Nelson Ireson, Senior Editor
Articles
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Like most things at Ford that don't have GT or RS in their name these days, the new Ford EcoSport is about 90 percent hype and 10 percent car.
Fortunately, underneath all that ad-speak, the new...
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Harley Davidson Reveals LiveWire Electric Motorcycle: VideoHarley Davidson, the brand behind those often obnoxiously loud V-twin motorcycles favored by bikers, has built an electric motorcycle. No, the sky is not falling. Called LiveWire, the new electric motorcycle pairs Harley Davidson’s classic sense of style with what promises to be an impressive...
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FTC Comes Out In Favor Of Tesla Direct Sales, Against Dealer-Backed BansThe ongoing fight between Tesla Motors and car dealers across the country has spilled from the headlines into the legal system, but so far, the outcome is far from certain. Will Tesla be allowed to sell its cars directly to consumers? Or is there some state interest in forcing Tesla into the dealer...
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Tesla Motors Buys 35-Acre Test Facility In Fremont, CAAs Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] faces the obstacle of obstreperous dealer organizations, rides the wave of its strong production figures, and quietly welcomes recent evidence that its batteries in the Roadster are lasting longer than predicted, another development: the electric car company has...
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2014 Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid: First DrivePorsche 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...
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2015 Ford Mustang: Same Power, Fewer Cylinders, Better MPG?A turbocharged four-cylinder version of the next generation of the Ford Mustang, due for the 2015 model year, has been widely reported around the web--but it had been assumed it would be for non-U.S. consumption. That has changed. In fact, it appears that the U.S. may very well get the engine, if a...
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Based on the Volt, but dressed in a very sharp new suit, the 2014 Cadillac ELR promises to bring the joys of greener driving to the executive sector.
Not that the luxury segment hasn't already been... -
2013 Volkswagen Beetle TDI Convertible First DriveDespite the seemingly endless combinations of drivetrains, body styles, and features, there are still a few cars in the U.S. market that are unique in their makeup--and we're not talking about the Tesla Model S here. The 2013 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible is the only convertible available in the...
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2013 Lexus LS 600h L: Executive Luxury HybridWhen we think hybrid, we don't often think luxury mega-sedan, but that's exactly what you get with the new 2013 Lexus 600h L. While it shares much of its core elements with the previous model, a new look and some updates to the powertrain give the BMW ActiveHybrid 7 and the Mercedes-Benz S400...
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Ford May Use More Aluminum In Next F-150 To Improve Gas MileagePickup trucks aren't typically the apple of the gas miser's eye, drinking their fair share and then some, all too often used for anything but their intended purpose of hauling and towing. But their inefficiency is precisely why gas mileage improvements are important in the pickup world, and why...
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Does The MINI Rocketman MkII Concept Hint At Revived Production Status?When it debuted at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, the original MINI Rocketman Concept was quickly embraced for its very MINI mini-ness. It was also speculated to be on its way to production--a rumor that was quickly shot down by BMW, MINI's parent brand. But a MkII version of the concept revealed...
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2013 Acura ILX Hybrid: DrivenThough it has wandered through a handful of brand identities and images over the past decade, Acura continues to reinvent itself. This time, the next new thing is a hybrid using Acura's first ever implementation of Honda's familiar hybrid system (on a modified Civic platform) in the 2013 ILX. Entry...
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You've just seen the 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT as we captured it live from the floor of the 2012 Chicago Auto Show, and now here's its two-door companion: the 2013 Elantra Coupe. With styling and... -
2013 Hyundai Elantra GT Live At The 2012 Chicago Auto ShowThe 2012 Hyundai Elantra sedan nabbed a 40-mpg EPA rating, backed up by some real-world results, and it's also the North American Car of the Year. Now it has a pair of siblings: the 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT and Elantra Coupe, unveiled today at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show. The Elantra GT is the...
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Porsche Cayenne Diesel To Arrive In U.S. Second Half Of 2012Hybrids, electrics, and various permutations in between get a lot of the attention when it comes to greener driving, but the dino-burning diesel deserves its place in the pantheon as well, at least for the time being. Porsche agrees--at least in the case of the Cayenne. The diesel version may be...
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BMW i3 Electric Car And i8 Plug-In Hybrid Live PhotosIf you were hoping for the production versions of BMW's first production EV and sports plug-in hybrid, you're out of luck, but if BMW keeps up its recent practices, the concepts unveiled today will be very close to the final cars. These live photos from the unveiling in Frankfurt should give you a...
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Electric Race Cars To Get On-Track Inductive ChargingInductive charging through the road is an impossibly futuristic dream, one not likely to be achieved in the near- to medium-term for road cars despite tests by Volvo and BMW, among others. Snatching a charge as you wait at a stoplight or even drive, without wires, charging stations, or any other...
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Start-Up Electric Car Company Green Vehicles Folds, Costs City $500,000Consider today's collapse of electric car company Green Vehicles an object lesson in why it's a bad idea for cities to invest in the risky business of start-up car companies--perhaps especially start-up electric car companies. The city of Salinas, California learned that lesson today as Green...
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The ReFuel EV Track Day hosted by Speedventures ran its third annual event this past weekend at Laguna Seca, and as you might--or might not--expect, a Nissan Leaf was on hand to turn some laps.
The... -
2012 Tesla Model S Spied Testing In Palo AltoThe 2012 Tesla Model S has been spied testing in Palo Alto, CA, and it looks to be closer to production form than ever.
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Nissan Announces 'Service Campaign' For All 8,000 Leafs Over Start FailureOccasionally, if something should go wrong, a Rolls-Royce will fail to proceed. So, too, will the Nissan Leaf--at least, under certain circumstances. More exactly, it will sometimes fail to start. But Nissan is fixing that with a service campaign announced today, affecting the nearly 8,000 Leafs...
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Putin Test Drives Prokhorov's Russian Hybrid: VideoA three-mile, highly publicized test drive of Mikhail Prokhorov's ë-mobile (say, "yo-mobile") natural-gas hybrid car is the big car news out of Russia this week. Given Putin's previous spin in a Renault F1 car, hopping behind the wheel of the funky-looking economy car is a definite change of...
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2011 Fisker Karma Production Begins In Finland, U.S. Deliveries In AprilThe best-looking (for now, anyway) electric-powered vehicle on the market is finally, well, on the market--or nearly so. Fisker's Karma extended-range EV entered production at Valmet's plant in Finland today. U.S. deliveries of the car are expected to begin next month. That jibes surprisingly well...
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Screw Gas, Drive A Drill-Powered Electric Suicide TrikeWe're all familiar with alternative lifestyles, but the EX electric tricycle looks like an attempt at an alternative deathstyle. Concocted in the mind of Nils Ferber and realized with the aid of a pair of Bosch drill/drivers, this is an EV for the motorist with a Rube Goldberg fetish and a death...
Nelson Ireson