Green Car News
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We said it on Friday: Smaller, more efficient engines are going to be the main way we increase gas mileage in the next few years (in that case, a four-cylinder 2010 Buick LaCrosse). This morning, Ford has underlined that theme once more by announcing three new applications of their EcoBoost engines to be launched by the end of this year alone. Ford says all three new models will offer best-in-class fuel economy, while providing the performance of the next largest engine class. EcoBoost engines combine gasoline direct injection with turbocharging to produce more power from a smaller...
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Will Ford Bring Small and Mid-Size Diesels To the U.S. Soon?The More Relevant Question May Be When Will American Consumers Want Them
Jonathan McGrew -
2010 Denver Auto Show: GM Showcases 2011 Buick Regal
New Regal Shows Light At End Of the Tunnel For Buick
Jonathan McGrew -
FedEx Launches All-Electric Trucks for Urban Parcel Delivery
In some ways, urban parcel delivery is the ideal duty cycle for electric trucks. Daily routes are usually under 100 miles, and all trucks return to a central location at night--ideal for recharging. Federal Express, which has a large fleet of green and alternative vehicles, is now putting its first...
John Voelcker -
2010 Denver Auto Show: RMAP Gives Awards For Outstanding Cars
The Rocky Mountain Auto Press Selects Cars In Four Separate Categories
Jonathan McGrew -
Smaller-More-Efficient-Engine Example: 2010 Buick LaCrosse
Sure, hybrids and electric cars are great, but they sell in small numbers. The way most cars will meet newer, more aggressive fuel-economy rules is by making engines smaller and more efficient. Case in point: the 2010 Buick LaCrosse, a midsize sedan now offered with a 2.4-liter direct-injected...
John Voelcker -
Automotive journalists aren't known for putting their money where their mouth is. Lots of us talk about loving the planet, owning the environmental mantle, and yet somehow we all drive MINI Coopers and Mazda MX-5 Miata roadsters. Not me. I think I just signed up to buy a 2011 Nissan Leaf. The idea's been bubbling up for a while. A long time ago, when a Taurus died on us unexpectedly, we ended up with a 2004 Toyota Prius in our household. We're not conscientious objectors to performance cars--I mean, I've owned Mustangs and Mercedes-Benzes--but the Prius happened in our lives just at the right...
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2010 Denver Auto Show Opens With Long Line For Tickets
The Weather Was Good and the People Were Eager
Jonathan McGrew -
BMW MegaCity Urban Electric Car To Be Built of Carbon Fiber
We don't know what it looks like yet, but another detail emerged yesterday on BMW's upcoming tiny MegaCity urban electric vehicle: It will be built out of carbon fiber that is partly made in the U.S. BMW will partner with composites expert SGL Group to construct a new plant in Moses Lake...
John Voelcker -
Ditch Your (Electric) Car in the Best Bike Towns In America
Sometimes, a car--even an electric car like the 2011 Nissan Leaf--isn't the best way to transport yourself on errands or to work. Bicycling's one of the greenest alternatives to gas-powered travel, and when it comes to biking-friendly commutes, a handful of cities have a huge advantage over others...
Martin Padgett -
Green Car Megadeal: Renault-Nissan-Daimler Could Save Smart
This morning's deal bringing Daimler AG into the Renault-Nissan alliance has lots of interesting details--but first and foremost, it could be what Smart needs to survive in the long term. Today in Brussels, the CEOs of the companies involved--Renault-Nissan's Carlos Ghosn and Daimler AG's Dieter...
Martin Padgett -
Could the Mazda Miata See a Boost In Mileage For 2011?
New York Auto Show Hints At Things To Come
Jonathan McGrew -
We've written already about the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco high-mileage model launched at the New York Auto Show. Now we've had a chance to sit down with Gary Altman, GM's vehicle chief engineer for compact cars-North America, and find out exactly how they did it. In addition to predictable tweaks--tires with lower rolling-resistance, and a higher sixth gear in the manual transmission--the vehicle engineers focused intently on cutting total weight. They fitted lightweight 17-inch aluminum wheels, and used special speaker magnets made of an alloy of neodymium, a rare earth, plus iron and boron...
