Electric and Hybrid

Kia will unveil radically designed, zero-emission concept car at Paris auto show

“The car is equipped with gogglelike oval side windows, shaped something like drug capsules,” writes Phil Patton. “Its wheels wear a central cross pattern, like an oversize Phillips screw head.” “The three-seat configuration has become popular in recent city car designs. It’s one of several seating configurations offered in Gordon Murray Design’s recently unveiled T.25 city car. Kia’s designers appear to be contemplating installing parents in front and a single child in a back seat.” Kia has been a design innovator in recent years, considering, for example, the Soul compact S.U.V. James RaiaA sports, travel and business journalist for more than 45 years, James has written the new car review column The Weekly Driver since 2004. In addition to founding

Read more

Toyota Prius will soon lose carpool lane status in California

The Sacramento Bee is reporting that drivers of new electric vehicles like the Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf and even plug-in edition of the Prius will have the highest privileges in carpool lanes. Current Prius hybrid editions, about 85,000 in California, will no longer have carpool access after June 2011. The new program involves a revised series of color-coded stickers, the brainchild of San Francisco Sen. Leland Yee’ and his Senate Bill 535. It’s now on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s desk. The pending new policies for California carpool lanes are detailed in the newspaper’s weekly column, Back Seat Driver. Here’s the link: Toyota Prius James RaiaA sports, travel and business journalist for more than 45 years, James has written the new car

Read more

Chevrolet announces Volt production increase for 2012 as President Barack Obama tours Detroit plant

The Volt has attracted vast attention since its introduction at the 2007 Detroit Auto Show. Touting a total range of 340 miles, the Volt can travel 40 miles on the power of its 16 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery. When the battery’s power runs low, a gasoline-powered engine generates power that extends the range another 300 miles. The Nissan Leaf, which will make its debut late in tis year, has a larger battery with more than double the Volt’s pure-electric range. But it does not have a generator to extend its range. The expanded U.S. production capacity is the latest of several encouraging announcements regarding the Volt. Chevrolet dealers began taking customer orders for the car earlier this week following the release

Read more

Nissan Leaf will offer same battery warranty as Chevy Volt

The pending battle between the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt has intensified with the announcement Nissan will match GM and offer an 8-year/100k miles warranty on the battery pack of its LEAF electric car. The MSRP for the LEAF starts at $32,780; the full Federal tax credit of $7,500 brings that down to $25,280. In California, the LEAF is eligible for an up to $5,000 CVRP rebate, bringing the price down to close to $20,000. The LEAF will debut in December in California, Arizona, Oregon, Washington and Tennessee. In January 2011 , LEAF will debut in Texas and Hawaii. The company currently has 17,000 reservations for the LEAF. A charging-infrastructure plan, designed in conjunction with California-based firm Ecotality and partially

Read more

Chevrolet begins aggressive order campaign for electric Volt

Chevrolet dealers in six states and in Washington, D.C., have begun take orders taking customer orders for the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, the industry’s first electric vehicle with extended-range capability. Chevrolet is offering a lease program on the Volt with a monthly payment as low as $350 for 36 months at MSRP with $2,500 due at lease signing, including a varying security deposit based on current conditions The benefit of the $7,500 tax credit is included in the reduced lease payment, with the tax credit going to the lessor. AUTOMOTIVE RESOURCES Auto Shipping Quote, Car Financing, Car Insurance Quotes, Car Loans, Online Car Insurance, Rental Cars, Used Cars The Volt’s MSRP will start at $41,000 ($33,500 net of the full federal

Read more

Tour de France titlist Lance Armstrong will get country's first Nissan LEAF

Nissan has provided more than 40 support vehicles for the 810-mile, eight-day Amgen Tour of California, including one Leaf which appeared at the finish line for each stage. Armstrong is also as an official spokesperson for the LEAF. Nissan representatives commented:  “Armstrong was chosen because his fitness and constant drive for perfection are a perfect match to the qualities of the LEAF.” James RaiaA sports, travel and business journalist for more than 45 years, James has written the new car review column The Weekly Driver since 2004. In addition to founding this site in 2004, James writes a Sunday automotive column for The San Jose Mercury and East Bay Times in Walnut Creek, Calif., and monthly auto review and wellness

Read more

Ford Flex, 2010: The Weekly Driver Car Review

Acceleration (6) Yes, it’s a crossover and it doesn’t look particularly swift. But step on the accelerator, on a freeway ramp, for example, and the 3.5-liter, 262 horsepower V6 holds it owns. The only transmission available is a six-speed automatic. Braking/Steering/Handling (6) It’s hard to fault all-wheel drive systems, and having the feature in a van/SUV makes perfect sense. The AWD works smoothly. The Flex was always in control, particularly on the constant roller-coaster back roads of Missouri. A few times while approaching stoplights or stop signs at medium speeds, the brakes seemed soft and I had to apply harder pressure than anticipated to stop. Cargo Room (8) The second and third rows of seats lay flat when not  in

Read more

Toyota Prius, 2010: The Weekly Driver Car Review

The standard and optional changes are substantial — the redesigned exterior, better gas mileage (the first legitimate 50 mpg EPA estimate) and Intelligent Parking Assist (IPA). The Prius is now among the top-20 best-selling cars in the country. Yet, it’s still a work in progress. The Weekly Driver’s Ratings Acceleration (5) For 2010, Toyota has added 24 additional horsepower, increasing the total to 134. That gives the Prius some confidence in freeway passing situations it previously couldn’t quite handle. Braking/Steering/Handling (6) The V series, one of five available, includes 17-inch wheels. That helps with sharper turns and better road firmness. Braking is satisfactory, but a few times, I had to abruptly hit the brakes hard and it felt like stepping

