Green Car Reports

Newly Conscientious Consumers Say Modesty Is Cool For Luxury Cars

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:05:00 +0000

Well, this is encouraging. A new study of luxury car buyers commissioned by BMW finds that even luxury car buyers are beginning to reject conspicuous consumption, with more and more choosing their purchases for "social, political, or environmental reasons". BMW and Mini executives, in a presentation called "What consumers are ...

Forbes Calls Jeep Grand Cherokee Dirtiest Car, Readers Slam Methods

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:13:00 +0000

That old capitalist tool, Forbes magazine, has issued a list of the 10 dirtiest cars sold in the U.S. At the very top, in first place for filth, is the Jeep Grand Cherokee. But it turns out there are some problems with their list. There's history behind this. A decade ago, the website for Forbes magazine practically pioneered the ...

GM's Second Electric Car After Chevy Volt To Be Cadillac Converj

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:02:00 +0000

General Motors will follow its 2011 Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric car with a production version of the Cadillac Converj concept car revealed at this year's Detroit Auto Show . It's been an open question for a while now: What will be the next vehicle to use GM's Voltec series hybrid electric-car platform? The Opel/Vauxhall ...

First Drive: 2010 BMW ActiveHybrid X6

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:00:00 +0000

"Our goal was to fundamentally change the view of hybrids ," said Peter T�nnermann, project manager for the 2010 BMW ActiveHybrid X6. "We wanted to make a 'non-hybrid' hybrid ." In other words, a hybrid that didn't drive like a hybrid . And in that goal, BMW has succeeded admirably. Drivers at the international launch of BMW's ...

How To Improve Fuel Economy? Raise Gasoline Taxes, Say Executives

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:24:00 +0000

Auto executives know how to get U.S. drivers to save a whole lot more gasoline: Raise the price of gas, to at least $4 a gallon. That was the message at the recent Reuters Autos Summit in Detroit this week. The simplest way to get U.S. drivers into cars with higher gas mileage is economic: Make it cost more. Prius popular at $4/gallon ...

Is Toyota Planning To Build a Camry CNG Hybrid?

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:41:00 +0000

If you've followed any of the news coming out of the 2009 SEMA Show, the mecca for modified cars, you may have seen that Toyota's display included a modified version of the Camry CNG Hybrid it showed last fall at the Los Angeles Auto Show .The Toyota Surfrider Camry Hybrid CNG, which pairs the classic Hybrid Synergy Drive system ...

Nissan Announces Tour Dates, Cities for 2012 Leaf Electric Car

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:15:00 +0000

Dates and cities have been announced for the "Zero Emission Tour" that will introduce the 2012 Nissan Leaf hatchback electric car to potential buyers in the U.S. markets where it will first be sold. The car won't be sold nationwide for more than two years. Instead, it will be offered where Nissan has negotiated agreements with electric ...

October's Most Popular Green Car Posts: Steampunk Toyota Takes It

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 18:49:00 +0000

Today is Halloween, but no tired jokes about green pumpkins here. It's the end of the month, so it's time to look at the most popular posts on GreenCarReports.com over the last 30 days, which include items on hybrids , clean diesels, and two on the Tesla electric car. Four out of the top five are new for the month. The only returnee ...

How Far Can the 2010 Volkswagen Golf TDI Go On a Tank of Diesel?

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:05:00 +0000

We seem to be covering the 2010 Volkswagen Golf TDI clean diesel hatchback an awful lot here, but a recent blog post raised an issue we hadn't considered: How far can the 2010 Golf TDI go on a single tankful of diesel fuel? The question comes from blogger, host of #carchat on Twitter , and general all-around car personality Michael ...

Tesla Joins Tax-Incentive Trail for Not-Yet-Sited Model S Factory

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:35:00 +0000

It's starting to seem like tit-for-tat around here, as startup electric automakers Tesla and Fisker vie for--and get--federal- and state-funded loans and tax concessions to build future electric cars. The latest salvo, mere days after Fisker announced its purchase of a former GM plant in Delaware : California will grants Tesla tax ...

Fiat Bringing 500 Abarth To America

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:14:00 +0000

Editor's note: High Gear Media wants you to write for us. Here's what happens when you do--you get published alongside the pros, if your post is smart , well-written, and (for GreenCarReports.com ) has the goods on the greenest of wheels. Want to be our next contributor? Check us out, sign up , and join us on more than 40 sites in the auto ...

2011 Chevrolet Cruze Compact Car Launch Delayed Til Next Fall

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:11:00 +0000

As U.S. carmakers get serious about building world-class compact cars, one of the most eagerly awaited entries is the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze, which will face off against a totally new 2012 Ford Focus as well as revised models of the Toyota Corolla , Honda Civic , and Nissan Sentra . Now reports say that General Motors will push back the ...

Hide the Children! Porsche Goes Green And Hybrid, Purists Blanch

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:26:00 +0000

Europeans have been slow to the game with hybrids , having bet most of their green strategy on highly efficient clean diesels. But they are increasingly hedging their bets, learning to work with electric motors and battery packs. In the sports-car world, aside from startups Fisker and Tesla , no European maker is doing more than ...

Toyota Prius To Add Coupe In 2011 To Target 2011 Honda CR-Z

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:03:00 +0000

Building on the success of the 2010 Toyota Prius hybrid , which is close to sold out due to worldwide demand , Toyota is planning to add additional body styles to the Prius line. Now, the first details of those cars have emerged, and one new model will apparently be a two-door coupe that targets the upcoming 2011 Honda CR-Z hybrid ...

Biden Blurts Out Fisker Nina Plug-In Hybrid Line: Sedan, Coupe, Crossover

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:57:00 +0000

There's nothing like a little old-fashioned reporter shoe leather, especially when few other automotive media outlets bother to make the trip. Our colleague Gary Gastelu of Fox News traveled down to Delaware yesterday, to cover the official announcement of Fisker Automotive's $18 million purchase of the former GM plant that build the ...