Green Car News
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Citroen, whose parent corporation PSA teamed up with Mitsubishi earlier this year to produce a new electric vehicle based on the i-MiEV platform, unveiled the result this week: the C-Zero compact, electric hatchback. Slated to become commercially available in late 2010, the compact C-Zero features an identical drive-train to the i-MiEV, with a lithium-ion battery powering a 64bhp electric motor to a respectable 80mph top speed with reasonable acceleration. Drivers will be able to fully charge the car in six hours via a regular European socket, allowing a range of 80 miles. The C-Zero will...
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Renault to Produce Twizy ZE EV by 2011Renault has made a lot of headlines lately beginning with the introduction of 4 EVs at the Frankfurt Motor Show just months ago. The most outlandish vehicle displayed in concept form at the show was undoubtedly the Twizy ZE. This small four wheel concept looks more the part of a motorcycle than...
Eric Loveday -
FedEx Signs Deal For 51 Additional Hybrids From Azure Dynamics
FedEx has signed a deal with Azure Dynamics for an additional 51 hybrid delivery vans to bring their total fleet number to 325 hybrid and electric vans in use. FedEx went to Azure Dynamics to purchase the hybrid delivery van based off of the Ford E450 chassis. Azure Dynamics was recently...
Eric Loveday -
Alabama May Be New Home to C-Class Production
Mercedes Looks At Taking Advantage of the Weak Dollar to Euro Currency Exchange
Jonathan McGrew -
If You Thought the Toyota IQ Was Small, Wait Until You See the New FT-EV II
Toyota Slims Up the FT-EV Concept
Jonathan McGrew -
2011 Volkswagen Touareg To Include Hybrid, Launch in January
The completely redesigned 2011 Volkswagen Touareg sport utility vehicle, which will be unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show this January, will include a hybrid model in the range from the start. The 2012 Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid will be Volkswagen's first hybrid electric vehicle, and it will go on...
John Voelcker -
Advocates for the blind have long been pushing for hybrid and electric cars to make some kind of artificial noise at low speeds, to alert people with vision impairment of their presence when operating in all-electric mode, which is quieter. But data on whether electric-drive cars actually hit pedestrians more often has been lacking. Now, a new report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) indicates that they do, although it is based on a limited set of data. Twice as likely to hit cyclists According to the report, which aggregates accident reports from certain states...
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Teaching Fuel Efficiency In Driving School: Smart, or Satanic?
Driving school is often a drag for participants. But as long as you're learning to drive, it might not hurt to learn a bit about how to identify more fuel-efficient cars and driving tactics to save gasoline, right? Wrong. It's a distraction and irrelevant, since "so-called environmental...
John Voelcker -
Chevy Volt SS a Possibility?
Bob Lutz is the go to guy at GM to find out little tidbits of information about upcoming models. He has an uncanny way of letting some information slip from time to time. Perhaps slip is the wrong word, as Lutz tends to be outspoken in a way that his word are rarely cautious and typically...
Eric Loveday -
Mini E Leasing May Be Extended Beyond One Year
The Mini E prototype was a once in a lifetime opportunity to lease an EV and experience the joy of driving an EV daily before the general public had a chance to sample such a vehicle. The Mini E recipients, selected from a long waiting list of individuals who applied to receive the vehicle, were...
Eric Loveday -
Is The International Energy Agency Lying About Oil Reserves?
One IEA Insider Says Yes
Robert Scardino -
Newly Conscientious Consumers Say Modesty Is Cool For Luxury Cars
Well, this is encouraging. A new study of luxury car buyers commissioned by BMW finds that even luxury car buyers are beginning to reject conspicuous consumption, with more and more choosing their purchases for "social, political, or environmental reasons". BMW and Mini executives, in a...
John Voelcker -
st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } The end of life programs and recycling of batteries that provide motivation for hybrid and electric vehicles is a concern for many individuals. As high tech batteries find their way into more and more vehicles, the concern grows. What will become of all of these batteries a decade from now? Where will they go? Can they be safely stored and disposed of? Many of these questions will remain unanswered for some time. Until recyclers and battery manufacturers directly deal with the end of life possibilities for high tech batteries in automobiles, we cannot...
