Green Car News
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It may be the most eagerly sought piece of information in the plug-in electric car world. And Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] ain't talking. The company has a set policy of not disclosing monthly sales figures or production figures until it has to by law. So it'll be another month or so before we know how many Tesla Model S electric cars it built, and how many it delivered, through December 31 of last year. In September, Tesla said it expected to deliver 2,700 to 3,225 cars by the end of the year--down from its initial 2012 estimate of 5,000 cars. Now the prolific members of the unaffiliated Tesla...
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Latest Hybrid To Be Built In U.S.: 2014 Honda Accord HybridHonda has announced its next hybrid, the 2014 Honda Accord Hybrid, will be built at its Marysville, Ohio plant in the U.S. The Japanese carmaker is investing $23 million at the plant and hiring 50 new employees, ready for production of the two-motor hybrid before it goes on sale this fall. It makes...
Antony Ingram -
One Owner's Chevy Volt Running Cost: 2 Cents Per MileChevrolet Volt owners love their cars. That's one thing we've realized since the Volt hit the market in December 2010. It's subsequently topped customer satisfaction surveys, saved a supertanker worth of gas, and driven over a hundred million miles on electricity alone. Now, one year after buying...
Antony Ingram -
Leaky Natural Gas Wells No Cleaner Than Coal, Says NOAANatural gas is increasingly considered a cleaner alternative to coal when it comes to energy production--not to mention a greener alternative to gasoline when used in vehicles like the Honda Civic Natural Gas. However, a new study suggests its green credentials may be damaged by methane...
Antony Ingram -
Bob Lutz Previews New Via Motors Electric Trucks: Detroit Auto ShowThe 2013 Detroit Auto Show is fast approaching, and details of new models are bombarding us from all angles. Among the more interesting vehicles set to hit the show floor come from Via Motors. The Bob Lutz-backed Via Motors produces plug-in trucks, based on GM vehicle chassis. Taking inspiration...
Antony Ingram -
U.S. Grid May Handle Electric Cars, But India's Can'tIt goes without saying, but the Indian market for bikes and automobiles is very different to that in the U.S. Rather than energy concerns, global warming and owning the latest technology, India's priority is reducing the air pollution responsible for millions of deaths a year. Electric vehicles...
Antony Ingram -
Back in 2010, General Electric promised it would replace over half its fleet with electric and plug-in vehicles. With planned orders for 25,000 plug-ins, it was quite some commitment--particularly at a time when only a handful of cars was available, and selling in very small numbers. Three years on, and it appears that GE has started to include natural gas and propane-powered vehicles to its green tally. But is it, as Bloomberg and other outlets are suggesting, a "detour"? Is GE backing down on its huge plug-in commitment? We're not so sure. Since making the commitment back in 2010, GE has...
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Coda Woes Deepen: More Layoffs, Electric-Car Store ClosedThe storm clouds continue to darken over electric-car startup Coda Automotive. The day after Christmas, the company announced on its Facebook page that it had closed its Coda Experience Center showroom in the Westfield Mall Century City. Then, last Friday, Coda laid off more staff. That day, the...
John Voelcker -
People Will Buy Electric Cars If They're Cheap, Privileged, And ConvenientElectric cars may be growing in popularity, but they still make up just a tiny percentage of the U.S. auto market. When will things take off? If sales in Norway are any indication, that will happen when electric vehicles become inexpensive, easy to own, and confer certain privileges. According to...
Richard Read -
The Tesla Model S Electric Wagon We Wish They'd BuildHigh-performance wagons are easy to appreciate. Plenty of utility, but none of the sacrifices that practicality usually implies. If they look great and run on electricity, like Theophilus Chin's render of a Tesla Model 'ST', then all the better. Chin's render (via Autoblog Green) is so slick you'd...
Antony Ingram -
2013 Nissan Leaf: Longer Range, Faster Charging, Leather Seats, And More: All The UpgradesIn its third year on the market, the updated 2013 Nissan Leaf will have a slightly longer range, a new and lower-priced base model, faster charging, and a more efficient cabin heater. The battery electric car goes into production at Nissan's assembly plant in Smyrna, Tennessee, this week. While the...
John Voelcker -
Ford: Drive Our Cars, Buy Green Appliances--And Kiss Texas, California, and New York GoodbyeThe average household in America consumes more than 11,000 kWh of electricity per year, much of it during certain peak daytime hours. Many utility companies benefit from this by applying the law of supply and demand; as demand goes up, so do prices. Off-peak (late at night, for example)...
