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  • 2014 Mercedes-Benz S Class

    Mercedes-Benz is set to launch a plug-in hybrid version of its flagship S Class at this September's Frankfurt Auto Show. Previously available with hybrid and diesel variants in selected markets, the new plug-in hybrid--called the S 500 Plug-In Hybrid--will be the greenest S Class yet. Autocar reports the new model will emit only 70 grams per kilometer of carbon dioxide. That not only equates to 78 mpg combined, on the European combined fuel economy cycle, but also edges out its closest German rival, the Porsche Panamera E-Hybrid, which develops 71 g/km of CO2. Such a low CO2 figure cleverly...

  • 2014 Volkswagen XL1 (Euro spec)  -  First Drive, Wolfsburg, June 2013
    2014 Volkswagen XL1: First Drive Of Wolfsburg's 261-MPG Car

    Look out, owners of 200-mph testosterone-supplement poster cars. If there ever was a real hypercar, it's the Volkswagen XL1. Although in recent years the term hypercar has been distorted—to include cars that are faster (and often even thirstier) than those supercars from Lamborghini, Ferrari...

  • 2014 Porsche Panamera first drive
    2014 Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid: First Drive

    Porsche isn't the first name in hybrids, or even in green cars. But the company is leveraging its depth of engineering knowledge to move forward in the field rather quicker than a small company should. Examples of this include the 918 Spyder supercar and the new 2014 Panamera S E-Hybrid. The 918's...

  • 2014 Volkswagen Golf Variant
    2015 Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen: We Drive It In Europe (In Golf Drag)

    Now approaching its 30th year and in its 7th incarnation, the Volkswagen Golf is a mainstay of the European car market. Offering everything from economical TDI diesel family cars and load-carrying wagons through to the performance-oriented GTI and R32 models, the Golf brand-name is used by many as...

  • Tesla Model S
    Buy A House (For $1.3 Million), Get A Tesla Model S (Lease)

    Everyone loves a great deal. Just how many times have you bought an extra bottle of soda because it's on a "buy one, get another free" offer? Or shopped 'til you dropped in an "everything must go" sale? It's not often you're offered a free car though, even when buying a house. That's exactly what...

  • Tesla Store  -  Portland OR
    Will 100,000 Sign Petition For Tesla Motors Sales By Friday?

    On June 5, a Tesla Motors fan mounted what seemed like another quixotic effort to support Tesla in selling its electric cars directly to buyers. The petition at WhiteHouse.gov that he or she launched required 100,000 people to sign it within a month, by Friday, July 5. Suddenly, it seems that...

  • All-gas biofuel plant in Chiclana, Spain (Image: All-gas)

    Humans are a lot like cars. No, seriously--in order to make us work, we need fuel. That fuel is our food, which we metabolize in order to function, and anything not required by the body we produce as waste. Sounds familiar, right? Conveniently, that waste can then also be used to fuel our cars, albeit after a few more processes have taken place. That's what is happening in one Spanish town right now, where sewage from the town's residents is being used to produce a green biofuel. Yep, it's another article about poop-powered cars! While our bodies might be done with certain substances after...

  • 2013 Volkswagen Passat TDI achieves a Guinness record-breaking 78 MPG
    Volkswagen Passat TDI Smashes World Record With 78 MPG On U.S. Trip

    Two drivers have set a new Guinness World Record for achieving the lowest fuel consumption in the lower 48 states in a non-hybrid car. Wayne Gerdes and co-driver Bob Winger returned an amazing 78 mpg around the 48 contiguous states in a 2013 Volkswagen Passat TDI, the highest-mpg diesel on sale in...

  • 2013 Fiat 500e electric car, Los Angeles drive event, April 2013
    2013 Fiat 500e Electric Car 'Sold Out' In California

    Fiat has never hidden the fact that its 500e electric car had been developed primarily for compliance reasons, thus there was little surprise when it was announced that sales would be limited to the state of California, at least, initially. It looks like Fiat may have reason to speed up plans to...

  • 2014 Infiniti Q50
    2014 Infiniti Q50 Hybrid Priced From $44,855

    Anyone in the market for a fuel-efficient sedan with sporty dynamics and a bit of luxury now has a new option: the 2014 Infiniti Q50 Hybrid. The Q50 is essentially Infiniti’s replacement for the G37, and it goes on sale this July with a starting price of $37,605, including a $905 destination...

  • Supreme Court of the United States
    Supreme Court Won't Reverse EPA E15 Ethanol Rules

    The U.S. Supreme Court has been slow to rule on many of the biggest cases on this year's docket. Maybe that's because some of the justices are prone to procrastination, or maybe, like seasoned TV scriptwriters, they're just playing America like a violin, getting us all worked up for a rousing...

  • 2011 Nissan Leaf plugged into an EVgo quick-charging station, Texas
    Electric Car: Lease Or Buy?

    You're considering a plug-in electric car. Should you lease or buy? It's a question that all new-car shoppers face--but for electric cars, there are some special considerations. Each financing option has its pros and cons, so we've outlined the reasons you might opt for each alternative. LEASING...

