Plug-In Hybrids
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The NHTSA and EPA are closing in on their final rules for 2017-2025 corporate average fuel economy regulations, but there's a wild card in the pack. California, which has the authority to set its own emissions laws, is going along with the proposed gas-mileage levels, which will take 2025 model-year vehicles to an average of 54.5 mpg (which translates to window stickers in the low 40s). But in mid-November, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced that it would also require automakers to sell a certain percentage of zero-emission vehicles (known as ZEVs) in the state, on top of the...
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Honda AC-X Concept: Tokyo Motor Show Live PhotosHonda released some details of its Tokyo Motor Show concept cars three weeks ago, and now we can see what they look like in person. For U.S. buyers in particular, the most important of them is the Honda Advanced Cruiser-X (AC-X) Concept, a mid-size sedan that resembles nothing so much as a...
John Voelcker -
Electric-Car-Hating Top Gear Names Fisker Karma Luxury Car Of The YearFor as long as we can remember, there’s been an ongoing love-to-hate relationship between the BBC's Top Gear show and electric cars. Until yesterday that is, when Top Gear Magazine caught everyone off guard by announcing that its Luxury Car of The Year was none other than the $95,900 Fisker...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2011 Mitsubishi PX-MiEV II Plug-In Hybrid Concept: Tokyo Motor ShowThe new PX-MiEV II Concept remains an important step in the automaker’s initiative to launch eight new electrified vehicles by 2015.
Bengt Halvorson -
Volkswagen Unveils Plug-in Hybrid SUV Concept: 2011 Tokyo Motor ShowUnsurprisingly, the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show has been dominated by Japanese automakers showing off their latest green car technology and futuristic concepts on home turf. But that didn't stop German automaker Volkswagen from unveiling its own plug-in hybrid crossover concept, the Cross-Coupe Plug-in...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2011 Tokyo Motor Show: Every Electric & Plug-In Concept CarAs thousands of members of the press decend on Tokyo ready for the 2011 Tokyo Auto Show to open on Wednesday, Green Car Reports brings you a preview of the electric and plug-in cars we're expecting to see at the show. From tiny micro-commuter concepts to electric sports cars the line-up is...
Antony Ingram -
The Chevrolet Cruze compact sedan is an important car for General Motors. It's hugely outselling its lackluster predecessor, the Chevy Cobalt, and the EPA rates the special Cruze Eco model at 42 mpg in the highway cycle, giving it gas-mileage bragging rights. Plug-in hybrid to join diesel model But Chevrolet has big plans for future Cruze models. Now we learn that among them are a plug-in hybrid version that could debut as soon as 2014, following the 2013 Cruze clean-diesel model that was confirmed by CEO Dan Akerson in July. Ten days ago, toward the end of the Los Angeles Auto Show media...
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Will Toyota Prius Hit Gas-Mileage Trifecta: 40, 50 & 60 MPG?With new corporate average fuel economy rules now taking us to 54.5 mpg by 2025, gas mileage will be the focus of new-car development for years to come. With its 15 years of experience in hybrid-electric vehicles, Toyota seems well positioned for steady improvements. Now, there's a chance that...
John Voelcker -
One Year, One Talk-Show Host, 11,000 Miles, And No GasolineTalk-show host Jay Leno might own everything from vintage Model T Fords through to large-engined, gas-guzzling supercars, but it turns out his daily driver is the 2011 Chevrolet Volt he purchased last year. And in that time, Leno says, he hasn’t visited a gas-station once. Since collecting...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Fisker Promises 15,000 Karmas for 2012, Changes Story On Production DelaysFisker Automotive, maker of the plug-in Karma sports sedan, hasn’t had an easy time of late, thanks to the Karma’s rather low EPA fuel economy rating and slower-than-expected initial production volumes. But that is all behind the firm, company Chairman Ray Lane told Reuters yesterday...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Hybrid Car Sales Are Down Right Now, But Will Bounce BackThis year has been particularly difficult for the auto industry -- with some types of car suffering more than others. And although there’s an unrelenting drive towards greener, more fuel efficient cars with better gas mileage, sales of hybrid cars haven’t been as great as perhaps they...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Future Car Challenge Won By Gordon-Murray T27 Electric CarIt may have just three seats, look like something from a science-fiction movie and have a forward-hinging front door, but the Gordon-Murray T27 Electric Car has just won the 2011 Future Car Challenge. Held the day before the vintage vehicle run open to pre-1906 cars that has taken place between...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Have you ever dreamed about just walking into your local Fisker dealer and ordering a Karma plug-in luxury sport sedan? Very few of us have the funds to afford the $95,900 starting price of a 2012 Fisker Karma, but that doesn't mean we can't imagine doing it. The youngest member of the High Gear Media team, Joel Feder, was lucky enough to walk through part of the ordering process at Borton Fisker of Minneapolis. Watch the video below and imagine yourself at that gigantic flat screen surface, selecting among paint and interior colors ... before you snap back to reality, and head out into the...
