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Official: Smart Fortwo, Forfour reborn with fresh styling on new platform [w/video]

2014-07-16 23:30:00 (читать в оригинале)

Filed under: Budget, Videos, Hatchback, Smart, Design/Style Meet the 2016 Smart Fortwo and Forfour, a new pair of hatchbacks that Daimler hopes will revive the struggling Smart brand. We aren't expecting to see the Forfour here in the US market, altho...

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Recharge Wrap-up: Nissan “religious” about zero-emissions, Tesla crashes at dealership, Formula E on-board video

2014-07-16 20:29:00 (читать в оригинале)

Filed under: Diesel, EV/Plug-in, Audi, Nissan, Toyota, Tesla Motors, Europe/EU, UK, Racing, Videos Nissan is pretty darn serious about being king of the EV industry. Just see what Chief Planning Officer Andy Palmer has to say at the launch of the e-NV...

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Tesla 3 Series-fighter to be named Model III

2014-07-16 18:30:00 (читать в оригинале)

Filed under: Sedan, Tesla, Electric

Tesla really is a unique automaker. Usually when a new model is confirmed, there are big press announcements touting a company's latest, greatest vehicle and everything it can do for consumers. Elon Musk's electric car company likes to do things a little differently, though. Instead, the CEO gave an interview about its long-awaited entry-level offering, the Model III, to the UK's Auto Express and confirmed the story on its Facebook page.





Corporate statements doesn't get much simpler and to the point that that. The smaller, cheaper Model III will be aimed against compact premium sedans like the BMW 3 Series and will be unveiled in 2016 before actually going on sale in 2017. According to Musk, the new vehicle will offer a 200-mile range and will carry a price tag of around $35,000.

Musk told Auto Express, Tesla was seriously planning to call it the Model E, until Ford disputed the name. "The new model is going to be called Model 3, we'll have three bars to represent it and it'll be S III X," he said.

Sadly, Musk didn't reveal any other technical details about the Model III. However, it's rumored to be about 20-percent smaller than the Model S. To save money, the platform reportedly uses a more steel-intensive construction than its big brother, and the battery packs are likely to come from the Tesla Gigafactory.

Musk also let slip one last detail while speaking to Auto Express. It turns out that the rumored update for the Roadster is entirely real and involves an upgraded battery pack available to existing owners to boost range from the current 245 miles to around 400 miles. He didn't say when the modification would be available, though.

Tesla 3 Series-fighter to be named Model III originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 16 Jul 2014 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Official: White House responds to Tesla petition, declines to act

2014-07-16 16:59:00 (читать в оригинале)

Filed under: Tesla Motors, Legislation and Policy, USA If you've been holding your breath whilst waiting for the White House to respond to the We The People petition asking that Tesla be allowed to sell direct to consumers in all 50 states, you can fi...

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Toyota Prius sets a different kind of Nürburgring lap record [w/video]

2014-07-16 04:01:00 (читать в оригинале)

Filed under: Hybrid, Toyota

Scroll down the leaderboards of Nürburgring lap times and you'll see mostly racing cars, supercars and sports cars. Delve deep enough and you'll eventually get to hatchbacks and sedans, albeit the most performance-focused of their kind. But a hybrid? Sure, the Porsche 918 Spyder posted the top time for a street-legal series production car, and it's technically a hybrid, but we're talking about another kind of hybrid here. We're talking about a Toyota Prius.

That's right: the Prius just set a lap record around the Nordschleife. But it wasn't for the lap time. In fact, miles per hour barely factored in (except for staying above the minimum 37-mph average speed mandated on the vaunted racing circuit). No, this was about miles per gallon.

Toyota took one of its Prius Plug-In hybrids to the Nürburgring, topped up the battery, put on a set of low-rolling-resistance tires and put automotive journalist Joe Clifford behind the wheel with a mandate to use as little fuel as possible. After one second shy of 21 minutes, the Prius completed its lap having used just five tablespoons of fuel.

In fact, the gasoline engine kicked in just once over the course of the 13-mile lap on a long uphill stretch, helping the Prius achieve an indicated 698 miles per gallon. That's mighty impressive indeed, even if it would have been lapped three times over by the 918 by that point. Watch the video and scope out the press release below for the full skinny.

Continue reading Toyota Prius sets a different kind of Nürburgring lap record [w/video]

Toyota Prius sets a different kind of Nürburgring lap record [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 15 Jul 2014 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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