Green Car News

  • Ford's chocolate inspired plastic

    Tightening fuel efficiency and emissions regulations all around the world are pushing automakers to find any way they can to make their cars greener, downsizing engines, reducing internal friction and improving aerodynamics. Another area, and one of the most beneficial as it not only improves fuel economy but also boosts handling and reduces wear and tear, is weight reduction. In the recent past we’ve seen the proliferation of lightweight carbon fiber used in cars but now one automaker, Ford, is getting even more innovative. Ford has taken inspiration from a chocolate bar to produce...

  • 2012 Fiat 500 Electric/Elettra
    In the Red: Each Fiat 500 Electric Car Loses Chrysler $10k

    There is nothing a company CEO hates more than not making a profit on a product, but as Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne knows, it is sometimes a necessary evil in the evolution of a new technology. Speaking at Fiat S.p.A’s general meeting on Wednesday, Marchionne spoke frankly about his...

  • Tesla versus Top Gear
    Top Gear Producer Says Tesla's Libel Suit Is Bogus

    Electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla says BBC TV show Top Gear falsely stated that the Tesla Roadster could only travel 55 miles before needing to recharge, according to Top Gear executive producer Andy Wilman. Wilman said the team behind Top Gear, a show that touts the latest and greatest cars...

  • Robert Parker talks about the 2012 Ford Focus at the 2011 Denver Auto Show
    2011 Denver Auto Show: Focus Has Something For Everyone

    During the 2011 Denver Auto Show this week we caught up with Robert Parker, car marketing manager, Ford Division. The title really doesn’t describe everything Parker heads up, but you can bet he is very knowledgeable about cars like the Fiesta, Focus and Focus Electric, C-Max and Transit...

  • Hertz electric vehicle rental
    Renting an Electric Car: When Is It Smart, When Is It Dumb?

    One way for potential buyers to get familiar with electric cars is to rent one. Several rental companies, among them Enterprise, have announced plans to rent 2011 Nissan Leaf and other electric models at selected locations. Renting an electric car lets you spend far more time in one than the...

  • Fast Charging 2011 Nissan Leaf
    Five Things You Can Do While Fast Charging Your Electric Car

    Level 3 fast charging is blisteringly fast. In fact, we got to try it out in the real world this week, recharging a 2011 Nissan Leaf from 30% full to 98% full in a little under 25 minutes. But while your electric car gets a quick refresh, here’s our list of five top things to keep you...

  • Prototype of adapted vehicle hoist to permit NuTankX gasoline-tank swapping

    Cars with electric drive motors are now midway through their second decade, and ideas from hybrids and electric cars are starting to filter back into mainstream gasoline vehicles. Ford, for one, adapted several ideas from its hybrid vehicles to reduce the fuel consumption of its 2011 Explorer sport-utility vehicle. Now, a new startup is adapting one of the more radical concepts proposed for electric cars--battery swapping--to gasoline vehicles. $35 million in venture funds NuTankX, a startup engineering firm based in Kellog Valley, Michigan (with offices in Palo Alto, California, the heart of...

  • Gas pump
    Oil Giant BP Develops Battery Cell You Can Refill At The Pump

    The largest problem facing electric cars today is the amount of time it takes to recharge the battery pack. Unlike filling a gas tank which can take a few minutes, even fast charging direct current charging stations can take up to 30 minutes to replace lost charge. Which raises the question of what...

  • Tesla Model S workshop - wiring is installed in VIN # 13, a crash-test vehicle
    2012 Tesla Model S Prototype Workshop: Photo Gallery

    Some of the loudest of the skepticism over Tesla's plans to design and build an all-electric luxury sports sedan have died down after the company showed an all-aluminum body-in-white at the Detroit Auto Show in January. Even Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda checked it out. Tesla is continuing its campaign to...

  • bumblebee camaro back
    2011 Denver Auto Show: Two Camaros Worth Seeing at the Show

    Auto Shows give you the opportunity to experience many different cars in a single venue. It also lets you see cars that you wouldn’t be able to see any other place and compare similar models side by side. Chevrolet has you covered in the Camaro department at the 2011 Denver Auto Show. Okay...

  • 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In Drive  -  March 2011
    2011 Denver Auto Show: Toyota Displays CNG-Powered and Plug-In Hybrid Concepts

    This year’s 2011 Denver Auto Show (DAS) has a lot to offer consumers from demonstrations to manufacturer ride and drives to concept vehicles that will “fuel the future.” Wednesday marked the opening of the largest Denver Auto Show in history at some 500,000 sq. ft and it also...

  • John Duncan takes delivery of one of the first 2011 Nissan LEAF EVs, near Portland OR, 12/15/2010
    2011 Denver Auto Show: 2011 Nissan LEAF Makes Its First Rocky Mountain Debut

    As what can only be a positive sign for the Rocky Mountain region, Nissan has brought a 2011 Nissan LEAF to the 2011 Denver Auto Show. Since Denver is my home base I feel that it is important to make sure that the general public knows that they can go to the 2011 Denver Auto Show, pay their $10...

