Antony Ingram, Contributing Writer
Articles
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The classic Mini was one of the first true economy cars, both in terms of frugality and in offering purchase price that regular people could afford.
Since BMW's resurrection of the badge its...
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2015 Audi A3 Sedan Priced From $29,900Audi has announced pricing for its 2015 A3 Sedan, a new compact sedan entry into a market currently occupied by the Mercedes-Benz CLA. Not unsurprisingly, buyers will pay the same for the new A3 as they would for its Mercedes rival. At $29,900, the A3 sedan matches the CLA precisely at the entry...
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Volvo Completes Wireless Electric Car Charging Study; Research Continues"Inductive charging has great potential" according to Volvo following its study into wireless charging of electric cars. The Swedish automaker conducted testing with Flanders' Drive, an automotive technology knowledge center in Belgium and a consortium of other companies, to determine whether...
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New Models Of Mazda 3 Widen Green Options, But Not For U.S.In the motor industry, as in investments: Never put all your eggs in one basket. Mazda certainly isn't, demonstrating both hybrid and compressed natural gas (CNG) versions of its recently-unveiled Mazda3 compact at the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show. Though the CNG version isn't likely to appear in the...
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk Calls Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Cars "Waste Of Time"Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk is not a man to mince his words. We already know he's not a fan of other electric vehicles like the Nissan Leaf or Chevrolet Volt, he doesn't really like plug-in hybrids, and he's quick to step in and defend his company whenever there's a hint of negative publicity. So...
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Women Now Buying One-Third Of All Nissan Leaf Electric CarsPerhaps a result of the comparatively limited selection of electric cars currently on sale, they've not yet developed any real gender stereotypes. While the geeky technological aspect might mark most out as a product most likely to be used by men, you're as likely to see women actually driving an...
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Most countries have their own road rules and regulations and it's no surprise that driving conditions and car requirements vary greatly as a result.
One such country is Germany, where some sections...
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VL Destino's Corvette-Powered Fiskers Still On TargetA V-8 conversion isn't your typical eco-modification, but for Fisker Karma customers it's one way of ensuring a longer-term survival for their vehicle since the company's troubles started well over a year ago. The conversions are offered by VL Automotive, backed by Bob Lutz and using one of two...
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Will Buick Add Diesels To Its Lineup Too--And Will Its Customers Bite?Aside from a few dubious efforts in the 1970s and 1980s, diesel has until now been the preserve of big rigs, pickups and the occasional European offering brought over to the U.S. More recently though, wider acceptance of the fuel--aided by rising gas prices--has seen other manufacturers dabble. One...
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Hybrid Payback Depends On The Model, New Study ShowsWe all know that hybrid vehicles typically offer greater fuel economy than their regular gasoline counterparts. But when considered over a typical ownership period, are they actually any cheaper to run? That's what a new study from cost-of-ownership specialists Vincentric has been finding out. The...
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Audi Sees Tesla As Direct Competitor, But Likes Dealers Over Direct SalesIt's always interesting hearing one automaker's opinion of another, and even more so when a huge global company has to concede that a young upstart is worth keeping an eye on. The huge global automaker in question is Audi, part of the massive Volkswagen group. And the young upstart? Tesla Motors of...
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Next MINI Could Get 10 Variants, Plug-In Hybrid OptionThe next-generation of BMW's MINI subcompact could spawn as many as ten different variants following its arrival next year. In an interview with Automotive News, BMW's board member in charge of MINI, Peter Schwartzenbauer, suggested that "eight to ten models" could be built from the car's new ULK...
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There's an old saying that goes "boys never grow up, their toys just get bigger".
Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk certainly has some big toys, as the founder of an electric car company and SpaceX among...
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Nissan's Electric ZEOD Race Car Revealed In Full: VideoGerman automaker Audi might command the most real estate at the Le Mans 24 Hour race in France each year, but in 2013 Nissan's off-track presence certainly wasn't far behind. Promoting its NISMO motorsport brand, Nissan also reserved a space for its 2015 Le Mans challenger--the electric ZEOD race...
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Aston Martin Culls Its Ugly Duckling: Scion iQ-Based Cygnet Is DeadWe don't tend to feature Aston Martins here on Green Car Reports. Beautiful though they are, custodians of an enviable racing history and cultivators of an image few other automakers attain, they're about as far away from "green" as cars get. With big V-8 and V-12 gasoline engines, they're about...
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Zelectric Motors' 1963 Volkswagen Beetle Electric Car DrivenThere is a line of thinking, naturally not shared by many of our readers, that engine noise is an integral part of the experience of driving a car. Lack of it in electric cars is one of myriad reasons the average gearhead is still skeptical of EVs. You may think then that swapping the familiar...
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Volvo Develops Structural, Supercapacitor Nanobatteries For Future Electric CarsBatteries in electric and hybrid cars--and this may not come as much of a surprise--are large, and they're heavy. Reducing the size and weight of these vital components is priority number one for scientists all over the world, and Volvo is among them with its latest technological development. Using...
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2014 Range Rover Hybrid: Drive Reports Emerge For Diesel-Electric SUV U.S. Won't GetLand Rover hasn't exactly cultivated a reputation for environmental friendliness over its history. While its products have always been adept at forging through the wilderness, it could be argued that its engines, rather than its tires, have done the most damage to the natural world. Still...
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Natural gas has so far made little impact in the automotive sector, at least when it comes to passenger vehicles.
As new extraction techniques such as fracking increase domestic supply of the gas,...
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BMW Ponders Production Boost For i3 Electric Car After High European DemandHigh demand isn't something experienced by many automakers selling electric cars, but then BMW is a little different from many automakers. It's fair to say you could put its badge on pretty much anything and it would sell on reputation alone--but with the i3, its first full production electric...
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Want To Rent An Electric Car? You Probably Won't For LongOver the last few years, several large rental firms have helped the electric car cause by adding plug-in vehicles to their rental fleets. In theory, it's the ideal people to get people into electric cars in general--some seat time is usually enough to convince people that EVs are the way to go. The...
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Toyota Thinks Larger, Non-Turbo Engines Can Deliver Better MPGOne of the most popular motor industry trends in recent years has been that of 'downsizing' engines--reducing capacity even in larger vehicles to improve fuel efficiency, while usually adding a turbocharger to make up for lost power. It's why Ford can now sell a 1.0-liter engine in the U.S. in its...
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Latest Tesla Model X Prototype Shown At Palo Alto Store OpeningHundreds of owners and fans alike turned up for the opening of a new Tesla Store in Palo Alto, California, this past Saturday. They weren't all there just to see the store, though. Many focused on the store's centerpiece--the latest prototype of the Tesla Model X crossover, the next car in Tesla...
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CA Will Work To Streamline Permit Process For Hydrogen Fueling StationsThe hydrogen ball rolled a little further in California last week. The Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development--GO-Biz for short--has now announced plans to streamline the permitting process for hydrogen and electric fueling stations. It's the latest move to prepare the state for...
Antony Ingram