Nissan e-Power series hybrid builds on electric-car expertise

2016 Nissan Note e-PowerThis morning, in Japan, Nissan unveiled what its lineup has long been missing: strong hybrid technology. The company's new e-Power hybrid system, demonstrated in a Nissan Note hatchback, contains a gasoline engine and an electric traction motor. But unlike the power-split hybrids used by Toyota and others, Nissan's system propels the wheels solely...

Renewable energy growth accelerating, says International Energy Agency

wind farmThe overall carbon emissions associated with electric cars decrease as the electricity used to recharge them gets cleaner. And the latest statistics from the International Energy Agency (IEA) will be good news indeed for electric-car drivers. Last year saw record growth in renewable energy, according to the IEA, which surpassed coal to become the...

Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid sets new Land Speed Record

Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid Land Speed Record car, at SEMA 2016Who said hybrids can't be fast? Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats are the main staging ground for land-speed record attempts, attracting scores of purpose-built race cars and modified production vehicles every year. This year, one of the cars that drove away with a record was a Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid hatchback. DON'T MISS: 2017 Hyundai Ioniq preview A...

Trade-in deals for VW diesel owners taking buyback: our list

2012 Volkswagen Passat TDI Six-Month Road TestNow that the Volkswagen 2.0-liter diesel settlement has has received final approval from a federal judge, VW can soon start sending out buyback offers to affected owners. While the settlement offers the owners the option to keep their cars and wait for modifications that allow them to meet emissions standards, most owners are expected to take...

U.S. passed half a million plug-in electric-car sales in September

2016 Nissan LeafModern plug-in electric cars first became available in the U.S. in December 2010, when the Nissan Leaf and the first-generation Chevrolet Volt went on sale. Shortly after that, in his 2011 State of the Union address, President Barack Obama set the goal of putting 1 million such cars on U.S. roads by 2015. Regrettably, that goal was not reached...

Fisker EMotion, Oct electric car sales, net-zero homes: Today’s Car News

2016 Nissan LeafToday, we take a first look at the Fisker EMotion 400-mile electric car, tally October plug-in electric car sales, and look at a remarkable step to improve the energy efficiency of homes in one California city. All this and more on Green Car Reports. A transition to electric cars will require more than 10,000 job cuts, according to Volkswagen's...

Wireless electric-car charging: perfect for automated parking?

Evatran Plugless wireless charger for Tesla Model SWireless electric-car charging seems to offer a somewhat more convenient experience. Instead of plugging in a charge cord, drivers simply park their electric cars over a pad, usually on the floor of a garage. But what if they didn't even have to do that? DON'T MISS: Plugless charging for 80 percent of electric cars by end of 2017: Evatran Evatran...