Clean Fleet Reporthybrid & electric cars smart charged with renewable energy
Milestone Mark: 100,000 Plug-in Electric Cars Sold
The enthusiast group Plug In America noted that, for the first time, U.S. sales of plug-in electric cars (either pure electrics or plug-in hybrids) market will pass a significant milestone this month (May). The 100,000th mark was reached just past two years after their introduction to the market.
Top 10 Best-Selling High-MPG Cars in March 2013
High-mileage cars are off to a great start for the year with sales up 18% in these three categories in for the first three months of the year compared to last year. The monthly sales average continues to creep up so it is conceivable that sales could edge closer to a million units if the trend continues, which would definitely solidify the market for alternatives to conventional gasoline engines. The first quarter indicates it could be a very good year for high-MPG cars.
Top 10 Best-Selling High-MPG Cars in February 2013
MPG is still on consumers’ minds as car and truck sales of hybrids, plug-in cars and clean diesels continued to outpace the overall market in February 2012. High mileage hybrids, plug-ins and diesels had their second good month to begin the year, bettering the high bar set by the overall market. Hybrids continued to be above 3 percent of the market and both hybrids and diesels accelerated sales beyond a strong overall market (up 16.1% and 23.3% respectively compared to the overall market rise of 14.3%).
Good and Green Reasons to Consider an Electric Car This Year
A pair of environmentalists dismiss some of the common misconceptions that prevent the eco-conscious from buying electric cars.
Top 10 Best-Selling High-MPG Cars in January 2013
High mileage hybrids, plug-ins and diesels like the Toyota Prius, Chevy Volt and Passat TDI, had a good month to begin the year, bettering the high bar set by the overall market. Hybrids pushed past 3 percent of the total market.
Tesla/NY Times Factual Dispute Reveals Different Truth
The dispute between the New York Times and Tesla over the failed test drive is unfortunate. Looking past it reveals some important truths about the electric vehicle ownership experience.
Cadillac ELR – GM Adds Luxury To The Volt
While the high-horsepower seventh generation Corvette pointed one future direction for General Motors at the recent Detroit Auto Show, the company had another car that could be as significant for what GM hopes to become in the 21st century. That car is the Cadillac ELR, the company’s second foray into range-extended EVs (after the Chevy [...]
10 Best Selling 40+ MPG Cars of 2012
You can mark 2012 down on the automotive history calendar. For the first time in almost hundred years, consumers have a real choice in cars. We’re not talking about the usual body style, color and equipment choices, but the substantial choice of what kind of powertrain you want under the hood if your focus is [...]
Electric Vehicles Not Greeted Warmly in 2013
These are not things that are going to mean the death of electric vehicles and may not even slow the solid momentum that plug-ins have built up over the past couple years. But they are not a good sign and definitely put a damper on some of the enthusiasm for alternatives to the traditional internal [...]
High MPG To Be Top Draw At Detroit Auto Show
Auto shows always present a confusing story to the general public because the messages being transmitted through the media are intended for a variety of audiences – everyone from those interested in cheap, basic transportation to the enthusiast looking for the hottest, most-up-to-date muscle machine to the high-roller with money to burn on something exotic. [...]
Nissan LEAF Electric Car Attracts over 100,000 Potential Buyers
The Nissan LEAF will be the first to put over 10,000 freeway-speed electric cars on the road. It is a pure electric. This sleek 5-door hatchback seats five. My wife and I completed the online reservation for Nissan LEAF SL including our $99 refundable deposit. The electric range is 100 miles on the U.S. EPA LA4 city drive cycle. $32,780 or $349 on a 3-year Nissan Lease for the LEAF, plus serious tax breaks, puts this electric car in the reach of many drivers.
National Academies Predicts 13 to 40 Million Plug-ins by 2030
A new National Academies report considers two vehicles. One, the PHEV-10, uses hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) technology similar to that used in the Toyota Prius. However, it has a larger battery than an HEV to allow 10 miles of driving powered by electricity only and a gasoline engine that drives the wheels in parallel with the electric motor when power demand is high or the batteries are discharged. The other vehicle, the PHEV-40, is similar to the Chevrolet Volt. Thirteen to 40 million PHEV out of 300 million total vehicles are projected to be on the U.S. roads by 2030 under different scenarios.
Volt is Real; Global Warming is Not says Lutz
GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz took the stage at the company’s design center near Detroit to talk up the prospects for the slimmed down automaker that is emerging from bankruptcy. He looks forward with the Chevy Volt, but continues to look backward in denying climate change.
2010 Nissan LEAF EV on a Freeway Near You
Nissan will be the first to have thousands of affordable freeway speed electric vehicles on the highways. The new 2010 Nissan LEAF is a comfortable compact hatchback EV. The Nissan LEAF will build on Nissan’s hybrid-electric success with the Altima Hybrid, which is in currently in the #6 position for U.S. cars with the lowest greenhouse gas emissions.
A Better Strategy for Detroit: Electric Drive not Flexfuel
In 2006, Detroit held high hopes of being profitable by selling millions of flexfuel vehicles. The vehicles delivered sub-par fuel economy and zero profits. Although millions of electric vehicles will displace cars with gasoline engines, the internal combustion engine will be with us for decades in hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and heavy-duty trucks. Biofuels are not a panacea; rather, they are part of the energy security solution. The big story is the shift to electric drive.
