Another shoe dropped today, revealing one more little piece of General Motors' electric-car strategy. GM said this morning it had awarded a production contract for nanophosphate lithium-ion cells to A123 Systems, to be used in "future GM electric vehicles" that will be "announced at a later date" and "sold in select global markets." That, frankly...
So you’ve finally realized that you don’t drive outside the 70-to-100-mile range of a battery electric car on your daily commute, at least under normal circumstances. You’re confident that you’ll be able to make it to and from work on a nice spring day, but range anxiety still makes you worry about a worst-case scenario...
A new SUV, a diesel engine, even a hybrid, are all possible future options for Bentley now that former Porsche exec Wolfgang Durheimer is at the helm. Having already pioneered all three of the above for Porsche, something that would have seemed out of this world just a decade ago, Durheimer is now about to do the same all over again, only this...
If you're going to shoot a teaser video of a radical new concept car, maybe it's not such a good idea to do it in a gigantic plaza in the middle of a large European city. Audi has now released the official teaser video (view it at the bottom of this story) for the e-tron Urban Concept vehicle it will officially unveil next month at the 2011...
Next year, Toyota will be launching a trio of plug-in vehicles - the 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid, the 2012 Toyota RAV4EV and the 2012 Scion IQ. To coincide with that launch, Toyota has announced it will be selling a branded electric-car charging station, made by electronics manufacturing firm Leviton. The unit is likely to be based upon...
As electric vehicles become more widely available, we’ve heard some pretty large horror stories detailing that the world’s supply of lithium - used in most modern electric car battery packs - is running out almost as quickly as the world’s oil supply. But a recent research project has concluded that isn’t the case...
One of the biggest draws to electric cars, aside from their positive environmental impact, is their relatively low cost of operation. In many areas, the cost of recharging an electric car is substantially cheaper than the cost of refueling a gasoline-powered car. If you could produce your own electricity, the cost advantages of an electric car...
You might feel a little "green around the gills" the following morning, but a night of drinking Bruichladdich whisky from the UK helps to do your bit for green transportation. Mark Reynier is managing director of the whisky distillery in Scotland, and every day drives to work in his recently acquired 2012 Nissan Leaf. Bruichladdich does more than...
Will the auto industry change more in the next decade than it has in the past century? We think that's hyperbole. There will be big changes, including the arrival of electric cars in volume, but to say the cars of 2020 will be as different from today's as the cars of today were from those in 1911 ... well, that's a bit of a stretch. Undaunted by...
It must be the Chevrolet Spark minicar's moment in the sun. Last week, GM confirmed that the smallest Chevy ever sold will come to the U.S. as a 2013 model. Then we put two and two together to wonder if Chevy's first all-electric car might be a converted Spark. What we forgot to mention--until now--is that two weeks ago, Chevy launched the Spark...
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Jeep Compass released locally If you're not in the market for Jeep's bigger and more expensive Grand Cherokee, but a more compact version, you might be interested in the facelifted Compass. This Jeep will also be offered as only a front-wheel drive model, a first for Jeep in South Africa. Full story and prices after the click.
Here at CAR we often get to test some pretty spectacular machinery, but our expectations were particularly high when the suits from Nissan delivered the metallic white 2011 R35 GT-R at our office.
As regular readers will know, we put select performance models through a test regimen at Cape Town's Killarney racetrack. After the GT-R went back to Nissan dealer DTM Helderberg to be set up for track use, we attached our test equipment to the car and let our track test driver Deon Joubert loose to set a lap time. Be sure to view both videos, one of which shows the car spearing around the track and includes commentary from Joubert and the second one was recorded by our VBOX testing equipment and shows in-car footage of Deon's flying lap.
Check out our news section for all the latest developments of cars that will be unveiled at the Frankfurt Show, which is now but a few weeks away. And, for all things automotive, join the discussion on Facebook and Twitter and also stand a chance to win our last Ferrari hamper.
Nissan GT-R CAR track tester Deon Joubert took a pop at the top of our hot-lap list for Killarney in the 2011 Nissan GT-R. See what he had to say about the GT-R and marvel at the supercar's blinding speed. The full road test will be published in the September issue of CAR.
