Tesla Motors receives $465 million DOE government loan

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The Palo Alto facility will assemble electric vehicle battery packs, electric motors, and related electric vehicle control equipment, both for Tesla’s own electric vehicles and for sale to other automobile manufacturers. The agreement was negotiated and signed by the Department’s Loan Programs Office, which supports the development of innovative, advanced vehicle technologies to create thousands of clean energy jobs while helping reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil. Tesla’s planned Model S will consume no gasoline and will not produce any tailpipe emissions. It is being designed to offer a variety of range options depending on the battery pack used,

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Chevrolet showcasing Cruze, Aveo, Spark at Washington Auto Show

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Here are the cars’ details: Chevrolet Spark: The five-door Chevrolet Spark is the manufacturer’s smallest car. It combines style, roominess and versatility to a segment of extremely fuel-efficient small cars. Spark will provide great fuel economy, and its trim size makes it agile. The U.S. production version of the Spark will debut in early 2012. Chevrolet Aveo RS show car: The Aveo RS show car provides a glimpse of what designers have in mind for the production car. Its electric Boracay Blue finish, motorcycle-inspired exposed headlamps and taillamps, low roofline, fender flares, large wheels and tires, and dual-cockpit interior hint

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Chevrolet expands Volt initial debut distribution to Washington, D.C.

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On the eve of the Washington Auto Show, Chevrolet said it will deliver more than 100 Volts to several utilities across the U.S. – including Pepco and Dominion, which serve Washington D.C. and its suburbs – as part of an extended demonstration program. The overall program includes 500 charging stations that will be installed for residential, business and public use. They will be used to learn more about the installation process, vehicle charging and to gauge customer feedback. The program is made possible with a grant of more than $30 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds from the

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Lexus RX 350, 2010: Roman Mica's Rambling Review (Video)

But instead of mining for gold, town’s folks now make their money selling coffee and homespun desserts. So what kind of a car is best suited for visiting a striving, hidden gold mining town like Gold Hill, Colorado in the high valleys of the Rocky Mountains? Usually. the new Lexus RX 350 is mostly seen in the low parking lots of America’s malls. But how well does this king of crossovers do when it has to tackle the steep icy and snow-cover roads of Colorado high country? Roman Mica, a contributing editor to TheWeeklyDriver.com shows and tells us in his

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AMC Pacer gets dubious honor: ugliest car ever built

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What’s the ugliest car ever made? It’s all subjective, of course. But more than 2,000 specialty car collectors were recently asked to select the choices for the dubious honor. And the winner (loser?), at least according to one national poll, is the AMC Pacer. Hagerty Insurance, located in Traverse City, Mich., conducted the survey. It tallied nearly 2,500 votes and the Pacer, a small hatchback that was introduced in 1975, was one of three AMC vehicles on the list. The Pacer only lasted until 1980, but it’s not alone among AMC vehicles receiving ugly awards. The AMC Gremlin and Matador

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Honda, Lamborghini selected as cleanest, dirtiest cars by 'Green' environmental non-profit agency

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A Washington, D.C.-based, non-profit research group, Greenercars.org, is dedicated to advancing energy efficiency as a means of protecting the environment and strengthening the economy. The clean and dirtiest designation are part of ACEEE’s Green Book, a unique consumer resource website providing Green Scores rating the environmental friendliness of every vehicle on market. ACEEE, ranked the cars by their gas mileage  and assigned the cars a green car score. Here are the top-three in the best and worst categories: Cleanest — Honda Civic GX, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic Hybrid; Dirtiest — Lamborghini Murcielago/Murcielago Roadster, Bugatti Roadster, Bentley Azure/Brooklands. To read the

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Lamborghini gets dubious honor: least efficient EPA gas mileage averages in 2010

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The Italian luxury car has two of the country’s three most inefficient 2010  cars. The Lamborghini Murcielago with manual and automatic transmission have the top and third worst gas mileage, according to the new cars guide released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Here’s the list: 1. Lamborghini Murcielago (manual) 8 mpg (city), 13 mpg (highway); 2. Bugatti Veyron 8/14; 3. Lamborghini Murcielago (automatic) 9/14; 4. Bentley Azure Bentley Brooklands 9/15; 5. Ferrari 612 Scaglietti (automatic) 10/17; 6. Ferrari 612 Scaglietti (manual) 10/16; 7. Maybach 57 10/15; 8. Bentley Continental Flying Spur Bentley Continental GTC 10/17; 9. Mercedes-Benz ML 63

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Lexus 450h AWD hybrid, 2010: Roman Mica's Rambling Review (Video)

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In Mica’s assessment, the vehicle’s interior is stunning and comfortable. And he’s impressed by the car’s quiet, powerful hybrid engine and its gas mileage as a luxury vehicle. He’s not as keen on the car’s exterior design.

