Green Car News

These days, unless you’re an ardent fan of hybrid or electric cars, it can be pretty hard to tell them apart from their gasoline equivalents. For the average motorist it isn’t an issue, but for first responders attending the scene of an accident, it’s important to know what a...

Ever since Audi unveiled the A5 Hybrid Quattro SUV at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show, we have to admit to being a little excited about seeing it reach the U.S. market. Now, Audi has given us a little more insight into the model, due to hit the U.S. some time this year as a 2013 year model...

When Coda Automotive started production and sales of its 2012 Sedan earlier this year, it ended years of doubt and confusion about the firm’s abilities to bring a highway-capable electric car to market. Yesterday, Coda CEO Phil Murtaugh confirmed Coda’s intent to manufacture a second...

A few years back, Mitsubishi rebranded its electric minicar, the iMiEV, as the Mitsubishi i. Not only was this confusing, as the car is still known as the iMiEV elsewhere, but it's also an autocorrect nightmare and leaves little red squiggles throughout your document whenever you write about it...

Believe it or not, the Toyota Prius has been available in the U.S. for over a decade. Aimed at a much more mainstream market than the first two generations of Prius Hybrid, the 2012 Toyota Prius Liftback, 2012 Toyota Prius V, 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid and 2012 Toyota Prius C offer the best...

There was a time when hybrid drivetrains were only used in ultra-green cars like the venerable Toyota Prius. In recent years however, even automakers like Ferrari have embraced the concept of hybrid drivetrains in an attempt to build cars that satisfy ever-tougher emissions and gas-mileage...

The electric vehicle world is watching the rollout of Better Place's electric-car network in Israel with interest, but some have asked whether Better Place has an effective monopoly on electric cars granted by the Israeli Government. Better Place says its service and its cars compete with gasoline...

A new Nissan Sentra may not be much cause for excitement, but an all-new version of the popular compact is still worthy news. We now know what the 2013 Nissan Sentra is expected to look like, thanks to the Beijing Auto Show. Sitting on Nissan's stand is the new Nissan Sylphy. While the name isn't...

It's always interesting when companies change things between press releases. In this case, the vehicle we described on Friday as the BYD Chin (based on BYD's own press release)--an updated version of the world's first plug-in hybrid, the BYD F3DM--now turns out to be called the BYD Qin. Which, as...

China's auto shows, which alternate between Beijing and Shanghai--just as Frankfurt and Paris alternate in Europe--are already significant global events with dozens of world premieres. Honda is taking its turn today, launching concepts for both a sedan and what it calls a "new-value passenger...

Writing about the latest carmaker plans to add smaller, more efficient engines is now almost a weekly occurrence. Today's lucky winner is Jaguar, which took the occasion of the Beijing Auto Show to announce some future powertrain plans--including its first production four-cylinder engine since the...

Earlier today, German automaker Audi unveiled the latest in its e-tron plug-in concept cars at the 2012 Beijing Auto Show. Based upon the A6 L, a highly-popular Chinese-only variant of the A6 sedan, the A6 L e-tron plug-in hybrid concept combines a 2.0-liter turbocharged, direct injected gasoline...

For years, the V-engine has dominated the American auto industry. Thanks to increasing gas prices and tougher gas-mileage and emissions targets however, the V-6 and V-8 engines once found in everything from family cars to pickup trucks are being slowly replaced by smaller, direct-injection...

Not everyone is a fan of the classic Volkswagen Bug, but nobody can deny that it's an icon. It was certainly no surprise when Volkswagen decided to launch a re-make back in 1998, nor that it would be replaced with the current 2012 Volkswagen Beetle. VW brought the concept even further into the 21st...

Mercedes-Benz announced its first four-cylinder diesel in the U.S. market with the 2013 GLK, and if buyers take to it the way Mercedes is hoping, it may not be the last model to adopt the four-pot diesel. Previously the company has sold five- and six-cylinder diesels in the U.S. market, but the 2.1...

Old cars get crushed and torn into steel scraps for reuse, car batteries are the most recycled consumer good, but old tires are still a recycling challenge. Now, tire company Bridgestone Americas has launched a new program "designed to eventually assure" [sic] that for every tire the company sells...

Today is Friday, which means we, like many other editorial teams around the world, are on the lookout for a fun, lighthearted story to end the week. This week, our chosen light-hearted story comes courtesy of the humble pizza delivery scooter. Hated in cities worldwide for their annoying, buzzing...

How will you be charging your electric car in future? In your garage? At work? At a rest stop somewhere with a fast charger? Or will you be using a wireless charger, embedded in a parking spot somewhere, that you can simply park over and forget about? It's a question many are asking, and one...

NASA has developed a system that captures carbon dioxide and helps to prevent pollution from wastewater while creating renewable algae biofuel, fertilizer and possibly animal feed, too. NASA calls its system OMEGA, for Offshore Membrane Enclosures for Growing Algae, self-contained bags of...

Remember the world's very first production plug-in hybrid? No, not the 2011 Chevy Volt. Not the 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid either. Way back in late 2008, it was the Chinese BYD F3DM, with a lithium-ion battery pack and a combined parallel and series hybrid powertrain inserted into the...