Green Car News

Tokyo Taxis to be tested with Battery Swapping Technology

Back in March, VW confirmed it would sell the Polo in the US in 2011. The five-door hatchback model was unveiled earlier this year at the Geneva Motor Show, and now Volkswagen has released details of the three-door hatch as well. US details to come It's like that VW will also offer a four-door...

EEStor is the Texas-based company secretly developing an ultrahigh energy density, ultra-low cost, ultra-long -life new energy storage material that in theory would antiquate lithium-ion batteries overnight. Not unexpectedly there is much hype, excitement and intrigue surrounding the company's 10...

One of the highly discussed aspects of EVs of course surrounds the battery that powers the vehicle. Nissan, with their upcoming LEAF is considering many different options in regards to battery purchasing, battery after life, and battery longevity. Right now, Nissan is still undecided about whether...

Perhaps it's the gas mileage rating of 35 mpg city, 34 mpg highway.  Perhaps it's the tax breaks offered in Japan for hybrid vehicles, or perhaps it's because it's Lexus' only dedicated hybrid model, but whatever the cause is, Lexus surely isn't complaining that pre-orders for the Lexus HS 250h...

We've just read some nice investigative reporting by DailyTech's Jason Mick on a well-known but infuriating phenomenon: auto dealer price gouging, in this case on the sought-after 2010 Toyota Prius. We're far from the only outlet to note that the Cash-For-Clunkers plan boosted sales of the 2010...

Some Industry Figures Skeptical of Proposed Specifications

Sure we are excited about electric cars and their ability to displace petroleum, but who wouldn't be thrilled about the idea of a pure electric plane? Since AllPlanesElectric.com hasn't been started yet we might as well talk about it here. A few weeks ago a Chinese start-up called Yuneec...

We get a lot of spam. Everyone gets a lot of spam. In fact, Symantec says nine of every 10 e-mail messages are spam. But we're scratching our head over a recent spam that uses the topic of hybrid cars, particularly clumsily, to link (via Dubai, no less) to real carmakers' hybrid, diesel, and...

Once in awhile, High Gear Media editors get lucky. Last Thursday, our own Bengt Halvorson managed to snag a drive in the 2010 Mazda MazdaSpeed3 before any other reporter. Which means those sites that just posted their reviews yesterday (they know who they are ...) were just a tad behind the curve...

Lithium-ion batteries are critical for both EVs and advanced hybrids.  Li-ion offers a low weight, a long battery life, and a decent power to price ratio.  Until now, lithium-ion battery packs had to have some sort of advanced electronic controller to limit overcharging which would greatly...

Tesla Motors wants you to know that they won't be a niche automaker for long. CEO, Elon Musk has repeatedly affirmed that he expects his electric vehicle company to compete in the mainstream market with the big boys. With a lineup consisting of two-seat sports cars costing more than $100,000, and...

As we regularly note, Volkswagen's line of TDI diesels has lots of fans out there. Now, the company has priced the eagerly awaited 2010 Volkswagen Golf TDI, with the cheapest version coming it at $21,990, just a hair less than $22K. While it's not the diesel-for-under-$20K that diesel fans had...

OK, kids, this is it. If you have a clunker and you want to trade it in and get a $3,500 or $4,500 rebate for a new vehicle under the Car Allowance Rebate Systems (CARS) program ... STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING. Do it right now, today, and get to your dealer no later than 4 pm. Today. But call first, to...

The next generation lithium-ion batteries from a small start up called Sakti3 could offer twice as much energy density at the same price per kWh as current li-ion battery on the market. Sakti3 is a small spin-off start up created from the partnership of the University of Michigan and General...

Honda, one of the last EV holdouts, plans to develop an electric car that will hit U.S. markets by 2015. Honda has repeatedly stated that they intend to stick with hybrids and fuel cell technology while ignoring the current crop of EVs coming our way.  But that didn't last for long as the Nikkei...

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Chinese automaker BYD is planning a new-share sale in China to fund the earlier-than-planned launch of their battery electric vehicle here in the States. The shares sale will also help pay for a second production line near Shenzhen, China, to boost...

Yesterday, sources close to the matter stated that Toyota plans to release an all new medium sized hybrid sedan next July. The source states that this vehicle will be both bigger and more luxurious than the current Prius.  Tentatively called the SAI, it will be marketed as Toyota's version of the...

Buy a New Car Before Saturday Because the Program Is Ending.

We often get asked whether it will be necessary to replace the high-voltage battery pack in a Toyota Prius after it's five or ten years old. The answer is, almost certainly not. Toyota is required to warranty the pack for either 8 years / 100,000 miles or 10 years / 150,000 miles, depending on...