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Toyota announces another massive recall following runaway acceleration car deaths

Four people died Dec. 26 in Southlake, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, when a 2008 Toyota sped off the road, through a fence and landed upside down in a pond. The car’s floor mats were found in the trunk of the car, where owners had been advised to put them as part of the first recall. Although local and federal investigators are still trying to determine why the car went out of control, one possible cause has been definitively ruled out — floor mats. The floor mats were found in the car’s trunk, leading police to speculate that they were

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Nissan will join crowded India car market with July debut

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“We are well on track to open the new factory in March,” Production will start in May and the first hatchback on the V platform will be sold from July,” Kiminobu Tokuyama, the Nissan Motors India managing director, told Dow Jones Newswires. Annual auto sales are expected to triple in India by 2016. Two-thirds of the cars sold will be small cars. Nissan will join Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Toyota Motor Co. in the assault for part of the share of the small-car market. Suzuki Motor Co. currently sells more than half of the cars in India.

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Toyota plans to increase Prius production to 1 million in 2011

Toyota hopes to sell one million models annually worldwide early into this year. The manufacturer’s second hybrid, the Sai sedan, was recently introduced in Japan. The Prius became Japan’s best-selling car in 2009. “For the foreseeable future, the focus of Toyota‘s (low-emission car) strategy will be on hybrids, not electric or fuel-cell cars,” said Yoshihiko Tabei, chief analyst at Kazaka Securities. “Except for Honda, Toyota is facing little competition in hybrids and is set to put distance between itself and other automakers.” The Honda Insight in the primary rival to the Prius, but its sales greatly trail Prius sales. According

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Nissan Versa (2009), Ford Escape (2005) Among Cars.com Best Used Cars For About $10,000

In the writers’ words: “Whether it’s a weekday commuter or a Saturday grocery-getter, drivers need their set of wheels, but the average price of a new car — $28,929 including financing, according to Comerica Bank’s latest Auto Affordability Index — is awfully high for many people. “Not to worry; we’ve singled out some good buys for you. With reliability, safety and bottom-dollar value in mind, we looked at new and late-model used cars whose retail values hover around $10,000. We crunched reliability and crash-test scores. We considered standard and optional safety features and looked at how easy it is to

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GM boss says Hybrids, Electric vehicles not that important

Lutz downplayed the importance of electric and hybrid cars for the future of General Motors at the recent North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The longtime auto industry insider suggested hybrid cars are not as important as the press would lead the public to believe. He also had some strong words for those who don’t like the recent GM bailout. “If you don’t like your tax dollars going to bailout GM,” buy a Chevy, now,” Lutz said. Roman Mica, contributing editor of TheWeeklyDriver.com, produced this video at the Detroit Auto Show. It features Lutz addressing the topic of electric

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Ferrari, Corvette and Tata Nano share in demand premium price status — really?

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That’s a far higher percentage than premiums for Ferrari, Corvette and likely any other car. Several top-of-the-industry publications’ web sites, including Motor Trend and Drive are reporting the alarming statistics. The demand for the Nano, which costs an estimated $2,500 (depending upon the exchange of the rupee) is due to simple supply and demand — and greed. India had a lottery system for the first 100,000 Tata Nanos distributed to dealers, not all of which will be delivered to customers until the end of 2010. Estimates vary, but there were at least 100,000 willing potential buyers for the first allotment

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Chrysler, other automakers on the offensive with return to Super Bowl

In addition to Chrysler, Hyundai, Bridgestone GoDaddy.com, Anheuser-Busch, Cars.com, Honda and Audi have all purchased commercial time during the Feb. 7 game schedule in Miami, Fla. Chrysler will showcase its Dodge brand in a 60-second ad in the first half of the game. Chrysler spokeswoman Dianna Gutierrez said the company wants to let Americans know it has emerged from bankruptcy protection. Italian automaker Fiat took control of Chrysler after it emerged from Chapter 11 reorganization in June. Chrysler LLC received about $15.5 billion in U.S. government aid. The government owns nearly 10 percent of the company.

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China zooms past U.S. in yearly auto sales in 2009, an industry first

China’s target sales for 2009 was 1o million units. The 2009 annual sales in United States was 10.4 million cars and light trucks. It was in lowest level in the U.S. in 27 years. The Chinese tally also included 650,000 in large trucks sales. According to automotive analysts in China, demand is so high, many buyers having to wait at least several weeks to get their purchases. The top-10 selling cars in China in 2009: 1. Buick Excelle; 2. New Hyundai Elantra; 3. Volkswagen Jetta; 4. BYD F3; 5. Volkswagen Santana; 6. Old Hyundia Elantra; 7. Chery QQ; 8. Xia

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