Antony Ingram, Contributing Writer
Articles
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If you've been reading Green Car Reports over the past week, you might have seen we recently bought a 2001 Honda Insight--an example of one of the first hybrids sold by a major automaker.
But what if...
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2015 VW Golf, Beetle, Passat, Jetta All Get New Clean Diesel EngineVolkswagen's most popular vehicles will all receive a new engine in the second half of the year, in the shape of the company's latest 2-liter turbodiesel unit. The new EA288 engine is already powering vehicles all around Europe, and Volkswagen has now announced the models it'll power in North...
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Germany Likes German Electric Cars; Leaf, Volt, Not So MuchIt isn't unusual for citizens of a particular country to employ a little patriotism when buying vehicles and stick to brands from that country. A huge swathe of Americans buy cars built by the Big Three, for example. Italians buy plenty of Fiats. French drivers often stick to Renaults, Peugeots and...
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Used Toyota, Ford Hybrids Score Well In Consumer Reports' Best Used Car ListThere are many reasons to recommend a hybrid car--the easy driving experience, the gas mileage, even the shove of an electrically-assisted engine in some sportier models. But it's reassuring to know they make equally good used buys as they do when brand new, whatever your budget. The latest list of...
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Does Quick Charging Hurt Battery Life? Total Miles Are More ImportantSome electric car makers, notably Nissan with its Leaf, make recommendations that owners don't charge too frequently using quick-charging stations. The belief is that the chemical processes involved in rapidly charging a battery can lead it to degrade faster than regular charges, reducing range...
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Gas Mileage Displays In Cars: Accurate Or Optimistic?How do you measure your gas mileage? Do you take mileage readings after each tank, refill to the brim, calculate how much you've used...and repeat at each fill-up? Or do you press the trip computer button a few times to bring up your tank average? If you're doing the latter, there's always the risk...
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The Mini is one of the most iconic vehicles on the roads, but the car has changed--and grown--rather a lot since its introduction in 1959.
Most of that change has happened since BMW took the reins...
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2014 Mitsubishi Mirage Gas Mileage: Real-World 40 MPG-Plus Possible, Owners SayThe 2014 Mitsubishi Mirage is unusual among the latest breed of gas-sipping small cars. There are no fancy tricks employed to hit its 37-40 mpg combined EPA ratings, no turbochargers or hybrid systems. It's simply small, light, aerodynamic and uncomplicated. Those qualities are also allowing...
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Hyundai Sonata Gas Mileage Overstated Again, In Korea This TimeReporting gas mileage is a tricky subject for automakers. Naturally, you want your car to be seen in its best light. You test it according to regulations, and publish what you find. Sometimes, it can go wrong. Hyundai and Kia found this out the hard way recently. Now, Hyundai's done it again--but...
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Half Of All Cars Banned From Paris Roads Over Smog; Electric Cars ExemptHazardous levels of pollution have caused authorities in Paris to enact its first car ban since 1997. The French capital will ban all vehicles on alternate odd and even license plates today and tomorrow in an effort to reduce the output of polluting particles in the air, following a run of warm...
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Nissan On Track To Beat 2020 Electric Car Sales Target?Nissan and its French partner Renault could be on track for selling 1.5 million electric vehicles before 2020, according to the company's latest estimates. The two companies have currently sold around a tenth of that number since each firm released its first electric cars a few years back. But as...
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Mercedes-Benz Could Launch Next Fuel-Cell Car In 2017Mercedes-Benz has delved into the world of fuel-cell vehicles before, with several concepts and the F-Cell prototype from a few years back. But so far--like most automakers--there's not been a model people can actually buy. That might change in 2017, according to Motoring (via Motor Authority), as...
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You only need witness the success of the Transformers movie franchise to know that people like the idea of things changing into other things.
Let's assume that a Camaro that turns into an Autobot...
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Introduction To Our Used 2001 Honda Insight HybridIn the world of automotive journalism, "practice what you preach" is a difficult statement to honor. It just isn't always possible. We do our best though, which is how I've come to be the proud owner of a 2001 Honda Insight. Let me explain. ALSO SEE: Life With Tesla Model S: One Year And 15,00...
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Startup Vukee Hopes To Crowd-Fund Tesla Car Sharing ServiceNot everyone can afford a Tesla Model S, but if you had the opportunity to drive one whenever you wanted, that might be a pleasing alternative to ownership. Startup Vukee Car hopes to offer a service that lets you do just that, and is crowd-funding to raise cash to offer Model S car-sharing. ALSO...
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Downsized 3-Cylinder Engines Not Refined Enough For MercedesThree-cylinder engines are all the rage right now. Once the preserve of basic economy cars, they're now used in everything from the latest generation of economy vehicles, through sporty hatchbacks like the 2015 MINI Cooper and Ford Fiesta 1.0 EcoBoost, to BMW's i8 plug-in hybrid sports car...
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Autolib Electric Car-Sharing Service Expands Into London From ParisCar-sharing services have proven popular for city-based users, many preferring to use the conveniently-located cars in lieu of buying, owning and running their own. Few have been more successful than the Parisian Autolib electric car sharing business though. Owned by Bollore, It runs thousands of...
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Audi To Add Plug-In Hybrid Models Of Next A6, A8 Sedans, Q7 SUVAudi, in its search for alternatives to conventional propulsion, has finally nailed its colors to a mast--and that mast is plug-in hybrids. In addition to the A3 Sportback e-tron later this year and plans for a plug-in hybrid version of the A4, the German automaker could develop plug-in hybrid...
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Fossil fuels may not be the cleanest way of powering us between two points on a map, but there's little doubt they offer convenience.
So far, scientists have struggled to find batteries for electric...
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Mercedes S-Class Electric Car Could Follow Plug-In HybridSo far, Mercedes' exploration of electric vehicles has been fairly diverse. It started, logically, with the Smart Fortwo Electric Drive. But then it jumped to the other end of the scale with the SLS AMG Electric Drive supercar. The next stop could be the Mercedes S-Class luxury sedan, as the...
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Electric-Car Coloring Book By Irked Tesla Employee Explains It All For YouAs any electric car owner will know, there are still some surprising misconceptions about electric cars out there. One Tesla employee, annoyed at being asked the same questions over and over about electric cars--with the occasional ludicrous question thrown in--has created a coloring book about...
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Rolls-Royce Considers Plug-In Hybrid Luxury SedanIn theory, electric power is perfect for Rolls-Royce. What better source of propulsion than a quiet electric motor, for a company that strives for ultimate refinement? In practice though, Rolls-Royce customers weren't keen on the range and charging limitations of the 102EX concept the company...
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2015 BMW i8 Production Starts, Final Specs Released For Plug-In Hybrid SupercarThe 2015 BMW i8 is one of this year's most eagerly-anticipated cars, but there's not long to wait now as the first examples begin to roll from the production line. The German automaker has also confirmed final specification details for the European market, including its official performance and...
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2015 Honda HR-V: Name For New Subcompact Crossover Based On Fit?With the 2015 Honda Fit now in production at a new factory in Mexico, the all-new version of that hatchback will be the first in a series of subcompacts launched by Honda over the next few years. Another is a small crossover utility vehicle, unveiled at last fall's Tokyo Motor Show and dubbed the...
Antony Ingram