Green Car News

Carrying the regulation-maximum 6 square meters of solar cells and reaching speeds of up to 94 mph, the Solar-powered Tokai Challenger built by a team from Tokai University, Japan,  has fought it's way across 3000 kilometers of Australian desert ahead of the pack to take first place in the premier...

 British motor magazine Autocar reports that Toyota is working on a sporting coupe version of its Prius as a direct competitor to the sporty Honda CR-Z. Although  it was formerly thought that Toyota had rejected the idea of expanding the Prius range,  Honda's ongoing struggle to claw back more...

Recently, I spoke with Rob Brady, Owner / CEO / Design Director of ROBRADY Design, who has worked with alternative vehicle companies such as Vectrix, Segway and, most recently, DK City on their folding bike design.  I was curious to find out what parameters might drive the designs of alternative...

It's long been the dream of Toyota's U.S. arm that the company would add additional body styles to the Prius line. And Toyota finally gave the nod to that idea earlier this year. Now, details are starting to emerge on the new models that will join the all-new, third-generation 2010 Toyota Prius...

As U.S. carmakers get serious about building world-class compact cars, one of the most eagerly awaited entries is the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze, which will face off against a totally new 2012 Ford Focus as well as revised models of the Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, and Nissan Sentra. Now reports say that...

There are many methods for charging EVs.  From using household current, to battery swapping, to fast charge stations, the list is continually growing.  However, not everyone is on board with some charging options. Battery swapping has continually been met with interest, yet few believe the idea...

Fiat Starts to Reveal Plans For the Troubled Chrysler Name Plate

Consumer Reports, long respected by consumers for its unbiased analysis of everything from vacuum cleaners to children’s toys to cars, has published its list of the most reliable (and unreliable) vehicles. Overall, the results are stunning — five of the top eight most reliable family cars were...

The Prius Is At the Top of the Hybrid Food Chain

Europeans have been slow to the game with hybrids, having bet most of their green strategy on highly efficient clean diesels. But they are increasingly hedging their bets, learning to work with electric motors and battery packs. In the sports-car world, aside from startups Fisker and Tesla, no...

There's nothing like a little old-fashioned reporter shoe leather, especially when few other automotive media outlets bother to make the trip. Our colleague Gary Gastelu of Fox News traveled down to Delaware yesterday, to cover the official announcement of Fisker Automotive's $18 million purchase...

Last week Ford Motor Company announced that it has been working with the University of Michigan to help with the research and development for the companies next generation of hybrid vehicles.  Researchers from both Ford and U of M have been gathering data from thousands of roads trips in current...

Ford will introduce the Focus EV in 2011 to high expectations.  The vehicle will be one of the first EVs to hit the roads from a domestic manufacturer.  For Ford, it will be their second EV by the time it comes to market, just behind the Transit Connect EV.  Currently in the prototype stage...

Could American Cars Break Threw the Unreliability Stigma?

During a trip to Detroit last week, we had a chance to spend a couple of days with the all-new 2010 Chevrolet Equinox five-pasenger crossover sport-utility vehicle. We'd wanted to try this vehicle for some time, as most reviews deemed it vastly superior to the previous model. Certainly it's got...

While Chrysler was an original partner in development of the Two-Mode Hybrid system used in pickups and sport utilities by Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac, as well as upcoming sport utilities from BMW and Mercedes-Benz, its hybrid history has not been happy. The company made fewer than 1,000 Dodge Durango...

The New Ford Fiesta Is Booming In Europe, But Will U.S. Be the Same?

  Fisker CEO and founder Henrik Fisker was joined by US Vice-President Joe Biden in a dormant former GM assembly plant in Wilmington Delaware to announce that the plant will be purchased by Fisker. The plant will be used to support project NINA, the company's effort to build an affordable family...

Guido Reinking, editor of Automobilwoche, is well known for his occasional outbursts against electric vehicle technology.  Previously, Reinking wrote that EV technology will not become mainstream for at least 15 more years.  Now he's back with yet another statement that may or may not sit well...

Awhile back we brought you a story about a company called New Energy whose Motion Power system presented an interesting energy harvester installed in roadways.  The system is designed to capture energy from the motion of vehicles.  It has undergone several successful real-world testing...