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The Tango EV Returns From a Short Hiatus
The funky looking, super slim Tango EV is ready to re-enter production. What's the Tango EV? Since a mere 11 have been made and sold, it's likely that many people have no idea what it is. The Tango was created by Rick Woodbury. It's one of the odd looking EVs from a start-up maker, creator...
Eric Loveday -
Forbes Calls Jeep Grand Cherokee Dirtiest Car, Readers Slam Methods
That old capitalist tool, Forbes magazine, has issued a list of the 10 dirtiest cars sold in the U.S. At the very top, in first place for filth, is the Jeep Grand Cherokee. But it turns out there are some problems with their list. There's history behind this. A decade ago, the website for Forbes...
John Voelcker -
Coulomb Technologies Signs Agreement to Distribute ChargePoint Networked Stations in Australia
With mass produced electric vehicles scheduled to come to Australia by next year and a full lineup of EVs scheduled to reach the country by 2012, charging stations will quickly become a necessity throughout the country. Coulomb Technologies is hoping to step in early and install its ChargePoint...
Eric Loveday -
Renault Enters Joint Venture to Produce 100,000 Li-Ion Batteries Annually
Just days after the announcement from Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn stating that the company plans to have the ability to produce up to 500,000 EV batteries annually, its French partner Renault has formed a joint venture to produce lithium-ion batteries en masse. Renault has teamed up with the French...
Eric Loveday -
GM To Produce Cadillac Converj
According to a report in the Detroit News today, General Motors will forge ahead with plans to produce the Cadillac Converj extended range electric vehicle (EREV). Though Cadillac would not confirm the story, a source close to the company's production plans says that the Converj was part of a...
Robert Scardino -
Today Renault announced that they will build the electric version of the Kangoo Express LCV at their MCA (Maubeuge Carrosserie Automobile) plant in northern France, beginning in the second half of 2011. That’s the same plant that currently produces the non-electric Kangoo, Kangoo Express, and Kangoo be bop. The announcement wasn’t a big surprise, since Renault hasn’t made it any secret that they plan to keep the center of their electric vehicle operations in France. Renault plans to market the electric Kangoo LCV to urban professionals who want to lessen their impact on the environment...
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GM's Second Electric Car After Chevy Volt To Be Cadillac Converj
General Motors will follow its 2011 Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric car with a production version of the Cadillac Converj concept car revealed at this year's Detroit Auto Show. It's been an open question for a while now: What will be the next vehicle to use GM's Voltec series hybrid...
John Voelcker -
Toyota Creates New Flower Species To Cut CO2 From Prius Production
You may already associate the 2010 Toyota Prius with flowers, courtesy of its "Harmony Between Man, Nature, and Machine" ad campaign, complete with human flowers in the "Harmony" TV spot. Now Toyota has taken flower power one step further, creating two new species specifically to help reduce the...
John Voelcker -
Tesla's Musk Takes a Shot at Fisker
Speaking at the University of Delaware Thursday, Elon Musk took a public swipe at rival Fisker automotive, whose electric vehicles may become competitors to Tesla's . Fisker whose NINA vehicle is slated to go into production soon in a new Delaware facility, faced a 2008 lawsuit from Tesla ...
Jon Vandervelde -
Chrysler's ENVI Electric Vehicle Program Cancelled
Over the past year we have brought you countless stories regarding Chrysler's ENVI group. Several times throughout the year the group, which focuses on electric vehicles, has displayed concepts and hinted at production possibilities of various models. Numerous times we reported that the program...
Eric Loveday -
Renault Releases Additional Photos of ZOE ZE EV Concept, Production Scheduled for 2012
Two months ago Renault introduced several EV concepts at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Among the concepts was the first unveiling of a vehicle called the Renault Zoe ZE. This vehicle, perhaps one of the most radically designed vehicles displayed by Renault, will be in production form by 2012. ...
Eric Loveday
