Green Car News
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Volkswagen has been teasing us with concept versions of its Up minicar since the Frankfurt Auto Show in 2007, but finally the production version has been revealed and will make its debut at Frankfurt again in September. The Up (which VW spells "up!") is part of Volkswagen's drive towards greater efficiency in the absence of diesel and electric powertrains by more traditional means: a small, lightweight chassis and tiny engines with below-average cylinder counts. This means a body no more than 11.6 feet long by 5.3 feet wide and a range of brand new three-cylinder engines. Those engines will...
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2012 Subaru Impreza: Same Price, More Gas Mileage, Still AWDThe 2012 Subaru Impreza, unveiled at the New York Auto Show this spring, has the highest projected gas mileage of any all-wheel drive vehicle on sale in the U.S. this year: 27 mpg city and an impressive 36 mpg highway. Now Subaru has released pricing for its compact four-door sedan and hatchback...
John Voelcker -
2012 Nissan Leaf: The Electric-Car Basics You Need To KnowThe 2012 Nissan Leaf is the second generation of Nissan’s all-electric family hatchback, following on from the highly popular 2011 Nissan Leaf. But one year on from the original Leaf's launch, what's different in the 2012 model? Here's our list of things we think you need to know about the...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Japan Follows Obama's Lead, Will Tighten Gas-Mileage RulesWith agreement among the White House, the EPA and NHTSA, and most major automakers (though not all), the U.S. looks to be well on its way to a corporate average fuel-economy requirement of 54.5 mpg by model year 2025. That translates to 40 to 45 mpg in real-world gas mileage, but it's still a...
John Voelcker -
Cadillac Ciel Concept: GM's Next Hybrid, Maybe, Or Not? (Updated)Last night at an event before the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in Carmel, Cailfornia, Cadillac unveiled its Ciel concept car, which it calls "an open-air grand touring car." Under the sleek, imposing lines, the all-wheel-drive Ciel four-seat convertible is powered by a 425-horsepower, 3.6-liter...
John Voelcker -
Got An Electric Car? How About Pre-Paying For Its Next Battery Pack?We’ve all heard the shock stories -- generally from media outlets which haven’t fully researched the topic -- saying that the battery pack in your electric car will only last a few years and then cost you thousands upon thousands of dollars to replace. We think its unlikely that most...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Ford is relying on potential consumers to help develop information display screens in the upcoming Ford Focus Electric.
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Electric Powertrain Manufacturer Mission Motors Nets $9 MillionMission Motors, a manufacturer of electric powertrains that go in electric cars and motorcycles, announced today that it has raised $9 million in its second round of funding. Mission Motors makes powertrains, which are the drive units for electric cars that include a battery, charging system...
VentureBeat's GreenBeat -
China’s E-Taxis Are Not Quite As Slow to Refuel As You ThinkLast month, we brought you the story of the electric taxis that carry passengers through the busy City of Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China, based on a low-tech way of quickly swapping out empty battery packs for fully charged ones. At the time, we chose to focus on the process of battery swapping, covered...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Mazda To Launch Hybrid Version Of Mazda6 Mid-Size Sedan SoonWhile Mazda prepares to unveil its new CX-5 crossover and launch its new SkyActiv engine and transmission technology, it's also quietly developing a hybrid model as well. In March 2010, Japan's small but scrappy maker of "Zoom Zoom" cars signed a deal to license Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive...
John Voelcker -
Electric Supercars: The New Breed Of Fast And SexyForget the Jaguar C-X75 or BMW i8 range-extenders. When it comes to the greenest supercars around, pure-electric drivetrains are a must. Whether its single motors, dual motors, or one in each wheel, electric cars offer enthusiasts a whole new level of performance, and capabilities never seen...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Obama's Biofuels Announcement Encouraging, Challenges RemainIn the middle of his much-publicized bus tour into the nation's agricultural heartland on Tuesday, President Obama announced a new initiative to kickstart the U.S. biofuel industry, which among other things would create more jobs for rural communities in the biofuel production chain. The...
