Antony Ingram, Contributing Writer
Articles
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While solar has its place in the electric car world, it's not yet suitable for powering an electric car directly.
A Prius or Leaf may come with a small solar panel mounted in the roof, but that's...
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Artist Paints Fluorescent Chevy Volt With RC Cars As BrushesTurning on an electric car is a strange, ethereal experience. After years of turning the key on regular cars and feeling them burst noisily into life, the glow of instruments and occasional musical jingle of an EV feels soothing and futuristic. Turn on an ultra violet light over artist Ian Cook's...
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2012 Lexus CT 200h F-Sport Drive ReportIt's not every day you get to push a car to its limits on a circuit, so when the chance presents itself it's something to be relished. Even if that car proudly displays a hybrid badge on the side, as you'll find on the flanks of the 2012 Lexus CT 200h F-Sport. With the demise of the HS 250h, the CT...
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Unrealistic Gas-Mileage Ratings Widen Gap With Reality In EuropeWe occasionally feature cars sold in Europe on GreenCarReports, but often issue a disclaimer with regard to gas mileage figures. Unlike EPA ratings, which are broadly achievable on most vehicles, European official economy figures are unrealistic, giving a highly optimistic estimate of what to...
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New-Generation Electric-Car Batteries Will Take 10 Years, DoE Lab SaysThere's kind of a running joke within the electric car world that the next generation of batteries is just a decade away. And the next time you ask, it's still a decade away. Even a decade later. Well, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, the next generation of usable battery technology...
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Electric-Car Conversions: Do They Really Stand A Chance?One of the first experiences many of today's electric car drivers had with EVs may well have been with a home-built conversion. With comparatively few factory-built electric cars available until quite recently, conversions and low-volume production models were the only ways into electric vehicle...
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There are plenty of advantages to diesel engines: High fuel efficiency, low CO2 emissions, and in modern turbocharged applications, plenty of easy-to-access torque and power.
However, they aren't...
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10 Tips For Better Gas Mileage This Memorial Day WeekendVisiting family this Memorial Day weekend? If so, you're probably driving, as it's still the most convenient way for many people to cover most distances. With millions of people simultaneously hitting the road though, that's a whole lot of fuel being used. That's why we've compiled a list of ten...
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Lotus Shows Carmakers How To Shed The Pounds, CARB AgreesThere's a phrase oft-quoted in the automotive world when the topic of lighter cars is discussed. The phrase, "add lightness", originated from Colin Chapman, founder of Lotus Cars and builder of some of the best sports cars and racing vehicles ever made. And the influence has remained--Lotus still...
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Mitsubishi Reveals Its Crazy Pikes Peak i-MiEV Electric RacerWe've already brought you news of Mitsubishi's two challengers for this year's Pikes Peak hillclimb, but now the Japanese firm has revealed its purpose-built prototype, set to take to the stage on July 8. While a largely stock Mitsubishi i will be driven up the hill by Beccy Gordon, racing-driver...
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Skoda Citigo: Slovak-Made Czech Minicar Is Sibling To VW UpYou may have just read our take on the Volkswagen Up, an excellent minicar that unfortunately won't be coming to U.S. shores. What you may not have realized is that it has two siblings, sold under different branches of the Volkswagen-Audi (VAG) empire, SEAT and Skoda, known as the Mii and Citigo...
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New European Trend: Renting Tiny Cars...By The MinuteWe're all familiar with daily car rental. Even hourly car rental is becoming a growing trend, with car-sharing services allowing you to pick up a car somewhere in a city and deposit it somewhere else, paying for the hours in between. In Europe, things are taken one step further, with rental by the...
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We've seen our fair share of dubious modifications to Toyota's Prius over the years, but we've discovered one that's actually pretty cool.
Anyone who has ever tried will know that sleeping in the...
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2002 Vs 2012 Toyota Prius Hybrids: Progress In NumbersIt seems like the Toyota Prius has been zipping around our roads forever, but in reality the first examples only hit U.S. soil just over a decade ago, with the Japanese market getting the car a few years before that. The premise remains the same--a mass-market hybrid vehicle that offers the best...
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DoE Fights Back On E15-Hurts-Your-Car StudyThe Department of Energy has hit out at the recent Coordinating Research Council study into damage caused by using E15 gasoline. In its rebuttal, the DoE points out several flaws in the CRC's study, and says the Council failed to establish a proper control group to determine the statistical...
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Honda Reveals New Personal Mobility Device: Err... No ThanksIf you've seen the animated Pixar film WALL-E, you'll remember a scene where humanity, after generations of being on a space ship where everything is done for them, are hugely overweight and never get out of their hovering chairs to interact with the world. That was the scene that came to mind when...
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Which Will Sell More: Volt, Leaf, Or Plug-In Prius?In the quest for efficient mobility, there are three major players currently battling for top spot. The 2012 Nissan Leaf, 2012 Chevrolet Volt and 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In all have one main aim--efficiency--but all go about reaching that aim in different ways, which also means that each has its own...
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EV West Enters Electric BMW M3 In Pikes Peak HillclimbIt isn't just big manufacturers like Nissan and Mitsubishi that enter the famous Pikes Peak hill climb in Colorado--plenty of individuals and independent teams take part each year too. This year, Electric Vehicle West, or EV West, is entering a converted electric car into the event, based on a...
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Electric motorcycle manufacturer Brammo has revealed two brand new motorcycles, the Empulse and Empulse R.
Each motorcycle offers both a 100 mph top speed, and 100 miles of range. The company has...
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Porsche 918 Spyder Hybrid Prototype: Factory Testing UpdateBack in the late 1990s, Volkswagen embarked upon the development of its first "three liter" car. That number didn't refer to engine capacity, but a European fuel measurement of three liters per 100 kilometers--or 78 miles per gallon. That car was the Volkswagen Lupo 3L, a high-tech, lightweight...
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Ferrari's Enzo Supercar Successor Goes Down Hybrid RouteIt now looks almost certain that Ferrari will use hybrid technology for the next iteration of its range-topping supercar line, according to reports. Following the iconic 288 GTO, F40, F50 and Enzo hypercars, the next model--dubbed by some as F70--looks set to use Ferrari's HY-KERS hybrid system...
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Audi Urban Electric Bike Teased Before Official LaunchSmart's eBike electric bicycle has been attracting a lot of attention recently, but it's not the only electric bike to emerge from Germany. Audi has teased its own electric bike in a short video, featuring French freestyle trials rider Julien Dupont. Where Smart's bike is very much a commuting...
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Tesla Says It Will Start Repaying U.S. Loans By End Of YearAfter revealing more details about the Tesla Model S just last week, Tesla Motors said it expected to use the last of its Department of Energy loan by the end of this year. The company now confirms it also has plans to start paying back the loan this year too--and will be the first company to do...
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No Artificial Noises For Electric BMW i3 (Yet)Put most people behind the wheel of an electric car, and you can guarantee one of the first things they'll talk about is the silence. Unfortunately, that silence has led some legislators to require EVs to emit a sound in order to warn pedestrians of their presence, stifling one of the genre's...
Antony Ingram