  • 2012 Fiat 500

    The Fiat 500 is so close that consumers can taste it. However, if you want to testdrive one before you drive it and you live in a five state region of the Denver Metro area, the chances are you haven’t been able to get near one of the handful of cars they have here on this side of the pond. For 2011 Denver Auto Show attendees that changes starting this Friday through Sunday at the Manufacturer Ride and Drive sign up booths on the street level of the Colorado Convention Center. The Fiat 500 has captured Europe with its throwback design and modern amenities. In the U.S., we expect to see...

  • 2011 Ford Fiesta
    2011 Ford Fiesta Wins Rocky Mountain Automotive Press High Mileage Award

    The Denver Auto Show has a standing tradition of having an awards ceremony for the manufacturers, a ceremony that AllSmallCars.com has been covering four its third year in a row. The awards are sponsored and conceived by the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press (RMAP), an organization of professional...

  • 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe
    2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe Wins Rocky Mountain Automotive Press New Vehicle Award

    The Cadillac brand has seen a lot of change over the last decade and the good news is most of it is positive. Sure we saw the loss of the XLR from the list of family group models, but overall the brand has been moving onward and upward. The Rocky Mountain Automotive Press (RMAP), an organization of...

  • 2011 Chevrolet Volt
    2011 Denver Auto Show: Drive the 2011 Chevrolet Volt Starting Friday

    We have talked a lot about the 2011 Chevrolet Volt from the time it was a concept all the way through to the launch of the production car. There is no doubt that the Volt is changing the automotive industry. We have seen people young and old interested in the newest battery electric plug-in hybrid...

  • 2011 Chevrolet Volt drive test, March 2011
    VIDEO: Will Electric Cars Like The Chevy Volt Save You Money?

    The problem with shooting video is that there's always one thing you forget to say until the camera's gone. Especially if it's low-budget and done on the fly. That's when the onscreen talent tends to forget to qualify some of the things they say. Like, for instance, this discussion of the unlikely...

  • Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson
    Tesla Vs BBC: Top Gear Planned Dead Electric Car Shot Before Test

    Believe it or not, most of what you watch on television is scripted. What you may not know is that some shows which appear unscripted, like the BBC’s infamous Top Gear, are also scripted word for word. Everything from the banter between its three middle-aged hosts to its madcap challenges and...

  • car batteries are highly recyclable - AAA

    A concern raised over upcoming electric-drive cars--the all-electric 2011 Nissan Leaf, the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, and the 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid--is what happens to their lithium-ion battery packs once the car's life ends. Images of those battery packs tossed over cliffs or littering roadsides are a little overblown. Even after its automotive life is over, a used lithium-ion pack retains most of its energy capacity. Most analysts expect a secondary market for used batteries to arise late in the 2010s. For instance, packs might become energy accumulators for photovoltaic solar panels...

  • Zipcar
    Is Zipcar Car-Sharing Service Finally Going Public?

    Car-sharing service Zipcar has priced its initial public offering between $14 and $16 per share as it inches closer to finally going public on the NASDAQ stock market under the ticker “ZIP”, according to a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Zipcar is looking to...

  • 2011 Kia Naimo Concept
    Kia Reveals Naimo Electric Crossover Concept, Announces Real-World Tests

    Kia has taken the wraps off its third electrified concept car in the space of a year (the previous being the Pop and Ray), strongly suggesting that we’re at the start of what could eventuate into an electric car revolution within the South Korean automaker. The latest concept is the 2011 Kia...

  • 2012 Ford Focus Electric launch, New York City, January 2011 - Nancy Gioia
    Ford: We’ll Sell Electric Cars With Batteries, Not Lease Them

    At the start of the month, we examined just how much of the 2012 Tesla Model S sticker price was made up by battery pack costs. In order to make electric cars more accessible to the mainstream car buying public, Renault plans to sell consumers their electric car but lease them the battery pack. But...

  • 2012 Opel Ampera, first pre-production vehicle, April 2010
    Report Threatens Badge-Engineered Buick Model Of Chevy Volt

    General Motors and its brand strategies have been through a lot of turmoil in recent years. Now, GM is down to just four brands in North America--Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac--and is rapidly taking Chevrolet global, including its Malibu midsize model. Buick survived only because of its...

  • Chevrolet MiRay Concept hybrid 'muscle car of the future', Seoul Motor Show, March 2011
    Chevy MiRay: Hybrid 'Muscle Car Of The Future' Concept

    Big plans are afoot for Chevrolet, which GM plans to take global to face off against Ford. With spring auto-show season upon us, Chevy is showing not only its 2013 Malibu LTZ Concept but also, halfway around the world, its idea of a "muscle car of the future." But hold onto your small-blocks, guys...

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