Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield, Contributing Writer
Articles
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Believe it or not, Volkswagen’s modern-day take on the classic Beetle has been in production for 14 years.
But its cutesy curves and large, bug-like eyes meant many men avoided it, giving it...
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GM: We’ll Replace Chevrolet Volt 120-Volt Charging UnitsGeneral Motors announced yesterday that it would replace the 120-Volt charging unit provided with every Chevrolet Volt, to provide what GM spokesman Randy Fox called a "more consistent charging experience." Back in July, we reported that some of the charging units provided in Volts were...
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BMW: We've Been Making Electric Cars Since The 1972 OlympicsBMW might be more than a year away from bring its first production electric car -- the 2014 BMW i3 -- to production, but the German automaker wants you to know that it isn’t new to electric cars. You may not know it, but BMW’s electric car history spans 40 years. As part of its...
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Elon Musk: Daimler Saved Tesla, DoE Loans A Bad IdeaIn the toughest days of Tesla's early years, CEO Elon Musk said on film, he wired $3 million of his personal fortune to the company so it could make payroll. Now the always-quotable CEO is downplaying the effect the $465 million in U.S. Department of Energy low-interest loan guarantees it received...
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Forget $5 A Gallon: Alaska Residents Are Regularly Paying $6Over the past few months, gas prices have been creeping ever upward, fueled by political uncertainty in the Middle East and a reduction in U.S. oil refining capabilities. In California, a state traditionally plagued by high gas prices, a gallon of Regular now costs well over $4.50 at most gas...
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BMW i3 Electric Car Spotted Winter Testing In Northern EuropeLast week, we were 90 miles north of the Arctic Circle, putting the Volvo C30 electric through its paces. But we weren’t the only people driving electric cars in the Arctic Circle as our colleagues over at Motor Authority found out earlier today. As our own Viknesh Vijayenthiran reports...
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Over the past five years, the Monte Carlo Alternative Energy Rally -- now called the Rallye Monte-Carlo Des Énergies Nouvelles -- has enjoyed increasing popularity as more automakers and...
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Honda Civic Hybrid Gas-Mileage Class-Action SettledOver the past few years, we’ve been following with interest the ongoing legal battle between Honda and owners of its 2003-2008 Civic Hybrid. The claim? That Honda sold the Civic Hybrid on the basis of a claimed 50 mpg gas mileage that no-one could achieve. Now a proposed Californian...
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Volvo C30 Electric: Winter Drive ReportOver the past few days, we've told you about our trip to Kiruna, Sweden, where Volvo allowed us to put its C30 electric car through its paces in a series of cold-weather tests designed to push the car to its limit. Now it's time to tell you about our real-world test drive, along 40 miles of snow...
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2012 Toyota Prius C: Price-Gouging Pic Proves Popularity Of 50MPG HybridThe 2012 Toyota Prius C is probably the most anticipated hybrid of 2012, and offers subcompact style and hybrid gas mileage. It’s no surprise then that Toyota has already had to up production volumes in Japan, where the Prius C is currently made. But if the photograph we received this week...
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2013 Nissan Leaf: Better Heater, Leather Option, 6.6-kW ChargerNissan’s all-electric Leaf hatchback has only been on sale in the U.S. for the past 15 months, but Nissan has already confirmed it will get some much-needed upgrades for the 2013 model. Speaking to The Detroit News yesterday, Mark Perry, director of product and advanced planning for Nissan...
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Volvo C30 Electric Car: How Quickly Does It Warm Up In Cold Weather? (Video)Last week, we headed to Kiruna, Northern Sweden, where Volvo showed us just how its C30 electric car coped with harsh winters in the frozen arctic. Thanks to an interview with Volvo C30 Electric program manager Annelie Gustavsson, we’ve already explained the theory of keeping the C30 and its...
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A few years ago, finding somewhere to charge your electric car could be a nightmare if you were far away from the comfort of your own personal charging station.
As a result, most early adopters...
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E15 Gasoline Could Be Heading To Your Local Gas Station SoonIn the not-so distant future, you might find you’ll find an extra choice when you fill up at the gas station, alongside the current choices for Regular or Premium. That’s because the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved a set of guidelines from the Renewable Fuels...
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Volvo C30 Electric: Keeping Car And Occupants Warm In The ColdAs most electric car owners will tell you, electric cars don’t have the same range in winter as they do in summer. Not so, says Swedish automaker Volvo. Thanks to a carefully engineered heating system, its test fleet of C30 Electric cars can still give impressive range when the outside...
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As The 2012 Toyota Prius C Goes On Sale, We Spec Our OwnToyota has just this week started sales of its newest Prius family member, the 2012 Prius C. The smallest Prius hybrid yet, the Prius C is Toyota’s first subcompact Hybrid to go on sale in the U.S. At a starting price of $18,950, the Prius C is also Toyota’s cheapest hybrid yet...
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GM to Washington State: Don’t Pass Electric Vehicle Taxation LawFor the past year, the state of Washington has been examining the possibility of putting a $100 annual surcharge on electric vehicle registrations. A contentious issue, the house bill proposed to help the state recoup tax dollars lost as more people switch from gas-guzzling cars to plug-in and...
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Where In The U.S. Are Gas Prices The Highest, Lowest? You Tell UsIf you do much in the way of driving, you’ll have probably noticed that your weekly fuel bill has been creeping ever higher over the last few months. A combination of factors, from the political uncertainty in the Middle East through to the closing of oil refineries in the U.S. and Europe...
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Over the past year, electric car charging stations have gone from being overpriced products with extortionate installation costs to items you can pick up at your local hardware store and install...
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Tata Reboots Nano, World’s Cheapest Car, As Coolest Small CarWhen Indian automaker Tata launched the world’s cheapest small car, it gave thousands of people across India the chance to own a car of their own for the first time. While the cheaply-built Tata Nano might combine utilitarian construction, simple engineering and frugal motoring, Tata has come...
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2013 Renault Zoe: A Stylish, Normal Complement To The Nissan Leaf?At last week’s 2012 Geneva Motor Show, Renault unveiled the production version of its 2013 Zoe Electric hatchback. The fourth all-electric car from the French automaker, the subcompact Zoe is quickly causing a stir in Europe thanks to its impressive specifications and low price. Renault has...
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Car2Go: Electric Car Rentals Top 6,000 Registrations In 100 DaysCertain parts of the media would have you believe that slow electric car sales indicate that no-one wants to drive electric cars. Not so, says all-electric car sharing service Car2Go, which has announced over 6,000 user registrations in its first 100 days. Founded last year by Daimler North America...
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We’re Not Joking: You Might Soon Pump Electrons Like GasolineAs automotive journalists, April 1 is the day we get to let our collective hair down and write stories about cars that sound plausible, but are purely fictitious. All in the spirit of April Fool’s day, of course. But sometimes our April Fool’s pranks get a little close to reality, as...
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Toyota: “We’ll Make Tens Of Thousands Of Hydrogen Cars In The 2020s”Toyota might be expanding its Prius line of hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars, but it hasn’t forgotten about hydrogen fuel cell technology. In fact, at this week’s Geneva Motor Show, the automaker has reiterated its commitment to fuel cell technology by promising it will produce tens of...
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