Green Car Congress

AUGUST 8, 2011

The new SKYACTIV-Drive automatic transmission features full range direct drive. Click to enlarge. In addition to the new gasoline and diesel engines ( earlier post ), Mazda’s SKYACTIV technology portfolio includes new transmissions (automatic and manual), body and chassis technology. At a media workshop last week in Vancouver, Canada, Mazda engineers stepped through the highlights of the new SKYACTIV systems.

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Mazda Fuel Economy Engine Convert 351

Green Car Reports

AUGUST 8, 2011

Sometimes news comes out of adding up little pieces of information. Doing that with a few items from the past week, we're beginning to wonder if General Motors might launch an all-electric car in the U.S. in the next couple of years. Based on recent spy photos from renowned photographer Brenda Priddy, we think there's a chance it could be an.

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All-Electric Electric Cars General Motors GM 148

Plugs and Cars

AUGUST 8, 2011

Costco, the big box retailer, has for over a decade been the business with more electric vehicle charge stations in more places around California than any other. Put in service during California's Zero Emission Mandate between 1997 and 2003 when about 6000 EVs roamed the streets, these charge stations have continued supplying power to the RAV4 EVs and other electric vehicles saved by Plug In America when it was known as DontCrush.com, a struggle chronicled in the film Who Killed the Electric Car

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2003 California Store 2004 100

National Green Transportation

AUGUST 10, 2011

It's a kind of stereotyped dream isn't it, the electric car and wind turbines or solar panels in the background. It offers this zero emission "no more fuel" nirvana when your car is.

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Solar Electric Cars Wind Power 105

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Green Car Congress

AUGUST 9, 2011

The new HD National Program covers vehicle classes 2b through 8. Click to enlarge. US President Barack Obama announced fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas emission standards for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. The US Department of Transportation (DOT) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed the standards—fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions, respectively—in coordination with truck and engine manufacturers, fl

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Fuel Economy Standards Obama Economy 344

Green Car Reports

AUGUST 12, 2011

The venerable Toyota Prius has been around for over a decade now, first as an awkward but fuel-efficient sedan, then a geeky hatchback and soon a platform in its own right. But while Toyota is now putting the Hybrid Synergy Drive technology from the Prius into a whole range of vehicles from tiny city hatchbacks to full-sized luxury SUVs, there are.

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Toyota Prius SUV Hybrid 146

National Green Transportation

AUGUST 9, 2011

Tesla Motors announced today four additions to their management team that go hand-in-hand with their expansion into retailing and manufacturing. On the one hand, Tesla is building a chain of retail stores, and on the other hand.

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Manufacturer Tesla Tesla Motors Store 97

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 12, 2011

Power and torque in the enhanced i-DTEC engine. Click to enlarge. Honda will launch the new Civic at the IAA Frankfurt Motor Show in September. Developed specifically for the European market, this Civic will be offered exclusively as a five-door hatchback and will compete in the C-segment. The new Civic will reach European showrooms in early 2012. The new 2012 Honda Civic will feature a cleaner, more powerful and fuel efficient diesel engine to deliver lower running costs for owners.

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Honda Diesel Power Powered 299

Green Car Reports

AUGUST 11, 2011

Sometimes, like Lazarus, dead cars rise again. We've learned from an inside source at General Motors, a person close to the project, that the electric Cadillac Converj luxury coupe is now back in the GM product plan. The Converj was recently approved for production by GM product executives. It will likely launch in 2013 as a 2014 model, though it.

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Cadillac Light Volt General Motors 146

Electric Cars are for Girls

AUGUST 6, 2011

I've noticed that most people are bolting their electric motors directly to their transmission.

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Convert Motor Motors Motoring 102

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All Cars Electric

AUGUST 8, 2011

Call it the battle of the clean-car cargo ships. First Toyota retrofitted its Auriga Leader car transporter ship with a diesel hybrid powertrain, allowing some energy to be recaptured in a bank of nickel-metal-hydride batteries just like those used in its Prius and other hybrid cars. That ship got a fair amount of media attention for a category of.

