Green Car News
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Hybrid car drivers like to do everything possible to ensure their cars spend as much time as possible in all-electric mode. Ford said yesterday that its 2013 C Max Energi can travel on electricity alone at speeds up to 85 mph. We’re sure plug-in hybrid fans around the world are rejoicing Most efficient at low-speed, the all-electric mode of cars like the 2012 Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid allows drivers to make short trips without burning a single drop of gasoline. In the 2012 Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid however, any driving above 51 mph will cause the car’s gasoline engine to kick...
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Next Toyota Corolla To Feature Big Changes, Says ToyotaThe 2012 Corolla may still be selling strong, outpacing the Honda Civic, but in terms of design and engineering it's now off the pace of its newer rivals. Next year's model will change that, says Toyota. According to WardsAuto, Toyota and Scion general manager Bill Fay has revealed that the next...
Antony Ingram -
Nissan’s New London Taxi Cab Could Be Electric TooThey’re as well-known as The Houses of Parliament or Harrods luxury department store, but soon London’s iconic black taxi cabs could be getting an all-electric makeover courtesy of an electric taxi being tested by Nissan. The news was announced at the London launch of the NV200 taxi...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2013 Honda Accord: First Images Of All-New Midsize Cars With Plug-In Hybrid ModelUsed to be, cars were unveiled at auto shows. These days, their makers reveal them in little bits and pieces, just as the best ecdysiasts do (that's "strippers" to you). So today we have the first images of the redesigned 2013 Honda Accord sedan and coupe, the powerhouse mid-size line that competes...
John Voelcker -
Ford Begins Testing Of Queue-Busting Car-To-Car TechnologyMaking cars more efficient is only one step in improving personal mobility in the future. The other, some will tell you, is making the roads themselves a more efficient place to travel. If the roads were empty, picking the greenest route and keeping an ideal pace wouldn't be a problem, but other...
Antony Ingram -
Plug-In Hybrids Will Outsell Battery Electric Cars: AnalystElectric cars that plug into wall sockets to charge batteries that store energy to power them are still an unknown quantity to most car buyers globally. And the education task gets more complex when customers must understand the difference between battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids...
John Voelcker -
It’s been a while coming, but the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has finally approved gas-mileage ratings for the 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid. As Ford predicted, the $25,995 hybrid has achieved an official rating of 47 MPG City, but its highway rating of 47 mpg improved on Ford’s own estimate by 3 mpg. That gives the five-seat hybrid hatch one of the easiest gas mileage ratings to remember: 47 mpg city, 47 mpg highway, and 47 mpg combined. The official EPA ratings for the 2013 C-Max Hybrid place it in just behind the erstwhile 2012 Toyota Prius Liftback’s 50 mpg combined in...
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Washington State: Home To A 100% Plug-in Taxi FirmYou probably know that places like New York City and San Francisco are known for their high numbers of hybrid taxis, but a small taxi firm in Washington state has gone one step further, turning Nissan Leafs and Chevrolet Volts into taxis. Enter EcoCab, a tiny company based in Cowlitz county...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Will Refinery Fire Cause Gas Prices To Soar In California?A fire yesterday evening in a refinery critical to providing special California gasoline blends may boost gas prices in the state substantially. The blaze, first observed around 6:15 pm and brought under control five hours later, occurred in the Richmond refinery owned by Chevron [NYSE:CVX]. The...
John Voelcker -
Been ICEd? Gas Cars Parking In Electric-Car Charging Spots (Video)If you drive an electric car, it's nice to know that if you're making a trip to the mall or a regular spot that you can charge up your car while you're running errands. Well, it's nice until you get there to find that some ignorant soul has parked their gas-guzzler in the space, preventing you from...
Antony Ingram -
Mazda: We Want Each New Car To Be 220 Pounds LighterWhile all automakers realise the benefits of making their cars lighter, it's only been relatively recently that some models have actually weighed less than their predecessors. Demands for safety, equipment, larger engines, more comfort and more space have pushed vehicle weight up so far that some...
