Green Car News
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Almost two years ago, in January 2010, a mysterious electric version of the Fiat 500 appeared the Detroit Auto Show on the Chrysler stand. Then, two months later, Chrysler said it would sell an electric 500 in the U.S. market. Engineers at the company's Auburn Hills, Michigan, headquarters would develop and test the electric powertrain. Now, a development prototype of that car has been spotted undergoing testing in Michigan. Our sister site MotorAuthority has a full report and all the photos. The test car not only sported "EV" stickers (for electric vehicle) but also a standard J-1772...
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2012 Honda Civic HF: Quick Drive Of Higher-MPG CivicFive months ago, we drove the 2012 Honda Civic Hybrid--which gave us slightly more than 45 mpg using "Econ" mode. That's the best gas mileage of any Honda Civic in recent memory. So we were eager to test the new-for-2012 Civic HF model, which forgoes the electric motor and lithium-ion battery pack...
John Voelcker -
Here’s How To Save $5,000 On A 2012 Nissan Leaf In North CarolinaNASCAR-loving North Carolina may not be the first place you’d think of as being particularly pro-electric car, but for 40-lucky residents the cost of buying a 2012 Nissan Leaf there just dropped by $5,000 thanks to a time-limited scheme being run by Advanced Energy. As part of its latest...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
BYD To California: You Don't Have Enough Electric Car Charging StationsOver the years, we’ve heard lots of excuses from electric car companies as to why they’ve had to delay the launch of a car. Ranging from delays in the part supply through to last-minute improvements and modifications to comply with new regulations, we think we’ve heard them all...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Want A Rebate With That Hybrid? Get It While You CanIf you're relying on state tax breaks to get you behind the wheel of a brand new hybrid, we have one piece of advice: Do it soon. Several states have already cut their rebate schemes and a bunch more are about to follow down the same path, which is soon to make hybrid vehicles a more expensive...
Antony Ingram -
Nissan Building Plug-in Hybrid For 2015, 1.5 Million Electric Cars By 2017It might be celebrating a global total of 15,000 all-electric Nissan Leafs since the model was launched last year, but Nissan isn’t planning to keep its plug-in technology inside pure electric cars, it has revealed today. Talking at an event in Yokohama, Japan earlier, Renault-Nissan CEO...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Its first mass-produced car may have won the acrimonious title of being the plug-in car with the worst fuel efficiency to date, but Californian automaker Fisker is trying to remain upbeat about its planned range of plug-in hybrid cars. So much so, the Californian automaker is keen to let everyone know that it will start production of its range of plug-in cars based on the technology found in the Fisker Karma, by 2013. Talking with The Detroit News, Fisker spokesman Roger Ormisher reiterated that the majority of Fisker’s half a billion dollars of Department of Energy loans isn’t...
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Is This What The Electric Car Love-Child Of Daimler, BYD Looks Like? Apparently SoSince July, the Internet has been home to serval renderings claiming to be of the new electric car being developed by German automaker Daimler and its Chinese auto partner BYD. So far, no-one within BYD or Daimler has confirmed the authenticity of the pictures, but according to The Wall Street...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Police Spotted In Electric Car Charging Space: Nobody ChargedMany town and city councils across the U.S. are introducing legislation to enable electric car owners to park for free as a way of encouraging more people to make the switch from gasoline to plug-in cars. Normally, these free parking spaces include access to a suitable level 2 charging station...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Mitsubishi Boss Confirms Hybrid Diesel Drivetrain Option For 2014 Evo XIMitsubishi has already hit the headlines today after it announced an update to its engine technology to improve fuel economy across its range, but now U.K.-based Autocar says Mitsubishi Boss Osamu Masuko has confirmed that the next Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution will be powered by a diesel-electric...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Revenge Of The Electric Car Director Joins Live Webchat As Film Is ReleasedBack in April, our own John Voelcker was lucky enough to attend the world premiere of Chris Paine’s much-anticipated sequel to Who Killed The Electric Car? Called Revenge Of The Electric Car, the second film continues where the first left off, telling the story of how the electric car was...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Mitsubishi Updates MIVEC, Adds Stop-Start For Better MPGYou've gotta hand it to automakers. However tight the noose of emissions regulations and MPG targets gets, the engineers always find a way to wriggle free with ever more impressive fuel economy figures. Mitsubishi's way of meeting ever tighter targets is to update its MIVEC variable valve timing...
