Green Car News
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Battle of the Titans it ain't. But for the third month in a row, Chevrolet sold more Volt range-extended electric cars than Nissan delivered Leaf plug-ins. During February, Nissan delivered 67 Leaf battery electric hatchbacks, bringing its two-month total to 154. Adding in the 19 delivered in December since the first one went to Olivier Chaloub, there are now 174 Nissan Leafs quietly humming around the States. Chevrolet delivered 281 Volts in February, for a 2011 total of 602. It also delivered 326 in December, so right now, Volts outnumber Leafs on the streets of the U.S. by more than five...
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Objects May Not be as Advertised: Tesla Model S Prototype TourThree years after it shipped its first production Roadsters, Tesla Motors is on the brink of launching its 2012 Model S luxury sedan. In preparation, it has announced a nationwide tour, giving eager fans and reservation holders a chance to get up close and personal with the car everyone has been...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Honda Recalls 2006-2007 Civic Hybrids To Replace DC-DC ConverterHonda said yesterday it would recall 36,700 of its 2006 and 2007 Civic Hybrid models to replace a key component of the Integrated Motor Assist hybrid system. The part to be replaced is the DC-to-DC converter, which adjusts the voltage of power moved among different components of the hybrid system...
John Voelcker -
2011 Geneva Motor Show: VW Microbus Brought Into 21st CenturyThere are very few vehicles so instantly recognisable world-wide as Volkswagen’s iconic VW microbus. But while examples of the rear-engined classic have unofficially been receiving electric drivetrain transplants for decades courtesy of electric vehicle devotees, we haven’t seen an...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Ferrari 458 Italia Offers Best-In-Class Emissions With HELE SystemBelieve it or not but even a manufacturer of high-performance supercars endowed with V-8 and V-12 engines can be conscious about the environment. Take Ferrari, for example. The Italian marque has used this week’s 2011 Geneva Motor Show to present a new version of its stunning 458 Italia...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Video: Rolls-Royce 102 EX Phantom Electric, Geneva Motor ShowAn all-electric Rolls-Royce Phantom. Just think about it: If the engineers do their jobs properly, the occupants should sense absolutely no difference in the near-silent, creamy smooth surge of power that wafts them from estate to yacht, or factory to mansion. And now we have video, courtesy of...
John Voelcker -
In a move that is sure to upset the loyal Rally and Racing fans that have embraced the last couple of generations of the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, reports surfaced today that the company will discontinue the vehicle. According to Autocar UK, Mitsubishi’s global product director told Matt Prior that the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X will be the last of its model type. The reason? The electric vehicle (EV). “The Lancer Evolution X, Eusegi told me, will be the last Evo. “There is still a demand [for the car],” he said, “but we must stop.”” That is...
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BMW ActiveE Concept: 2011 Geneva Motor Show [Video]BMW are developing some of the world's most anticipated electric cars at the moment with the i3 and i8 spearheading the launch of BMW's 'i' brand. The 1-Series based ActiveE is the first pure electric car to eminate from Bavaria since the MINI E, and the production car makes its world debut at the...
Antony Ingram -
Tata Pixel Concept: Nano's 69-MPG Pal, 2011 Geneva Motor ShowThe world's least expensive new car, India's Tata Nano, is now selling across that country, with plans afoot to offer an upgraded version in Europe this year or in 2012. Meanwhile, carmaker Tata (which owns Jaguar Land Rover) is hardly standing still. At this week's 2011 Geneva Motor Show, Tata...
John Voelcker -
Consumer Reports Pans 2011 Chevy Volt, But Misses the PointIf Consumer Reports didn't exist, someone would have to invent it. It may be the most trusted brand in evaluating cars, and it offered reliability ratings well before J.D. Power became a household name. A bad rating can send auto execs crawling to its doors to learn what they need to change to get...
John Voelcker -
Charge Anywhere: Zero Launches 2011 XU Electric MotorcycleImagine the scenario. You want to ride an electric motorcycle but your apartment is on the 28th floor, there are no power sockets or reserved parking in your apartment garage and the idea of dragging your ride up to your apartment in the lift isn’t an option. So just how do you get to run...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Now, You Can Like Ford's Electric Vehicles On Facebook (But Will You Like Them In Real Life?)Ford has been burning the midnight oil for several years now, and its hard work is paying off. The automaker's One Ford philosophy has resulted in a slimmer product lineup, two fewer brands, and a healthy bottom line. Ford also boasts a much spiffier brand image among shoppers these days, thanks in...