Antony Ingram -
Predicting Electric-Car Battery Life: GE, Ford, U of Michigan Team UpBecause the gasoline car has been in continual production and development for over 100 years, automakers can use past experience to estimate how long cars -- and their engines -- will last. But because the development of the modern electric car is still in its infancy, automakers are still...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Electric car conversions aren't for everyone, but for electric car fans who can't stretch to one of the latest models, they're a much cheaper option to get behind the wheel of an EV. One such clean and cheap option, the 1997 Solectria Force, is currently sitting on eBay, with a few days remaining on the listing. In 1997, Solectria Corporation of Wilmington, Massachusetts produced a run of 400 electric vehicles based on the Geo Metro. The car was based on Metro 'gliders' straight from the factory, and fitted with a 3-phase AC electric motor and 13, 4-cell lithium-polymer batteries with around...
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Hybrid Owners: Still Happy After 200K-300K MilesYou'll probably remember stories about Hummers being greener than hybrids over a dust-to-rust car lifecycle from a few years back. Much of the heavyweight Hummer's supposed advantage was down to spurious claims that a hybrid would become unusable after 100,000 miles, where the tank-like off-roader...
Antony Ingram -
2014 Tesla Model X Vs. 2012 Toyota RAV4 EV: Electric SUV Showdown?The 2012 Toyota RAV4 EV is unique, the only all-electric compact sport-utility vehicle sold by a major automaker in the U.S. Behind the wheel, its Tesla-developed powertrain makes it peppy but quiet, while it maintains all the cargo and people space of the original gasoline version. There's really...
John Voelcker -
LA Port Cuts Emissions Half Or More Since 2005: Huge SuccessPublic-health advocates have known for years that living around freight yards is hazardous to your cardiopulmonary health. In smog-susceptible Los Angeles, the Port of LA was a huge hotspot of toxic emissions. And seven years ago, the Port embarked on an ambitious program to eliminate the bulk of...
John Voelcker -
High-Speed Impact, Not Batteries, To Blame In BYD Electric Car FireThe post-impact electric-car fire which led to the death of three people in Shenzhen, China earlier this year was not caused by the car’s battery pack, crash investigators have concluded. The tragedy happened in May, when a BYD e6 all-electric taxi was hit early one morning by a speeding...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Green Police? Cops In Florida Go Undercover In Hybrid, Greener CarsFor years, the unmarked police car has helped law enforcement agencies around the world capture speeding drivers, pounce on unsuspecting criminals and provide covert investigative opportunities. Powered by a large, powerful engine capable of high-speed pursist, the traditional unmarked cop car is...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
For some time, we’ve known that Nissan’s long-term electric car strategy includes developing several more electric models over the next few years, including commercial vehicles and luxury cars. Now it appears that an all-electric SUV may feature in Nissan’s future, with the news that it plans to unveil an electric compact SUV concept car at this year’s Paris Motor Show. “At Paris...[Nissan will] have an SUV concept, with zero emissions; so an electric SUV concept vehicle,” Jeff Fisher, Nissan Australia’s General Manager of Media Enquiries told...
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Will Available Natural-Gas Cars Pull Fueling Stations With Them?The relationship between natural gas vehicles (NGVs) and natural gas stations is a 'catch-22' situation. Without the former, companies are reluctant to built more natural gas stations, as the demand won't be there. But without the latter, manufacturers see no reason to produce natural gas vehicles...
Antony Ingram -
2012 Tesla Model S: 50 Cars Built, 29 Delivered, Maker SaysTesla likes to do things its own way. So while the company still refuses to report sales in the usual manner--at the end of every month like every other automaker--it does release bits and pieces of data on its corporate publicity site. On Thursday, Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] said that since June 22...
John Voelcker -
What Will 'Low Carbon Fuel' Mean For You?California is often at the forefront of clean vehicles, whether that's through startups like Tesla producing electric vehicles, or regulations that encourage the sale and manufacture of low-emissions vehicles. That trend is continuing says Pike Research, as the state aims to push through a new...
Antony Ingram -
Tesla's Elon Musk Has More New Business Ideas & A Lot To SayIf you had a mediocre superpower, what would it be? If you're Tesla CEO Elon Musk, "always beating the traffic" would be your power of choice, though given Elon's ideas past, present and future, some would argue that it's a long way off what he's actually capable of. Musk sat down for a "fireside...
Antony Ingram -
Portlandia Steps Up For Electric-Car Sharing: We're Not SurprisedYou've probably heard about what a model green city Portland, Oregon is, or how Portlanders shy away from car ownership—and, perhaps, how they can be a little uncomfortably earnest and politically correct. Is that how it really is? In short, yes. Now Portland, Oregon residents have another...
Bengt Halvorson