Green Thinking

WWU team is an X Prize finalist; luxury electric car line comes to former GM plant

X Prize finalists The Automotive X Prize organizers have cut the list of competitors for the $10 million contest by half. A team from Western Washington University joins 42...

November 15, 2009 Comment on this

India's electric Reva to be built in the U.S. and Audi unveils clean-diesel model

Reva Electric merge Indian company Reva Electric Car Co. and New York company Bannon Automotive will join forces to start making electric cars at a New York factory by the...

November 8, 2009 3 Comments

Infiniti enters the luxury hybrid market and the electric Smart fortwo gets closer

Infiniti steps in Infiniti, which so far has been absent from the luxury hybrid market, is about to take the plunge with its first hybrid, the 2012 Infiniti M35...

November 1, 2009 Comment on this

Five finalists contend for top honors as the 2010 Green Car of the Year

Green Car awards The five finalists for the 2010 Green Car of the Year award, sponsored by Green Car Journal, have been announced. The prize will be awarded at...

October 25, 2009 Comment on this

Fisker gets federal loans to develop hybrid and Daimler unveils new green models

Fisker loans Fisker Automotive, a California manufacturer of luxury electric vehicles, will receive more than $500 million in federal loans to develop a new plug-in hybrid vehicle to be...

October 18, 2009 5 Comments

Volkswagen introduces two green cars and Fiat and Peugeot reduce CO2 emissions

VW debuts Volkswagen unveiled two green cars at last month's Frankfurt Auto Show. The L1 (right) is a two-seat hybrid concept that could get about around 240 mpg with...

October 11, 2009 1 Comment

Audi unveils electric car plans and Germany's Trabant gets model treatment

Audi electric Audi unveiled plans for an electric car at last month's Frankfurt Auto Show. The e-tron, a fully electric high-performance sports car still in development, will be a...

October 4, 2009 Comment on this

Europe to get another electric car option and Nissan adopts methanol fuel cells

European i-MieV Peugeot and Mitsubishi have agreed to launch an electric car in Europe by the end of 2010, the companies say. The French and Japanese carmakers say the...

September 27, 2009 Comment on this

Mercedes tests hydrogen fuel-cell model and three's company in future Smart car

Mercedes-Benz Water power Following General Motors and Honda into a hydrogen fuel-cell future, Mercedes-Benz has unveiled its B-Class F-CELL, a car that converts hydrogen into electricity. The company plans to...

September 20, 2009 Comment on this

Honda looks toward an electric future and traffic congestion rises nationwide

Honda electric Honda plans to introduce electric vehicles in the U.S. early next decade, after focusing so far only on gas-electric hybrids. The company is building an all-electric prototype...

September 13, 2009 1 Comment

BMW revisits smaller engines and Ford's electric cars will 'talk' to power grids

BMW engines BMW hasn't offered a four-cylinder model in the U.S. since 1999, but it will bring back the smaller engines to meet tightening government emission regulations. BMW did...

September 6, 2009 Comment on this

Lamborghini considers a hybrid model and Volvo unveils its plug-in coupe

Hybrid Lambos? Lamborghini's CEO Stephan Winkelmann has suggested that the future of the Italian supercar manufacturer will include hybrid models, both in an effort to boost power and to...

August 30, 2009 Comment on this

Buick readies a hybrid SUV and diesel-powered Smart cars may be coming to America

General Motors Buick hybrid General Motors will introduce a Buick crossover SUV powered by a plug-in rechargeable system in 2011. The new midsize vehicle will run on a combination of...

August 23, 2009 2 Comments

Ford introduces soy-foam seats and Lexus sets the price of its luxury hybrid

Soy seats Ford has a long history using of soy-based products in its vehicles, and it latest product -- soy foam -- recently won a 2009 R&D 100 Award...

August 16, 2009 Comment on this

Commercial trucks are big on electric power and a green ride breaks a speed record

Smith Electric Vehicles Electric trucking Coca-Cola, Staples, Frito-Lay and AT&T were among the companies that received Smith Newtons -- the world's largest commercially available battery-electric-powered truck -- last month at...

August 9, 2009 1 Comment

Hyundai releases a hybrid overseas and California strives to keep vehicles cooler

Hyundai debut Hyundai made its first foray into the increasingly competitive hybrid market last month with the debut of the Avante LPI. Kia, which Hyundai owns, debuted its "twin"...

July 31, 2009 2 Comments

'Green' McDonald's unveils car charging station and Toyota introduces hybrid Lexus

Fast food charge? A "green" McDonald's in Cary, N.C., that opened in July features the chain's first electric car charging stations. The two battery charging units can be used free...

July 24, 2009 1 Comment

More evidence that demand for hybrid vehicles in on the rise

Hybrid rework General Motors will stop making Chevrolet Malibus (right) and Saturn Auras with an early generation gas-electric hybrid engine system, but engineers are working on a more efficient...

July 17, 2009 4 Comments

Honda announces a hybrid Fit for 2010 and China aims for 42.2 mpg by 2015

Honda hybrids The hybrid race heats up with reports that Honda will launch a hybrid version of its Fit hatchback in the second half of 2010. If that schedule...

July 10, 2009 2 Comments

Nissan announces first electric vehicle while GM unveils LPG Spark in India

Nissan jumps in Nissan, Japan's No. 3 automaker, may not have a hybrid model to compete with Toyota and Honda, but it announced last month that it will unveil...