Kurt Ernst -
Well, they made it! Tesla Model S-driving trio Peter Soukup, Tina Thomas and Luba Roytburd successfully arrived in New York City after almost five thousand miles of driving coast-to-coast. After starting in Portland, Oregon on December 26, the team drove down the West Coast, before cutting across Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, South Carolina, and then up the East Coast. They announced their arrival in NYC with a Tweet on Monday. "If I can make it here, I can make it anywhere and we made it! Electric Road Trip S successfully finished in NYC, final mileage 4887!" The team then...
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Nissan's Detroit Show Stand Is Green--Down To The SmellIt's said that some supermarkets pump the smell of baking bread around the store, enticing people into buying their products. Does a similar tactic work with cars? Nissan may be about to find out at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show, as its stand will emit what Nissan hopes will be its "trademark smell"...
Antony Ingram -
Noisemaking Rules For Hybrids, Electric Cars Proposed By DoTThe U.S. Department of Transport has become the latest group to look further into noisemaking devices for electric and hybrid vehicles. Several pressure and safety groups have proposed such devices in the past, reasoning that the silent nature of cars using electric power at low speeds would prove...
Antony Ingram -
Camouflaged 2014 Cadillac ELR Teaser Photo Released By GMFor years, spy photographers made a living shooting camouflaged test cars for eager fans. Now the auto companies are doing it themselves. GM today released a photo of the 2014 Cadillac ELR on the road in Southern California, covered in camo, as its second teaser shot for the electric luxury coupe...
John Voelcker -
Gas Mileage Keeps Rising: Record 23.8 MPG Average In 2012Cars averaging 23.8 mpg don't usually get much coverage on GreenCarReports--they simply aren't that green. In this instance though, that gas mileage figure doesn't refer to a particular car--it refers to every car sold in 2012. Researchers at the University of Michigan Transportation Research...
Antony Ingram -
LAX To Drop Free Parking For Electric Cars In MarchBeen enjoying the perk of free electric car parking at Los Angeles International Airport? Try not to get used to it then, as from March 1, 2013, you'll have to pay just like everybody else. Los Angeles World Airports has confirmed, via Carstations, that LAX will no longer be providing free parking...
Antony Ingram -
It is, as we've pointed out on many occasions, exceedingly difficult to predict exactly where the market for electric cars will go. Most are confident it will continue to grow, though the pace at which it does so is likely to be slow--a stark reality confirmed by virtually every electric car-selling carmaker missing their targets in 2012. Pike Research (via Charged EVs) has had a stab at what we can expect from the Industry in 2013, with ten predictions on everything from electric bicycles to how people will be charging throughout the year. The ten trends Pike suggests we'll see in 2013 are...
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DoE Increases Biofuel From Biomass Funding By $10MThe U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) has announced it will put up another $10 million in funding towards the expansion of biofuels. It's the second positive announcement in recent weeks for biofuel advocates, as the Senate's "fiscal cliff" avoidance measures have also seen many biofuel initiatives...
Antony Ingram -
2013 Fiat 500e: 108 MPGe Highway, Class-Leading RangeIt's the electric car Chrysler and Fiat don't really want to make, but that isn't to say the 2013 Fiat 500e is a half-hearted attempt. On numbers alone, quite the opposite. Chrysler has announced the 500e's EPA efficiency figures, and both range and highway efficiency are class-leading. Official...
Antony Ingram -
Now We Know: U.S. Buyers Don't Much Want Tiny Two-Seat CarsIt was always a big question whether Americans would buy very, very small cars. When the Smart ForTwo launched in 2008, right into the teeth of gas prices that soared to $4 a gallon, it looked as if the answer might be yes. But now it seems the longer-term answer is, "No, not really." Sales of the...
John Voelcker -
80-MPG Elio Three-Wheeled Car To Be Built At Former GM Truck Plant?Startups making small, economical vehicles come and go, but one company offering a high-efficiency vehicle has big plans, buying a former General Motors assembly plant. Elio Motors is the company behind a three-wheeled car capable of 84 mpg highway, on nothing more complicated than gasoline...
Antony Ingram -
MA Auto Dealers' Suit Against Tesla Dismissed By JudgeAfter opening a store in Natick Mall, Massachusetts, Tesla Motors has been embroiled in a battle to let it sell cars from the store. Permission was granted for the store to sell vehicles back in December, and now a judge's dismissal of a dealers' lawsuit against the company has stepped a further...
Antony Ingram