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Nickel Metal Hydride Toyota Prius Nissan 87

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 7, 2011

General Motors and its joint ventures [link]. 173,398 vehicles in China during the month of July, as Shanghai GM and GM’s Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac brands all set sales records for the month. GM’s China sales in July were down 1.8% from the same month last year due to the drop in industry sales of commercial vehicles, which impacted its SAIC-GM-Wuling and FAW-GM joint ventures.

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GM China Cadillac Buick 281

Green Car Reports

AUGUST 9, 2011

A little over a week ago, the BBC aired an episode of its popular motoring entertainment program Top Gear in which presenters Jeremy Clarkson and James May searched in vain for an electric-car charging station. They needed to recharge their fully-drained 2011 Nissan Leaf in the rural English county of Lincolnshire. Needless to say, they had.

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Nissan BBC Recharge 2011 132

National Green Transportation

AUGUST 11, 2011

One of the geopolitical supply chain considerations of vehicle electrification is the use of rare earth metals for high power magnets in electric motors. Yesterday's $175 million of grants announced by the Department of Energy (see Dept.

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Motor Motors Motoring Energy 78

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All Cars Electric

AUGUST 8, 2011

A few weeks ago we told you that pharmaceuticals giant Walgreens had begun to install Level 2 electric car stations at stores in New York City, Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth and Chicago. While the presence of electric car charging stations -- an estimated 800 at Walgreens stores alone -- are a great way of combating perceived range anxiety in.

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Fort Worth New York City Dallas Electric Cars 84

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 6, 2011

Annual vehicle kilometers traveled (VKT) per hectare-year for four bioenergy systems (error bars are median ±1 standard deviation). Credit: ACS, Clarens et al. Click to enlarge. A new well-to-wheel life cycle assessment (LCA) by researchers at the University of Virginia of algae’s potential use as a transportation energy source for passenger vehicles suggests that algae-to-energy systems are capable of producing many more VKT (vehicle kilometers traveled) per hectare than terrestrial crop

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Green Car Reports

AUGUST 9, 2011

For decades, Volkswagen and Audi have held the only options for North American shoppers wanting a highly efficient model with a four-cylinder turbo-diesel—their 2.0-liter TDI engine. Now, with Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, and even Chevrolet slated to bring four-cylinder diesels back to the U.S. within the next couple of years, the playing field is.

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Mazda Diesel Cleaner Audi 127

National Green Transportation

AUGUST 10, 2011

New Zealand unveiled yesterday a car new fuel economy rating label meant to give "consumers independent, comparative information on the efficiency and running costs of vehicles" In what might be a surprising result, they've declared.

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New Zealand Fuel Economy Economy Fuel 75

All Cars Electric

AUGUST 8, 2011

A few weeks ago we told you that pharmaceuticals giant Walgreens had begun to install Level 2 electric car stations at stores in New York City, Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth and Chicago. While the presence of electric car charging stations -- an estimated 800 at Walgreens stores alone -- are a great way of combating perceived range anxiety in.

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Fort Worth New York City Dallas Electric Cars 84

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 10, 2011

The US Department of Energy will award more than $175 million over the next three to five years to accelerate the development and deployment of a range of advanced vehicle technologies. The funding will support 40 projects across 15 states and will help improve the fuel efficiency of next generation vehicles. The funds will leverage additional investments by the grantees to support projects totaling more than $300 million.

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Carbon Fiber Lithium Ion Li-ion Vehicles 268

Green Car Reports

AUGUST 9, 2011

It's here! It's done! It's live! Yes, you are now reading the all-new, totally redesigned Green Car Reports, with our sister site All Cars Electric incorporated to provide the in-depth electric car coverage it's always been known for. As always, our goal is to provide the best, more comprehensive coverage of green cars. The new design offers.

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Green Cars Green Cars All-Electric 121

National Green Transportation

AUGUST 11, 2011

Today the nanomaterials company, Nanosys, announced having received a $4.8 million Dept of Energy grant that will help them develop new batteries for electric vehicles that will enable 300+ mile range, at a dramatically lower cost, and.

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Grant Miles Electric Vehicle Miles Electric Vehicles 73

All Cars Electric

AUGUST 9, 2011

Audi might have not chosen the best name for its new range of all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, but it certainly knows how to cause a stir in downtown Berlin. Spotted posing for photographs in the center of Berlin earlier this week is what we can only assume is Audi’s City e-tron. Unlike the city cars we’ve seen from rival.

