It’s official: next year Toyota will launch not one, but three plug-in vehicles. Announced at Toyota’s Annual National Dealer meeting in Las Vegas the Japanese automaker will bring one plug-in hybrid and two pure electric vehicles to the U.S. market by the end of 2012. While each vehicle will be an electric adaptation of an existing... It’s official: next year Toyota will launch not one, but three plug-in vehicles in the year ahead. Announced at Toyota’s Annual National Dealer meeting in Las Vegas, the trio of vehicles will consist of one plug-in hybrid and two pure electric vehicles to the U.S. market by the end of 2012. While each vehicle will be an electric...
Last week we told you about Nissan’s plans to break some novel world records at the world-famous 2011 Goodwood Festival of Speed. Unlike some of the other competitors there who sought the fastest time driving forwards up the twisty 1.16 mile course, Nissan had planned to have British stunt driver Terry Grant attempt the course in reverse at...
Nissan took the next step in its aim to become the world leader in electric vehicle technology yesterday with the announcement that it was starting a global test program for an all-electric minivan. Based on the versatile NV200 minivan platform currently popular in Europe and Japan with delivery firms and taxi firms alike, a single all-electric...
Practically every car on the market today ships with the option of a built-in GPS unit, letting the driver go anywhere without supposedly getting lost. But while satellite navigation systems have got a whole lot smarter in recent years, they are designed to be used in a gasoline car - not an electric one. That may not seem like a problem at first...
There are now more than 4,000 Nissan Leaf electric cars on the road in the United States, and the 2012 Mitsubishi “i” is poised to arrive at dealers late this year. Each car offers a DC quick-charge port using the Japanese CHAdeMO standard, for which most 2011 Nissan Leaf owners paid extra. Yet as of today, there is exactly one fully...
We don’t normally cover French automaker Renault, but when we were invited to drive its its first all-electric production car - the 2012 Fluence Z.E., we jumped at the chance. And we’re glad we did. Unlike its geeky cousin the 2011 Nissan Leaf, the Renault Fluence Z.E. is full of no-nonsense Gallic charm. Cousin? Here’s a brief...
The devastating earthquake and Tsunami which hit Japan back in March not only caused billions of dollars of damage, killed thousands and made many more homeless, but it also crippled a large part of the auto industry, both in Japan and around the world. With everything from parts to paint becoming harder to source, many automakers were forced to...
Small estate cars (compact wagons to you? In the U.S.) are an important business for European OEMs like Ford.
The latest Focus version pictured here has already attracted 2000 orders and is expected to attract 15 percent of Focus sales here in the UK and double that in Europe.
It shares the same wheelbase as the five-door, but at 179.3 inches, it come in at 7.8 inches longer than the hatch. With the rear seats in place there’s 16.8 cu.-ft. of storage area which can be expanded to a generous 53 cu.-ft.with rear seats folded flat, while the inclined monotube rear dampers minimize intrusion into the luggage space while also ensuring a low rear floor height for ease of loading.
There are a slew of powertrain options available, but I spent most of my time driving the 1.6-liter EcoBoost; producing 179 bhp the six-speed manual has a top speed of 138 mph and reaches 62 mph in a respectable 7.9 seconds.
Low CO2 figures, that are so important over here due to different fiscal ratings, are helped by Stop-Start and an active grille shutter that closes down with speed to minimize drag resulting in an average 39.2 (US) mpg – not bad for a family sized load lugger like this.
On the road, you really don’t feel as if you have that extra weight and capacity aft of the rear seats; it still displays that secure ride and fluent handling first experienced in the five-door version. Maybe the steering still lacks a little communication compared to the old Focus, but it’s nothing really to quibble about.
And, with standard equipment now including Bluetooth and voice control, USB connection, DAB, Thatcham Category 1 alarm (that’s a UK standard aimed at reducing car theft and insurance costs, one being the best category), aluminum roof rails, tonneau cover, driver lumbar adjust and torque vectoring control, it’s a good package even before moving onto higher equipped models.
