Green Car News

  • 2012 Ford Focus Electric launch, New York City, January 2011 - Nancy Gioia

    Although it’s almost a year since the 2011 Nissan Leaf and 2011 Chevrolet Volt officially launched in key electric car markets, the majority of the U.S. population have yet to see their first highway capable electric car. So its no surprise that automakers are spending a lot of time and energy trying to educate buyers in as-yet unexplored markets about electric and fuel-efficient cars. But at Ford’s Power of Choice roadshow -- a nationwide tour designed to showcase Ford’s best ecologically sound cars -- its staff struggled to answer even basic questions about using its 2012...

  • 2012 Nissan Leaf Nismo RC Concept, New York Auto Show, April 2011
    Will Infiniti Build The First Mainstream Electric Sports Car?

    Infiniti has confirmed that they're working on a two seat electric sports car with a mid-motor, rear drive layout. The car will be featured at next year's Geneva Motor Show.

  • 2012 Chevrolet Sonic LTZ at GM Orion Assembly Plant, September 2011
    2012 Chevrolet Sonic Hits Magic Mark: 40-MPG Highway Rating

    It's not always true that the smallest cars get the best gas mileage. In many cases, compact cars get mileage equal to or better mileage than their shorter, stubbier subcompact brethren. The new 2012 Chevrolet Sonic subcompact has managed to crack the magic 40-mpg highway mark, though. Estimates...

  • 2011 Land Rover DC100 and DC100 Sport Concepts
    Land Rover Bringing Diesel Engines To The U.S.

    Land Rover has announced that future U.S. models will include a diesel engine option, necessary for the company to meet stricter CAFE requirements in the United States.

  • 2014 BMW i3 concept live photos, 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show
    2014 BMW i3 Electric Car Live Photos: Frankfurt Auto Show

    The BMW i3's bigger brother the i8 may get all the attention from sports car fans, but as the smaller and more practical of the "i" range the i3 could be considered the more relevant of the two. We were at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show ready to capture both i-cars in all their glory. You can find...

  • 'Revenge of the Electric Car' movie
    Electric Car Revenge is Sweet in Amsterdam With 100 Nissan Leafs

    The Amsterdam premiere of the move "Revenge of the Electric Car" is expected to attract fully 100 Nissan Leaf electric cars from all over Europe.

  • Rolls Royce Phantom Experimental Electric 102EX live photos

    While Rolls-Royce may have hit the headlines earlier this year with its all-electric 102EX Phantom Concept, its large customer base hasn’t been quite as welcoming. Despite a strong customer ambivalence to anything other than a throbbing 12-cylinder engine underneath the hood of its hand-built luxury cars, however, Rolls-Royce still hasn’t given up on the idea of offering a hybrid or electric version of its cars. Talking to Christopher Rauwald of Dow Jones Newswires, Rolls-Royce’s Chief Executive, Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes said that the luxury brand needs to embrace greener...

  • European-spec Honda Civic live photos
    2011 Frankfurt Auto Show: 2013 Euro Honda Civic Is Complete Tease

    The 2013 European Honda Civic Hatchback was unveiled earlier this week at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show. Sleeker, more aggressive and more practical, it showcases Honda’s ninth revision of this gas-sipping compact. Sadly, just like its predecessor, the 2006-2011 Honda Civic hatchback...

  • A 2012 Chevy Sonic undergoes frontal offset crash testing. Image: GM Corp.
    2012 Chevy Sonic Proves Small Can Be Safe, Earns Top Safety Pick

    The IIHS has named the 2012 Chevy Sonic a "Top Safety Pick," signifying that the car has scored high in crash testing and comes with standard electronic stability control.

  • BMW i8 Concept live photos, 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show
    2014 BMW i8 Live Photos: 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show

    BMW has taken a radical departure from its traditional brand of teutonic sedans with its "i" range. The i3 is a carbon-bodied electric city car and the i8 a plug-in hybrid sports coupe, and both display wild styling and high-tech features. We were at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show to get a closer...

  • Henrik Fisker launches 2013 Fisker Surf, Frankfurt Motor Show, September 2011
    Fisker Karma Customer Deliveries: Maybe October, Or November?

    Startup carmaker Fisker Automotive has probably learned a lot of lessons about the timing of auto launches. Although the car went into production in March, it still hasn't been approved for sale by various U.S. regulatory bodies--including the Environmental Protection Agency--as of this month...

  • 2010 Chevrolet Spark
    U.S.-Bound 2013 Chevy Spark To Get Design Updates

    The Chevy Spark minicar, bound for the U.S. in 2012, will get minor front end changes required to meet U.S. safety standards.