July 3, 2009 3 Comments

McCain buys a hybrid and South Korean researchers envision power strips in roads

Political wheels Arizona Sen. John McCain announced recently (via his Twitter feed) that he was buying a new Ford Fusion Hybrid. His office says he's getting the 2010 hybrid...

June 26, 2009 8 Comments

Toyota leases 150 plug-in vehicles in Europe and Obama plugs his Ford hybrid

Toyota plug-in Toyota plans to lease 150 plug-in electric hybrid vehicles to fleet customers in Europe this year, and a similar program in North America could follow. The cars...

June 19, 2009 2 Comments

Tesla goes 241 miles on a single charge and Toyota celebrates one million hybrids

Big batteries Tesla's Roadster covered 241 miles on a single charge at April's Rallye Monte Carlo d'Energies Alternatives, an annual event that runs from Valance, France to Monaco, pitting...

June 12, 2009 4 Comments

Big demand for Tesla sedan, new Trixx from GM and Hyundai's first plug-in hybrid

Tesla demand Electric-car manufacturer Tesla says it has received 520 $5,000 deposits for its upcoming Model S electric high-performance sedan. Tesla says that the demand so far has exceeded...

June 5, 2009 14 Comments

Recycled oil, fuel-efficient fat tires and no ban on black cars in California

Motor oil For 20 years, Safety-Kleen has produced recycled motor oils for large commercial fleets and the federal government by re-refining used oil the company collects from car dealerships...

May 29, 2009 2 Comments

A Toyota hybrid keeps pace at NASCAR and Chrysler lobbies the Postal Service

Toyota Hybrid pacing A hybrid vehicle -- a Toyota Camry -- will be the official pace car for an entire race for the first time in NASCAR history at Sunday's...

May 22, 2009 2 Comments

Mitsubishi's electric car debuts, green grants take root and van gets mad mileage

Coming soon Mitsubishi's i MiEV will be the world's first practical electric vehicle offered by a major auto manufacturer when fleet sales begin this July in Japan. The company...

May 15, 2009 4 Comments

Chevy fine-tunes the Volt, Honda takes top green honors and Tata Nano innovates

Price drop? The Chevrolet Volt is more than a year away from hitting showrooms, but GM is already working on the second and third generations of the plug-in hybrid...

May 8, 2009 1 Comment

Electric motorbikes make the scene and Chicago gets charged up

Electric bike Zero Motorcycles plans to begin shipping its high performance electric motorcycle to customers next week. The Zero S, priced at $9,950, has a range of up to...

May 1, 2009 3 Comments

No price hike for Prius, American-made batteries and an air-powered car

Prius pricing Toyota says it won't change the price tag from $22,000 on its 2010 Prius hybrid when it hits U.S. showrooms in late May and will release an...

April 24, 2009 5 Comments

A biofuel-powered Bentley, greener motor oil and two new electric sedans

Bio Bentley Bentley's new Continental-coupe-based supercar will be capable of running on biofuel, which the company says represents "Stage One of Bentley's environmental commitment." The car will sport 630...

April 17, 2009 3 Comments

An Italian electric car, a solar Porsche plant and recycled bumpers

High design Italian car designer firm Pininfarina SpA, which has designed cars for Ferrari and Alfa Romeo, will start producing its own all-electric compact vehicle and start leasing it...

April 10, 2009 1 Comment

Neil Young's tribute to green autos and Kelley Blue Book's most-researched cars

Eco rock Neil Young's new album, "Fork In The Road," which releases Tuesday, was inspired by his work with environmental autos, including his project to convert a classic 1959...

April 2, 2009 Comment on this

A made-in-the-USA hybrid, regenerative shock absorbers and Ford's electric van

Build local Honda says it will consider building its Insight gas-electric hybrid in North America (for now it will be built in Japan) if sales consistently top 100,000 units...

March 26, 2009 3 Comments

A diesel-powered BMW, dual-clutch Ford transmissions and an all-electric Mini

Diesel power BMW's new 116d model uses a highly efficient 2.0-liter four-cylinder diesel engine that yields a Toyota Prius-rivaling 53.4 mpg rating. It will be released in Europe this...

March 19, 2009 Comment on this

Kia's smart engine, citrus power for tires and a compressed-natural-gas Mercedes

Start stop This spring, Kia will debut its "idle stop and go" system on the Cee'd small car in Europe (coming to to other markets and models in 2010)....

March 12, 2009 Comment on this

Ford Fusion leads, electric technology hits the road and China plugs in a hybrid

New leader Ford's 2010 Fusion S sedan has earned the top efficiency rating in its class for gas engines at 34 mpg, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency....

March 5, 2009 Comment on this

Solar-paneled hybrids, leading the charge, and a happy medium for your engine

Good karma California startup Fisker Automotive debuted its plug-in Fisker Karma last month, vowing to sell 15,000 of the sporty luxury hybrids. The car, which has solar panels on...

February 26, 2009 Comment on this

A better battery, fuel-saving software and the electric Smart microcar

Battery background Lithium-ion is the battery of choice for electric vehicles because compared to other rechargeable batteries, they generally carry more charge for their weight and size, which is...

February 19, 2009 Comment on this

BMW's hydrogen sedan, Fiat's hybrid sensation and an eco tip

Water works What's the newest thing on the red carpet? BMW has given keys to its Hydrogen 7 sedan - the world's first hydrogen-powered car for everyday use -...

February 12, 2009 Comment on this