  • Photo of Tesla Model S battery swapping versus 'fastest gas pump in LA' tweeted by Elon Musk

    As predicted last month, and tweeted and teased by CEO Elon Musk, Tesla Motors showed off battery swapping for its Model S electric car at a press event last night. Held at Tesla's design studio in Hawthorne, California, the demonstration itself was simple: A Tesla Model S drove onto the stage and stopped over a hole in the floor. Automated arms reached through the hole, supported the pack and the car, disconnected the fittings, and dropped it through the hole. Then a replacement pack was moved into position, raised through the hole to sit under the car's floorpan, and reconnected to the car...

  • 2014 Honda Accord Hybrid
    2014 Honda Accord Hybrid Arrives This Fall, Rated At 47 MPG

    The 2014 Honda Accord Hybrid, a mid-size sedan that competes with hybrid models of the Ford Fusion, Hyundai Sonata, Kia Optima, and Toyota Camry, will go on sale in October, its maker said today. 47 mpg combined With a more powerful electric motor than its competitors, the 2014 Honda Accord Hybrid...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S
    Tesla Model S Recall Announced For Rear-Seat Latch Bracket

    Tesla Motors announced this morning that it will conduct a partial recall of Model S electric sedans manufactured between May 10 and June 8 of this year to fix a potentially weakened left-rear seat attachment striker bracket. According to a post on the company's website and signed by CEO Elon Musk...

  • 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA 45 AMG, First Drive, Bilster Berg
    New Gas Mileage Rules Will Reshape What Americans Drive: Aerodynamics And Weight

    No, we won't all be driving golf carts. In fact, as cars change over the next 12 years to meet much tougher fuel-economy rules, automakers will likely do their best to keep the changes invisible. Your next vehicles will deliver better gas mileage than ever before, no matter how large or small they...

  • Road trip on historic U.S. Route 66 (Images: Antony Ingram)
    Can Plug-In Electric Road Trips Revitalize Fading Historic Route 66?

    U.S. Historic Route 66 is one of the most famous highways in the world, but it's a mere shadow of the journey it was in its 1930s to 1950s heyday. Eisenhower's Interstate Highway Act of 1956 effectively signed the route's death warrant--and indeed, the towns along it, as flat, smooth, effortless...

  • 2014 Ford Fiesta 5-door hatchback
    2014 Ford Fiesta SFE: 34 MPG Combined, 41 MPG Highway

    Ford's updated Fiesta SFE is offering even better fuel efficiency for the 2014 model year. The Fiesta uses a 1.6-liter gasoline engine, developing around 120 horsepower. It's a fun little car to drive, but the main focus here is economy. With EPA-rated mileage figures of 30 mpg city, 41 highway and...

  • 2013 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid - factors affecting real-world gas mileage, from presentation

    It seems Ford has taken to heart the concerns over the difference in its new hybrids between EPA gas-mileage ratings and real-world results. In a media presentation yesterday on the new 2013 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, Ford's luxury brand devoted considerable time to explaining how it helps drivers understand the factors that affect their real-world fuel efficiency. In fact, out of 43 slides covering every aspect of the new hybrid, fully nine addressed the information provided by the MKZ Hybrid to drivers on efficiency. Several of the information displays that appear on the screens either side of the...

  • 2013 Chevrolet Volt  -  Driven, December 2012
    Electric-Car Price War Heats Up: Chevy Volt $5,000 Cash Back

    Last month, the Nissan Leaf passed the Chevrolet Volt to take this year's top spot among plug-in electric cars for sale. Now Chevy is fighting back. It announced that it will offer $5,000 cash back on remaining 2012 Volt range-extended electric cars, and $4,000 on 2013 models, according to...

  • Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk at Motor Trend 'Car of the Year' ceremony in New York City, Nov 2012
    Elon Musk Hangs Up As Writer Questions Battery-Cost Declines

    Reporters interview CEOs all the time, but it's rare for those CEOs to end interviews abruptly. Which is what makes an article in Barron's about Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] and its current high stock price so entertaining. In "Recharge Now!", author Bill Alpert opens with a comparison between Tesla...

  • Tesla owners & supporters gather in Statehouse in Austin to support company [photo: John Griswell]
    Tesla Loses Legal Battles To Texas, North Carolina Dealers

    Win some, lose some. Tesla's had a very good year thus far, but it was recently dealt legislative defeats in two states where it had hoped to sell its electric cars. In Texas, the state legislature declined to make an exception to existing rules that make it illegal for automakers to sell cars to...

  • 2001 Toyota Prius Sedan
    Is The 2001-2003 Toyota Prius A Good Used Car Buy?

    It was small, unassuming, almost a shrinking violet, really. The first-generation Toyota Prius hybrid -- launched in the U.S. in 2001 -- was the first five-seat family car to offer hybrid-electric drive and unimaginably high gas mileage. Twelve years after its initial launch, the Prius family has...

  • 2013 Nissan Leaf, Nashville area test drive, April 2013
    May Plug-In Electric Car Sales: Nissan Leaf Passes Chevy Volt

    Plug-in car sales continued at a steady pace in May, with early estimates of perhaps 6,500 to 7,000 sold overall. As always, precise figures are impossible because Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] does not report monthly sales as every other carmaker does. We'll refine our totals as more reports come in...

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