Read more
,

BMW, 335d, 2010: The Weekly Driver Car Review

The 2009 version I drove six months ago attracted a lot of attention. Some onlookers didn’t know a BMW diesel was available in the United States. Other car enthusiasts wondered what the odd exterior promotional decals were all about. Little has changed with the 2010 model, the second year of car in this country. Officially, there’s only one change. The 2010 model has HD radio. But the promotional decals are long gone, replaced by a BMW strong point, exterior paint colors and a well-coordinated interior. AUTOMOTIVE RESOURCES Auto Shipping Quote, Car Financing, Car Insurance Quotes, Car Loans, Online Car Insurance, Rental Cars, Most of the major car publications have selected the vehicle on best-of-the-year lists, and what’s to argue? Is

Read more

GM unveils new hybrid, a 'taller, roomy' Volt sibling, MPV5

And unlike the Volt the MPV5 concept is bigger and certainly heavier so GM says it will only go 32 miles on all electric mode. The Volt has a claimed 40-mile, all-electric range. Stylistically, the Chevy MPV5 concept is very similar to the Volt with a lot of features that look like they came straight out of the Volt including the MPV5 concept’s dashboard. The Volt is scheduled to go on sale toward the end of this year, and according to GM it will go about 40 miles on electricity only using a large lithium-ion battery before the car’s small gas engine kicks in to charge the battery and extend the car’s range. To read more about the Chevy MPV5

Read more

Chrysler will introduce electric version of iconic Fiat 500

The zero-emission 500EV will be powered by new-generation lithium-ion batteries being developed in Michigan. A prototype was unveiled at this year’s Detroit Auto Show. Nissan’s Leaf all-electric car, also powered by lithium-ion batteries, will also debut in the U.S. from manufacturing facilities in Japan and Tennessee. For additional information, visit: Chrysler James RaiaA sports, travel and business journalist for more than 45 years, James has written the new car review column The Weekly Driver since 2004. In addition to founding this site in 2004, James writes a Sunday automotive column for The San Jose Mercury and East Bay Times in Walnut Creek, Calif., and monthly auto review and wellness columns for Gulfshore Business, a magazine in Southwest Florida. An author

Read more

Toyota officially refutes San Diego runaway Toyota Prius claim

A California Highway Patrol officer intercepted the vehicle and instructed the driver to press firmly on the brakes, apply the emergency brake and turn off the car, at which time the Prius came to a safe stop. While a final report is not yet complete, Toyota announced via press release: “There are strong indications that the driver’s account of the event is inconsistent with the findings of the preliminary analysis.” Toyota engineers employed data download/analysis, static and dynamic testing as well as thorough inspections of all relative components. In addition, they retraced the reported driving route taking into account driving time and accounts from the 911 recording. The investigation revealed the following initial findings: * The accelerator pedal was tested

Read more

Toyota denies another Prius recall set despite Wall Street Journal report

Other models involved in this previously-announced recall include 2007-2010 Camry, 2005-2010 Avalon, 2005-2010 Tacoma, 2007-2010 Tundra, 2007-2010 ES 350, 2006-2010 IS 250, and 2006-2010 IS 350.  On January 27, 2010, Toyota expanded the campaign to include the 2008-2010 Highlander, 2009-2010 Corolla, 2009-2010 Venza, 2009-2010 Matrix and 2009-2010 Pontiac Vibe. Owners who have further questions are asked to visit www.toyota.com or www.lexus.com or contact the Toyota Customer Experience Center at 1-800-331-4331 or Lexus Customer Assistance at 1-800-255-3987. Public Web site:  https://www.toyota.com and www.toyota.com/recall Source: PRNewswire.com James RaiaA sports, travel and business journalist for more than 45 years, James has written the new car review column The Weekly Driver since 2004. In addition to founding this site in 2004, James writes a

Read more

Runaway Toyota Prius incident in California now under federal investigation

Toyota said its nspectors are also trying to determine what caused the 2008 Prius to surge uncontrollably as it was being driven by owner James Sikes, age 61. The high-speed incident, which involved a dramatic pursuit by a highway patrol car, has raised new questions about the automaker’s damaging string of recent recalls and whether Toyota has done enough to address consumer complaints about unintended acceleration that have damaged its reputation and sales. The Prius was taken to a Toyota dealership in El Cajon, California, where Toyota investigators were examining the car, Toyota spokeswoman Celeste Migliore said. A CHP spokesman in San Diego said the cause of the runaway car incident remains under investigation. “We do not have any initial

Read more

Runaway Toyota Prius reaches 94 mph, CHP helps driver safely stop (video)

The incident occurred in the same county where an off-duty CHP trooper and three family members were killed last August in an incident that brought the issue to national attention and led to the first major recall over unintended acceleration. Sikes said he had received a recall notice to take his car into a Toyota dealership, but upon arrival he was told his car was not on recall lists, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. The automaker has not recalled the 2008 Prius. During his incident, Sikes overtook another car on Interstate 8 near San Diego, and then the Prius accelerated beyond his control, according to his report filed to the California Highway Patrol. Sikes said he sped 30 miles along

Read more

Ferrari hybrid images leaked, but few other details before Geneva Auto Show

Ferrari has tried to keep its much-anticipated debut secret. But images are now appearing in various publications. The car has an unusual “green” green exterior and the interior features the high-voltage setup that stores braking energy for an extra boost of power via a push of the steering-wheel mounted button. It’s the KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) used in Ferrari‘s Formula 1 cars during the 2009 season. The Geneva Auto Show will be held March 4-14. James RaiaA sports, travel and business journalist for more than 45 years, James has written the new car review column The Weekly Driver since 2004. In addition to founding this site in 2004, James writes a Sunday automotive column for The San Jose Mercury

Read more
Previous Next