--you've heard no sirens, no vehicle pulling up outside the warehouse. And that would be your final mistake--just because you've not heard anything, doesn't mean...
Antony Ingram -
All is not well with Japan's electric taxi drivers. Two years ago, in February 2011, the city of Osaka introduced a fleet of fifty Nissan Leaf taxis. The deal was a cooperative arrangement between Nissan, 30 taxi firms, and the government--each was being subsidized to the tune of 1,780,000 Yen--over $21,000 at the time. The car's would clean up Japan's clogged streets, an improvement on the ubiquitous, square-jawed Toyota Crown taxis used throughout Japanese cities. And initially, reports Japan Today, they went down a storm. “It’s not fatiguing to drive them. There’s no...
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Elon Musk & SolarCity Offer Honda, Acura Owners Subsidized Solar PowerDo you own a Honda, or maybe an Acura? You might be eligible for a discount on solar power at your home. If you think that sounds strange, you're right. Why would a solar company partner with an automaker to provide solar arrays for owners of certain cars? The answer appears to be: market research...
Richard Read -
Fisker Drops Lawsuit Against Insurer Over 300 Flooded KarmasRemember those 338 Fisker Karma electric cars wrecked by Hurricane Sandy while they were sitting on a Port Newark dock? Remember the December lawsuit Fisker filed against its insurance company after its $33 million claim was denied? Never mind. Yesterday, according to Bloomberg, Fisker Automotive...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Stock Sinks After Release Of 2012 Financial ResultsYesterday was a bumpy ride for the stockholders of electric-car maker Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA]. Following the company's Wednesday release of its 2012 financial results, including an after-hours conference call, the stock plummeted yesterday. Before the earnings call, it had closed Wednesday at...
John Voelcker -
Ford Focus Electric Won't Sell Well, Says FordSome makers are investing in battery electric cars and doing their darnedest to make them market successes--think Nissan or Tesla, for example. Ford does not appear to be one of those companies. Since the second month that its plug-in hybrid C-Max Energi went on the market, its monthly sales have...
John Voelcker -
BMW To Use Geniuses Like Apple--To Sell i3 Electric CarsIf you've ever bought a car, you might have experienced the frustration that comes with a sales person who doesn't really know about the car they're selling. That's not an experience you'll have had in an Apple retail store though, where the Genius Bar program provides product experts to hand out...
Antony Ingram -
Stars and green cars are nothing new--several have admitted to owning Toyota Prius in the past, while others have been spotted in Tesla Roadsters or Fisker Karmas. At Global Green USA's 10th Pre-Oscar party on Wednesday, a host more stars were caught alongside two electric vehicles--the 2013 Chevrolet Volt and 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV. Global Green USA hosts a party each year, bringing together celebrities to raise awareness for green issues, such as sustainability, green building projects, improving health and creating jobs. This year, the focus was on building greener, more resilient homes...
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Ford EcoBoost: Turbo Gasoline Engines The Near Green Future?The main benefits of Ford's Ecoboost line of engines may be fuel efficiency and performance, but their popularity is resulting in another positive outcome. Ford has sold more than 530,000 Ecoboost vehicles since the line's introduction three and a half years ago, and the automaker is ready to...
Antony Ingram -
Audi A3 e-tron Plug-In Hybrid To Appear At Geneva ShowThe Geneva Motor Show always provides us with some spectacular green vehicles, but this year looks like being the best yet. Audi has now revealed its most production-ready electric vehicle yet, in the form of the Audi A3 e-tron. We've driven a prototype of the all-electric e-tron before, but the...
Antony Ingram -
261 MPG Volkswagen XL1 Production Confirmed, Debuts GenevaVolkswagen has toyed with the idea of cigar-shaped ultra-eco cars for some time now, but a production car is finally on the way. The Volkswagen XL1 is a plug-in diesel hybrid with a body seemingly beamed in from a future time. It's the physical representation of the benefits of reducing weight and...
Antony Ingram -
Tesla Motors To Be Profitable Selling Electric Cars By April, It SaysTesla Motors announced its fourth-quarter and full-year results late yesterday, and offered some good news to the company's shareholders. That would be the projection that Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] will operate at a profit in the current quarter, which ends March 31. "We expect to be slightly...
John Voelcker -
2013 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Updates Include More Electric RangeHyundai has announced full details for its updated 2013 Sonata Hybrid. With pricing starting from $25,650, $200 lower than the outgoing 2012 Sonata Hybrid, the new model also gets up to 6 percent better gas mileage and a increased driving in electric-only mode. All Sonata Hybrids use a 2.4-liter...
Antony Ingram -
Following yesterday’s leak of the new e-Golf electric variant of Volkswagen’s latest MkVII Golf, comes the first photos and specs for the latest Golf GTD diesel-powered hot hatch. Volkswagen has been offering high-performance Golf diesels since 1982, but so far none have ever been offered in the U.S. market. We’re hoping that will change with the arrival of the new MkVII Golf GTD, which makes its debut next month at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, though we’re not holding our breath just yet. Volkswagen is reported to be seriously considering the possibility of a local...
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2013 Nissan Leaf: 75-Mile Range 'Anticipated' In New Test By EPAIt's the last piece of information on the new and updated 2013 Nissan Leaf electric car that everyone's been waiting for: its range. The projected number, Nissan says, is 75 miles--but that shouldn't be compared to the 73-mile range of the 2011 and 2012 Leaf models. That's because the EPA changed...
John Voelcker -
2013 Toyota Camry Hybrid Gains Interior, Tech UpgradesThe Toyota Camry and Toyota Camry Hybrid have been granted a host of interior and technology upgrades for the 2013 model year. Launched in its current format in the 2012 model year, Camry LE models gain a new soft-touch material on the front door panels, replacing a harder plastic. Interior arm...
Antony Ingram -
How Mercedes-Benz, AMG Plan To Downsize Engines: Google+ Hangout VideoLast week, three members of High Gear Media's editorial staff sat down to discuss Mercedes-Benz, AMG, and their future technologies. The participants were editorial director Marty Padgett, social media manager Joel Feder, and senior editor Nelson Ireson--and they appeared in a Google+ 'Hangout on...
Joel Feder -
Europeans Get Interested In Hybrids Just As U.S. Looks To DieselsTraditionally, the U.S. has been a market where gasoline vehicles have dominated, while hybrids have seen increasing success and diesels have really only sold in relatively small numbers. In contrast, low diesel fuel prices in Europe have seen its popularity increase over the past few decades...
Antony Ingram -
Volkswagen e-Golf Details, Images Leaked Ahead of Geneva ShowGerman automaker Volkswagen has been teasing electric versions of its Golf for a while now (several decades, in fact) but images of a production model have now been leaked. Czech website AutoForum.cz shows images of the latest e-Golf, based on the brand new Mk7-generation car. The car will be...
Antony Ingram