For the time being, electric vehicles that combine battery power with a range-extending generator may be the best solution for those who can get by on battery power alone for most driving--but still sometimes need the range of a conventional gas or diesel-powered vehicle. Chevy’s Volt is the only extended-range electric vehicle on the market...
Sometimes a clever inventor or a team of engineers changes the way we think about an appliance or a concept we’ve lived with for years -- producing a revolutionary new design that makes us wonder how we ever lived without it. But sometimes a supposed revolutionary new design is little more than changing something for changes’ sake...
Infiniti -- the luxury sister brand of Nissan -- has been joining in the electric car hype at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show with talk of an all-electric subcompact car it will have ready for sometime in 2014. This isn’t the first time Infiniti has talked electric cars. Last year, Infiniti boss Toru Saito let slip that the Japanese brand was...
This year’s 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show has been heavily dominated by the drive towards greener vehicles, better gas mileage, and zero tailpipe-emissions motoring. So it’s no surprise that German tuning house Brabus has followed the trend set by most of the major automakers attending the show -- developing an all-electric, all-wheel drive...
While Smart used the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show to release its new, upgraded Fortwo Electric Drive and the production Smart eBike, the new Forvision concept previewed a few weeks ago gives us an idea what the next generation Fortwo might look like. Still a Smart... Importantly, the Forvision is instantly recognizable as a Smart. It's a two-seat, two...
On paper, the Mahindra TR20 and TR40 compact pickups sounded like an ideal choice for a lot of potential buyers. Powered by a 2.2-liter, four-cylinder diesel engine, the trucks were supposed to deliver fuel economy up to 30 mpg on the highway, while offering buyers a payload capacity of 2,765 pounds and towing capability up to 5,000 pounds. Even...
The problems with the old Smart Fortwo Electric Drive were fairly easy to work out. It was too slow, had only an average range, took too long to charge and it was too expensive - even when leasing. Smart has taken the car back to the drawing board and fixed all these issues - and given the car a spit and polish in some other areas, too. The...
At this year’s Frankfurt Auto Show there’s a very clear theme among concept cars: ultra-small urban runabouts. Now Opel -- the European arm of General Motors -- has joined Audi, Volkswagen, Smart and many others with its own take on a lightweight electric-powered urban runabout. Called the RAK e concept, it is the realization of...
Tough, simple, and military-oriented, the Defender line of SUVs played an important part in establishing Land Rover as a global go-anywhere workhorses. Now, on the floor of the Frankfurt auto show, in a follow-up to the concept images that were teased last week, Land Rover has officially revealed its DC100 Concepts—which show the essentially...
It’s hard to say what the automotive landscape will look like in 25 years, but this much is certain: Mercedes-Benz will still be building luxury sedans for those lucky enough to afford them. It’s also a safe bet that gasoline may not be the fuel of choice in the future, since alternatives like hydrogen offer significant economic and...
Volkswagen has been working hard on the Up minicar since it first debuted at the 2007 Frankfurt Auto Show, but it has finally unveiled the production version of its gasoline-sipping city car at this year's 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show along with a whole family of concepts based on its tiny frame. The six concept cars -- the Buggy Up, Up Azzurra, Cross...
The 2012 Fisker Karma extended range electric car (plug-in hybrid) may have been sold on its sexy good looks, and sporty performance -- but now the luxury sedan has a more practical sibling -- the Fisker Surf. Unveiled today at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show, the 2013 Fisker Surf is a crossover wagon variant of the luxury sports sedan. Based on the...
For the time being, electric vehicles that combine battery power with a range-extending generator may be the best solution for those who can get by on battery power alone for most driving--but still sometimes need the range of a conventional gas or diesel-powered vehicle. Chevy’s Volt is the only extended-range electric vehicle on the market...
Sometimes a clever inventor or a team of engineers changes the way we think about an appliance or a concept we’ve lived with for years -- producing a revolutionary new design that makes us wonder how we ever lived without it. But sometimes a supposed revolutionary new design is little more than changing something for changes’ sake...
Infiniti -- the luxury sister brand of Nissan -- has been joining in the electric car hype at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show with talk of an all-electric subcompact car it will have ready for sometime in 2014. This isn’t the first time Infiniti has talked electric cars. Last year, Infiniti boss Toru Saito let slip that the Japanese brand was...
This year’s 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show has been heavily dominated by the drive towards greener vehicles, better gas mileage, and zero tailpipe-emissions motoring. So it’s no surprise that German tuning house Brabus has followed the trend set by most of the major automakers attending the show -- developing an all-electric, all-wheel drive...
While Smart used the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show to release its new, upgraded Fortwo Electric Drive and the production Smart eBike, the new Forvision concept previewed a few weeks ago gives us an idea what the next generation Fortwo might look like. Still a Smart... Importantly, the Forvision is instantly recognizable as a Smart. It's a two-seat, two...
On paper, the Mahindra TR20 and TR40 compact pickups sounded like an ideal choice for a lot of potential buyers. Powered by a 2.2-liter, four-cylinder diesel engine, the trucks were supposed to deliver fuel economy up to 30 mpg on the highway, while offering buyers a payload capacity of 2,765 pounds and towing capability up to 5,000 pounds. Even...
The problems with the old Smart Fortwo Electric Drive were fairly easy to work out. It was too slow, had only an average range, took too long to charge and it was too expensive - even when leasing. Smart has taken the car back to the drawing board and fixed all these issues - and given the car a spit and polish in some other areas, too. The...
At this year’s Frankfurt Auto Show there’s a very clear theme among concept cars: ultra-small urban runabouts. Now Opel -- the European arm of General Motors -- has joined Audi, Volkswagen, Smart and many others with its own take on a lightweight electric-powered urban runabout. Called the RAK e concept, it is the realization of...
Tough, simple, and military-oriented, the Defender line of SUVs played an important part in establishing Land Rover as a global go-anywhere workhorses. Now, on the floor of the Frankfurt auto show, in a follow-up to the concept images that were teased last week, Land Rover has officially revealed its DC100 Concepts—which show the essentially...
It’s hard to say what the automotive landscape will look like in 25 years, but this much is certain: Mercedes-Benz will still be building luxury sedans for those lucky enough to afford them. It’s also a safe bet that gasoline may not be the fuel of choice in the future, since alternatives like hydrogen offer significant economic and...
Volkswagen has been working hard on the Up minicar since it first debuted at the 2007 Frankfurt Auto Show, but it has finally unveiled the production version of its gasoline-sipping city car at this year's 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show along with a whole family of concepts based on its tiny frame. The six concept cars -- the Buggy Up, Up Azzurra, Cross...
The 2012 Fisker Karma extended range electric car (plug-in hybrid) may have been sold on its sexy good looks, and sporty performance -- but now the luxury sedan has a more practical sibling -- the Fisker Surf. Unveiled today at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show, the 2013 Fisker Surf is a crossover wagon variant of the luxury sports sedan. Based on the...
