Green Car News
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Sit back, relax, and take in the official design and specifications for the Kestrel, the hemp-bodied EV engineered by Canadian firm Motive Industries. We looked at the benefits of the environmentally friendly hemp construction last month, an avenue Lotus have also explored with their 2008 Eco Elise concept. Now we can see what the lightweight EV will look like. The swooping arches and modern features hide a 16 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack offering a range of 100 miles and a top speed around 84 miles per hour. Both these figures better the 2011 Smart Electric Drive we tested a few...
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Latest Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive Licensee: Mercedes-Benz ???Toyota leads the world in hybrid-electric vehicles, having built well over 2 million of them since 1997. That's more than half the hybrids on the planet. Now, with new electric cars about to hit the showrooms--the 2011 Nissan Leaf and 2011 Chevrolet Volt, for example--Toyota wants to cement its...
John Voelcker -
100-MPG Auto X-Prize Mainstream Winner: Would You Drive This?After many months of testing, qualifying, and mechanical challenges--not to mention reams of press releases--today the Progressive Automotive X-Prize announced the winners of its three categories, who will split $10 million in prize money. Both winners in the "alternative" classes for two-passenger...
John Voelcker -
BREAKING: Aptera Loses Automotive X-Prize, Li-Ion Motors TriumphantFor the past few years, small and medium-sized automakers have looked towards the prestige of winning the Progressive Insurance Auto-X Prize. for the X-Prize. Initially set up as a way of encouraging innovation and inspiring the next generation of fuel efficient vehicles, the Automotive X-Prize has...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Hemp-Bodied Motive Kestrel EV Unveiled, Promises High EfficiencyWe've seen numerous electric vehicle startups come and go over the years, but few came out of the gate with a product as attractive--in a cute, cuddly way--as the Motive Industries Kestrel EV. The performance it promises is also solid for its intended city-car market. With a curb weight just under...
Nelson Ireson -
Audi A1 E-Tron Pilot Project To Start In Munich, 2011With BMW slowly revealing further details of their upcoming Megacity EV and teasing us with the 2009 MINI E, and Mercedes-Benz giving us the A-Class E-Cell, it was only a matter of time before rival Audi hit the roads with their own small EV. Revealed at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show in March, their...
Antony Ingram -
Getting reborn is at the center of many world religions. And it turns out that it’s also at the center of Nissan’s philosophy for it’s EV batteries after they’ve reached the end of a useful life. Instead of being destined for landfill, Nissan aims to send batteries from its 2011 Nissan Leaf to 4R Energy Corp, a newly formed company aimed at commercialising used lithium-ion batteries for electric cars. Founded by Nissan Japan and trading house Sumitomo Corporation, the company will act as a reprocessing agent for used Lithium Ion batteries otherwise destined for an...
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More Ethanol In Gasoline: 'Minimal Risk' To Old Cars, Study SaysWe've written before about just how worried automakers are at proposals by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to increase the ethanol content of pump gasoline from 10 to 12 or even 15 percent. They fear it will damage older cars whose engines and fuel systems were never designed to handle...
John Voelcker -
Mercedes-Benz A-Class E-Cell: Full Details on Electric Hatchback for EuropeJoining the electric-vehicle party, Mercedes-Benz has released final details of its first mass-produced all-electric car, which will start coming down the line in October at its plant in Rastatt, Germany. Its formal debut will be at the 2010 Paris Motor Show later this month. Don't get your hopes...
John Voelcker -
Mobile EV Charger: Cure For Range Anxiety Or Unnecessary Extra?Earlier this week Swiss-based Nation-E announced the Angel Car, a vehicle which the company says will aide stranded electric cars with flat battery packs. Designed to help alleviate the range anxiety many commentators cite as the major hurdle to widespread EV success, the Angel Car is only a phone...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Report: Next-Gen Nissan GT-R May Go Electric To Remain ViableThe development and launch of the current R35 Nissan GT-R was an epic achievement for the Japanese automaker. After all, Nissan was able design and engineer a sports car capable of outperforming exotic supercars with pricetags twice as high or more, as well as make it seat four adults in relative...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Fisker's $30M Parts Order Puts Karma Back On TrackPlug-in hybrid/electric vehicles are no strangers to the vaporware syndrome: a product is announced, promised to be the best ever, raises funds, then fails to materialize--or does so at an incredibly slow pace. But Fisker's Karma looks set to defy the odds if a new $30 million parts order for the...
