Toyota RAV4 News
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Calling the U.S. federal government's expenditures under the end of President Bush's tenure and the beginning of President Obama's a 'spending spree' is to beggar the term understatement. But in many instances, there hasn't been a valid alternative aside from letting parts of the economy wither and die. The latest round of funding - $2.4 billion for electric vehicles - announced yesterday promises to help the U.S. reach Obama's goal of 1 million plug-in electrics on the road by 2015. Electric vehicles have been around as long as the automobile, but due to the abundance of cheap and readily...
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Tesla reveals pricing for Model S, announces sale of 250th RoadsterTesla's first all-original car, the upcoming Model S plug-in hybrid sedan, is due to be unveiled to the public in just a week’s time but the company has already released a couple of teaser shots - one showing the undercarriage and another showing the new glasshouse. In the lead up to the...
Ralph Hanson -
U.S. Volkswagen CEO: EVs won't be viable for 35 yearsIf the futurism of the 1950s and 1960s taught us anything as a culture, it's that what seems a sure thing today may prove laughably optimistic in a few decades. Stefan Jacoby, CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, thinks a similar situation is playing out with electric cars today. Jacoby's main...
Nelson Ireson -
Fiat and PSA Peugeot-Citroen deny merger rumorsFiat Group, Chrysler and its parent company Cerberus Capital Management in January released a joint statement announcing they had signed a non-binding term sheet to establish a global strategic alliance. The alliance, a key element of Chrysler’s viability plan, would provide the American...
Kenneth Hall -
FROST design study puts mean into the green at Th!nkTh!nk's financial saga has seen it bounce from owner to owner, into bankruptcy and back out, and now it's looking for government aid, but still its vehicles and ideas are inspiring people. The FROST design study, for instance, was penned by a Norwegian design student as a Th!nk concept, intended to...
Nelson Ireson -
Pininfarina updates B0 Concept as Bluecar EV, more production detailsPininfarina gave up contract manufacturing last year to focus solely on building electric vehicles (EVs). At the Geneva Motor Show this week, the company has reworked their B0 Concept into a more palatably-named BLUECAR EV, with more details on its expected production plans. The B0/Bluecar EV was...
Kenneth Hall -
The times, they are a changin'. Carmakers that had seemed bulletproof, or at least too big to fail, are teetering on the brink of insolvency. Government regulations and stipulations on loan money are cinching down emissions and efficiency requirements. And tax incentives are spurring development of high-tech plug-in hybrids. But that's just the tip of the iceberg, according to Ford CEO Alan Mulally. "In 10 years, 12 years, you are going to see a major portion of our portfolio move to electric vehicles," he said in front of a gathering at the Wall Street Journal's ECO:nomics conference in...
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Protoscar Lampo is Swiss for electric sports carIt seems these days that a new electric sports car concept is announced almost every month but it's not often that we get to see the actual concept in the metal, so to speak, or in the case of the new Lampo, in the carbon-fiber composite. The Lampo electric roadster is the latest creation of Swiss...
James Martinez -
Mitsubishi’s first EV edges closer to launch with unveiling of Prototype i-MiEVJoining Mitsubishi’s i-MiEV Sport Air Concept at this week’s Geneva Motor Show is the new Prototype i-MiEV, a closer to production version of the Japanese carmaker’s upcoming all-electric car. The Prototype i-MiEV is based around the currentregular i-MiEV all-electric hatch that...
Jeremy Weber -
Mitsubishi takes the covers off its i-MiEV Sport Air ConceptWhile the idea of an electric sports car is not a new one, mainstream carmakers have been slow to consider the proposition of a performance electric vehicle (EV). Niche carmakers like Tesla, Fisker and Lightning immediately spring to mind when one thinks of electric sports cars, but soon we may be...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Peugeot’s first electric car will be a rebadged MitsubishiMitsubishi's highly anticipated i-MiEV electric car prototype is set to be revealed this week at the Geneva Motor Show, but ahead of the car's unveiling the Japanese company has announced an interesting development. Mitsubishi has just inked a Memorandum of Understanding regarding cooperation...
Jeremy Weber -
Magna Steyr Mila EV Concept unveiledOne of the unseen forces of the automotive industry, Magna Steyr is a contract manufacturer that produces some of the best cars in the world, including the Aston Martin Rapide, the Porsche Boxster and Cayman from 2012, the Mini crossover and more. Their automotive prowess is without question, then...
