John Voelcker, Contributing Editor
Articles
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When the auto market fell apart last year, the era of cheap car leases came to an abrupt end. And only recently have manufacturers tiptoed cautiously back into offering lease payments for some...
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2011 Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid: First Details of 28-MPG CrossoverAfter more than three years, Porsche has taken the wraps off its first-ever hybrid-electric vehicle, the 2011 Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid. It's one of several models in a totally redesigned version of its controversial but profitable crossover. But if any brand should have a hybrid, it's Porsche. The...
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BREAKING: GM Battery Czar Denise Gray Leaves Volt Team For California StartupA key member of the small team brought together four years ago to create the 2011 Chevrolet Volt electric car is unexpectedly leaving General Motors. Denise Gray, director of global battery systems engineering at General Motors, will leave the company on Friday, March 5, to take an unspecified...
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2011 Fisker Karma Plug-In Moves Invisibly Toward Launch, Ad Agency HiredDespite remaining all but invisible to the automotive press, startup carmaker Fisker Automotive is moving steadily toward a late-fall launch for its 2011 Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid luxury sports sedan. The latest news item is that chief marketing officer Marti Eulberg has hired advertising agency...
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Five Questions: Jon Azrielant, Project EViE Executive DirectorA perceived lack of sex appeal may prevent some buyers from considering the electric cars that will soon go on sale, but it's range anxiety--the fear of what happens when you run out of juice--that really give people pause. What's needed is a stunt, something that could convince buyers that...
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Bogus Biofuels Blast Rebutted by Bentley GentAlmost a year ago, we called Bentley's much-touted biofuels strategy "bogus," in an alliterative headline to a piece that was much forwarded around the green-car world. Now we've had a chat with the very reasonable and polite David Reuter, Bentley's head of PR and communications. We still think...
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BMW has now produced two electric cars: the two-seat Mini E, of which 600 examples are on test in the U.S., Europe, and U.K., and the new ActiveE Concept unveiled at last month's Detroit Auto Show,...
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Geneva Motor Show Preview: Mercedes-Benz F800 Style ConceptMercedes-Benz rarely creates concept cars just for fun. Whether they're the "Vision" models that show up at the Frankurt Motor Show every other year, or lesser concepts for other shows, they always hold clues to what's coming down the pike with a three-pointed star. For the 2010 Geneva Motor Show...
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BREAKING: Tesla Employees Killed in Plane Crash IdentifiedUPDATE (February 18): The three Tesla Motors employees killed yesterday in the crash of a small airplane at the Palo Alto Airport have now been identified, according to local news reports. They were: Doug Bourn, a senior electric engineer and the presumed pilot of the plane; Andrew Ingram, an...
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Buffet's Baby BYD Auto Is a Big Electric-Car CopycatSometimes Twitter is pretty wonderful. Amidst all the fluff and links and LOLs, some real gems can land. We honestly don't recall who first alerted us to an article about Chinese electric-car maker BYD from Caixin Online, but we thank you. It's an excellent article, and highly worth reading top to...
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Small Engines Get Even Smaller: Fiat's Turbocharged TwinAs we keep saying, one of the ways that automakers will meet more stringent fuel economy regulations is by making smaller engines that work harder. Now Fiat has one-upped its European competition by announcing it will offer a 900cc turbocharged twin in European models of its Fiat 500 mini-car. That...
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Update: 2011 Nissan Leaf Reservations in April, Orders in AugustNissan just wrapped up a three-month nationwide tour of 24 potential early launch markets for its 2011 Leaf electric car. Now, it has explained how interested buyers can place an advance reservation to purchase a Leaf when it goes on sale at the end of the year. First, everyone has to register on...
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When automakers and the Obama White House announced agreement on a single national standard for emissions and fuel economy last May, the entire auto industry heaved a huge sigh of relief. The issue...
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2010 New York Auto Show Preview: 2011 Hyundai Sonata HybridRight now, if you want a midsize sedan that's also a hybrid, you have exactly two choices: the 2010 Toyota Camry Hybrid, or the new 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid. That's about to change. Six weeks hence, at the 2010 New York Auto Show, Hyundai will take the wraps off its 2011 Sonata Hybrid. The...
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2012 Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid: First Official DetailsLast week, Volkswagen unveiled the all-new 2011 Touareg sport utility vehicle, including its first-ever hybrid-electric powertrain. It has new and crisper styling that updates what had become a somewhat outmoded SUV. Volkswagen sold about half a million of the first-generation Touareg, launched in...
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Audi e-Tron To Be Range of Electric Sports Cars, Not Just OneYou have to give Audi credit. When they decide to do something, they go all in. It was just last fall that they showed off the e-Tron, their electric supercar based on the R8 sports coupe. Now, we learn that there will be a range of e-Trons offered, though in small numbers. As we noted last week...
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2011 Lexus CT 200h Hybrid Hatch: U.S. Buyers Need Not ApplyMuch has been written about U.S. car buyers' aversion to hatchbacks, with many citing the relative sales of the Volkswagen Jetta four-door sedan over its five-door Golf counterpart. It appears Lexus has taken that attitude to heart. At next month's Geneva Motor Show, it will launch a new, dedicated...
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Green Racer: 2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Street EditionRacing and fuel efficiency have often been considered at odds with each other, but green racing does exist, somewhat below the radar. One of the more accessible competitions is the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup series, now starting its third season. Like the old SCCA Showroom Stock categories, the TDI...
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Despite the appealing 2010 Milan Hybrid, the Mercury brand hardly springs to mind when you think "green car".
In fact, it hardly springs to mind, period; Ford's upmarket brand has languished for...
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Porsche 911 Hybrid Test Car Uses Flywheel To Store EnergyPretty much every manufacturer is now at least experimenting with hybrid cars. The bulk of them use a high-voltage battery pack to store and deliver energy to supplement a gasoline engine. But in its experimental 911 GT3 R Hybrid test car, Porsche has taken a different tack toward energy...
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Hertz To Offer Electric 2011 Nissan Leaf For U.S. RentalsThe largest car rental agency on the planet, Hertz, has given its approval to the concept of all-electric cars. Hertz announced today that it would make Leaf models available at selected rental locations in the U.S. and Europe, starting next year. With its 100-mile range, the five-seat Leaf would...
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Audi To Sell e-Tron Electric Coupes, Hopes Name Has Quattro CloutAfter the rapturous reception for three successive models of its e-Tron electric coupe concept at the Frankfurt, Los Angeles, and Detroit auto shows, Audi announced it would build and sell a small number of the electric supercars. Now we know a few more details of Audi's plans. And it seems Audi...
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Vancouver Olympics Get Green Transport: Electric StreetcarsWe'd be remiss if we didn't nod to the Vancouver Olympics, opening today, and highlight their heavy reliance on mass transit to move spectators and athletes around the scenic seaside region. In particular, we note that electric vehicles play a major role. Take, for instance, the city's streetcar...
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2011 Fiat 500 Mini-Car On Sale By End of Year, Chrysler SaysWell, here's some good news: We have less than a year to wait before the neat little Fiat 500 hatchback goes on sale at selected Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram dealers. When it arrives, it'll be Chrysler's greenest car by a pretty big margin. EPA fuel efficiency ratings haven't yet been issued for the...
John Voelcker