Green Car News
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Well, here's a bit of good news. The sales-weighted average gas mileage for all vehicles sold in the U.S. was the highest it's ever been, reaching 22.9 miles per gallon. That's almost 1 mpg higher than the 22.0 mpg figure for January 2011, according to an analysis by TrueCar. While 22.9 mpg may not sound all that high, remember that more than 100,000 full-size pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles are sold each month. Their gas-mileage ratings, usually well below 20 mpg, drag down the average, offsetting subcompact and compact cars and hybrid vehicles that have far higher EPA fuel economy...
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What Killed Electric Cars? The Electric Motor, 100 Years AgoEver felt a bit cranky in the morning? Chances are, it's not for quite the same reason as it would have been for your great grandfather. Because originally, "cranky" was what people called you if you'd become flustered from trying to hand crank your recalcitrant automobile. But in 1912, that all...
Antony Ingram -
Tesla Claims $40M Advance Sales of 2014 Model X Crossover SUVLess than a week after Tesla Motors [NASDAQ:TSLA] unveiled the prototype of its 2014 Model X Crossover SUV at an exclusive event in Los Angeles, the Californian electric automaker has called it the fastest selling Tesla ever. According to a press release posted on Tesla’s website yesterday...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
California Extends Deadline On Honda Civic Hybrid Gas Mileage CaseWhen it comes to gas mileage figures, we're always told "your mileage may vary". It's when that mileage varies outside of reasonable expectations that people start to take issue, and that's exactly what happened when 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid owner Heather Peters was unable to match Honda's 50 mpg...
Antony Ingram -
Obama 2012 Budget Proposes Higher Tax Credit For Plug-In CarsTwo days ago, President Barack Obama released his proposed U.S. government budget for the fiscal year starting in October. And in it, he followed through on a promise from his State of the Union address last month, by proposing to cut up to $4 billion in subsidies to the oil and gas industry. The...
John Voelcker -
San Francisco: Twice As Many Taxis Burn Half As Much Gas; Here's HowIn the past 15 years, the city of San Francisco has doubled the numbers of taxi cabs on its streets, up from 750 vehicles in 1997 to 1,500 this year. But thanks to incentives designed to get taxi operators behind the wheel of greener cars, 92 percent of San Francisco’s taxi fleet are either...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Back in November, we reported that Ford was planning on starting deliveries of its 2012 Ford Focus Electric to customers in New York and California before the end of 2011, with sales in other areas due to follow some time this year. In reality, while Ford technically did get all-electric Focuses to customers during 2011, it only managed to deliver 8. During January, deliveries weren’t much higher, and now the Detroit automaker is being rather tight-lipped about its future rollout plans after Mike Tinskey -- associate director of Ford’s Global Electric Vehicle Infrastructure --...
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Video: Tesla Model X Prototype In MotionFirst deliveries for Tesla’s all-electric Model X crossover are still a couple of years away, but the Silicon Valley-based automaker was already hard at work selling it to potential buyers at last week’s party-style premiere, held at the automaker’s design studios in Hawthorne...
Bengt Halvorson -
Lola-Drayson Electric Race Car Previews Structural BatteriesFor some time now in a variety of motorsport disciplines, the engine and transmission has acted as a stressed member of the car's structure. What that means, is that rather than mount the engine and gearbox in a chassis, the drivetrain becomes part of the chassis - to which other components such as...
Antony Ingram -
2012 Honda Civic Hybrid: Hammer It, How High Is Gas Mileage?Honda has managed to raise the gas mileage ratings on all of its new 2012 Civic models, including the 2012 Civic Hybrid, which is rated at a combined 44 mpg. In a road test over several days last May, we managed to get a real-world 45.3 mpg over a route that was about two-thirds highway, one-thirds...
John Voelcker -
2013 Ford Fusion To 2012 Toyota Camry: Our Hybrid's Mileage Is HigherToyota may be the acknowledged master of hybrid cars - after all, they were one of the first to the party - but Ford isn't about to let its Japanese rival steal the show. To this end, Ford is promising big things with the 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid - including Camry Hybrid-beating fuel efficiency...
Antony Ingram -
2012 Toyota Prius V Hybrid vs Mazda5: Saving Money On WagonsLet's imagine for a second that you have a family, and you need a vehicle to transport them around in. However, you're also looking to get a good mix of practicality and gas mileage, as gas prices aren't making those long vacation trips any easier. Your eye may have been caught by the 2012 Toyota...