Nelson Ireson -
Tesla's Roadster and Model S have garnered much of the hybrid and electric press of late, though new entries from Ford and Honda have also gathered some attention. Now Volkswagen is looking to share in the spotlight, announcing the signing of a letter of intent with Toshiba for cooperation on the development of electric drive units for future cars. The drive units are destined for what VW calls its New Small Family, likely based around the Volkswagen up! range of concepts. The battery and drive systems used to propel the cars are covered by the scope of the letter of intent, though at this...
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Nissan pursuing U.S. federal loans for EV programThe past several weeks have been tough ones for Nissan, facing the closure of its Michigan design studio, a forecast loss of $2.6 billion and the cutting of 20,000 jobs worldwide. Nevertheless it is still making plans for the future, and electric vehicles (EVs) figure heavily in those plans. To...
Ralph Hanson -
Huge demand delays Mini EV test leases in U.S.In a sign that Americans may truly be ready to embrace electric vehicles, including living with any shortcomings and paying a significant price premium, demand for BMW’s Mini E electric vehicle has outstripped supply by 4-to-1. Unfortunately, the plethora of applicants for the 450 available...
Alex Kaufmann -
Fiat and Chrysler deal may be completed by mid-FebruaryFiat and Chrysler first released a joint statement announcing they had signed a non-binding term sheet to establish a global strategic alliance just over two weeks ago but according to Fiat's CEO the deal could be signed and completed by as early as the middle of this month. The alliance, to be a...
James Martinez -
Texas considering $5,000 tax credit for plug-in hybrids on top of federal incentivesWith all the talk of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reconsidering allowing states to implement their own fuel-economy emissions and regulations, and the negative flow on effects this would have on carmakers that would be forced to tailor cars to meet varying standards across the country...
James Martinez -
Tesla announces Model S Concept, explains price hikes in town hall meetingThe burgeoning electric car field was just hitting its stride when the bottom fell out of the market last year, and the tough position that has left carmakers like Tesla in has forced some changes to be made. But that's not stopping the company from moving ahead with its product development plans...
Ralph Hanson -
The proposed alliance between Chrysler and Fiat Group will reportedly see seven new vehicles introduced to the U.S. market, with most of the cars expected to be produced at idle Chrysler plants across North America. According to sources that have seen the product-sharing agreement, several of the vehicles will be sold through select Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep dealerships. The plan includes vehicles on four Fiat platforms, with models planned for the minicar, or A-segment, right though to the midsized D-segment. No decision has been made on timing or volumes but a concrete plan is expected to be...
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Tesla raises prices on all-electric RoadsterTesla has delivered 150 all-electric Roadsters to its first lucky customers and still has another 400 or so eagerly awaiting their chance to hop behind the wheel of the ground-breaking sports cars. Unfortunately for those waiting individuals, Tesla has decided to increase the price of its Roadster...
Ralph Hanson -
What does the Fiat-Chrysler partnership mean to you?Today’s news of Fiat's decision to acquire up to 35% of Chrysler has taken the automotive world by storm. What might such an alliance portend for Chrysler? What could Fiat possibly derive from the union? And how might you, the car enthusiast, feel about the whole thing? History is always a...
Nelson Ireson -
Toyota confirms 2012 U.S. launch for electric vehiclesToyota used last week’s Detroit Auto Show to unveil its new FT-EV concept, a compact urban runabout based on the iQ minicar and powered by an all-electric drivetrain. The carmaker also used the Detroit event to announce plans to launch an urban commuter ‘battery-electric vehicle’...
Alex Kaufmann -
Smart exploring opportunities for U.S. ForTwo EV trialIn July last year Smart unveiled three new concept versions of its second-generation ForTwo minicar, all based around an ultra-efficient electric drivetrain. The trio included a regular petrol-electric hybrid, a diesel-electric hybrid and a zero-emissions electric vehicle. This third concept, the...
Ralph Hanson -
Toyota reveals iQ-based FT-EV ConceptToyota has announced that it will display its new FT-EV concept at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show, while also confirming that it will launch an urban commuter ‘battery-electric vehicle’ (BEV) by 2012. The world's largest carmaker also revealed that it will start consumer trials of a fleet...
James Martinez