Antony Ingram -
When the EPA's official MPG figures were released for the 2012 Fisker Karma a few days ago, we can't have been the only ones a little disappointed with the 20 MPG figure on gasoline and 52 MPG equivalent in EV mode. There were even suggestions the low 20 MPG rating on gasoline could hurt the DoE car loan program that helps fund the development of low energy vehicles. Fisker appears to be worried potential customers would be disappointed too and has quickly responded to the sticker rating on its Facebook page. "We do not believe that the label communicates the entire story", explains Fisker...
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Got a 2011 Nissan Leaf? Here’s What Your 6 Month Service Is LikeWhile some lucky 2011 Nissan Leaf owners have had their cars now for nearly 8 months, most are in the magic six-month honeymoon period of owning their new electric hatchback. But what happens when you get to six months of ownership and it’s time for your first Nissan Leaf service? As...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
The Top 10 Highest MPG Cars On Sale TodayIf you're in the market for a new car and your top priority is fuel efficiency, what do you buy? With so much to choose from now including gasoline, diesel, natural gas and electric cars on the market as well as a range-extended electric vehicle and hybrids galore, the options are bewildering. If...
Antony Ingram -
Chrysler: “We’re Making Hybrids, But Only Because We Have To”Sergio Marchionne, the head of the Chrysler Group and Fiat Motors, has never been a fan of hybrid electric or pure electric vehicles. But in a recent interview with autonews.com, the boss of both car firms said that the only way Chrysler will reach fuel economy goals set in place by the Obama...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2011 Vectrix VX-1 Maxi Scooter: First Ride ReportOver the past month we’ve covered reviews of every major electric motorcycle available on the market today, including reviews of the 2011 Brammo Enertia, 2011 Zero S and 2011 Zero DS. Now it’s the turn of the Vectriz VX-1. Technically a scooter rather than a motorcycle, it is aimed at...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Chrysler: 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee To Get Diesel Option, Others To FollowEarlier this year, our colleagues over at Motor Authority told you that Chrysler was planning on bringing a Diesel option to its U.S. spec Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV some time before 2013. Now in an interview with Automotive News, Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Chrysler Fiat has confirmed that the 2013...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
In the last nine months, we’ve seen over 10,000 plug-in cars sold in the U.S. alone, with Nissan taking the lion’s share of new plug-in car sales with its 2011/12 Nissan Leaf. Mass-produced electric cars still very much a niche market, so anyone buying one can be legitimately thought of as an early adopter -- but which cars are being traded in by those early adopters to make way for a plug-in car? According to information obtained by The LATimes from automotive research firm R.L. Polk & Co., the most common car traded in for a plug-in car is the Toyota Prius. According to...
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Buick Verano Hybrid Coming--But Not Until 2015Remember The Purloined Letter, the classic Edgar Allen Poe story where a letter is hidden by storing it in plain sight? General Motors may not have realized it, but the industry trade journal Automotive News seems to have published a previously unannounced piece of its future model plans--right out...
John Voelcker -
Could Fisker Karma's Low MPGs Hurt DoE Car-Tech Loan Program?Fisker Automotive may have sensed that the 20-mpg EPA rating on their 2012 Karma electric sport sedan was not good news. The company simply omitted the statistic from their press release announcing that the EPA had legally certified the Karma--meaning it can now be sold to retail buyers. Fisker...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Losing Libel Case With Top Gear In UK High CourtA British judge ruled against Tesla Motors in its lawsuit for libel against the BBC show Top Gear, which had shown the carmaker's Roadster electric sports car seemingly out of electricity.
Antony Ingram -
2012 Fiat 500 Minicar Named IIHS Top Safety Pick Despite SizeThe Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has named the 2012 Fiat 500 minicar one of its Top Safety Picks despite the diminutive car's size.
John Voelcker -
Electric-Car Charging Networks: Don't Use 'Em To Travel Far, Says CompanyLately, we’ve seen a lot of new charging networks spring up around the world devoted to getting electric car owners the power they need to keep their cars charged up. But a U.K. based, government-backed charging infrastructure company has outraged electric car owners by suggesting that its...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield