Green Car News

We read a lot of stuff here to cover the world of green cars. No surprise there. But there's a lot we see that doesn't lend itself to a full article, though we hate to let it pass by altogether. So this is a new type of piece, one that brings together stuff that's sort-of-relevant to green cars...

A Coupe That Is the Essence Of Performance

It must be Friday, when the silly stuff comes up. According to Japan Times, in the Kansai region of Japan, four companies have got together to produce a new vehicle which they hope will capture the hearts and minds of eco-minded visitors needing a way to get around the ancient cities of Kyoto and...

Last summer, when we first drove the 2010 Lexus HS 250h luxury hybrid--and then did a full test drive--we were quite puzzled by it. Neither as fuel efficient as a hybrid nor as elegant and refined as other Lexus models, it seemed neither fish nor fowl. And in the end, while we appreciated its...

You'd be forgiven for thinking Hawaii is the center of the electric vehicle universe. Wednesday, Nissan announced it would be one of the first markets for the 2011 Leaf electric vehicle. Then yesterday South Korean manufacturer CT&T signed a deal with the state's governor, Linda Lingle, to...

At the moment, drivers of cars from the  2011 Mitsubishi i-MiEV to the 2010 Mini E are struggling to achieve the official mileage-range figures. So far, only Tesla's 2010 Roadster seems to be able to deliver on its range promises, and that's just when driven conservatively. Why are we hearing so...

On the surface, buying a "green car" often doesn't make sense. Or rather, it doesn't make dollars and cents: The extra cost of the necessary technology--whether it's a hybrid, a clean diesel, or a plug-in electric car--is often never recouped in fuel savings. So why do people do it? Turns out it's...

As if legitimate news outlets didn't have enough trouble covering electric vehicles sensibly, now we get the comedians weighing in. Late-night talk-show host and stereotypical grumpy guy Adam Carolla recently lit into electric cars, in an interview with Gizmodo's Jason Chen in which he was invited...

Adding more ethanol to gasoline may help the U.S. meet a Congressional mandate to use more of the renewable fuel, but it could damage many of the cars now on the road, say automakers. Last year, U.S. vehicle manufacturers went public with their alarm that the EPA might increase the permissible...

Chrysler Announces New Incentives For New Car Buyers

Former President Bill Clinton recently visited social network digg.com  for a special Earth Day interview that touched on electric-vehicle policy and legislation. He answered user questions about many ecological and environmental topics--including third-world development and global warming--as...

If you pay attention to the so-called mainstream media, you could be forgiven for thinking that electric vehicles are alien technology, rather than cars with plugs. Though happy to cover natural disasters; governmental coups, and the latest celebrity gossip, pretty much any reporter seems...

‘Mountain Mode’ Gives the Volt a Boost In the Mountains

The 2011 Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric car will offer a capability that General Motors hasn't previously discussed: a "Mountain Mode" that the driver can select if he knows that he will be climbing a long hill. GM's executive director of powertrain engineering Larry Nitz revealed the new...

It must be something in the water. Yesterday, we learned that every 2011 Buick Regal will offer flex-fuel capability as standard. Now it's Ford's turn; the company announced today that it will have doubled the number of flex-fuel models it builds by the end of the year, fulfilling a 2006 pledge...

Toyota Motor Sales announced yesterday that its U.S. sales of new cars were up 24.4 percent over the previous April, during the worst of the economic meltdown. Despite recent months--during which a lawsuits have rained down on Toyota for unintended acceleration and brake related safety concerns...

Optimism is a useful thing for a startup company, maybe even a requirement. But the April newsletter from Aptera Motors, which is struggling to launch its ultra-aerodynamic three-wheeled electric vehicle in the face of delays and funding constraints, smooths over some crucial handling issues with...

VW Throws Their Hat In the EV Ring

The first batch of 2011 Buick Regals that are set to go on sale this quarter will come with a gasoline-only 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine but eventually a new 2.0-liter turbo mill will be offered, by which time both engines will feature E85 flex-fuel capability. The 2.0-liter turbo will arrive in...

We've written several times about the accelerator-pedal recall for 2004-2009 Toyota Prius models. While plans for the recall were announced last fall, now Toyota has sent out letters inviting Prius owners to bring their cars in to dealers for the update. The recall came after it was discovered that...