Antony Ingram -
We all know that electric cars charged from renewable sources of energy are much cleaner than gasoline-powered cars, but what about electric cars charged from electricity produced by a dirty coal-fired power plant? For some time, those against the uptake of electric cars have claimed driving an electric car powered by electricity from a coal-fired power plant is as bad -- if not worse -- than driving a gasoline car on an environmental level. Not so, says soon-to-be Nissan Leaf owner Mark D Larsen, who has taken some time out to demonstrate with some simple math why the 2012 Nissan Leaf...
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2012 Toyota Prius C So Popular In Japan, Toyota Ups ProductionToyota’s all-new compact hybrid -- the 2012 Prius C -- isn’t due to go on sale for another few months, but that hasn’t stopped it from being an instant hit in its native Japan. Known as the 2012 Toyota Aqua in Japan, the gas-sipping hybrid has proved so popular that Toyota has...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Nissan Sets 1,500 - 2,000 DC Quick Charging Target For U.S. By 2014When the Nissan Leaf launched in 2010, it came with an optional Chademo direct current (DC) quick charging port that could enable its 24 kilowatt-hour battery pack to recharge to 80 percent in under 30 minutes at compatible quick charge stations. So far, there are only a handful of DC quick...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
After Model X, Tesla To Sell Cheaper Electric; 2015 Roadster To FollowTesla's upcoming product plans seem designed for maximum stability, so don't expect to see a new Roadster until after the launch of Tesla's affordable Gen 3 car.
Kurt Ernst -
Takeri, Skyactiv Tech Take Center Stage For Mazda At GenevaWe may already be familiar with the Mazda Takeri concept car, but it's set to spearhead Mazda's assault on the Geneva Motor Show at the beginning of March. That assault includes showcasing Mazda's i-ELOOP regenerative braking technology, and its SKYACTIV range of gasoline and diesel engines, all of...
Antony Ingram -
British Police Love The Chevy Volt, Name It Top Crime FighterIt’s no secret that the NYPD has a fleet of twenty 2011 Chevrolet Volts which help civilian traffic enforcement agents carry out duties throughout the city of New York, but now the Chevrolet Volt’s European sibling is proving popular with law enforcement agencies in the U.K. In a recent...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
The Lexus RX 450h, on sale since 2009, is set to gain a facelift this year and a sporty new trim line, to be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March. The 2013 RX will gain some of the styling cues found on the 2013 Lexus GS range, giving the front end a sharper, more aggressive look. The brochure, first picked up by Minkara and coming to us via Motor Authority, reveals a new trim line is coming to the RX range, too. Just as the Prius-based CT 200h has recently gained a sportier look and feel with F Sport trim, so too does the 2013 RX 450h. Lexus' new "spindle" grille gets chrome trim lines...
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Nissan Announces Voluntary Service Campaign For 2011/12 LeafNissan North America has announced its second voluntary service campaign for the all-electric Leaf since it went on sale in December 2010. Offered for free to all existing owners of the 11,000 Nissan Leafs that have been sold in the U.S. and Canada so far, the software update is designed to improve...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Next Volkswagen Golf To Be Greener, Safer, More LuxuriousEvolution, rather than revolution, has been behind Volkswagen's Golf, since its launch in 1974. Put each generation side by side and you can see the clear family ties, but the upcoming Mk7 Golf could see the biggest technological leap yet for the popular compact. Autocar reports that the next Golf...
Antony Ingram -
2011 Think City Lives On, Still On Sale In Chicago Alongside BYD e6In June last year, Norwegian electric automaker Think filed for bankruptcy for the third time in its 20-year life. Since then, Think’s misfortunes have caused battery maker Ener1 to also declare bankruptcy while its own future is now in the automotive equivalent of limbo. In one small part of...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Is The 2012 BMW ActiveHybrid 5 Really Green, Or Not?Just ten years ago, cars like the 2002 Toyota Prius traded performance for unbelievably-high gas mileage, bringing the concept of eco-friendly gasoline electric hybrid cars to the masses. Recently however, automakers like BMW have used full hybrid technology to give high performance luxury cars...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Get A Bullfrog With Your Volt? In Canada, It's Not What It SeemsIf you think that the Chevrolet Volt Bullfrog Power Edition sounds like a rather odd limited edition model, we can understand the confusion. It's nothing to do with the green, hopping creature though, nor is Bullfrog Power an aesthetically-challenged superhero. Instead, it's a 100 percent green...
Antony Ingram