Accusations of “another Solyndra” pull the plug on new vehicle chargers in small town

Filed under: Etc., EV/Plug-in, Green Culture

With a population of around 14,000, Mill Valley, CA is too big to be called a one-horse town. The real question is whether it will become a two-EV charging station town.
That question that was up for consideration at the September meeting of the Mill Valley town council. The city’s planning [...]

Need another reason to buy cleaner vehicles? How about a lower risk of heart attacks

Filed under: Diesel, Etc., MPG

Breathing in traffic fumes can trigger a heart attack up to six hours after exposure, according to research published by the British Medical Journal.
The Journal identified exposure to particulate matter (PM-10) and nitrogen dioxide – both found to be at elevated levels of concentration in urban centers – as possible triggers [...]

Citroën Tubik is another space Gallic oddity

Filed under: Concept Cars, Frankfurt Motor Show, Minivan/Van, Citroën, Design/Style

Citroën has officially unveiled its Tubik concept at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, and it’s just as far-out as the renderings led us to believe. The French automaker says its concept bus was inspired by its old Type H van, better known to Europeans as The [...]

Volkswagen takes another shot at single-seat mobility with Frankfurt-bound Nils concept

Filed under: Concept Cars, Frankfurt Motor Show, Volkswagen, Electric

There aren’t a lot of cars out there that have more doors than seats. Usually it’s the other way around, but that’s what Volkswagen has in store with the Nils concept. The tiny one-seater packs two polycarbonate gullwing doors (plus a rear hatch) in a unique shape [...]

Yet another reason to switch to gallons per mile

Filed under: MPG

Pop quiz: Say you split your driving evenly between a 21 mpg SUV and a 75 mpg Vespa scooter. What would your average miles per gallon be? If you answered 48 mpg you’re not alone, as that’s what Vespa came up with in their infographic we posted last week (reposted above). The only [...]

Porsche Design goes downhill on another sled

Filed under: Etc., Porsche, Design/Style, Off-Road

Porsche Design composite bobsled – Click above for high-res image gallery

Traditionally, Porsche hasn’t been a name commonly associated with snow. That was before the German automaker got into the SUV game, though, and maybe just as important for the impending winter season, the downhill sled market, too.
A couple of years [...]

Will the Jeep Grand Cherokee ever get another diesel? Not anytime soon

Filed under: Diesel, Jeep

2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee – Click above for high-res image gallery

Back in 2007, Jeep began offering a diesel engine option for U.S.-bound Grand Cherokees. At it’s peak, U.S. buyers only selected the diesel option eight percent of the time when purchasing a new Grand Cherokee. The 3.0-liter V6 diesel engine available in [...]

First Ride: 2010 Honda Shadow RS – Just another Harley imitator, or something better?

Filed under: Honda, Motorcycle, Reviews

2010 Honda Shadow RS – Click above for high-res image gallery

If you’re interested in scraping pegs and hightailing out of apexes, you probably don’t have much interest in cruisers. While some love the feet-forward, fist-to-the-wind riding position, others are more interested in outright speed and back-road handling. Of course, the average [...]

Saab 9-5 gets (another) ill-fitting nose job – at hands of China’s BAW

Filed under: Concept Cars, Sedan, Saab, Beijing Motor Show, Luxury

Chinese carmaker BAIC paid $200 million late last year for parts from General Motors‘ parts bin for Saab: the previous generation Saab 9-5 platform and the pre-2006 Saab 9-3 platform, along with a third mystery platform, two engines and two transmissions.
The Beijing Motor Show is [...]

Report: Another Prius accelerates unintentionally in New York and crashes

Filed under: Hybrid, Recalls, Hatchback, Toyota

Not one day after a high-profile incident involving a Prius taking off on its owner in Southern California, we’re hearing reports that another one of Toyota’s popular hybrids has suffered unintended acceleration in New York. This time, instead of the car eventually succumbing to the will of its braking system, [...]

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