Green Car News
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General Motors is calling on Chinese partner SAIC to help develop a new downsized gasoline engine family and an advanced dual clutch transmission, one of the first major developments between the two automotive giants and surely not the last. The new engines, which will be offered in displacements ranging from 1.0- to 1.5-liters, will be aimed primarily at customers in emerging markets such as China, India and South America and should be available in the second half of next year. However, as Western markets continue to flock to efficient downsized engines, we wouldn’t be surprised to see...
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First Look: Kia Electric Pop Concept For Paris Motor ShowThe dog days of summer may still be with us, but automakers across the globe are gearing up for the big Paris Motor Show, which kicks off just six weeks hence. This morning, Kia released teaser images of an electric concept car they will unveil in Paris. It's the Kia Electric Pop, an all-electric...
John Voelcker -
Corvette Could Go Hybrid, Says GM Head Engineer; World To End?Last week, Karl-Friedrich Stracke, GM's vice president of global vehicle engineering, set to rest rumors of a mid-engine next-generation Chevrolet Corvette. That got a lot of attention among Corvette fans. But a footnote to the story was that Stracke said not only that a hybrid Corvette was...
John Voelcker -
Student-Built DeLaSalle Electric Car Aiming For World Record EfficiencyA group of high school students from the DeLaSalle School in Kansas City, Mo., have set out to build an electric car aimed at setting a new world record for efficiency. Working closely with engineers from Bridgestone Americas' Technical Center in Akron, Ohio, the students have just concluded tests...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Not-A-Big-Surprise Dept: Bright Confirms Switch to GM EnginesWhen GM Ventures announced it would invest an unspecified amount of money into startup hybrid truck-maker Bright Automotive, several of us noted that the prototype Bright Idea delivery van used an 2.0-liter engine and transmission from a Dodge Caliber. The announcement two weeks ago from General...
John Voelcker -
A123 Spin-Off 24M Lands $16M To Explore Next Frontier Of BatteriesLast week, advanced battery company A123Systems announced that it was spinning off a new venture called 24M Technologies, which would focus on more unorthodox energy storage innovations, including grid-scale flow batteries. One of the reasons it decided to release the new entity into the wild was...
John Voelcker -
Safety Is a Key Part Of the 2011 Ford Focus Electric Design
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DRIVEN: MINI E On An Autocross Course At MTTS2010 (Video)MINI May Have Cornered the Market On Affordable and Fun EVs
Jonathan McGrew -
Charging the 2011 Chevrolet Volt: What You Need To KnowWe've covered the 2011 Chevy Volt a lot here at AllCarsElectric.com, and for good reason. It'll be one of the first affordable and usable EVs to hit the market. Of course, it isn't just a simple electric vehicle. The Volt uses a small gasoline engine as a range extender to allow the Volt to travel...
Antony Ingram -
Report: No Plans For MINI Diesel HybridMINI’s parent company BMW is working on diesel-electric hybrid vehicles, as is its engine partner PSA Peugeot Citroen, but don’t hold your breath for such a model from the iconic British brand. That’s the word from MINI’s engine chief, Wolfgang Kuttler, who said the technology is just too...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
So What Exactly DO You Have to Service On a 2011 Nissan Leaf?Despite initial purchase prices higher than those for gasoline cars of equivalent performance (before incentives, anyway), electric cars undisputably cost less to run. Not only does the grid electricity to drive a mile cost just half to one-fifth the cost of the gasoline to go the same distance...
John Voelcker -
2012 Infiniti M35h, Its First Hybrid, Previews at Pebble BeachAlmost a year ago, Infiniti confirmed a hybrid version of its new M sedan, to be launched at the end of 2010. Now, the company has unveiled that car, in the tony surroundings of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, the premier U.S. showcase for classic cars. Infiniti has adopted the Lexus...
John Voelcker -
We already knew that the quintessential hybrid car, the Toyota Prius, costs a little more to repair than non-hybrid cars. Now, the news gets worse: Insurance rates for hybrids are going to rise, probably at a faster rate than auto insurance premiums overall, according to Mitchell International's Industry Trends Report. The culprit is an evolution in the types of buyers for hybrid vehicles, which now represent about 3 percent of U.S. passenger vehicle sales. Ten years ago, only early adopters were willing to make the leap to this radical new kind of car. Whether motivated by the latest cool...
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MTTS2010: MINI Puts the M In Community Across the U.S.From the Countryman to a Wedding Ceremony MINI Brings People Together
Jonathan McGrew -
Are Small Electric Cars Good For Commuters?The Answer Depends On How You Define a Commuter
Jonathan McGrew -
Recharging Electric Cars Away From Home: What To ExpectIf there's one thing any advocate of the electric car gets asked more than anything else, it's about range: "How far will it go? How long does it take to recharge? 8 hours!? I'd take me weeks to travel across the country!..." Help is at hand though, as there are several organizations here in the...
Antony Ingram -
Charging Your Electric Car At Home: What You Need To KnowOne of the most important aspects of electric-car ownership might not be how they drive, or how far you'll go on a charge, but how you'll actually charge it in the first place. That's why we asked "What comes first, the car or the charger?", with many potential EV owners waiting for a public...
Antony Ingram -
Volkswagen Predicts 500 Mile Range For EVs By 2020Volkswagen is intent on becoming the world’s leading automaker by 2018 and that means being the top dog in every segment, including hybrid and electric vehicles. In fact, the automaker is so serious about its electric car efforts that it recently announced plans to start building its own electric...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
We already know that it’s possible to curb your fuel consumption just by having your tires properly inflated, or better yet, installing a set of low rolling-resistance tires, however, soon there may be an additional avenue to look at when picking the most fuel efficient rubber for your ride. The answer is the camber of your tires, more specifically, the negative camber. This is when the tops of your car’s tires are angled inwards towards the chassis. Racing cars typically feature negative cambered tires as they improve grip when cornering due to the tire being at a more optimal angle to...
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Solar Array, Lithium Cells To Power Part of Ford Focus PlantMany houses, stores, and factories across the U.S. now have arrays of photovoltaic solar cells mounted on their roofs. These days, that's hardly news. But Ford's announcement that it will install half a megawatt of power-generating solar panels at its Wayne, Michigan, assembly plant has a new...
John Voelcker -
Nissan Helps Keep You More Efficient With ‘Eco Pedal’Save Gas With This Automatic Moving Pedal
Jonathan McGrew -
Honda Civic Hybrid: Software Upgrade Fixes Battery IssueHonda is asking Civic Hybrid owners to bring their cars back to the dealership for a software upgrade, as the hybrid system's original power management tactics might result in a battery life that's shorter than intended.
Bengt Halvorson -
Bigger Cars, Fatter Passengers: The Fuel Cost of ObesityAmerica loves to complain about gas mileage and the cost of gasoline. As it turns out, part of the problem is us. A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found a 1.1 percent increase in self-reported obesity, which translates into extra weight that your vehicle has to haul...
John Voelcker -
A123 Spins Out Energy Storage Startup, Loses Chrysler DealAdvanced battery maker A123 announced more than its quarterly earnings yesterday. In addition to posting a lackluster $22.6 million in revenue, the company spun off a new energy storage startup called 24M Technologies to work on more unorthodox lithium-ion architectures. The company also tempered...
John Voelcker