Green Car News

Picture the scene: There's a power cut. It goes dark. Your TV, refrigerator and computer all shut down. How long will it last? Who knows? Power outages are normally brief affairs, but in disasters like 2012's Superstorm Sandy, people could be left without power for days. A potential solution...

For the most abundant element in the universe, hydrogen is remarkably hard to come by on good ol' planet earth. While the techniques for extracting it are easy enough to understand, the energy required to do so is often significant--meaning hydrogen fuel cell vehicles aren't as squeaky-clean and...

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. is recalling 14,700 Mitsubishi i, or i-MiEV electric cars over a brake fault. The global recall will fix a component of the brake booster system. In normal operation, an electric pump sends air to the brake booster, which applies extra force to that generated by the driver...

Volkswagen flipped a large ceremonial switch yesterday that signaled the official launch of a huge array of photovoltaic solar cells at its Chattanooga assembly plant, which builds the Volkswagen Passat mid-size sedan. The new solar field can supply up to 12.5 percent of the plant’s total...

Hot on the heels of Honda's Urban SUV concept shown at Detroit, Korean automaker Kia is also getting in on the urban crossover act. The Kia Provoke Concept is set to appear at the Geneva Motor Show in early March. It's described as a "provocative and racy new urban concept car, and while the...

Air-powered cars are a familiar source of amusement within the green car fraternity, an ideal example of a concept that would be wonderful if it worked, but simply isn't viable in the real-world. Up until now, the compressed air car has been... well, a load of hot air. Undeterred, French automaker...

For fans of the Tesla Model S all-electric sport sedan, the past few weeks have been full of good news. Deliveries of top-of-the-line 85-kilowatt-hour models now number in the thousands, the 60-kWh model will go into production this month--and has been rated at 208 miles of range--and no major...

All eyes are on Ford at the moment, following criticism that its hybrid models aren't getting anywhere near official EPA gas mileage. Consumer Reports has confirmed this, with the result of its testing on the 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid returning a bittersweet 39 mpg figure. On the one hand, 39 mpg is...

If you're eager to get behind the wheel of an electric car, then there are few cheaper ways of doing it than one lease deal from an Illinois Mitsubishi dealer. O'Brien Mitsubishi in Normal, IL, is offering a new Mitsubishi i electric car for lease from just $69 per month over 24 months--far less...

New technology is brilliant. Just look at smartphones, for example--the world's information in the palm of your hands, with the ability to talk, text and take photos when the mood takes you. Or the Chevrolet Volt--38 miles of electric range, with the peace of mind of a gasoline engine backing you...

Taken a taxi anywhere recently? Nowadays, there's a pretty good chance that if you have, it's been a hybrid--low running costs and great reliability records are starting to make them popular with drivers, as gas prices creep ever upwards. Toyota's Prius and Camry Hybrids are becoming a familiar...

Much of the discussion around electric cars centers on their cost: high initial purchase price, low per-mile running costs. But electric cars don't just compete against economy cars with high fuel efficiency. As last week's unveiling of the 2014 Cadillac ELR range-extended electric luxury coupe...

If you're in the market for a luxury or sports car, regular diesels and hybrids like the Volkswagen Jetta or Toyota Prius are unlikely to be on your list. Porsches might, however--and those still wanting to save a few dimes on gas or pump out just a little less emissions into the atmosphere may be...

Honda's two-motor Accord Plug-In Hybrid is now on sale at select New York and Californian Honda dealers. Choice in the plug-in hybrid market is growing all the time, and the Accord offers buyers an alternative to the Ford Fusion Energi--not to mention more established plug-ins like the Chevrolet...

Nobody particularly likes taxes, but as they go, gas tax is at least generally fair in how it's applied. The more gas you use, the more you pay. Use less, or none at all, and you pay less--or nothing. Virginia residents will soon be paying nothing even if they drive gas guzzlers, as Governor Bob...

Based on the Volt, but dressed in a very sharp new suit, the 2014 Cadillac ELR promises to bring the joys of greener driving to the executive sector. Not that the luxury segment hasn't already been a hotbed of hybrid development in recent years, though initially slow on the uptake. That makes...

We've covered U.S. sales of plug-in electric cars--which tripled last year. Now, as the puck drops on a new hockey season, readers' thoughts might turn to our northern neighbor--and wonder whether Canadians lead or lag their American cousins when it comes to buying plug-in cars. Canada: One-third...

Read between the lines, and it isn't surprising that large carmakers are starting to get more involved with car sharing schemes and similar. They're essentially preparing for a future where upcoming generations of drivers simply aren't as interested, or willing, to take the plunge into car...

The new Atlas Concept that Ford Motor Co. [NYSE: F] unveiled at Detroit this past week revealed several interesting technologies that altogether could save fuel (active grille shutters, active wheel shutters, a drop-down air dam, and power running boards) and be useful to serious truck users...

Back in the 1930s, the United States produced the vast bulk of the oil it burned. It wasn't until the 1973 oil crisis that things like OPEC and fuel efficiency entered the U.S. consciousness. And it took a while longer for the phrase "energy security" to come along. That's what led to the concept...