Mini E – Click above for high-res image gallery
When the BMW launched the Mini E lease program a year ago, many potential drivers were dissappointed that they would only get to drive the cars for 12 months. Today at the Detroit Auto Show, Mini USA…
Category: Autoblog
Range Rover settles into middle age, hits the big 4-0!
Range Rover turns 40 – Click above for high-res image gallery
Since the mid-90s, the the luxury SUV segment has become an increasingly crowded field with almost every brand trying to get a piece of the pie (and in many cases several slices of various…
Toyota chafes at Ontario $10,000 EV rebate, calls it GM subsidy
Stephen Beatty, managing director of Toyota Canada is not to thrilled with plug-in rebate plan announced by Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty this week. In fact, Beatty sees the plan as more of a subsidy for General Motors and the Chevy Volt than a…
Ricardo and Williams team on KinerStor flywheel hybrid demonstration
In the run up to the 2009 Formula One season, most of the teams developed hybrid kinetic energy recovery systems (KERS) as an optional way to get a power boost. While most of the systems ultimately were not raced because the extra power was not…
Edmunds drives the Subaru Stella electric car
In spite of Tesla's claims that the Model S will be the “world's first mass produced EV”, the Subara Stella EV is going on sale to retail customers in Japan this summer. Subaru started production of 170 Stella EVs recently, within days of Mitsubishi…
Sixt begins renting electric Fiat 500 and Fiorino in Essen, Germany
European car rental agency Sixt has begun renting electric vehicles on a limited basis in Germany. Electric versions of the Fiat 500 and Micro-Vett Fiorino van are now available at outlets in Essen in northwestern Germany. The 500 has an 8…
Ford Fusion hybrid caught in the wild
It looks like Ford is preparing to take on the Toyota Camry in the hybrid sedan market. The photographer spotted the Fusion at a spot previously known as a test site for the Escape hybrid. Once the hood was raised, a couple of quick snaps revealed…
Ontario premier backtracking on E10 promise
The new backlash against ethanol as a fuel is causing the premier of Canada's largest province to rethink a plan that would have doubled the ethanol content of gasoline fuels by 2010. With more and more people blaming the diversion of food to fuel…
Billions of gallons of gas could be saved by “Smart Intersections”
Like other automakers, Ford has been doing considerable research into so-called “Smart Intersections.” Smart intersections fall into the realm of vehicle-to-infrastructure technology, AKA telematics. While this is generally considered safety related,…
Will lithium battery costs ever come down?
Battery-powered cars have a lot to recommend them, but they still have one major flaw – the batteries! Compared to almost any other energy storage solution, even the best of today's electrochemical batteries still have very low energy density and…