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Audi All-Electric Plug-in Electric 77

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 11, 2011

General Motors has awarded a production contract to A123 Systems, a developer and manufacturer of advanced Nanophosphate lithium-ion batteries and systems, for batteries to be used in future GM electric vehicles to be sold in select global markets. The contract includes advanced Nanophosphate cells and fully integrated electronic components. The specific vehicles and brands will be announced at a later date.

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GM Future Lithium Ion Batteries 256

Green Car Reports

AUGUST 10, 2011

The 2012 Mitsubishi "i" electric car has been around in one form or another for several years now, so there's a lot of information to keep track of. The tiny egg-shaped electric car, with four doors and four seats, is expected to arrive in the U.S. in November 2011, though it's already on sale in Japan, and also present in some European markets.

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Mitsubishi 2012 Electric Cars Cars 114

National Green Transportation

AUGUST 11, 2011

Following on the heels of yesterday's announcement of more Dept of Energy funding for advanced efficient vehicle research (see Dept of Energy awards $175 million for advanced vehicle research), President Obama today visited the Johnson.

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Obama Standards Energy Vehicles 71

All Cars Electric

AUGUST 8, 2011

It may have just appeared on The Late Show last week, but Ford’s all-electric 2012 Focus won’t be hitting the streets en masse until spring 2012. At least, that’s what David Finnegan, Electrified Vehicles Marketing Manager at Ford Motor Company has told forum members at myfocuselectric.com. Instead of trying to launch its first.

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2012 Ford Available Electric 60

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 6, 2011

The Nikkei reports that corporate R&D spending in Japan is set to rise at a faster pace in fiscal 2011, and that the details of a Nikkei survey suggest that Japan’s post-Fukushima electricity crisis is sparking innovation. Planned R&D spending at 240 major companies has climbed 6.1% from last fiscal year to 10.09 trillion yen, with a notable focus on energy-related fields.

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Japan Mitsubishi Electric Electrical 256

Green Car Reports

AUGUST 11, 2011

Next year, Toyota will be launching a trio of plug-in vehicles - the 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid, the 2012 Toyota RAV4EV and the 2012 Scion IQ. To coincide with that launch, Toyota has announced it will be selling a branded electric-car charging station, made by electronics manufacturing firm Leviton. The unit is likely to be based upon.

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Prius RAV4EV Plug-in Toyota 112

National Green Transportation

AUGUST 10, 2011

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced more than $175 million funding to support 40 projects across 15 states and will help improve the fuel efficiency of next generation vehicles. The projects cover innovations in all parts of.

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Energy Vehicles Parts Fuel 66

Green Cars News

AUGUST 9, 2011

Tuesday 9 August 2011. The Green Piece Column. Has the time finally arrived for us to make the switch to electric cars? The results of two studies, both revealed over the last week, offered deeply contrasting answers. On one side of the equation, the BMW Group revealed the results of its MINI E trial across [.].

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Mini E Green Electric Cars BMW 61

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 8, 2011

Sustained 100+ °F (38+ °C) daily high temperatures in Texas last week led to new electric power demand records three days in a row, reported the US Energy Information Administration. ERCOT, the electric system operator for most of Texas, set demand records Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday last week (1-3 August 2011), exceeding the prior record set 23 August 2010 by 2,518 megawatts (MW) (3.8%).

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Texas Price 2011 Electric 249

Green Car Reports

AUGUST 12, 2011

You may or may not be happy to know that the new 2012 Lexus CT 200h compact hybrid hatchback will come with a new feature not found on the 2011 model. It will make more noise. For 2012, in addition to an optional F Sport package and a new color (Nebula Gray Pearl replaces Smoky Granite Mica, if you're keeping track), the CT 200h hybrid is fitted.

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Lexus 2012 Hybrid 2011 111

National Green Transportation

AUGUST 11, 2011

Azure Dynamics is one of the recipients in the $175 million Dept of Energy grant program announced yesterday. Today they issued a press release describing the project as developing a "fourth generation" power inverter for use in.

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