  • Kia Rio Ecodynamics live photos, 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show

    For fans of ultra-economical vehicles living in the United States, life just isn't fair sometimes. While the European market gets to play with dozens of high MPG turbodiesels, we're often told to make do with small capacity gasoline engines that don't come close to matching diesel, even if they're getting better these days. Latest to join the "forbidden fruit" list is the Kia Rio Ecodynamics. The 2011 Kia Rio is one of America's cheapest cars and although the recently-launched European model doesn't have the same penny-pinching title, it does get the option of a 1.1-liter, 3-cylinder...

  • 2011 Volkswagen Nils concept live photos, 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show
    Volkswagen Nils Electric Car Concept: Frankfurt Live Photos

    Two weeks ago we brought you images of the Volkswagen Nils electric car concept to be revealed at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show. The car has now been unveiled and Green Car Reports can bring you a full gallery of Volkswagen's smallest electric car concept to date. The Nils looks very similar to the...

  • 2012 Mercedes-Benz B-Class
    Small Is The New Big: Mercedes Bringing B-Class, A-Class To U.S.

    Mercedes-Benz is betting the time is right for a new range of compact and subcompact vehicles in the U.S. market. Expect to see the first of these, the B-Class wagon, in 2013.

  • 2011 Coda Sedan electric car, at 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show
    Coda Signs Deal For Electric-Car Plant in Benicia, California

    It’s been just a week since Californian automaker Coda Automotive opened up its first showroom in LA’s Westside in the Westfield Century Mall -- but now Coda bosses have confirmed that it has signed a deal to open a final assembly plant in Benicia, California. The deal, which Coda has...

  • The Mercedes-Benz B-Class E-Cell Plus concept. Image: Mercedes-Benz
    Mercedes-Benz B-Class E-Cell Plus Extended Range Electric Vehicle

    Mercedes will soon join General Motors and Fisker in offering an extended range electric vehicle. Shown as a concept in Frankfurt, the B-Class E-Cell Plus will see production in the near future.

  • Mia Electric microbus
    2012 Mia Electric Microbus: First Drive Report

    Sometimes a clever inventor or a team of engineers changes the way we think about an appliance or a concept we’ve lived with for years -- producing a revolutionary new design that makes us wonder how we ever lived without it. But sometimes a supposed revolutionary new design is little more...

  • 2015 Infiniti electric luxury sedan teaser sketch

    Infiniti -- the luxury sister brand of Nissan -- has been joining in the electric car hype at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show with talk of an all-electric subcompact car it will have ready for sometime in 2014. This isn’t the first time Infiniti has talked electric cars. Last year, Infiniti boss Toru Saito let slip that the Japanese brand was working on an all-new subcompact car -- but didn’t detail when we’d see it hit the market. Later on last year, Infiniti told us to expect its first electric car in 2013 -- but according to Infiniti chief creative officer and senior vice...

  • 2011 Brabus High Performance 4WD Full Electric concept car
    2011 Frankfurt Auto Show: Brabus AWD Electric Mercedes-Benz E-Class

    This year’s 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show has been heavily dominated by the drive towards greener vehicles, better gas mileage, and zero tailpipe-emissions motoring. So it’s no surprise that German tuning house Brabus has followed the trend set by most of the major automakers attending the...

  • 2011 Smart forvision concept
    Smart Forvision Electric Car Concept: Frankfurt Live Photos

    While Smart used the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show to release its new, upgraded Fortwo Electric Drive and the production Smart eBike, the new Forvision concept previewed a few weeks ago gives us an idea what the next generation Fortwo might look like. Still a Smart... Importantly, the Forvision is...

  • 2009 Mahindra Pik Up
    Mahindra's Diesel Pickups About To Lose EPA Approval

    The Mahindra TR20 and TR40 compact diesel pickups were supposed to launch in the U.S. in 2008, then 2010, then 2011. With EPA approval set to expire at the end of 2011, the future of the compact diesel pickup on these shores looks bleak.

  • 2012 smart fortwo electric drive, 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show
    2012 Smart Fortwo Electric Drive: Frankfurt Auto Show

    The problems with the old Smart Fortwo Electric Drive were fairly easy to work out. It was too slow, had only an average range, took too long to charge and it was too expensive - even when leasing. Smart has taken the car back to the drawing board and fixed all these issues - and given the car a...

  • Opel Rak E concept car, Frankfurt Motor Show, September 2011
    2011 Frankfurt Auto Show: Opel RAK e Electric Concept

    At this year’s Frankfurt Auto Show there’s a very clear theme among concept cars: ultra-small urban runabouts. Now Opel -- the European arm of General Motors -- has joined Audi, Volkswagen, Smart and many others with its own take on a lightweight electric-powered urban runabout. Called...

News First Drives Electric Cars Hybrids Guides Green Life