Green Car News

While some people buy them for image and others for show, there are still drivers out there for whom a pickup is the only vehicle that serves their varied needs. Sure, they aren't the greenest of vehicles but if you're a business owner with a family, or need that extra towing capacity, you're...

The 2012 Infiniti M35h hybrid large sport sedan is marketed by Infiniti as the "world's quickest (full) hybrid sedan," based on its 0-to-62-mph acceleration time of 5.5 seconds. Now it looks like the next version of the smaller Infiniti G sedan will use the same powertrain--which, in a smaller and...

Believe it or not, Volkswagen’s modern-day take on the classic Beetle has been in production for 14 years. But its cutesy curves and large, bug-like eyes meant many men avoided it, giving it the unceremonious title of being a “chick car”. So when Volkswagen put the Beetle under...

General Motors announced yesterday that it would replace the 120-Volt charging unit provided with every Chevrolet Volt, to provide what GM spokesman Randy Fox called a "more consistent charging experience." Back in July, we reported that some of the charging units provided in Volts were...

BMW might be more than a year away from bring its first production electric car -- the 2014 BMW i3 -- to production, but the German automaker wants you to know that it isn’t new to electric cars. You may not know it, but BMW’s electric car history spans 40 years. As part of its...

The last U.S. volume carmaker started from scratch by entrepreneurs whose brand is still with us was Chrysler, and that was in 1924. But Tesla Motors and Fisker Automotive are both looking to change that. Tesla started a few years ago with its electric Roadster sports car, and is about to introduce...

Infiniti has been on something of a product blitz lately, launching its 2013 JX seven-seat crossover this month and a host of concept cars over the last year. Now it has confirmed it will show a new concept at the 2012 New York Auto Show two weeks hence: the Infiniti Zero Emission Concept Coupe. We...

A small SUV with the Mercedes-Benz "three-pointed star" sitting on the grille may not be everyone's idea of a green car, but as it's representative of the trend towards downsizing, it still marks an improvement over large, gas-guzzling SUVs. Even more so when it's the new 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK...

Orders have been coming in ahead of projections for the European Opel Ampera, but sales prospects may be looking up in the U.S. too for GM's range-extended electric car.

It's not just how efficiently you burn it--it's the stuff you're burning, too. That's the message coming from the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, working with the EPA to tighten pollution rules for gasoline, reducing the proportion of sulfur from 30 parts per million (ppm) to 10 ppm. The oil...

Over the past few months, gas prices have been creeping ever upward, fueled by political uncertainty in the Middle East and a reduction in U.S. oil refining capabilities. In California, a state traditionally plagued by high gas prices, a gallon of Regular now costs well over $4.50 at most gas...

The 2012 New York Auto Show is almost upon us, and last night an unexpected invitation landed in journalist inboxes around the world. The sender was shown as "Fisker Nina Reveal," and the graphic was the simple line drawing above. The message inside was simply that Fisker Automotive would provide...

You might think that electric vehicles aren't naturally suited to driving long distances just yet, but that hasn't stopped plenty of people giving it a go anyway. Here then is the GreenCarReports guide to the world of long-distance EV publicity stunts, arranged conveniently by distance, shortest to...

It used to be that testing prototype and development cars was done in secret, under heavy camouflage, away from photographers. Now it's a public relations ploy, it seems, complete with QR codes on the sides of distinctively marked engineering vehicles and a promotional blog entry. So if you see...

There's a saying that the best way to convince someone he wants an electric car is to let him drive one. In light of lower-than-projected Chevrolet Volt sales and continued media misinformation about the car's capabilities, GM is taking that lesson to heart. In Southern California, members of the...

Last week, we were 90 miles north of the Arctic Circle, putting the Volvo C30 electric through its paces. But we weren’t the only people driving electric cars in the Arctic Circle as our colleagues over at Motor Authority found out earlier today. As our own Viknesh Vijayenthiran reports...

Drivers of hybrid and electric vehicles will be used to the feel of regenerative braking. As you brake, or even lift off the accelerator pedal in some electric vehicles, kinetic energy from the car's motion is captured by the electric motor, which when not being driven turns into a generator. This...

Over the past five years, the Monte Carlo Alternative Energy Rally -- now called the Rallye Monte-Carlo Des Énergies Nouvelles -- has enjoyed increasing popularity as more automakers and private entrants tackle the eco-minded version of the world-famous Rally Monte Carlo. For the past two...

Over the past few years, we’ve been following with interest the ongoing legal battle between Honda and owners of its 2003-2008 Civic Hybrid. The claim? That Honda sold the Civic Hybrid on the basis of a claimed 50 mpg gas mileage that no-one could achieve. Now a proposed Californian...

You can add one more to the list of electric cars now on sale in the U.S., with deliveries last week of the very first 2012 Coda Sedan models last Friday in northern and southern California. In publicized events at Coda dealers in both Los Angeles and Siicon Valley (south of San Francisco), dealer...