California

Honda dangles $3,000 gift card to buyers of natural gas Civic

3:52 pm U.S. ET | Oct. 9, 2012
American Honda, taking advantage of high gasoline prices in some parts of the country to pitch alternative fuels, is offering a $3,000 card to buyers of the compressed natural gas-powered Honda Civic.... Read More »

 

California gives green light to driverless cars

6:16 pm U.S. ET | Sept. 25, 2012
California took the fast lane to the future on Tuesday when Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law that lets self-driving cars onto public roads. Brown rode to the signing ceremony at Google headquarters in the passenger seat of a vehicle that steered itself, a Prius modified by Google.... Read More »

 

Coda cranks up battery-car sales after California 'soft' start

12:19 pm U.S. ET | Sept. 12, 2012
Coda Automotive, the Los Angeles-based electric-car maker, is boosting production of its namesake sedan and building a 30-dealer network to compete with larger competitors in the slow-growing rechargeable vehicle market.... Read More »

 

Bentley's SUV will be built, exec says

Aug. 30, 2012 06:01 CET
It's “a foregone conclusion” that Bentley will build an SUV based on the EXP 9F Concept, said Rodney Moore, regional general manager for Bentley Motors in the United States.... Read More »

 

VW adds $27 million California technology center to accelerate U.S. sales

Aug. 21, 2012 06:01 CET
Volkswagen has opened a $27 million (21.7 million euro) technical center in California to expand its engineering capabilities in the region as part of a push to accelerate U.S. sales.... Read More »

 

VW adds $27 million California technology center to aid sales

2:56 pm U.S. ET | Aug. 20, 2012
Volkswagen opened a $27 million technical center in California today to expand its engineering capabilities in the region as part of a push to accelerate U.S. sales.... Read More »

 

Infiniti design to become 'leaner, more athletic'

11:30 am U.S. ET | Aug. 20, 2012
Infiniti vehicles will look lighter and thinner as new and facelifted designs appear through this decade, starting with the next G series in the 2014 model year. “We want to look leaner, more athletic,” said Shiro Nakamura, global design chief of Nissan Motor Co., which includes Nissan and Infiniti brands.... Read More »

 

Fisker studies latest fire in Karma plug-in hybrid

12:09 pm U.S. ET | Aug. 13, 2012
Fisker Automotive engineers have started to examine and test a Karma plug-in hybrid that burst into flames in a parking lot in Woodside, Calif., on Friday. So far, the evidence suggests the fire was not caused by problems with the vehicle's lithium-ion battery pack, new technology components or exhaust routing, Fisker said.... Read More »

 

White House fuel-economy rules favor bailed-out automakers, House report finds

6:04 am U.S. ET | Aug. 10, 2012
A proposed rule requiring automakers to double their average fuel economy by 2025 is unrealistic and stemmed from a secret deal favoring companies receiving U.S. government bailouts, according to a report released today by House Republicans.... Read More »

 

West Coast states to limit copper in brake pads

12:01 am U.S. ET | Aug. 5, 2012
For decades, state and federal governments have passed laws regulating vehicle safety, but come 2021 laws in Washington state and California will take effect to make brake pads safer -- not for drivers or passengers but for salmon. Passed in 2010, similar legislation in both states will require that any brake pads sold there after 2021 contain less than 5 percent copper by weight.... Read More »

 

PHILIP NUSSEL

Can Lego be the answer for Generation N?

12:01 am U.S. ET | July 12, 2012
As automakers yearn to return to the days of 16 million-plus annual vehicle sales, one of the annoying realities they face is convincing the next generation to drive in the first place. A recent report by industry consulting firm AlixPartners labeled this young generation of drivers Generation N, as in “neutral about driving.” So how can the industry combat this generational ambivalence to driving? Lego.... Read More »

 

Former dealer Martin Swig, thought to be auto mall inventor, dies at age 78

2:28 pm U.S. ET | July 10, 2012
Former auto dealer and vintage car enthusiast Martin Swig -- thought to be the inventor of the modern auto mall -- died July 3 of a stroke at age 78 in his Sausalito, Calif., home.... Read More »

 

Chance for coveted fast-lane sticker jolts Volt's Calif. sales

12:01 am U.S. ET | June 25, 2012
General Motors is on pace for one of its strongest sales months yet for the Chevrolet Volt, thanks to a low-emissions model capable of putting California drivers in the coveted car-pool lane.... Read More »

 

Tesla, EV market face big test with first Model S sale

12:01 am U.S. ET | June 22, 2012
Tesla survived a cash crisis in 2008 and today delivers its first electric car designed and built solely in-house. Co-founder Elon Musk will soon learn if there's enough Model S demand for Tesla to profit.... Read More »

 

Heart surgery on VW's 'Little Darth Vader' deemed a success

8:01 am U.S. ET | June 15, 2012
Doctors performed successful open-heart surgery on the 7-year-old boy who starred as a mini-Darth Vader in Volkswagen's popular Super Bowl commercial, according to the Los Angeles hospital where he was treated.... Read More »

 

Road & Track moving to Michigan from California

5:22 pm U.S. ET | June 14, 2012
Road & Track magazine is moving its headquarters from California to Ann Arbor, Mich., according to Hearst Corp., which owns the auto enthusiast magazine.... Read More »

 

EV recharging network expands on West Coast

3:49 pm U.S. ET | June 4, 2012
The West Coast Electric Highway is now online in Washington state. The Washington State Department of Transportation and partner AeroVironment, a Monrovia, Calif.-based company that builds electric charging stations, opened seven stations last week along Interstate 5 and three on U.S. Route 2.... Read More »

 

Calif.'s tougher ZEV mandate sparks new market for clean-air credits

6:41 am U.S. ET | May 30, 2012
California is requiring the biggest automakers this year to sell increasing numbers of “zero-emission vehicles,” or ZEVs, such as pure-electric, plug-in hybrid and hydrogen-powered autos. Companies that fail to meet the quotas have the option of buying ZEV credits from rivals that exceed their targets, creating a new front in the market for clean-air credits in the biggest state.... Read More »

 

Judge may caution jurors in Toyota unintended acceleration suits about some witnesses

6:34 am U.S. ET | May 30, 2012
The federal judge overseeing the consolidated sudden-unintended acceleration lawsuits against Toyota said he may tell jurors to view testimony by some of the automaker's trial witnesses with caution.... Read More »

 

MIKE COLIAS

L.A. offers sobering reality check for Cadillac

2:06 pm U.S. ET | May 25, 2012
When I arrived here for a work trip this week -- my first visit to L.A. in about seven years -- I expected to see a lot of Hondas and Toyotas clogging this city's infamously congested freeways. And I did. But I was more struck by the hordes of luxury imports prowling the roads of west L.A. The streets were thick with BMWs. Audis. Jaguars. Mercedes.... Read More »

 

MARK RECHTIN

The 102 mpg Honda Civic

7:59 am U.S. ET | May 24, 2012
Every automaker is hyping fuel economy numbers on their electric or hybrid vehicles, some more fast and loose than others. So I figure I have some leeway when I say I got 102 miles per gallon from a 2012 Honda Civic.... Read More »