Antony Ingram, Contributing Writer
Articles
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To the average U.S. car buyer, the Volkswagen Up minicar will seem pretty basic.
Deliberately designed to compete at the bottom of the European market, it always feels like a quality product--but...
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Most Efficient AWD Cars: Beat The Snow, And The Gas PumpWhen a weather system dumps an uncommon amount of snow in your part of the world, thoughts often turn to how you might get about in it. Provided you've not got a seven-foot drift blocking you indoors, those plans might involve an all-wheel drive car. 4WD is no substitute for careful driving and a...
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Nissan Leaf-Owning Actor: Electricity Good, Nuclear... Not So Much2011's earthquake and tsunami in Japan brought energy use into sharp focus. Such events frequently cause grids to fail, but it was the inundation and subsequent meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear facility that garnered the most attention, and the disaster has turned the public strongly against...
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Nissan Leaf Nismo RC Racer: Video UpdateThe Nissan Leaf Nismo RC race car may have only turned a wheel in anger once outside of demo runs, but that doesn't make it any less exciting. At a glance, you might think it shares very little with the electric car that shares its name. You may even expect there to be a gasoline engine screaming...
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Is Holland Europe's Test Case For Electric Cars?Plug-in cars are catching on in the Netherlands, and it isn't hard to see why. It's a relatively small country, with high gas prices, heavy taxes on gas-guzzlers, and particularly flat land--no range-sapping hills for short-range electric vehicles. It's also largely pro-environmental, while cycling...
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Plastic Car Windows: One Way To Save WeightTraditionally, car windows have been made from laminated glass. It's strong, shatter-resistant, and... err... transparent. Obviously. But it's also rather heavy, and as increasingly weight-conscious car manufacturers are looking for ways to shed weight, glass could now be on the diet list. Its...
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Solar power and electric cars go hand-in-hand, and many owners equip their homes with solar panels to ensure the electricity they're charging with is as green as possible.
That isn't always the case...
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Electric Monster Truck Crushes Puny Gasoline Cars This WeekendRemember the world's first all-electric monster truck? If you're at the AutoRama Car Show in Kansas City, Missouri this weekend, you'll be able to see it in action. We're told it'll be "participating in two car-crush demonstrations per day", which sounds like a polite way of saying it'll be causing...
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Aerodynamics Matter: The 88 MPG, 1981 Alpina BMWThe Detroit Auto Show last month marked the debut of the a car with the lowest coefficient of drag of any production car--just 0.23. That car was the Mercedes-Benz CLA, a small sport sedan powered by a gasoline engine. Efficiency figures haven't yet been released, but we can imagine it being quite...
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Tesla Model S Driving On Sunlight: Amateur Video Not So AmateurThe right car can inspire people. Whether it's the poetic beauty of an Italian sports car or the noise of the race track, that inspiration takes many forms. For some, the all-electric Tesla Model S is their inspiration. The sleek electric sedan has certainly attracted attention far beyond that of...
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Jeremy Clarkson Invents A Hybrid Microcar: The P45Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson isn't known for being a fan of electric or hybrid vehicles. Usually when we write about him on Green Car Reports it's to comment on the latest daft stunt or anti-electric piece on the program, but naturally, we're prepared to give credit where credit is due...
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2014 Chevrolet Cruze Clean Turbo Diesel: Chicago Live PhotosAs one of two new U.S.-built diesels going on sale in 2013, the 2014 Chevrolet Cruze Diesel is a hugely important car. Chevy launched the Cruze Clean Turbo Diesel (to use its full, rather awkward title) earlier this morning at the Chicago Auto Show, and now we can bring you photos of the car from...
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Launched today at the 2013 Chicago Auto Show, the Kia Cross GT does nothing to make us doubt Kia's future design direction.
The dramatic luxury crossover concept really stands out, reaching far...
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2014 Kia Forte Five-Door: Chicago Auto Show Live PhotosIt's a lot of fun attenting auto shows. We get to see the latest cars the second they're unveiled, hear the reactions of other show-goers, and write about it to audiences eager to see where their next car is coming from. But it's also hard work, which is why we rather appreciated Kia's offer of...
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2014 Kia Forte 5-Door: 2013 Chicago Auto ShowKia Motors America has today unveiled a new 5-door version of the Forte at the 2013 Chicago Auto Show. The sleek five-door hatchback has what Kia describes as 'European styling', and goes head-to-head with cars like the Ford Focus with its hatchback practicality. Topping the engine range is a...
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Ford Adds Charging-Station Search To Energi Plug-In HybridsMyFord Mobile, Ford's smartphone app for the Ford Focus Electric, will soon be available on the brand's plug-in hybrid models too. The app allows customers to manage vehicle functions from their smartphone, such as viewing the state of charge, timing charging sessions, setting cabin temperature and...
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Dirtiest Country For Electric Cars? India; Cleanest? ParaguayElectric cars are often described as "zero emission vehicles". That's true, to an extent - you won't find a drop of any substance eminating from their non-existent tailpipes. But naturally, they get their energy from somewhere, and that somewhere is a country's electricity grid. Those can be less...
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Classic BMW Coupe Becomes 800-Horsepower Electric CarBMW's ActiveE coupe is a great little electric car. Even more so when it's working. It looks pretty good, there's decent performance on offer, and drivers enjoy BMW handling and BMW quality without having to feed a drop of gas into it. An electrified 1-Series coupe will never be quite as cool as...
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Back in November, we asked whether tinier, turbocharged engines were really the best way to get good gas mileage.
Our assertion was that with the latest generation of small turbocharged engines...
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Ford Boost Dealers Selling Plug-In Electric Cars To 900If you're trying to get your hands on a plug-in Ford, it should soon get a little easier. Ford will more than quadrouple the number of dealers able to sell its plug-in models, the Ford Focus Electric, C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid and Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid this year. According to The Detroit...
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2013 Nissan Leaf Gets New Energy-Efficient Bose Stereo: Chicago Auto ShowElectric car owners coming out of winter will know just how much of a drain a car's accessories can put on their range. That makes energy-efficient accessories like the Bose Energy Efficient Series audio system available with the 2013 Nissan Leaf an easy option to understand. With no engine roar to...
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Better Place Bails Out Of Both U.S. And AustraliaIf you've been following our reports on battery-swapping company Better Place, the news probably won't come as much of a surprise. The company has decided to shut down its operations in the U.S. and Australia, to concentrate on its original markets of Denmark and Israel. Loss-making Better Place...
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Mazda Diesel Daytona Racer Used Synthetic FuelOne of the more hotly-anticipated cars of this year is the diesel variant of Mazda's new 6 sedan. It's a striking car on the outside, but its efficient clean diesel engine should make it striking on the road too--with cleanliness and efficiency being key priorities. Efficiency is always a priority...
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Tiny Chevy Spark Minicar Lures Younger, Newer BuyersWho'da thunk it? Young buyers may love Camaros and Mustangs, but when it comes to smaller cars, American brands have traditionally played second best to imports. But the Chevrolet Spark minicar is proving much more successful, bucking all the trends. It's even stealing plenty of buyers off its...
Antony Ingram