Talking Points Memo -
When the Cadillac ELR extended-range plug-in car goes on sale, probably in 2013 as a 2014 model, it's a given that it will cost more than the 2012 Chevy Volt. But how much more? In the spate of reports late yesterday covering GM's announcement yesterday that its 2009 Cadillac Converj concept would be built as the Cadillac ELR, one sentence from a Bloomberg story stood out. That story said, "GM plans to price the ELR less than the $57,400 Model S by Tesla Motor Inc.’s, said a person familiar with the plans." In other words, the base price of a 2014 Cadillac ELR will be less than the...
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One Red Tesla: This Canadian’s Bid to Trade Up Is Running Out of TimeRemember the story of One Red Paperclip? The guy from Vancouver, Canada who traded a single red paperclip to a full-size house in just 14 trade ups? Now fellow Canadian Martin Provost, trying to trade his way from a $30 Camera to a Tesla Roadster, has just got his first ride in the $109,000...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Volt-Based 2014 Cadillac ELR Electric Car Confirmed By GMGeneral Motors has just confirmed what this site reported last week: The Cadillac Converj concept car from 2009, based on the running gear of the Chevrolet Volt electric car, will go into production. Cadillac's electric sports coupe will be called the ELR, joining the current CTS mid-size sports...
John Voelcker -
World Solar Challenge: 1,900 Miles, Much Sun, No Air ConditioningThe World Solar Challenge pits the cutting edge of aerodynamics and solar power systems against the great outback of the land down under.
George Parrott -
A Ten-Second Camaro Promotes Electric Drag RacingThe performance characteristics of electric motors make them ideal for drag racing, and one man is out to establish electric drag racing as a legitimate sport.
Kurt Ernst -
It's Official: We Now Have One Billion Vehicles On The PlanetHow many vehicles are there on Earth? We'd ask you to guess, except the headline above gives away the answer. According to industry trade journal Ward's, which added up both reported vehicle registrations and historical trends, the total crossed 1 billion sometime last year. The vehicles include...
John Voelcker -
Diesels: Dirty and slow, right? Only if you've never left the 1980s. Diesel engine technology has come along in leaps and bounds over the past two decades and the best of today's diesel vehicles easily offer a compromise between performance and economy to best equivalent gasoline vehicles. General Motors thinks that U.S. consumers want the extra performance that modern diesels provide as well as simply the economy, and is making the business case for bringing the turbo diesel Chevrolet Cruze, already on sale in Europe, to the United States. The decision was confirmed last month by GM CEO Dan...
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Five Reasons Why The Chevrolet Volt Isn’t Losing PopularityAccording to a recent research article by CNW Marketing Research, the 2011 Chevrolet Volt isn’t as cool as it once was. As reported by USA Today, the research firm claims that interest in Chevrolet’s plug-in hybrid electric car is at an all-time low. CNW blames the car’s high...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Audi Urban Spyder Concept: 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show PreviewThe 2011 Audi Urban Spyder Concept features carbon fiber construction and is a preview of what's to come from Audi.
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Redesign Advice: If Our Font Looks Lousy, Here's A SuggestionWe're rather proud of our redesign, and our readers' response to the new GreenCarReports look couldn't have been better: We got several compliments, and not a single complaint. Which is pretty unheard of, in our experience. However, if you like the redesign but the font looks funny--as it did on...
John Voelcker -
Ten Percent Electric Vehicles By 2020? No Sweat, Utility CEO SaysHow many people, how soon, could be driving electric vehicles before it makes a significant difference to the grid and the utility needs to increase capacity?
Bengt Halvorson -
To Highlight Fuel Economy, Ford Launches F-150 EcoBoost ChallengeTo promote the fuel efficiency of its F-150 EcoBoost pickup, Ford's latest social media contest will pay dividends to both the winner and the residents of the winning city.
Kurt Ernst