Nissan has discarded the previous Micra's quirkiness and positioned the new Micra as a strong value offering. Built on the company's new V-platform the Micra is now bigger than the model it replaces. Full road test and specifications after the click.
Lexus CT 200h CAR deputy editor Mike Fourie has driven the latest addition to Lexus South Africa's hybrid line-up. The CT 200h could lure a younger audience to Lexus showrooms, but what is it like to drive – and can its real-world fuel consumption live up to the marque's claimed fuel consumption figures?
It goes without saying that for Porsche-philes a visit to the Porsche museum is like a holy pilgrimage. But even non-Porsche fanatics will find plenty to admire.
Like people, cars are unique and have personalities. Whether it comes through in the way the facia is designed, the way the engine revs or even the type of wheels fitted, there is a story to be told through the little differences in each car.
This little video has the net abuzz this morning, and for good reason. Seemingly filmed in Russia, it shows a Fiat Seicento driver that has obviously forgotten something rather important…
Every enthusiast dreams of owning some kind of exotic classic car, but sometimes one has to be realistic about which cars from yesteryear are worth restoring, and won't cost you a fortune to maintain.
Another shoe dropped today, revealing one more little piece of General Motors' electric-car strategy. GM said this morning it had awarded a production contract for nanophosphate lithium-ion cells to A123 Systems, to be used in "future GM electric vehicles" that will be "announced at a later date" and "sold in select global markets." That, frankly...
So you’ve finally realized that you don’t drive outside the 70-to-100-mile range of a battery electric car on your daily commute, at least under normal circumstances. You’re confident that you’ll be able to make it to and from work on a nice spring day, but range anxiety still makes you worry about a worst-case scenario...
A new SUV, a diesel engine, even a hybrid, are all possible future options for Bentley now that former Porsche exec Wolfgang Durheimer is at the helm. Having already pioneered all three of the above for Porsche, something that would have seemed out of this world just a decade ago, Durheimer is now about to do the same all over again, only this...
If you're going to shoot a teaser video of a radical new concept car, maybe it's not such a good idea to do it in a gigantic plaza in the middle of a large European city. Audi has now released the official teaser video (view it at the bottom of this story) for the e-tron Urban Concept vehicle it will officially unveil next month at the 2011...
Next year, Toyota will be launching a trio of plug-in vehicles - the 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid, the 2012 Toyota RAV4EV and the 2012 Scion IQ. To coincide with that launch, Toyota has announced it will be selling a branded electric-car charging station, made by electronics manufacturing firm Leviton. The unit is likely to be based upon...
As electric vehicles become more widely available, we’ve heard some pretty large horror stories detailing that the world’s supply of lithium - used in most modern electric car battery packs - is running out almost as quickly as the world’s oil supply. But a recent research project has concluded that isn’t the case...
One of the biggest draws to electric cars, aside from their positive environmental impact, is their relatively low cost of operation. In many areas, the cost of recharging an electric car is substantially cheaper than the cost of refueling a gasoline-powered car. If you could produce your own electricity, the cost advantages of an electric car...
You might feel a little "green around the gills" the following morning, but a night of drinking Bruichladdich whisky from the UK helps to do your bit for green transportation. Mark Reynier is managing director of the whisky distillery in Scotland, and every day drives to work in his recently acquired 2012 Nissan Leaf. Bruichladdich does more than...
Will the auto industry change more in the next decade than it has in the past century? We think that's hyperbole. There will be big changes, including the arrival of electric cars in volume, but to say the cars of 2020 will be as different from today's as the cars of today were from those in 1911 ... well, that's a bit of a stretch. Undaunted by...
It must be the Chevrolet Spark minicar's moment in the sun. Last week, GM confirmed that the smallest Chevy ever sold will come to the U.S. as a 2013 model. Then we put two and two together to wonder if Chevy's first all-electric car might be a converted Spark. What we forgot to mention--until now--is that two weeks ago, Chevy launched the Spark...
