Green Driving
GM and Chrysler Won't Be Required to make Electric Cars
Posted: Nov. 20, 2009 09:11:53 a.m.
After the government bailout of Chrysler and GM left the feds in charge of many areas of the companies, there were fears that politicians and bureaucrats would start dictating each company’s product line. The Obama administration is saying that's not the case.
Reuters reports, "The Obama administration's preference for robust electric car production will not influence its oversight of taxpayer equity in General Motors and Chrysler, an administration official said."
As much as the administration would like ...
Report: Toyota Plans Prius Wagon, SUV
Posted: Nov. 16, 2009 11:11:23 a.m.
The successful Toyota Prius may provide the platform for a whole family of new hybrid vehicles, according to several news reports.
Edmunds Inside Line reports, “Toyota…is planning to expand its Prius hybrid family with a larger variant, possibly a tall wagon or crossover model.” The new car, according to Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper, “will sell for the equivalent about $22,000.” It will also be the first Toyota to use a lithium-ion battery pack. Lithium-ion batteries, which several ...
Dealer Taking Deposits on Chevy Volt...But Chevy Hasn't Built it Yet
Posted: Nov. 16, 2009 11:11:18 a.m.
General Motors hasn’t yet started production of its highly-anticipated Chevy Volt electric car. It hasn’t put a price on the vehicle. It hasn’t announced when the Volt will be available, or what dealers will get the first models. It hasn’t told dealers what colors will be available, or whether the car will come with a sunroof or a navigation system or an options package including fog lamps and heated mirrors for cold-weather states. It hasn’t ...
Report: GM Will Build Chevy Volt-Based Cadillac Converj
Posted: Nov. 10, 2009 10:11:19 a.m.
There will be a Cadillac version of the highly-anticipated Chevy Volt Extended-Range Electric Vehicle (E-REV), according to the Detroit News. "General Motors Co. has decided to produce the Cadillac Converj" coupe, the News explains. "Cadillac included the Converj, a concept car that wowed industry critics and the public at the 2009 North American International Auto Show, in a presentation made to the automaker's board of directors Nov. 2, according to sources familiar with the production plan." An E-REV, like ...
Study: Hybrids Hit More Pedestrians than Other Cars
Posted: Nov. 09, 2009 09:11:18 a.m.
A government study recent concluded that hybrid-powered vehicles are more likely to hit pedestrians that gasoline powered cars. The results may give added urgency to calls from some consumer advocates to require that hybrids make some noise to announce their presence.
Consumer Reports explains, “The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)… looked at state-level crash files to compare crash rates on these two types of vehicles. Out of 8,387 hybrids 77 (or .9 percent) were involved in crashes with ...
Report: Struggling Chrysler Disbands Electric Vehicle Team
Posted: Nov. 09, 2009 09:11:25 a.m.
Faced with a cash crunch as its sales continue to lag well behind its recovering rivals, Chrysler has reportedly disbanded a high-profile engineering team that had been developing a lineup of electric vehicles.
Reuters reports, “The move by Fiat SpA marks a major reversal for Chrysler, which had used its electric car program as part of the case for a $12.5 billion federal aid package.”
The ENVI research team had shown prototypes of four electric vehicles to members of ...
Cash for Clunkers Sold a Lot of Full-Size Pickup Trucks
Posted: Nov. 06, 2009 10:11:14 a.m.
When the federal government launched a program to clear gas guzzlers off the roads and replace them with more fuel-efficient cars this summer, Americans responded. We traded in our old big trucks. We bought new big trucks.
The AP explains, “Billed as a way for the government to put more fuel-efficient vehicles on highways, the popular $3 billion Cash for Clunkers program mostly involved swaps of old Ford or Chevrolet pickups for new ones that got only marginally better gas ...
Electric Car Startup Fisker Buys GM Plant to Build Midsize Car
Posted: Oct. 28, 2009 10:10:48 a.m.
Over the next few years, we expect to begin seeing some unfamiliar hood ornaments in the rear-view mirror. One of the start-up companies vying to become the future of the American automotive industry just took a big step toward viability.
Edmunds Inside Line reports, "Tiny Fisker Automotive on Tuesday confirmed that it will spend $18 million to buy GM's dormant Wilmington Assembly plant in Delaware to build its plug-in hybrid sedan starting in late 2012." The plant once built ...
World's Largest Cash-Back Rebate: $42K Off Tesla Roadster
Posted: Oct. 23, 2009 11:10:02 a.m.
If you're in the market for a new car and would like a little help with the purchase, there's a nice $3,500 cash-back rebate this month on the Pontiac G8. There's a similar $3,500 rebate on leftover 2009 Ford Mustangs. Or, for Colorado residents, there's a $42,083 rebate on the all-electric Tesla Roadster.
Yeah, read it again.
Didn't change, did it?
Autoblog reports, "Colorado is offering a $42,083 rebate on the ...
GM Contest: Name a Color, Win a Chevy Volt Test Drive
Posted: Oct. 23, 2009 11:10:09 a.m.
Sangria Red Pearl. Mocha Steel Metallic. Black Mica Slate.
Sometimes we think they name car colors with a short list of words taped to the wall and a dart.
It must be a challenge, though. Some of these colors don't exactly inspire a flood of adjectives. Take the muted gray used on the Chevy Volt prototype auto enthusiasts have been seeing for nearly a year now. It's...well...it's gray. It's a safe choice, since various ...
