Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield, Contributing Writer

Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield is a self-confessed petrol head. She grew up in a carless family but was able at a very early age to name cars passing her on the street while other girls her age were more interested in Barbie Dolls. Although she trained as a classical musician she’s now a full-time broadcaster and journalist, covering green fuels and tech. After passing her driving test she’s owned a wide selection of cars, including a 1962 Morris Minor Woodie Hotrod; a single seat electric bubble car; a ’92 Honda Prelude; a ’91 Volvo 240; a ’04 Toyota Prius Plug in Hybrid (which she converted herself); an ’85 VW electric factory built rabbit; and a ’09 Smart ForTwo CDI Nikki specializes in electric vehicles, but also enjoys clandestine gas-guzzling, working on the rule that the larger and noisier the better. She is also loves riding motorcycles, but currently doesn't own one. Nikki also hosts the TransportEvolved podcast. She lives in Bristol UK with her wife, their two daughters and their Border Collie.

Articles

GM Releases New 2012 Chevy Volt Ad, Airs It First On Fox, Its Foe Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 26, 2012

One day after General Motors CEO Dan Akerson fended off occasionally fact-free Congressional attacks on the Chevrolet Volt and its safety, it has doubled-down on promoting the Volt with a TV ad buy...
What Comes After The 2014 BMWi3, i8? How About The i5 MPV?
If you’ve ever wondered why BMW’s upcoming 2014 all-electric i3 mini car and 2014 BMW i8 plug-in hybrid sports car are numbered the way they are, it’s because BMW plans to fill in the gaps with other plug-in models in future years. We all know that the BMW i3 and i8 are due in...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 26, 2012

Ford Expands EcoBoost Range, Improves Gas Mileage For Everyone
Ford’s continuing drive towards smaller capacity, direct-injected, turbocharged, fuel efficient engines continued today as it announced yet more Ford cars and trucks will get EcoBoost engine options during 2012. Moreover, Ford claims that by the end of the year, nine of its production...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 26, 2012
Kansas Considers Taxing Electric Car Owners When They Plug In
The state of Kansas is famous for a lot of things, from its wild sunflowers and large wheat-fields through to its miles and miles of straight roads, an incredibly flat landscape, and a certain 1939 musical about a little girl, a tornado, and her dog. This week however, Kansas became one of the...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 26, 2012
Will 100,000 Electric Cars Be Sold In U.S. This Year Or Not?
Technology market research firm Gartner announced yesterday that it forecasts plug-in car sales in the U.S. will top 100,000 vehicles during 2012. But with 2011 sales figures much totaling just over 17,000 fully electric and plug-in hybrids, is it conceivable that total plug-in car sales will more...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 25, 2012
Buying A 2012 Tesla Model S? Think Before Ordering The Battery Pack
At the end of 2011, Tesla released its final specification, options and price list for the 2012 Model S sedan. Depending on the choice of battery pack, the 2012 Tesla Model S should travel 160, 230, or 300 miles per charge. For Tesla Model S owners who have purchased cars with the 230 or 300-mile...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 25, 2012
U.S. DoT Sued For Toyota Prius Unintended Acceleration Documents Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 25, 2012

Five days ago, when we told you the National Academy of Sciences was backing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s findings into unintended acceleration issues concerning Toyota...

Better Place Delivers Electric Cars, Battery Swaps Become Real
Electric car battery swapping stations became reality yesterday as Better Place started delivering all-electric Renault Fluence Z.E. cars to customers in Israel. Unlike regular electric cars, Renault was commissioned to build the Fluence Z.E. with a battery pack that could be removed by automated...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 24, 2012
2012 Brutus Electric Motorcycle Promises To Be Green, Mean
Think about the names given to electric cars and electric motorcycles on the market today. Most, if not all, are a play on the concept of all-electric, zero tailpipe emissions travel. So when we heard about a team of engineers in Henderson, Nevada who were developing a new electric motorcycle...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 24, 2012
OnStar To Help 2012 Chevy Volts Charge When It’s Greenest
One of the biggest criticisms of electric cars is that they only move the pollution from the tailpipe of a car to the smoke stack of a power station. But a new application developed by General Motors' OnStar devision aims to help Chevrolet Volt owners charge their plug-in hybrid when it will have...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 24, 2012
Revenge Of The Electric Car: Available On DVD, From Today
Last year, Chris Paine’s sequel to Who Killed The Electric Car? --Revenge Of The Electric Car -- premiered to a packed audience at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. Since then, the independent docufilm has shown at various art houses and community theaters across the U.S, but...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 24, 2012
2012 Nissan Leaf Proves Itself On Snowy Japanese Test Course
Prior to this winter, Nissan has only sold its all-electric Leaf hatchback to customers in moderate climates. But just as Nissan North America was celebrating selling its 10,000th Leaf, Nissan Japan was proving that the Leaf wasn’t scared of winter weather with a special press event held near...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 23, 2012