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Forecast For The Future of Small Plug-In Car Companies: Bleak
Last month was was a pretty great one for mainstream automakers planning to deliver plug-in vehicles. Publicity a-plenty, state and Federal grants announced, pricing revealed. The message from Detroit and Japan is clear: If you like it then you shoulda put a plug on it ... But with so many of the...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2010 Denver Auto Show: Green Car Parade At State Capital
Green Grass, Green Trees and Green Cars Surrounded the Colorado Capital
Jonathan McGrew -
Ramp Up To 2010 Denver Auto Show: Green Car Convoy
Manufactures and Dealers Come Together To Show the Best of Green Cars
Jonathan McGrew -
Green Car Roundup: Best & Worst of the 2010 New York Auto Show
Well, it's done. The public are streaming in, and the two media preview days of the 2010 New York Auto Show are over. It wasn't a hugely significant show, but clearly the apocalyptic meltdown that automakers were experiencing last year has lifted. Sales are starting to come back, slowly, and while...
John Voelcker -
Sarah Palin Shilling for Socialist Subaru Liberals? Not So Much
Usually it's a good thing when a major political figure mentions an automotive brand. Unless, perhaps, it involves tax dollars and automaker bankruptcy rescues, but hopefully we're past that now. Still, some Subaru drivers may wonder whether they should feel a little nervous now that telegenic...
John Voelcker -
The other shoe has dropped: Yesterday, two U.S. government agencies jointly announced the final fuel-economy rules for model year 2012 through 2016 vehicles, giving automakers a single national set of standards and averting the threat of state-by-state regulation. Starting with 2012, automakers must improve the fleet average fuel economy of their light-duty vehicles (cars, crossovers, SUVs, light vans, and pickup trucks) by roughly 5 percent each year, reducing tailpipe emissions of greenhouse gases by 5 percent at the same time. 2016 average: 34.1 MPG Across the entire industry, the combined...
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First 2011 Chevrolet Volt Rolls Off the Line, But Not For Sale
The 2011 Chevrolet Volt took another step last week in its long and highly publicized gestation, with the first complete vehicle rolling off the production line at GM's Detroit Hamtramck assembly plant. On Wenesday, March 31, the first model of the mass-produced electric car built in North America...
John Voelcker -
NY Auto Show Puzzler: 'Darker Side of Green' = New Lexus Hybrid ??
Hmmmmmm. First Sarah Silverman, now "The Darker Side of Green." What exactly is going on with Lexus these days? The ominous message is the tagline for an interactive web video called, logically enough, Lexus Dark Ride. It'll be released May 13. "Young, energetic, tech-savvy" It's meant to attract...
John Voelcker -
Ford And Microsoft Collaborate On Energy Management For EV's
Microsoft and Ford have joined forces to apply the Microsoft Hohm software application to the upcoming Ford Focus EV, scheduled for North American release in 2011. Hohm is a net-based application that tracks and predicts an operator's energy usage patterns and helps him or her lower cost and...
Jon Vandervelde -
Smith Electric (U.S.) Snags 22 Million DOE Grant To Build Electric Trucks
U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Mo) announced Wednesday that Smith Electric Vehicles U.S., has had an additional 22 Million dollar DOE grant added to the 10 million awarded the company in 2009, for a total of 32 million dollars. The money will go toward new vehicle development and to...
Jon Vandervelde -
2010 New York Auto Show: Mazda To Launch Diesel Mazda6 in 2012
Yesterday's Mazda press conference mostly focused on its 2011 Mazda2 subcompact, but the company also dropped a bombshell. Starting in 2012, it will sell a clean diesel version of its Mazda6 midsize sedan in the U.S. And it expects the car to return 43 miles per gallon on the EPA highway cycle. The...
John Voelcker
