Viknesh Vijayenthiran, Editor
Articles
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Electronic driving coaches designed to promote more fuel efficient driving are nothing new and have been appearing in production cars for the past several years, mostly in hybrids but regular models... -
Testing A Plug-In Prius Or Volt Gets Easier For CiviliansWith cars like the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf already on sale, plus a handful of startups either selling or building battery-powered cars on U.S. soil, it’s safe to say that the electric car revolution is truly upon us. Sadly, the cost of entry to be a part of this revolution is still...
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EPA Sticks To Its Guns, Still Considering Letter Grades For CarsDespite criticism from the auto industry, it looks like the EPA may be sticking to its guns and planning to launch new redesigned gas-mileage stickers for new cars that feature a prominent letter grade. The letter-grade scheme was one of two alternatives introduced for public comment last August...
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BMW Brings Smaller, More Efficient ‘TwinPower' Turbo Fours To U.S.Automakers all over the world are adapting their engine strategies to the need for higher fuel efficiency and lower carbon emissions. From mass-market to high-end luxury, engines are getting smaller and more efficient, using direct injection and turbocharging to wring higher power from lower...
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Congressmen Propose Lifting Number Of Vehicles Eligible For EV Tax CreditsHot on the heels of President Barack Obama’s pledge of support for expanding U.S. production and sales of plug-in electric cars in his State of the Union address earlier this week, comes more support for the zero emission vehicles from a pair of Michigan Democrats. Brothers Rep. Sander M...
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Daimler And Japan’s Toray Form Carbon Fiber Joint VentureCarbon fiber is seen by many in the auto industry as one of the most effective ways of reducing vehicle weight and thus improving fuel economy and emissions levels, but the relative expense of the material means that it’s still reserved for only a handful of high-end production cars. BMW has...
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We first heard about Mazda’s plans to develop a battery-powered electric version of its Mazda2 hatchback back in 2009, with the automaker finally starting real-world trials of prototypes last... -
Mitsubishi Launching Eight New Electrified Cars By 2015Later this year Mitsubishi’s battery-powered i-MiEV will finally go on sale in the U.S., having already gone on sale in Europe and Japan and making an appearence at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show last November. However, it’s hard to get excited over Mitsubishi’s zero-emission...
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Sergio Marchionne: Hybrid Minivan Will Join Chrysler 300 Hybrid In 2013Earlier this week we heard from Sergio Marchionne, the demanding CEO of Fiat-Chrysler, that a hybrid version of the new 2011 Chrysler 300 sedan would arrive sometime in 2013. Now, at Chrysler’s Windsor plant in Canada, Marchionne has revealed that the hybrid 300 will be joined in 2013 by a...
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Video: Europe Looking To Curb Emissions With Self Driving CarsScientists in Europe are working closely with major industry and government as part of a new initiative called SARTRE (SAfe Road TRains for the Environment), which hopes to develop self-driving technology that will allow vehicles to drive autonomously in long road trains on the highway. Just...
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Chrysler And EPA Set To Announce New Drivetrain Research ProjectWith all the hoopla surrounding this week’s 2011 Detroit Auto Show, we’re quite surprised to learn that Chrysler has yet another major announcement to make, this time together with the Environmental Protection Agency. The two groups are set to announce a new research and development...
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Video: 2012 Ford Focus Electric Live Unveiling At 2011 Detroit Auto ShowFord’s Volt and Leaf rival has been revealed, making its world debut last week at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and then reappearing again this week at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show. We are, of course, talking about the 2012 Ford Focus Electric, the Blue Oval’s first...
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The G-Power name has become synonymous with extreme BMWs and the company’s latest Hurricane GS based on the M5 sedan fits in perfectly with that description.
You may have read about... -
2012 Mercedes-Benz S350 BlueTEC 4MATIC Making U.S. Debut In DetroitOur cousins across the Atlantic got the new diesel-powered S-Class in June of last year, which we reported on back then. Now, on the eve of the 2011 Detroit Auto Show, Mercedes-Benz has announced that it will finally be bringing its fuel-efficient flagship sedan to U.S. soil. Set to debut at this...
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Chevy Volt First In Line For Powermat Mobile Device Wireless Charge PadSoon you will be able to do away with those pesky charging cables for all your portable devices when driving as Powermat, a pioneer in wireless charging technology, is developing new technology that will essentially turn your car into a charging port for your mobile phone, MP3 player or handheld...
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GM Enters Compact Luxury Segment With 2012 Buick VeranoWhile the styling of Buick’s new compact sedan has been known for some time now (a version of the car was unveiled last year in China as the Excelle GT), we finally get a look at the North American model, which will be making its official debut next week at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show. Set to...
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Video: 2011 Chevrolet Volt EPA Gas Mileage ExplainedIf the idea of measuring the efficiency of an electric car, which burns no gasoline, in miles per gallon still irks you, spare a thought for our green car expert John Voelcker who goes to some length in this previous article to try and explain why the EPA deems it fit to do so. While that previous...
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Japanese Market Vitz Previews New 2012 Toyota YarisThe new 2012 Toyota Yaris isn’t expected to hit showrooms until late next year but its Japanese twin, the Vitz, has just been unveiled. Showing a much sportier and edgy design, the new model will be slightly bigger than the current car with an extra 2 inches in the wheelbase and extra 4...
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With the handful of new production intent concept cars Lotus showed off at the recent 2010 Paris Auto Show, it’s evident the automaker, typically focused with lightweight sports cars, is trying... -
Trademark Filing Confirms Lexus ES 300h Hybrid Sedan ComingIt looks like the 2011 Lexus CT 200h isn’t the only new hybrid vehicle Lexus has in the pipeline. New filings with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office have revealed that a hybrid version of the Lexus ES sedan is likely to be in the works, though apart from its new name we don’t have...
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Electric Car Company Think Starts U.S. Production Of City MinicarThink is a Norwegian based manufacturer of electric cars and is the same company behind the original ‘Th!nk’ electric car that went on sale in the U.S. during the late 1990s. Back then Think was owned by Ford, which sold it in 2003 to Swiss company Kamkorp Microelectronics. In 2006...
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Three Different Electrified Ford Focus Models To Be Built At Single Michigan PlantIt’s well documented that Ford is planning an all-electric version of its new global Focus--heck, we’ve even test driven a very early prototype based on the previous generation car. But what isn’t that well known is that there will be two other electrified versions of the new...
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Needed Or Not, Electric Car Noisemakers Are Going To Be LawAlthough the relative silence of electric cars and hybrids was originally touted as one of their key beneficial attributes, alarmists have been less than enamored with the perceived difficulty involved in hearing one coming, especially advocates of the blind and the seeing impaired. While critics...
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Mitsubishi Previews New Global Small CarMitsubishi is working on a new global small car positioned below its Colt hatchback and scheduled to enter production at a newly erected plant in Thailand in 2012. Previewed here today in these official sketches, the new global small car is expected to make its world debut in production trim at the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran