France today is a generous country for green car buyers. It gives buyers of an electric car a €7,000 incentive ($9,048), and €4,000 ($5,170) to those getting a hybrid (limited at 10% of the car’s price). It’s great, but it will not last. The system has been designed to be perfectly sustainable, as it should be self-financing but it’s not. This is a CO2-based bonus-malus system, where Continue reading
On the legendary Nurburgring race track, the 24-hour endurance race is always the biggest event, drawing more than 100 cars every year. The race was especially tough this year, with terrible weather conditions. It just got so foggy that the race had to be stopped for several hours. Then there was so much rain, that many cars couldn’t stay on the track, including the leading Aston Martin. That car still managed to finish in tenth position, but this article’ subject is about a slower car, the Aston Martin Rapide which had been converted to run on hydrogen.
Infiniti is doing quite well in America, but it’s far from its sales objectives in Europe. The just introduced Q50 will help a lot, no doubt about that, but like many observers, Infiniti now believes it is in need of a halo car to highlight its brand name. The good news here is that it could be a plug-in hybrid. Just like the Emerg-E concept-car from last year (pictured), but better. The Emerg-E was certainly nice, 
The new Mercedes S-class promises no less than to be the best car in the world. We can’t say how true this claim is, but we can see something never seen before: the car will be available with two hybrid drivetrains. In Europe at least, they will be available right from launch, with an even greener plug-in hybrid version coming next year. The first two hybrids are the 
With a plug-in hybrid diesel drivetrain, the Volvo V60 is absolutely unique on the market. There’s no other car like it, and for this reason alone, it deserves commercial success. If only it would be more affordable. On the French market, the Volvo V60 plug-in hybrid is 38% more expensive than a Chevrolet Volt. Quite substantial money, and exactly the same price than a Lexus GS450h, 
Toyota will soon launch a station-wagon version of its popular Auris compact. The Auris has been available as a hybrid for nearly 3 years, with exactly the same drivetrain as the Prius, and it regularly outsells its famous cousin. It will do so with a higher margin with the help of that new body style, but there’s also something new under the hood. The Toyota Auris hybrid Touring Sports 
The compact car segment is the most important in Europe. This is where the Honda Civic, the Volkswagen Golf and the Ford Focus are fighting. The Golf is the segment leader by far, and it has been very carefully designed not to displease anyone. Technical innovations are fine though, and this new 308, which keeps the same name as its predecessor, begins life with a new platform. Called EMP2, it’s 
Thanks to Nissan, I was offered the opportunity to travel to Norway a few weeks ago. That enabled me to check the country’s green credentials. Norway is known as a leader in electric mobility, but I’ve discovered it as a quiet and peaceful country. The picture above was taken in Oslo, Norway’s capital and largest city. There are some street chargers, and EV drivers can use them freely, without worrying that someone could come up, and try to steal or vandalize the cable. 
This is the fastest road and track electric car in the world. The Toyota TMG EV P002 currently holds two impressive records. It’s the fastest EV on the Nurburgring, and on the Pikes Peak rally. Its best time was 7’22″329 on the German race track, and 10’15″380 on the American mountain road. It will try to be even faster this year, starting in America.-
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