Those anxiously awaiting for Ford‘s first electric car will be pleased to know the American automaker hopes to have its EV available nationwide by the end of this year. The Focus Electric will launch in California, New York, and New Jersey first and later this summer we will see it expand to 14 other states...
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Out in Shenzhen, China, tourists can rent a BYD E6 electric vehicle from Hertz and it appears that the EV will be making its way to America as part of Hertz’s rental fleet in the U.S. Jack Hidary, the global EV leader for Hertz, spoke about the Chinese government’s support of electric vehicles while explaining...
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Ford announced the launch of a new campaign encouraging people to adopt a lifestyle devoted to environmental sustainability. The program includes a national electric vehicle education program, a multi-city tour, and finally the debut of a 10-film short documentary series. Ford’s documentary series, The Big SHFT: 10 Innovators Changing Our World, goes beyond the automotive sector...
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In its continued effort to spread the message of the all-electric Leaf, Nissan has partnered up with Fleet Forum and is providing five vehicles for a year for free. Fleet Forum manages vehicle fleets for foreign aids and charitable organizations, such as Red Cross and the UN World Food Programme, and will take the Leaf...
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Ford is introducing its latest social media product, the “Plug N Play in Electric City with the 2012 Focus Electric,” a Facebook-based game, ahead of the official release of the Focus Electric EV. The Facebook game gives users and four of his or her friends the opportunity to create a short virtual trip in the new...
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Last year, Nobuhiro “Monster” Tajima became the first driver to ever break the 10 minute barrier during the legendary Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. There’s no questioning Tajima’s reign on Pikes Peak, but this might surprise you. It appears that the famed driver is looking to surprise everyone by campaigning in an electric car for...
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Batteries and cold climates often don’t mix well. Anyone who has tried to operate an electric device, like a camera that has been sitting in the cold, will soon find that the batteries have lost their charge. This sort of issue isn’t catastrophic with a small device, just a little inconvenient. The same can’t be...
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Despite the fuel efficiency benefits of a hybrid vehicle, the average cost premium of purchasing a hybrid over a conventional internal combustion vehicle is still approximately $2,000. In order to begin seeing the cost benefits of fuel frugality, an ownership period may be as long as 6 years before money saved at the tank can...
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Hollywood comedian John Lovitz was on hand in Detroit to help launch the Smart For-Us pick-up concept at the 2012 North American International Auto Show today. Smart might have struggled with sales here in the USA with their fortwo model, but globally this eco-minded brand sold over 100,000 units in 2011. To capture the American...
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The struggles of the electric car are well documented, and it appears that the struggle is not going away anytime soon. According to the latest news, the Federal Government will pull its funding to ease the cost of buying an electric vehicle charger. Up until now, the Fed’s have been discounting these units as an...
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Fitted with a 37 kw/h battery pack, the electric Grand Cherokee is said to have a range of 100 miles, based on information released from AMP. Final pricing and distributors are expected to be announced during the vehicle’s unveiling in Detroit.
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Never heard of the American car company Coda? We won’t blame you. This electric car upstart is trying to make a name for itself, but has so far run into production delays plus other birthing problems new car companies face. However, the editor’s at Forbes believe in Coda and that it will soon be among...
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BMW is turning to Brilliance Jinbei Automobile, an already-established Chinese partner, to work their way around new legislation aimed at promoting Chinese cars. Ian Robertson, director of sales and marketing for BMW told Automotive News Europe said the new brand, which will exist solely to sell electric vehicles in China, will only use limited BMW...
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In the 1960’s there was the muscle-car wars, and in the 1980’s it was all about who can sell the most minivans. Now its time for the green-car wars, to see who can sell the most plug-in hybrid or fully electric cars. The two biggest rivals at the moment are the Nissan Leaf and the...
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While the Chevrolet Volt has struggled a bit to get traction in the marketplace, Nissan‘s all-electric Leaf is well on pace to sell 10,000 units in the United States, meeting its initial sales targets. 60 percent of all Leafs sold are in California (no surprise there), but we’ll get a better regional breakdown sometime later...
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An article in Automotive News suggests that the Cadillac ELR, which will share major driveline components with the Chevrolet Volt, will actually be rear-wheel drive. The report states that the ELR has been dubbed a 2+2, meaning two small seats in the rear, similar to a Porsche 911. The Volt uses a t-shaped battery pack...
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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has released an official statement in regards to the post-crash fire risk of the Chevrolet Volt. As a result of a fire that occurred at the NHTSA’s facilities, they will be opening a formal safety defect investigation in order to determine the fire risk of Volts after a...
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The BMW 5-Series ActiveHybrid will make its debut at this December’s Tokyo Auto Show, featuring BMW’s familiar twin-turbo I6 engine and an electric motor that will produce a total output of 340 horsepower. Backed by an 8-speed automatic, the car will be able to operate in pure electric mode up to 37 mph. The ActiveHybrid’s...
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Reports from the Guangzhou Auto Show state that the Chevrolet Volt has been approved for sale in China with a starting price of 498,000 yuan, or $73, 800 USD. TTAC’s resident expert on China, Bertel Schmitt, astutely remarked that the kind of subsidies we see on our shores for the Volt are “…for made-in China vehicles...
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This may look like a BMW 7-Series sedan with some oddball rims, but our spy photographers report that the vehicle in question is actually a prototype for a new BMW i sedan, based on a couple key points. For starters, there are apparently electric motors mounted in the wheel hubs, which would suggest a new...
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BMW‘s i3 may not be getting as much buzz as the 2012 3-Series, but their upcoming compact city car is probably the most important vehicle they’ll launch all decade. With the i3, BMW is moving in a totally different direction, both in terms of technology and sustainability. The i3 will have a chassis made of...
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With the release of Ford’s electric Focus hatchback around the corner, Ford is looking to educate consumers on eco-friendly vehicles. They’ve teamed up with SHFT.com, a website developed by actor Adrian Grenier (from Entourage) and film producer Peter Glatzer to promote green and eco-consciousness to younger consumers. Ford is chipping in by funding a series...
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The Chevrolet Volt will be able to qualify for California’s High Occupancy Vehicle lanes in 2012, after General Motors announced the availability of a Low Emissions Package for their hybird-electric car. With traffic congestion in California a major annoyance for motorists, the ability to use the HOV lane – via one of the state’s 40,000...
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Mitsubishi has confirmed that two top executives at their American divison have left the company, and that Mitsubishi has no plans to replace them – a curious development for an automaker with mercurial fortunes. Mitsubishi has struggled in recent years, but has enjoyed a sales surge in recent months, as well as the launch of...
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