Weekly Green Car

Ford designs C-Max Hybrid to be fun to drive, practical

12:01 am U.S. ET | Sept. 10, 2012
The basic idea behind the marketing plan for the 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid is pretty simple: Ford Motor Co. wants customers to believe that a hybrid can be practical and fun, and that they can afford it. With this new entry, Ford is taking dead aim at the undisputed ruler of the hybrid realm, the Toyota Prius.... Read More »

 

Audi EV heads to the Ring to build performance image

12:01 am U.S. ET | Aug. 20, 2012
Many automakers use Germany's Nurburgring racetrack to enhance their cars' sports cachet. Audi AG is using the Ring this summer to prepare a new type of car for customers.... Read More »

 

RAV4 EV has better range, performance

12:01 am U.S. ET | Aug. 13, 2012
More than a decade after Toyota ended production of the original RAV4 EV, Toyota has joined forces with electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla Motors to develop a new one. The new RAV4 EV has a higher-tech battery, better range and higher performance than the first-generation model, according to Toyota.... Read More »

 

CARS & CONCEPTS

Web chat alerts Nissan to Leaf woes

12:01 am U.S. ET | July 30, 2012
Nissan Motor Co. has dispatched engineers from Japan to look into online chat reports of battery problems with the Leaf electric car in the southwestern United States.... Read More »

 

Ford plans two-pronged electrified strategy

12:01 am U.S. ET | July 9, 2012
When the 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid goes on sale in September, all the roughly 3,200 Ford brand dealers nationwide will be able to sell the gasoline-electric hybrid. But in the first quarter of 2013, when the Ford C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid arrives, only a select number of Certified EV Dealers, as designated by Ford, will be allowed to sell it.... Read More »

 

Honda Fit EV: High mpg, low volume target

12:01 am U.S. ET | July 9, 2012
With the Fit EV, Honda has taken a capable city car and turned it into an electric vehicle that might be the right choice for drivers in urban areas who have occasional freeway commutes in car-pool lanes.... Read More »

 

NEWS ANALYSIS

Tesla line is rolling; real test begins

12:01 am U.S. ET | July 2, 2012
Tesla Motors has done what some cynics doubted it could ever do: launch production of its battery-powered cars at its own factory. But what happens after all 9,800 early adopters who plunked down $5,000 deposits have their cars? Can Tesla fight the day-to-day retail wars with BMW, Mercedes and Lexus and convince the mass market that the economics of the Model S make sense?... Read More »

 

Honda's 'toy box' of technology

12:01 am U.S. ET | June 18, 2012
Honda, fighting to restore its reputation for innovation, is poised to open a "toy box" of new technologies and products that will make it the industry leader in fuel efficiency, the company's top car engineer says.... Read More »

 

As its vehicle batteries stumble, A123 diversifies

12:01 am U.S. ET | June 18, 2012
Last month, A123 Systems Inc., which makes batteries for the Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid, told the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it had doubts about its ability to continue as a going concern. But in an interview this month, A123 officials said the company plans to return the work force to peak levels at its suburban Detroit plants and is embarking on a recovery plan calling for more nonautomotive customers and new products.... Read More »

 

Little-known electric i remains a low-key EV

12:01 am U.S. ET | June 4, 2012
Quick, name the newest electric vehicle from a mainstream automaker to hit the U.S. market. If you're scratching your head, you're not alone. Aside from dealers and EV enthusiasts, few are paying attention to the Mitsubishi i, the newest and cheapest U.S. EV from an established automaker.... Read More »

 

CARS & CONCEPTS

Acura RL gets NSX's hybrid drivetrain

12:01 am U.S. ET | March 26, 2012
Acura's redesigned RL flagship sedan will get the all-wheel-drive hybrid drivetrain earmarked for the brand's NSX sports car in a bid to inject fresh technology into the struggling premium lineup.... Read More »

 

Porsche plans plug-in hybrid Panamera in '14

12:01 am U.S. ET | March 19, 2012
Porsche AG will build a plug-in hybrid version of the Panamera sedan starting in 2014, sources familiar with the situation said last week. The plug-in hybrid likely will come to the United States, but the timing is unclear, a source said.... Read More »

 

Fisker: My company is 'viable, self-funded'

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 20, 2012
Just to be clear, Henrik Fisker says his fledging auto company is not circling the drain. Fisker Automotive recently missed vehicle development and sales milestones needed to obtain another round of Department of Energy funding -- resulting in layoffs and speculation that the luxury-hybrid startup is failing. But in an interview, Henrik Fisker, the company's co-founder and CEO, said he knew months ago that the deadlines would be missed.... Read More »

 

THE GREEN SCENE

Coda works on its 2nd EV, a small SUV

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 13, 2012
Coda Automotive's electric Sedan hasn't arrived in showrooms yet, but industry sources told Automotive News that Coda is already working on its next model, a small SUV. The company is targeting retail sales in 24 months if development goes smoothly, a source said.... Read More »

