Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield, Contributing Writer

Articles

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  Hyundai Hits Mileage Targets Early, Says Elantra 40-MPG Rating Accurate Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 17, 2012

  South-Korean automaker Hyundai announced last week that it achieved a fleet-wide corporate average fuel economy of 36 mpg across its entire 2011 range.

  In doing so, Hyundai has essentially met U.S....

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  Honda Civic Hybrid Gas-Mileage Case: What Factors Are At Play?

  At the start of January, we told you about the owner of a 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid who was taking the Japanese automaker to the small claims court. Heather Peters, alongside other owners who are filing similar class-action lawsuits against Honda, all claim that their Honda Civic Hybrids cannot...

  Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 17, 2012
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  Mercedes Plans B-Class Range-Extended Electric Car For U.S.

  At last year’s Frankfurt Auto Show, Mercedes-Benz displayed the B-Class E-Cell Plus, a range-extended concept electric car. In a little over ten weeks at the 2012 New York Auto Show, we’ll see it again -- but this time it will be a production version destined to go on sale exclusively...

  Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 16, 2012
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  Bentley Will Use V-8, W-12 Engines In Plug-In Hybrid

  For years, prestige car brands remained insulated from the drive towards greater fuel economy and higher gas mileages. However, tightening regulations on gas mileage and emissions have forced many luxury automakers to take fuel economy seriously for the first time, requiring them to look for...

  Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 16, 2012
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  Two Tesla Execs Leave Before 2012 Model S Launch, Stock Falls

  Californian automaker Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] suffered a 19.33 percent drop in share price on Friday last week after it announced two of its key engineers had departed the company months before its 2012 Model S was due to go on sale. Peter Rawlinson, Tesla’s vice president and chief...

  Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 16, 2012
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  Zero Motorcycle Engineer’s Bicycle Is Quicker Than Porsche GT3 RS

  When we visited Zero Motorcycles’ headquarters in Scotts Valley, California to test-ride its 2011 2001 model year electric motorcycles, we got to meet some of the hardworking engineers responsible for ensuring the company remained at the forefront of the electric motorcycle world. And while...

  Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 13, 2012
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  Hyundai Gives 2012 Sonata Hybrid Battery A Lifetime Warranty Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 13, 2012

  What happens if the battery in your hybrid car starts to fail?

  If your car is still within warranty, you’ll get a replacement battery at no cost to you. If your car or its battery pack are out...

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  95% Of All Trips Could Be Made In Electric Cars, Says Study

  Here at GreenCarReports, we often hear excuses from people who say they want to buy an electric car but feel unable to. Aside from increased sticker price, one of the more common excuses given is the worry that an electric car won’t meet their mileage needs due to range limitations per charge...

  Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 13, 2012
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  Le Mans Champions Make Electric Car Racing Real With 200MPH Car

  Back in December, we told you about a brand new electric race car that Former American Le Mans Series veterans Drayson Racing were planning on unveiling at the 2012 Low Carbon Racing Conference in Birmingham, England. At the time, we were told the all-electric race car -- called the B12/69EV --...

  Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 12, 2012
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  VW e-Bugster Electric Concept Live Gallery: 2012 Detroit Auto Show

  There’s something special about the Volkswagen Beetle -- or VW Bug to use its more colloquial name -- that makes us think of a car that is inherently friendly to the planet. And that’s something which Volkswagen has played on with the its Volkswagen all-electric e-Bugster concept car...

  Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 12, 2012
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  Audi Confirms Clean Diesel Option For 2013 A8 Luxury Sedan

  For some time, German luxury automaker Audi has been one of the few automakers to offer clean diesel cars to the U.S. market. But until Audi announced plans back in March last year to offer diesel-engined options for every new Audi sold in the U.S. by 2015, the only diesel Audis you could buy were...

  Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 12, 2012
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  U.S. DoE Tackles Electric Car Basics In New Energy 101 Video

  We’re often asked by new readers where they should go to brush up on electric car basics, so we’re always on the lookout for new resources to recommend alongside our own guides to cars like the 2012 Nissan Leaf and 2012 Chevrolet Volt. Earlier this week, the U.S. Department Of Energy...

  Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 12, 2012
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  Tesla Updates Roadster For 2012. There’s Just One Catch... Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 11, 2012

  When the Sexy Tesla Roadster blasted into the automotive world five years ago, we all knew that California-based Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] was only planning to build a few thousand examples.

  In...

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  U.S. Sec. Of Energy: Cheaper Batteries Mean More Electric Cars

  You’re probably well aware that some of our fellow journalists in the mainstream media aren’t big fans of plug-in hybrid and pure electric cars at the moment. But U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu has reiterated his support of electric cars, predicting that electric cars will command a...

  Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 11, 2012
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  GM: We’ll Wait Until July To Know If Chevy Volt Is A Hit

  Last year wasn’t a great one for General Motors’ first production plug-in range-extended electric car. Continued negative press -- not to mention post-crash-test fires and production-line upgrades -- conspired to produce first-year sales figures a little lower than GM had hoped. Does...

  Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 11, 2012
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  Lexus LF-LC Concept: Is This The Future Of Hybrid Sports Cars?

  There are two types of concept cars unveiled at auto shows: the never-intended-for-production exercises in automotive design excellence, and the fully-working, almost-ready-for-production cars that you can expect to see at a dealer in some form or other within a few years. Unfortunately, the Lexus...

  Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 10, 2012
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  AMP’s Converted Electric Jeep Will Cost Same As Tesla Model S

  Got enough money to buy a 2012 Tesla Model S, but want something a little more rugged? If the answer is yes -- and you can’t wait another few years for the 2014 Tesla Model X Crossover SUV to debut -- you can now spend your hard-earned cash on an all-electric Jeep Grand Cherokee. You...

  Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 10, 2012
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  Acura NSX Concept Hybrid Supercar To Be Built In U.S.

  Yesterday, we told you about Acura’s NSX Hybrid Concept Car, unveiled at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show. Then a few hours later, we treated you to our own photo gallery of the NSX unveiling live from the show floor, along with the news that it would reach production in 2015. Yesterday, we...

  Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 10, 2012
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  2012 Coda Sedan Electric Car Gets Smaller Battery Pack Option Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 10, 2012

  With only one month to go before Californian electric automaker Coda is due to commence sales of its $39,900 Sedan, you’d expect available options and specifications to be set in stone.

  But at...

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  2013 Buick Encore Crossover Crossover Due Early Next Year

  Buick isn’t the first brand you’d think of when it comes to fuel efficient, small cars, but next year Buick showrooms will welcome an all-new model which combines the two. Unveiled today at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show, the 2013 Buick Encore Crossover packages a turbocharged 1.4 liter...

  Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 10, 2012
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  Acura NSX Hybrid Concept: 2012 Detroit Auto Show

  Ever since Acura ditched the much-loved NSX back in 2005, Honda hasn’t had an “everyday supercar” to call its own. Now the Japanese automaker has decided to let the venerable NSX be reborn: as a leaner, faster, greener version of its former self: the Acura NSX Hybrid Concept. On...

  Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 9, 2012
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  Mercedes-Benz Unveils E300 BlueTec Hybrid, E400 Hybrid At Detroit Auto Show

  Big luxury cars can be green too. That’s the message from Mercedes-Benz as it launches two new hybrid E-Class cars at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show. The Mercedes-Benz E300 BlueTec Hybrid and Mercedes-Benz E400 Hybrid were first announced back in December, and essentially cater to different...

  Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 9, 2012
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  Analyst Calls Tesla Model X Electric Crossover “Fast, Roomy”

  Tesla [NASDAQ:TSLA] may have just confirmed the date of its unofficial unveiling of the 2013 Model X crossover SUV, but it appears some lucky stock analysts at Barclays Capital research have already their own private preview of the much-anticipated car. In a recent stock analysis posted online at...

  Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 9, 2012
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  Chevrolet Code 130R & Tru 140S Concept Small Cars: Detroit Auto Show

  Chevrolet has continued its trend towards fuel-efficient small cars today with the unveiling of two new concept cars at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show. The two cars -- a four-seat, rear-wheel drive coupe called the Code 130R, and a four-seat, three-door, four-seat coupe hatchback called the Tru 140S --...

  Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield January 9, 2012