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GM-Backed Bright Idea Plug-In Hybrid Van To Be Built By AM GeneralHow times change. Startup Bright Automotive announced last week that, once the company completes its funding, its advanced plug-in hybrid Idea delivery van would be assembled under contract by AM General. That's the outfit that built the Humvee and Hummer, and spawned the now-defunct HUMMER brand...
John Voelcker -
Toyota Confirms Sub-$1000 Electric Vehicle Charger, Installation IncludedToyota has confirmed that its official charging station for the 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid will be available to all customers, fully installed, for just $999.
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2012 Chevy Volt Owner Goes Head-To-Head With Fox News, SurvivesIf we could name one person who epitomized those who hate electric cars it would be Fox News’ Senior Vice President of Business News and presenter Neil Cavuto -- but in a recent segment on his show Cavuto met his match in the form of 2012 Chevrolet Volt Owner Eric Rotbard. Playing off the...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Range Rover Plug-In Diesel Hybrid Prototype: Exclusive Photos!Sometimes, the staff of Green Car Reports has to travel hundreds, even thousands, of miles to bring you first drive reports, auto show highlights and exclusive green-car coverage. Other times, we just have to visit the local shopping mall. That's where we took these exclusive photographs of a...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Audi Launches Pilot Project In Munich With A1 E-tron Electric CarEarlier today, Audi launched the latest part of its plug-in electric vehicle program, commencing a public trail of its A1 e-tron range-extended electric car in Munich. Announced in September 2010 after Audi unveiled the A1 E-Tron concept car at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show, the 20-strong test car...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Coverage of the low-interest loans granted by the Energy Department to Fisker Automotive has often been remarkably shoddy, so we provide some much-needed context and background.
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Fisker: Affordable “Project Nina” Plug-in Hybrids Due By 2013Its first mass-produced car may have won the acrimonious title of being the plug-in car with the worst fuel efficiency to date, but Californian automaker Fisker is trying to remain upbeat about its planned range of plug-in hybrid cars. So much so, the Californian automaker is keen to let everyone...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Will Military Necessity Push Hybrid Vehicle Development?The challenges of delivering fuel to a battlefield make hybrids and extended range electric vehicles a natural choice for the Army, but current technology limits their practicality.
Kurt Ernst -
Audi e-Tron Spyder Frolics In Malibu: VideoUntil Audi unveiled its concept e-Tron Spyder plug-in hybrid car at the 2010 Paris Auto show, the words diesel and sexy didn’t go well together. Now the company has proven otherwise with the release of a short video showing the Audi e-Tron Spyder concept driving around sunny Malibu...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2012 Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid Confirmed For Europe, U.S. Will Have To WaitVolvo has just confirmed that its first ever plug-in hybrid electric car -- and the world’s first plug-in hybrid station wagon -- will go on sale in early 2012. But the Swedish automaker has reiterated that while Europeans will get the Diesel-electric through-the-road plug-in hybrid, there...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Why Toyota Will Sell 2012 Prius Plug-Ins: It's The Sticker, StupidDespite wrangling among electric-car fans over whether the 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid's 9 to 14 miles of electric range are sufficient, one factor will make the car a success, at least in California: the valued sticker that gives drivers solo access to the HOV lane.
John Voelcker