Ladies and gentlemen, the 2011 Nissan Leaf is here. And by "here", we mean "the interwebs". No, you can't drive it just yet. But you can follow Lance Armstrong's Twitter feed, where the new Nissan spokesperson occasionally mentions the all-electric five-door and how excited he is to be the first...Read More»
For decades, advertisers have spent a good bit of time and energy (not to mention cash) placing their products in movies. Who could forget ET's Reese's Pieces or, as a more recent example, the Audi R8, which has co-starred alongside Robert Downey Jr. in the Iron Man films? For its part, General...Read More»
Just three weeks into the pre-order phase, Nissan has recorded an impressive 3,754 reservations for its all-new Nissan Leaf EV in Japan. That's over half the automaker's sales goal for the year. Even more intriguing? Nearly two-thirds of prospective buyers -- 61%, in fact -- are age 50 or older...Read More»
And here we are: Tax Day. The day that Uncle Sam kindly requests the presence of your cash in his coffers so that he can continue running programs -- some good, some less so -- that, put together, make the U.S. our country of choice. What more appropriate time of year for automakers to pay a visit...Read More»
A surprising number of potential car buyers are considering plug-in vehicles -- up to 25% of you, in fact. One of the biggest hurdles standing between shoppers and sellers, though, is anxiety about the batteries that plug-in vehicles use: how far will drivers be able to go on a charge, and how...Read More»
New technology is almost always exciting. However, it's also always evolving, which means that today's cutting-edge cars, computers, and home entertainment systems might not be so exciting (or useful) a couple of years down the line. Many remember the bitter battle waged between VHS and Betamax...Read More»
The New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. facility -- better known as NUMMI -- has had an impressive run. Opened in Fremont, California by General Motors in 1962, closed in 1982, and reopened as a joint GM/Toyota venture in 1984, NUMMI has produced hundreds of thousands of vehicles and employs...Read More»
Electric vehicles have been discussed for decades, but it wasn't until the mid-aughts of this century that EVs gained traction within the broader auto industry. Today, nearly every automaker on the planet has some form of battery-powered vehicle on the drawing board, but research and development is...Read More»
With around 260,000 vehicles at its disposal, the United States Postal Service operates the biggest civilian fleet in the country. Unfortunately, most of those vehicles get terrible gas mileage: the Grumman postal van only earns around 10mpg, and the 17% of USPS trucks that run on E85 don't fare...Read More»
In June of last year, the Department of Energy announced $8 billion of low-interest loans for automakers in the first round of funding from its $25 billion Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program. Of that total, $5.9 billion went to Ford, $1.6 billion went to Nissan, and $465 million...Read More»
In theory, the MINI should do well as an electric car: not only is its small size appropriate for a battery electric vehicle, but its target market of youthful, adventurous drivers are exactly the kind of eco-friendly early adopters who'd dig a plug-in ride. Unfortunately, when the MINI E arrived...Read More»
Shai Agassi and his EV start-up, Better Place, are on a roll. Just last month, we announced that the Palo Alto, California-based company brokered an amazing deal to develop charging and battery-swap infrastructure across Denmark, and now, Agassi and his colleagues have wrapped up another round of...Read More»
We don't use the word "I" very much in our writing at TCC, but this time, I suppose I'll have to: I'm going to give my take on the 2010 Detroit Auto Show from the vantage point of my office, which lies -- inconveniently -- about 1,000 miles to the south. What can I add to the discussion from here...Read More»
In non-Detroit news, consulting outfit McKinsey & Co. has released a study indicating that by 2015, up to 16% of new car purchases in New York City will be either battery electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles, which translates into roughly 70,000 EV sales over the next five years. The company...Read More»
There's been a lot of excitement about the Fiat 500, which is expected to arrive in the U.S. later this year or in early 2011. While the convertible and the sporty Abarth version have gotten the lion's share of press, there's also an all-electric concept version, which is set to debut next week at...Read More»
China is in a curious position. Its auto market is very big, and it's positioned to get much, much bigger, but the Chinese government doesn't want the country's automakers to move down the traditional path of combustion-engine vehicles. Rather, it wants to grow an indigenous green vehicle industry...Read More»
The international Convention on Climate Change is making headlines this week, so it's no surprise that EV startup Tesla and its spotlight-friendly CEO, Elon Musk, are taking their show to Copenhagen, offering test drives of the current Tesla Roadster and crowing about the car's eco-friendly...Read More»
We've mentioned Shai Agassi and his game-changing EV startup, Better Place, several times on TCC. Now comes word that he's brokered an intriguing deal to install charging and battery-changing infrastructure across Denmark, and the Danish government has agreed to nix the 200% new car tax (yes, you...Read More»
Lots of companies pay lip service to "going green", but Element Hotels is putting its money where its mouth is. The Element chain is a 2008 addition to Starwood's sprawling family of hotels and resorts, offering customers a "no-compromise, eco-chic experience". Part of that experience will soon be...Read More»
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