Green Car News

At least once every couple of weeks, I field a question about why I think electric vehicles are better for the environment than their fossil fuel-guzzling counterparts, when most of our electricity here in the U.S. is made in coal-fired power plants. My patent answer is usually something along the...

Researchers at Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) have succeeded in making the world’s first Ni-Li battery, a formulation that holds more than 3.5 times the energy of Li-ion batteries and doesn’t run the risk of catching fire. By including a...

The Mitsubishi i-MiEV is a front-runner in the electric vehicle segment.  The company has pioneered this recent surge into electric vehicles and the i-MiEV can claim the rights to numerous firsts and achievements.  Now Mitsubishi can add another accomplishment to the list for its i-MiEV. The...

Makers of green cars can rejoice as the President has signed the 2010 energy budget bill into law giving green car development one of the largest boosts in funding seen in decades.  The bill includes $814 million in funding for several alternative propulsion programs. $283 million in funding will...

When speculating on Suzuki's  future direction within today's chaotic, industry-wide scramble toward new energy technologies, it's interesting to note that although the company introduced a single new Plug In Hybrid concept car at the recent Tokyo Motor Show,  it actually introduced three...

If you own a car as unique as the Tesla Roadster, why not advertise your business with it? That's what one Monaco resident did with this electric sports car clad in the standard issue yellow and black. The owner, who runs a New York City cab company which uses mostly hybrid vehicles, recently put...

When the historic first TTXGP electric motorcycle race took place this year at the storied Isle of Man TT road course, response was so overwhelming that the FIM (Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme) agreed to create an FIM World Championship Series for electric bikes in 2010 – the first...

Dates and cities have been announced for the "Zero Emission Tour" that will introduce the 2012 Nissan Leaf hatchback electric car to potential buyers in the U.S. markets where it will first be sold. The car won't be sold nationwide for more than two years. Instead, it will be offered where Nissan...

The President has cast his vote and approved three wheel vehicles for funding under the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing program created back in 2007. Voting on the bill took place over the last couple of weeks with both the House and Senate approving the bill.  Now with the president's...

Many potential EV buyers have discussed the necessity of fast charge stations and the automakers are listening.  Most upcoming EVs will have fast charge capability, but there are additional hurdles to overcome before fast charging become commonplace. Fast charging requires a lot of juice.  Fast...

Last week author Michael Pollan made a statement that upset many.  His words, "A vegan in a Hummer has a lighter carbon footprint that a beef eater in a Prius."  Obviously his claim drew immediate criticism, but is there any truth to his words? Well, it turns out that Pollan was indeed wrong...

As Cars Get Back To Design, Drives Loose More Vision

It's the end of October, but we'll spare you the lame Halloween jokes and dive directly into the most popular posts of the month on AllAboutPrius.com. Just like the month before, only two of September's most popular posts reappeared: the 2010 Toyota Prius Reference Guide (by now the year's...

Today is Halloween, but no tired jokes about green pumpkins here. It's the end of the month, so it's time to look at the most popular posts on GreenCarReports.com over the last 30 days, which include items on hybrids, clean diesels, and two on the Tesla electric car. Four out of the top five are...

The Honda Accord Hybrid never really caught on.  Sales were low from the get go and Honda really had little choice but to cancel the vehicle.  Other Honda hybrids like the dedicated hybrid Insight and even the Civic Hybrid have fared much better, but the unloved Accord Hybrid came and went...

We seem to be covering the 2010 Volkswagen Golf TDI clean diesel hatchback an awful lot here, but a recent blog post raised an issue we hadn't considered: How far can the 2010 Golf TDI go on a single tankful of diesel fuel? The question comes from blogger, host of #carchat on Twitter, and general...

Smith Electric Vehicles U.S. announced today that it's Newton truck line, the first commercial all-electric truck to receive new vehicle emissions certification in California, will be expanded to include not only small delivery vans, but 14,000 and 16,000 lb. short-haul trucks.  This is in...

It's starting to seem like tit-for-tat around here, as startup electric automakers Tesla and Fisker vie for--and get--federal- and state-funded loans and tax concessions to build future electric cars. The latest salvo, mere days after Fisker announced its purchase of a former GM plant in Delaware...

The Global Green Car Challenge took place this week in Australia.  Participants in numerous categories faced off for supremacy.  One vehicle, the Tesla Roadster, set a new world record in the battery powered production vehicle class. Driver Simon Hackett and co-driver Emilis Prelgauskas set out...

Finally the cup holder has been overtaken as the most important feature of a new car.  It was beat out by fuel economy.  Americans have finally confessed and admitted that fuel efficiency is the most important factor to consider when purchasing a new car.  But, insiders at the Big Three knew...