 

100-mpg Fusion sparks interest -- too early

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 6, 2012
When a customer told Vandalia, Ohio, Ford dealer Larry Taylor last week that he was interested in buying a Fusion Hybrid, Taylor walked him over to look at a 2012 Fusion Hybrid. The customer looked at the car and shook his head. He said, "No, not that one. I want the one that gets more than 90 mpg," Taylor recounts.... Read More »

 

Dealer: N. California is the right market for 5 Coda showrooms

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 6, 2012
Shaun Del Grande isn't half-hearted about selling electric vehicles. As one of Coda's initial retailers, Del Grande Dealer Group plans to open five showrooms for the EV brand. Shaun Del Grande, company president, says he figures he's in the right market for it.... Read More »

 

San Diego retailer: Coda will round out group's alternative-energy lineup

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 6, 2012
David Grundstrom figures that the Coda Sedan will round out the electric-drive lineup he is putting together for environmentally minded Southern California customers. Grundstrom, CEO of Marvin K. Brown Auto Center in San Diego, has Mitsubishi and Fisker franchises, so he offers the Mitsubishi i electric vehicle and the Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid. He is slated to begin selling the Sedan this month.... Read More »

 

Calif. orders stepped-up sales of nonpolluting vehicles

12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan. 30, 2012
California regulators have approved a rule requiring 15.4 percent of new vehicles sold in the state to be electric, fuel-cell or plug-in hybrid vehicles by 2025. The rule -- supported by major automakers -- is part of a broader package of regulations called the Advanced Clean Car program designed to cut vehicle greenhouse gas and smog-forming emissions.... Read More »

 

Detroit project explores selling EV power to grid

12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan. 30, 2012
NextEnergy of Detroit has begun ordering expensive test equipment for the technology equivalent of a man-bites-dog story: a project that officials hope will help validate a promising component of the smart grid known as vehicle-to-grid electrification. By now everyone is familiar with the idea of an electric vehicle plugging into an outlet to recharge. But vehicle-to-grid electrification flips that around.... Read More »

 

Ford's Gioia: Let's electrify larger vehicles

12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan. 23, 2012
Ford Motor Co. sees large electrified vehicles offering a quicker payback for consumers and therefore won't follow Toyota Motor Corp. and other rivals into small-sized hybrids, Nancy Gioia, Ford's global director of electrified drivetrains, said. Gioia said small cars already get good fuel economy and don't warrant the additional costs of the electric motors and expensive batteries.... Read More »

 

Honda takes a hybrid do-over

12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan. 23, 2012
A half-decade after killing the hybrid Accord sedan, Honda Motor Co. is taking another stab at it, betting a completely overhauled gasoline-electric drivetrain will deliver better fuel economy and put it in the race against rivals from Toyota, Ford and Hyundai. The new hybrid technology is scheduled to go on sale in the redesigned ninth-generation Accord next winter.... Read More »

 

SHORT-CIRCUITED

Some green-tech auto startups struggle for funding

12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan. 9, 2012
Small automotive companies launched in the green fervor of the past few years have begun to bump up against financial reality. Some of the startups are ready to go another round, but others are wobbly. Henrik Fisker, CEO of Fisker Automotive, says the period when investors shoveled money at green automakers has passed. Other sources say funding is available, particularly for component makers who don't face the high capital costs of would-be automakers.... Read More »

 

THE GREEN SCENE

Fla. dealer bets EVs will go far

12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan. 9, 2012
After his two Lexus dealerships in Florida were sold to AutoNation in 1997, Richard Nimphie stayed for nine years to run them. But he wanted his own business, and one idea kept jumping out at him -- electric vehicles. A year ago, Nimphie opened Suncoast Electric Vehicles in St. Petersburg, Fla. The business model is risky. Suncoast is not tied to an established automaker -- instead, it buys EVs from several small producers -- and its product portfolio is tiny.... Read More »

 

GM goal: Protect Volt's battery, image

12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan. 9, 2012
General Motors last week offered a voluntary modification meant to keep the Chevrolet Volt's battery pack from catching fire after a severe crash, a big step toward sidestepping a potential image hit to the halo car. GM is asking its 8,000 Volt customers to bring the plug-in hybrid to their Chevy dealership for a fix that will reinforce the steel surrounding the battery pack to prevent it from being punctured during a crash.... Read More »

 

RICK KRANZ

Why no hybrid version of Ford's Escape? 2 reasons

12:01 am U.S. ET | Dec. 19, 2011
One thing is missing from the 2013 Ford Escape. When the redesigned Escape goes on sale early next year, a hybrid powertrain will not be available. Why the change? After all, the Escape has been offered with a hybrid powertrain for years. At a press event in Dearborn, Mich., last week, Derrick Kuzak, Ford's group vice president of global product development, said there are two reasons Rick Kranz is product editor for Automotive News.... Read More »