Antony Ingram, Contributing Writer
Articles
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It's an exciting time for diesel fans in the U.S, with automakers finally waking up to that section of the market that longs for great highway MPG and lots of torque.
Most people already know the...
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'Micro Hybrids' The Next Big Thing, Less Costly Than Mild Hybrids?Not all hybrids are created equal. In fact, several different types are sold throughout the automotive industry, all offering varying economical benefits and priced at varying levels. Technology and innovation firm Johnson Controls Inc. suggests there's room for even more, and the next big thing in...
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3-Wheeled, 84 MPG Elio Moves A Step Closer To RealityRemember Elio Motors? If you're one of their 17,000 or so Facebook fans it'll be hard to forget, as the company's little green three-wheeled vehicle will be a regular fixture on your timeline. As The Detroit News reports, Elio has just released a new prototype of the tiny gasoline-powered vehicle...
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Is 400 PPM Actually The Most Important Metric Ever For Cars?You won't have been able to feel it, but on Friday the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere hit a milestone amount. For the first time in recorded history, CO2 levels averaged 400 parts per million (ppm), or 0.04 percent, at a monitoring station on Mauna Loa, Hawaii. And, say scientists, it's...
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GM Engineer Drives 2013 Chevy Cruze Diesel 900 Miles On One TankChevy's Cruze diesel is one of the more significant cars arriving this year. It's not just economical by Chevy's own standards, but at 46 mpg highway it comfortably takes the fight to the class-leading Volkswagen Jetta TDI too, With a 15.6 gallon gas tank, that 46 mpg should be enough to get you...
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Battery Issue Solved, Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-In Hybrid Production To DoubleEarly last month we reported on a couple of separate fire incidents that cast a shadow over Mitsubishi's two electric vehicles, the i-MiEV minicar and the Outlander Plug-In Hybrid. As the latest in a string of battery fire incidents from various manufacturers, it was a problem Mitsubishi wanted to...
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If there's one form of personal transport better for tackling a crowded city than the electric car, it's an electric bike.
Whether pedal bike, scooter or motorcycle, nothing scythes through traffic...
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New Tesla Testing Technique From Staid Consumer Reports: Drifting!We'd not normally advise getting information directly from Wikipedia, but its opening line on the sport of drifting is as good as any other definition you'll find: "Drifting is a driving technique where the driver intentionally oversteers, causing loss of traction in the rear wheels, while...
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Will New Diesels Be Too Expensive To Make Much Difference?2013 is an exciting time for diesel fans, with three particularly significant models all arriving this year. The Chevrolet Cruze Diesel, Mazda Mazda6 Sky-D and Jeep Grand Cherokee Ecodiesel will all be on the radar of customers looking to mix performance with economy, and all will aim to replicate...
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'Not Dead Yet!' Wheego Still Selling Electric CarsWant proof of how topsy-turvy the electric car industry is? Just look at the last few months: We've seen Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] turning a profit, Coda Automotive filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and Fisker Automotive laying motionless, the industry ready to read the last rites. And then there's...
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2013 Nissan Leaf Electric Car Gets IIHS 'Top Safety Pick' RatingNobody really wants to crash, but if you're unfortunate enough to do so it's nice to know your chances of escaping injury are better than most. That's the case with the 2013 Nissan Leaf, which has picked up a "Top Safety Pick" rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). While the...
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Toyota Prius Continues To Trounce Honda's Insight In Global Hybrid SalesThe Toyota Prius has come a long way since hitting the market over a decade ago. Back then, at the turn of the 21st century, it was no more than a fuel efficient but ultimately unappealing curio, bought only by a select few. Fast-track to 2012 and it was one of the world's highest-selling cars...
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BYD, a company struggling to sell its e6 electric crossover in its home market, has decided it won't be sold at all to private customers in the U.S.
Instead, says the ChinaEV blog, the e6 will be a...
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Self-Driving Tesla Electric Cars Coming, Courtesy Of Google?Love or hate Tesla Motors (NSDQ:TSLA) and its CEO Elon Musk, it's hard to deny that he's ahead of the curve when it comes to developing new cars. So when Musk says self-driving or autonomous technology is the next logical step in the evolution of the car, you take notice. According to Bloomberg...
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2014 Ford Fiesta Vs. Mitsubishi Mirage: Which Will Have Highest Gas Mileage?Hybrid and diesel might be winning the gas mileage wars, but gasoline is stepping up its game. We'll shortly see the debut of two new gasoline-powered models that offer the highest non-hybrid gasoline-fueled gas mileage on the market--the 2014 Ford Fiesta 1.0 Ecoboost, and the 2014 Mitsubishi...
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Tesla Model S To Get Adaptive Cruise, Lane-Departure Warning, More?Drivers of the Tesla Model S are generally pretty happy with their cars, but as with any new product there are always a few ways it could be improved. Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] is one of few companies that can execute those improvements without you having to lift a finger, as software updates can be...
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2015 VW Golf Sheds Even More Weight With Optional Carbon RoofVolkswagen has made large strides in most areas with the 2015 Golf, but largest of all is the car's weight reduction. Some models are over 200 pounds lighter than their equivalent in the current Golf range, thanks to clever use of stronger steel, lighter components and other weight-saving measures...
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How Not To Install An Electric-Car Charging Station: A Case StudyWe've all seen those 'FAIL' pictures that turn up on the internet with startling regularity--tastelessly placed adverts in newspapers, security cameras facing blank walls, products with overly suggestive graphics... you know the deal. Welcome to the latest in a long line of fails, spotted by of BMW...
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Many people who frequent this website with any regularity probably own a hybrid or electric vehicle.
Many of those probably think they're already driving the future--or an approximation of it at...
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Mazda Considers Diesel Option For Next-Gen MX-5 Miata: ReportThe success of Mazda's MX-5, or Miata as it has long been known in the U.S, is down to a simple formula. It's inexpensive, it's fun, it looks good, and it's reliable. It took the best aspects of sports cars from the 1960s and 1970s, but dressed it up with modern comforts and a healthy dose of...
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Electric Bikes, Cars To Convoy Across U.S., Set New Guinness RecordsIt's human nature to push the boundaries of what one can achieve, a trait clearly illustrated every time an electric car owner embarks upon a huge journey to prove it can be done. Such a trip is almost a cliché now--a brave few have already taken an electric car around the entire world...
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Renault Fluence ZE To Be Only Battery-Swap Car; One For The Books?To the untrained eye, the Renault Fluence Z.E. is a fairly unremarkable vehicle--a compact sedan not unlike other compact sedans sold all around the world. What makes it different is its electric drivetrain, but what separates it even more is the fact its battery can be swapped out for a new one in...
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Range Rover, Sport Hybrids To Debut At Frankfurt ShowRange Rover isn't the first brand that comes to mind when thinking of green vehicles. Cars for traversing green and pleasant lands, perhaps, but not saving fuel as they do so. However, the company is changing. First there was the smaller, lighter Evoque, then plug-in hybrid prototypes. Next on the...
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Electric-Car Battery Swapping, Slovakian Style (Well, Vans, Anyway)Battery swapping was once hailed as the miracle cure for short-range electric cars, but the trials and tribulations of Better Place have shown that isn't necessarily the case. It's not a bad idea though--it just needs the correct application. That could be in the commercial vehicle world, as...
Antony Ingram