2012 Toyota Prius C Manual Leaked: Here’s What It Tells Us Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 23, 2012

You’d think after scans of the complete Japanese-specification 2012 Toyota Prius C brochure leaked onto the Internet, Toyota would be a little more careful about information surrounding its...
Boulder, Colorado, Loves Hybrids As Much as Los Angeles
Ask most Americans to name a place in the U.S. where hybrid cars are popular, and they’ll probably name somewhere in California, the Pacific Northwest, or Washington D.C. Now the city of Boulder, Colorado is keen to let the world know it also wants to be known for its hybrid-loving...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 23, 2012
Meet The Next Presidential Ride: An Electric Fiat 500 Limo?
Think of Presidential state cars, and you’ll probably think of the Cadillac-badged limousine the President Obama uses, a car that many of us know as The Beast. Now an Italian coach-builder has come up with its own take on the Presidential limousine, in the form of an all-electric stretch...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 20, 2012
2013 VW Beetle TDI Diesel To Launch At Chicago Auto Show
At last week’s Detroit Auto Show, we got our first glimpse of what an all-electric Volkswagen Beetle could look like thanks to VW’s e-Bugster concept car. At next month’s Chicago Auto Show, Volkswagen will unveil another green-minded Beetle, but this time we won’t be seeing...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 20, 2012
U.S. Sales Of The Nissan Leaf Electric Car Now Over 10,000
Nissan might have ended 2011 a with sales of its all-electric Leaf a few hundred cars short of its 10,000 unit target for the year, but there are now over 10,000 Leafs on the roads of the U.S. According to Autobloggreen, the happy event occurred last week during the 2012 Detroit Auto Show, which is...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 20, 2012
Nissan Examines Second Life For Used Leaf Battery Packs
In the aftermath of the last year’s devastating Japanese earthquake and tsunami, more impetus has been given to the idea of turning electric cars -- and their battery packs -- into emergency backup power systems. But now a new project has been set up to take the idea of using electric car...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 19, 2012

Toyota Beats 2011 Volt Sales In 10 Weeks With Prius V Hybrid Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 19, 2012

It may have only gone on sale at the end of October 2011, but Toyota has just announced it managed to sell 8,399 Toyota Prius V Wagons before the start of 2012.

In other words, it sold 668 more 2012...
Can Your 2012 Chevy Volt Use California HOV Lanes? It Depends
When General Motors launched the Chevrolet Volt in 2010, the state of California decided that it didn’t meet the required emissions standards needed to classify it as an Electric Advanced Technology Partial Zero-Emissions Vehicle (e-AT-PZEV). At Launch, No HOV Lane Access As a consequence...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 19, 2012
Charging An Electric Car In CA? Make Sure You’re Not Towed
On January 1, 2012, California Assembly Bill 475 came into effect in California. Essentially, the new law makes it possible that your plug-in car could get towed if you haven’t locked your car to the charging station cord. Backed by general Motors, the bill’s advocates claimed it was...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 18, 2012
Five Cars That Regularly Beat Their EPA Gas Mileage Ratings
Lately, we’ve covered several stories surrounding consumer claims that various green cars aren’t capable of achieving the gas mileage figures that the EPA ratings say they should. But what about cars that regularly do better than the EPA ratings for gas mileage? Using data obtained from...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 18, 2012
Three Tips To Help You Drive Your Electric Car This Winter
As anyone who has lived in the Pacific Northwest will tell you, cities like Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon are known for their damp, dreary winter months. This winter, as with many other parts of the U.S., heavy snowfall is taking the place of rain, turning the usually temperate Northwest...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 18, 2012
Rare EV-1 Up For Sale, But It Isn't An Electric Car
Earlier today, our colleagues over at MotorAuthority told us about a collection of over 100 rare cars going under the hammer in Sweden. Among them, a complete EV-1. Complete with aerodynamic coupe styling, solar-powered cooling fan and a film appearance under its belt, bidding for this futuristic...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 17, 2012