Honda’s efforts in creating a showcase Honda Smart Home US goes beyond the expected attributes of zero-carbon home life. It includes, as one might expect, a mobility component that adds electric vehicle ownership as part of the mix. Honda is building its zero-carbon home on the campus of U.C Davis, located near California’s capital of […]
Hybrids account for 16 percent of overall Toyota/Lexus sales globally and locally, with total industry hybrid sales about 3 percent of the U.S. new car market.
Rental cars are a great way to take in the sights and sounds of Hawaii. Here’s an idea if you only need a ride for a short adventure that’s too far to walk, but doesn’t warrant a full-day car rental.
BMW is planning to offer the i series of electric, plug-in hybrid, and range-extended electric vehicles beginning in late 2013. This entirely new model line will offer BMW’s usual focus on premium engineering and style, but critically, it will also feature a consistent focus on eco sustainability and urban living. BMW is serious enough about […]
BMW will be debuting its Concept Active Tourer plug-in hybrid concept and clean diesel 328d model at the upcoming 2013 New York International Auto Show. Featuring a three-cylinder gasoline engine and electric motor, the Concept Active Tourer is expected to achieve up to 95 mpg. It features a composite glass roof using suspended particle device technology […]
Automotive supplier Visteon is among many companies that clearly understand the importance of advanced electronics in future automobiles. The firm recently illustrated this with its e-Bee concept car that envisions mobility in the year 2020. The eBee concept aims to explore new and alternative ways of using a vehicle from private ownership to car sharing […]
Given the many fuel-efficient models on the market today, you’d think that the auto industry is clearly heading in the right direction. Now, a new report from the Environmental Protection Agency verifies this, quantifying the fuel and CO2 emissions savings achieved by this sustained effort, reversing a slight downward trend in 2011. EPA’s annual ‘Light-Duty […]
The 2014 Infiniti QX60 premium crossover lineup will include a new gasoline-electric hybrid variant, giving this automaker three advanced ‘Direct Response Hybrid’ models in its U.S. lineup. Slated for its U.S. unveiling at the New York International Auto Show, the new hybrid offering will join Infiniti’s Q70 Hybrid – currently badged as the M Hybrid […]
Driving on clean-burning natural gas is an option with the Honda Civic GX, an example of Honda's leadership with CNG vehicles.
The Mercedes-Benz G-Class, or G-wagen – short for Geländewagen – has been around since 1979. It looks like Mercedes-Benz could be offering this iconic, off-road capable SUV for many more years. Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design Studio in Carlsbad, California created the Ener-G-Force concept shown at the 2012 L.A. Auto Show, a civilian version of the Mercedes-Benz […]
VW has unveiled its Golf GTD at the Geneva Motor Show, a sporty and fuel-sipping model offering a welcome 56 combined city/highway mpg. It does this with a new 184 hp four-cylinder TDI engine, a turbocharged and direct-injected powerplant that meets the challenging EU-6 emissions standard. The 56 mpg figure is achieved with Golf GTDs equipped […]
By mid-2013, Mazda will be offering a diesel engine sedan in the U.S. market, the first diesel car from an Asian manufacturer here in recent times. The Mazda 2.2-liter SkyACTIVE-D diesel engine will be available in the all-new 2014 Mazda6 along with a 2.5-liter SKYACTIV-G gasoline engine, the latter coming first. Both engines can be […]
How to extend the range of battery electric vehicles? A start-up company in Stuttgart, Germany has developed an answer in the form of the ‘ebuggy,’ a trailer carrying a lithium-ion battery designed to be towed behind an EV. The ebuggy is viewed as an ‘on-demand’ solution since an EV would drive on urban trips without […]
It’s the beginning of awards season in Hollywood as I write this and we are in the thick of making plans for our annual Pre-Oscar party. It’s been almost 10 years since we launched the Global Green USA ‘Red Carpet, Green Cars’ campaign to help make hybrid and fuel-efficient cars fun and sexy. Once again, […]
General Motor has debuted its first all-electric car since the sporty EV1 that was sold for a time in the 1990s. The Chevrolet Spark EV is basically a Korean-built, five-door Spark subcompact sedan converted into an electric vehicle. However, the drive unit and motor will be assembled at GM’s White Marsh, Maryland manufacturing facility using […]
Lexus has unveiled its all-new, next-generation Lexus IS compact sport sedan. The new IS features IS 250, IS 350, and IS 300h choices, with the latter offering powerful and efficient Lexus Hybrid Drive. The F SPORT version shown is available across the board. Stylishly aggressive, the new IS sedan features a longer wheelbase and increased […]
The Dept. of Energy is supporting twenty new projects that aim to develop the infrastructure, training, and regional planning needed to support demand for cars and trucks that run on natural gas, electricity, and propane. Cumulatively, the Energy Department is investing about $11 million in these projects. Through DOE’s Clean Cities initiative, the projects deal […]
I am an electric car fan, always have been since I drove my first electric car – the experimental Sears XDH-1 – back in the mid-1970s.