Richard Read -
Cooperation between automotive brands is hardly new, but on the face of it the latest joint automotive project between the owner of luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz and an upstart Chinese battery firm best known for missing its own deadlines isn't that obvious. Peel back the layers however and it becomes clear: without mutual cooperation neither firm stands a chance of cracking the Chinese electric car market. The joint venture, named Daimler New technology Co Ltd, has just been given a business licence by Chinese authorities nine months after the firms publicly announced their intent to work...
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New Model Based On Mitsubishi e-compact Electric Concept Confirmed For U.S.Mitsubishi is currently working on a new global small car positioned below its Colt hatchback and scheduled to enter production at a newly erected plant in Thailand in March of 2012. We first heard about the project late last year but at this week’s 2011 Geneva Motor Show the Japanese...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Toyota to Launch Home Electric Car Charger, Jumping into a Crowded MarketToyota, maker of the hybrid Prius and the upcoming plug-in version of the Prius, will launch its own home electric car charger, jumping into what is shaping up to be a crowded market. Major companies and startups alike have surged into the electric car charging segment. GE launched the WattStation...
VentureBeat's GreenBeat -
2012 Renault Fluence ZE: 2011 Geneva Motor Show, Quick DriveThe Geneva motor show has always been known for its green vehicles, but electric cars played a greater part than ever this year. French marque Renault was one of the main players with its range of four production electric vehicles. As part of the "Papillon Vert" (Green Butterfly) exhibition...
Antony Ingram -
Watch Out, Tesla And Fisker! More Luxury Carmakers Go ElectricElectric cars are getting blinged out. We’ve written before about how major automakers like Nissan, Ford and GM are plowing forth with electric car and hybrid offerings. Nissan, in particular, wants to grab 20 percent of the global electric cars market. But luxury automakers are getting into...
VentureBeat's GreenBeat -
To Sound or Not to Sound: Nissan Removes Beeper from U.K. LeafThe automotive world is, it seems, a very strange place. Less than a month after Hyundai admitted it had delayed the 2011 Sonata Hybrid launch in the U.S. to remove a feature that let the driver disable its virtual engine sound at speeds below 12 miles per hour, Nissan Europe has confirmed that it...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Saab has confirmed its commitment to introduce a hybrid vehicle with the unveiling today of the striking 2011 Saab PhoeniX concept car at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show. The new concept is a preview of Saab’s future production models, both in terms of styling and technology. It’s built around a new architecture that will underpin the next Saab 9-3 model and supports an innovative hybrid drivetrain known as a ‘through-the-road hybrid’. Such a design pairs an electric motor with a conventional internal combustion engine. However, where most hybrid designs locate both...
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Google’s Investment in Transphorm Could be Good News for Electric CarsGoogle said today it had invested in a startup called Transphorm, whose power-conversion efficiency technology could some day help create more efficient electric cars. The company’s technology can reduce by up to 90 percent the power lost when one form of energy is converted to the other...
VentureBeat's GreenBeat -
2011 Geneva Motor Show: Rolls-Royce Phantom Electric (VIDEO)It costs more than most of us earn in a year and comes from a company which only sold 2,711 cars last year, but the Rolls-Royce 102 EX Phantom Experimental Electric unveiled earlier today at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show has taken luxury electric vehicles to a whole new level. Resplendent with a tan...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Green Car Roundup: 2011 Geneva Motor Show - Concept CarsIf you're in the States, you may be just starting your day. But in Switzerland, the flurry of activity during the first media day at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show is at its peak. With record numbers of concept and production-car launches, our team is shooting photos and posting details as fast as they...
John Voelcker -
7 Small Cars Make List Of 25 Cars Worth Waiting ForRecently, my April 2011 print edition of Car and Driver came in the mail and the cover article peaked my interest. Who wouldn’t want to know what the “25 Cars Worth Waiting For” are, especially given the new technology being incorporated into cars? It feels like it is just a...
Jonathan McGrew -
Mitsubishi i EV To Be Orderable On the Web In 90 DaysAllSmallCars.com has been following the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, now know to the U.S. market as only “i,” for a couple of years now. However, it seemed as though the eagerness had cooled off when Nissan beat Mitsubishi to the punch by releasing its longer range and larger Leaf electric...
Jonathan McGrew