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If you want to test drive a Nissan Leaf, you can sign up now on the Nissan Leaf website. Test drives are available in 26 cities across the U.S. as the second phase of Nissan’s “Electric Drive Tour” gets underway in Long Island, N.Y.
Developed to satisfy increasing interest in the 100-percent electric, zero-emission vehicle, Jon Brancheau, Vice President, Marketing, NNA said, “As the Nissan LEAF gains momentum in its U.S. rollout, more consumers have expressed the desire to get behind the wheel and experience gas-free driving for themselves. We’re thrilled to bring the ‘Drive Electric Tour’ to new cities across the country.”
Nissan technical experts will also be on hand to answer questions about the battery system, charging, vehicle range, and anything else you can come up with. And, if you want to bone-up before you go, check out our 2011 Nissan Leaf road test, as well as our Electric Car Fact-Check report.
To date, over 50,000 people have participated in Nissan Leaf test drives and over 350,000 have signed up for purchasing information. The Leaf is currently available for sale in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Tennessee, Texas, Oregon and Washington, with additional states being added later in the year.
Upcoming Nissan Leaf Electric Drive Tour Stops:
| July 8-10: Long Island, N.Y. | Oct. 7-9: Los Angeles |
| July 15-17: Jersey City, N.J. | Oct. 14-16: Houston |
| July 22-24: Hartford, Conn. | Oct. 21-23: Dallas |
| July 29-31: Boston | Oct. 28-30: Phoenix |
| Aug. 5-7: Washington, D.C. | Nov. 4-6: Las Vegas |
| Aug. 12-14: Philadelphia | Nov. 11-13: San Diego |
| Aug. 19-21: Detroit | Nov. 18-27: San Francisco |
| Aug. 26-28: Chicago | Dec. 2-4: Portland, Ore. |
| Sept. 2-4: Indianapolis | Dec. 9-11: Seattle |
| Sept. 9-11: Memphis, Tenn. | Jan. 6-8, 2012: Austin, Texas |
| Sept. 16-18: Columbus, Ohio | Jan. 13-15, 2012: Atlanta |
| Sept. 23-25: Denver | Jan. 20-22, 2012, Orlando, Fla. |
| Sept. 30-Oct. 2: Santa Monica, CA. | Jan. 27-20, 2012: Miami |
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Electric cars emit zero emissions, but some critics contend they’re only as clean as the power plant that’s helping to recharge them. To that end, Mitsubishi is tackling the problem at its source with the installation of a solar-powered electric vehicle charging station at the automaker’s North American headquarters in Cypress, California.
The charging station has room for up to four EVs and includes three forms of chargers with different voltages. These include standard level 1 voltage (110v), which requires up to 22 hours to recharge a Mitsubishi “i” electric-powered hatchback; level 2 (220v), that trims charge time to a slightly more manageable 6 hours; and a level 3 quick charger, which requires 25 minutes to charge a battery pack up to 80 percent.
“We hope that our dealers, learning institutions, and municipalities will look to this technology with a keen eye towards the future, and bear in mind that the gradual acceptance of the pure-EV transportation will be aided by increasing the number of facilities like this one,” said Mitsubishi Motors North America President Yoichi Yokozawa.
The Mitsubishi i goes on sale in the U.S. this November at a starting price of $27,990 (excluding state and federal tax credits).
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It’s not often you’re able to drive the work of Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol or David Hockney to the corner store for a gallon of milk, much less race it at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Since 1975, the BMW Art Car Collection has combined the German automaker’s handiwork with the best of contemporary artists from around the world. For the first time ever, the entire collection of 17 Art Cars can be seen online, via video tour at www.bmw-artcartour.com. Visitors can witness the origin of the Art Car, along with its history and development up till the latest example, a 2010 M3 GT2 painted by Jeff Koons and raced at that year’s Le Mans endurance race.
“The interactive website pays homage to the collection, unique in the history of the automobile and the arts. Whilst the originals are often exhibited individually at the BMW Museum in Munich or at significant cultural institutions throughout the world, people are now able to discover for the BMW Art Cars in their entirety. A comprehensive online tour is now available anywhere and anytime,” said Bill McAndrews, head of BMW Group corporate strategy and communications.
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