Along the Road to a Greener America, an Awful Lot of Roadkill
The global financial crisis helped slam the brakes on clean-tech dreams from electric cars to solar panels, but the roots of green energy's mid-life crisis run far deeper.
Nissan Leaf
AOL Readers' Secret for Buying Electric Cars
If you want to buy an electric car, but you're worried about getting left behind when the next generation comes along, AOL readers have a smart suggestion.
Is the Electric Car Revolution Running Out of Juice?
Electric car sales are nowhere near what the auto industry -- or Washington -- hoped they'd be by now, though Tesla Motors' hot Model S sedan doing great, and the the Chevy Volt is finally getting some traction. But is the electric revolution stalled, or just accelerating too slowly?
GM's Not Unplugging Chevy Volt ... But It's Low on Juice
Bad news for GM: The Chevy Volt still isn't selling the way the automaker hoped it would, so it's temporarily halting production of the battery-powered hybrids for five weeks. Worse news for GM: Shutdowns like this only make the Volt a harder sell.
BP's Prediction: Your Old Car Is Almost Obsolete
When a major oil company predicts that the era of gas-powered cars is coming to an end soon, the rest of us might want pay attention. According to BP, you've got maybe 18 years left before your car is obsolete -- and probably a lot less than that.
5 Offbeat Ideas for Saving on Gas From Our Readers
Gas prices are going up again, and it feels a lot like Groundhog Day: Same old problem, and media outlets are dispensing the same old advice. Not us! Here are the most interesting and innovative ideas our readers offered for reducing your pain at the pump.
How Much Will Your Next Car Really Cost You?
Purchase price is just the beginning of what it costs to own a car. Depreciation, insurance and maintenance costs can vary widely between competing models. But is there any way to estimate all of that in advance? A few experts have taken a stab at it.
Will You Buy an Electric Car? Tesla Hopes So
Upstart automaker Tesla Motors confirmed this week that its groundbreaking Model S, an all-electric luxury-sports sedan, was on track to enter production by this summer. It already has pre-orders for more than 8,000. Is the moment coming soon when electric cars go mainstream?
How to Go Farther on Less Fuel
Two weeks ago, DailyFinance asked our readers for their advice on how to save money at the pump. In the more than 1,500 responses that followed, we found a lot of creative solutions. Today, we look at maintenance and new-vehicle options that will help you spend less per mile.
Can You Profit from Obama's New Energy Policy?
Last week, President Obama outlined a new energy policy that aims to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil. How can patient investors capitalize on his vision?
Can Obama's Proposed $7,500 Rebate Accelerate Electric-Car Sales?
In the State of the Union address in January, President Barack Obama set a goal of getting 1 million electric cars on the road by 2015. Now he's proposed $7,500 rebates, instead of tax credits, to reach that goal. Will that be enough to make it doable?
Zipcar Offers Rides in Plug-In Prius -- and Feedback for Toyota
Zipcar members in San Francisco, Portland and Boston can try out Toyota's Prius plug-in hybrid, providing valuable info to Toyota before rolling the cars out to consumers in 2012. And Zipcar gets another way to make its greenhouse-gas- conscious customers happy.
GM Makes a Deal for Cheaper, Longer-Lasting Batteries
The automaker has licensed technology from the Energy Department's Argonne National Laboratory that will boost the performance of lithium-ion battery cells for its electric Chevy Volt. The next-generation power packs will be made at a new plant in Michigan by Korea's LG Chem.
Fuel Efficiency Is Top Priority for Car Buyers Worldwide
Fuel efficiency remains the top concern among new car buyers around the world, which is likely to boost demand for hybrid and electric vehicles, according to a report from KPMG. But the survey of senior auto-industry executives worldwide also showed that many have serious concerns about such vehicles' affordability.
GM's Chevy Volt Named 2011 Green Car of the Year
General Motors' Chevrolet Volt, the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle set to debut in the U.S. next month, won Green Car Journal's 2011 Green Car of the Year award Thursday, beating out the Nissan Leaf, Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, Hyundai Sonata Hybrid and Ford Fiesta.
Church: A Place to Recharge Your ... Car?
Fueling up your car at a church seems like a novel idea. But the emergence of an electric car market has resulted in a charging station at the Wooden Cross Lutheran church some 25 miles northeast of Seattle.
New Fuel Economy Labels Proposed for Electric Cars
For everyone who wants to know how fuel efficient electric and hybrid cars really compare to gas-powered vehicles, the EPA has released two fuel-economy label proposals that would translate electricity usage into an equivalent in miles per gallon.
What's the Volt's MPG? There's No Easy Answer
Have your calculator and utility bill handy if you're keen on buying a Chevy Volt (or Nissan LEAF) and want to compare fuel costs with gasoline cars. The EPA is still grappling with how to provide consumers with ratings comparable to the familiar MPG labels.
At $41,000, Will Buyers Plug Into Chevy's Volt?
GM has finally put a sticker price on its much anticipated plug-in electric hybrid. Granted, a hefty federal tax credit will defray the cost, but the Volt carries a premium price. GM's challenge now is convincing consumers the Volt is worth it.
Honda Plugs Into the Electric-Car Bandwagon
With Honda's president saying the company had "no future" if it didn't make vehicles that emitted less carbon dioxide, the Japanese carmaker is now gearing up to join Toyota, GM and Nissan in the electric-car and plug-in hybrid derby.
