Martin Padgett, Editorial Director
Articles
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My co-driver is lost in text messages as we buzz the Kentucky hills outside Louisville in the 2020 Ford Escape SE Sport Hybrid. Somehow I’ve lulled him into complacency, or maybe it’s...
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2020 Ford Escape Hybrid preview: Gas-electric now, plug-ins later
With its new pair of Escape Hybrids, Ford re-enters a gas-electric landscape—and puts down a marker on future battery-electric vehicles, too.
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2020 Lincoln Aviator Grand Touring plug-in hybrid is a placeholder, not a game-changerLincoln now promises all-electric SUVs, which makes the Aviator hybrid a small step toward a greener future—not a quantum leap.
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Aston Martin may be first with 800-volt chargingAutomakers look ahead to the day when fast-charging changes the electric-car landscape. Many have debated and some have announced 800-volt electric cars, especially Porsche, with forthcoming versions of its Taycan electric car. Prior to last weekend’s Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, Aston...
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Audi details battery for 2019 e-tron electric SUVWhen the Audi e-tron battery-electric SUV goes on sale next year, its 432 battery cells will drink from a 150-kw charging firehose–a rate quicker than the Jaguar I-Pace or a Tesla Model S. The high-energy battery pack, detailed by Audi in Berlin on Wednesday, has an apt, caffeinated analogy...
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Mercedes-Benz takes the electric car plunge, but diesel is here to stayDaimler AG executives said Tuesday that diesel power for Mercedes cars is here to stay, even as electric cars and electrified mobility spreads throughout its passenger and commercial vehicles, and even its global partnerships. Electrified vehicles include everything from 48-volt mild hybrids...
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These are the first photos of the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt electric car.
The long-awaited, pure electric descendant of GM's EV1--and a cousin of the new Chevrolet Volt, or at least a close-sounding...
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2016 Toyota Prius Preview VideoOne of the most important new cars of the 2016 model year isn’t some 600-horsepower sports car, or a big crossover wagon. It’s the hybrid that started it all, or at least made hybrids what they are today. Recently in Las Vegas, and also at the 2015 Frankfurt Auto Show, Toyota gave the...
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2016 Smart Fortwo Video PreviewIf smaller is better, then you can’t really do much better than the Smart ForTwo. The Fortwo is the city car originally designed in partnership with Swatch, back in the 1990s. This year it’s been redesigned with American drivers in mind. That doesn’t mean bigger—just better...
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Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Carries Over, Eco Gets 32 MPG--But Where's That Plug-In?The 2015 Hyundai Sonata is nearly entirely new--save for the steadily improving Hybrid edition. Hyundai says the Sonata Hybrid will stick with its existing gas-electric drivetrain and body style through the 2015 model year, while the rest of the range takes on a more subdued look and more refined...
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Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Electric Drive Supercar: First Drive VideoIt was a Mercedes-Benz icon before it became a performance flagship. Now it's a messenger for the future: the gullwing's going electric. The SLS AMG Electric Drive electric car is closing in on series production, converting the octane-addicted supercar to fit a greener vision of the future. We've...
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Green Car Reports To Name Best Car To Buy 2013Electric cars, hybrids, plug-ins, diesels, CNG- and gasoline-powered vehicles--they can all be green cars, and all are a part of the growing movement to cleaner emissions and better fuel efficiency. Just one of them will be Green Car Reports' Best Car To Buy 2013. On December 10, we'll announce the...
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Toyota made a vow to build every one of its vehicle lines in hybrid form, and it's adding another model to the growing hybrid list at this year's 2012 New York Auto Show with the introduction of the...
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Aptera Shutting Down For GoodAptera has just released a statement, saying it will shut down operations today. As recently as two years ago, the southern California-based Aptera had plans to introduce an electric car and to sell up to 10,000 copies a year. It had even hoped to received approval for some of the same federal...
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Now Ford Has A Prius: 2012 C-Max To Go Hybrid-OnlyThe upcoming Ford two-row C-Max Hybrid and plug-in C-Max Energi hybrid are still on track, but today Ford says it's canning the planned seven-seat, gas-powered C-Max minivan from its future product plan. The three-row C-Max would have been Ford's first minivan on sale in North America since the...
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2011 Miles In A 2011 VW Jetta TDI: A Not So Quick DriveIn some new cars, you can't learn enough over the course of a first drive. There's not enough time to experience every handling nuance, or every electronic helper, in a hundred miles or less. With the 2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI, you'll find the opposite. Spending more than 2000 miles behind the...
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Write For Us And Win A Trip To The New York Auto Show!High Gear Media is heading to New York in two weeks to cover the next big auto show on the docket--and you could be heading there, too. We're partnering with Hyundai and the New York International Auto Show to award one lucky winner a trip to the auto show's press days, where the winner will write...
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High Gear Media Wants You--To Write And Win A Trip To New YorkElectric-car fans, here's your chance to see the latest EVs and plug-in hybrids, up close at New York's Javits Center. High Gear Media is joining with Hyundai and the New York International Auto Show to give you the chance to attend the upcoming show and to write about it for a High Gear Media...
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All kinds of green cars are eligible for tax breaks, but the 2011 Porsche Cayenne Hybrid could be one of the most expensive vehicles ever to get the IRS' nod of approval.
The Cayenne S Hybrid earns...
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GE Buying 25K EVs--Starting with the 2011 Chevrolet VoltGM is set to deliver its 2011 Chevrolet Volt to its first batch of owners, but it's just booked a big order sure to keep the extended-range electric car in short supply for the near future. As its CEO Jeffrey Immelt promised two weeks ago, corporate giant General Electric said today it would...
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2011 Hyundai Elantra Nabbed, PR Flak ShockedGod knows, the spy-photo game has its moments. We can recall photographers hanging out of trees, held under arrest in federal custody, even buying and building on land adjacent to proving grounds just to grab the perfect shot. This spy shot hits a little too close to home, as best-in-class PR guy...
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2010 Los Angeles Auto Show: Honda Electric Car to Make DebutHonda will jump into the electric-car and plug-in-hybrid fray at the 2010 Los Angeles auto show with a new EV concept. The automaker also confirmed it will lay out the plans for a new plug-in hybrid platform during the L.A. show, which opens to the media on November 17. Honda's entries into the...
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Chrysler To Tap Federal Money--This Time, for Green CarsChrysler may join Nissan, Ford, Fisker and Tesla in winning a share of federal loans to convert old factories to greener-car production. Automotive News reports that Chrysler has applied to the Department of Energy for approximately $10 billion in low-interest loans, to be used for retooling...
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2011 Nissan Leaf: While You Wait, Have Some StickersYou've heard by now that I'm buying a 2011 Nissan Leaf. In case you're wondering, it's a Cayenne Red SV, which I'm hoping implies some hyper-real blend of Porsche and Lamborghini performance. Maybe? Maybe not. I won't be among the first folks to take delivery, though. Lance Armstrong already has...
Martin Padgett