Nelson Ireson -
Not a week after Hyundai announced its plans to launch the i10-based BlueOn electric subcompact in 2012, the South Korean manufacturer has announced its plans to launch another all-electric vehicle by the end of 2011. The new EV is said to be based on a small cross utility vehicle (CUV) that Hyundai will be launching in September next year. Soon after, Hyundai plans to launch an electric version of the model in December 2011. A spokesperson said "There is a high possibility that the CUV model will be sold to the general customers starting in 2013", hitting the market a year after the BlueOn...
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2010 Mini E Driven Like Any Other Car, U.K. Trial ShowsAsk a non EV owner what life is like with an electric car and you’re likely to hear tales of range anxiety, slow motoring and constant recharging. But as the results of BMW’s Mini E trial in the U.K. show, drivers of BMW’s two-seat, all-electric mini have, horror of horrors, been...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Prius Plug-In Hybrid Now By June 2012, Cheapest Plug-In In U.S.?Amidst a flurry of battery-electric vehicle announcements by automakers all over the globe, Toyota reiterated plans to launch six new hybrid models by 2012. But the company will push back the U.S. launch date for its first plug-in vehicle, the 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid. Toyota had said this...
John Voelcker -
How Much Electricity Will Your EV Use? So Cal Edison AnswersHow expensive is an electric car to charge? It’s a question we get asked a lot by our readers, keen to know just what the impact of electric car ownership will have on their pocket books. With gasoline cars it’s really easy to keep track of fuel costs. Filling up at the gas station is a...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Smart ForTwo Diesel Drive Report: Does U.S. Get The Wrong Smart?You'd be hard pressed to call us fans of the 2010 Smart ForTwo here at GreenCarReports. The tiny two-seater is a novel idea unfortunately let down in execution. Whilst the car is spacious despite its exterior appearance and we can't fault equipment levels and quality, some mechanical aspects let...
Antony Ingram -
BREAKING: Toyota-Tesla RAV4 EV Will Debut At LA Auto Show This FallBack in the pre-Internet dominated world of journalism, news stories were passed down from tip-offs, official press releases and the wires service. But in the twenty-first century, things are done a little differently. And occasionally, we see something pass by on Twitter that makes us perk up and...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
As we pointed out last week, it’s not always best to be first to release a new generation of technology, especially when the competition is so fierce. Playing the game between being the first and the best is a tough one for automakers everywhere. While Mitsubishi, Chevrolet and Nissan are all fighting the price wars that accompany the first wave of all-electric and range-extended electric vehicles due to hit the streets this Fall, a team of dedicated German engineers have been working on a vehicle they hope will beat every other one on the market. The 2013 Volkswagen Golf Blue e-Motion...
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Caring Auto Industry Won't Let You Be Bullied By Nasty Old EPAReading the news in our automotive world never fails to surprise and delight. Take, for example, our discovery of the soliticitousness exhibited by automakers who care deeply about the delicate and fragile feelings of car buyers. Yes, those same car buyers from whom an independent dealer's job is...
John Voelcker -
2011 Lexus CT 200h Gets 42 MPG EPA-Rated Combined Fuel EconomyWhether it's the rather bland styling or the underwhelming stats, the 2011 Lexus CT 200h hasn't achieved much in creating buzz in the headlines. In fairness, hybrid power, low emissions and claims of high fuel efficiency don’t mean much without the all important EPA-rated fuel economy figures...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Green Materials For Ford Flex: Renewable Canadian Wheat StrawThe overall carbon footprint of a vehicle is more than 90 percent composed of the fuel used to move it around, but manufacturing plays a role too. Many automakers are quietly working to include more renewable materials into a product that's largely made of metal, plastic, and glass. The latest...
John Voelcker -
GM Steps Up Their Small Car Game With the 2012 Chevrolet AveoPrevious models of the Chevrolet Aveo have been a little bit of a disappointment out in the American marketplace. The original was small, had some quality issues and really just wasn’t the much fun to putt around in. The redesign gave the car a boost in the looks department, but really still...
Jonathan McGrew -
Hyundai Blueon Sets Path For Next Nissan Leaf CompetitorHyundai is one of the fastest up and coming brands in the world and it is one that has been steadily continuing to make profits over the past couple years. The company has also had some great hits with the all-new for 2010 Hyundai Sonata and the Hyundai Genesis Sedan and Coupe. While rumors still...
Jonathan McGrew