The 2013 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS, aka the Detroit Auto Show) is the premier auto show on this continent, beginning the year by entertaining thousands of journalists from all over the world and showcasing more than 50 of the latest vehicles from American and foreign automakers.
The good news – as we saw at the recent LA Auto Show, the options are growing and it should continue to get easier to match up a specific driver’s needs and driving patterns with the optimal vehicle configuration and powertrain.
This all-electric city car is priced so low that I had to ask 3 times to confirm. I heard it right. Spring 2013 you can order the smart fortwo electric drive (yes the car name is not capitalized) for $25,000 and be eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit. Your state may offer added incentives. $17,500!
New paper explores the connections between electric cars and clean energy, and describes options to accelerate the markets for both.
The 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV will be priced by GM at less than $32,500 and eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit and added incentives in several states. Now that GM leads electric car sales in the United States with the plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt, it will go after urban dwellers who want a less expensive city EV. Spark EV is the first all-electric vehicle in North America to offer optional SAE Combo DC Fast Charge capability, which can charge the battery to 80 percent of capacity in about 20 minutes.
Before stepping inside Ford’s new crossover for an 80-mile test-drive, I can’t help admiring the looks of this 2013 Ford C-MAX. This 5-seater rides tall like an SUV with a height of 63.8-inches. Here you can buy the C-MAX Hybrid starting at $25,200 and get 47-miles per gallon and 570-mile range, or you can buy the C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid starting at $32,900 and get 100 mpg and 620 mile range.
The 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show gives a world debut to 50 vehicles for 2013 from Ford, Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Nissan, Subaru, Chrysler, General Motors, BMW, Fiat, Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Volkswagen. If I could select two cars for Green Car of the Year, they would be the Toyota Prius c and the Ford C-MAX.
As I approached the new Avalon Hybrid for my test drive, I noticed that Toyota had preserved the subdued elegance of the exterior while making it more aerodynamic with a .28 coefficient of drag. I sat behind the leather steering wheel in the 10-way power driver leather seat to insure my comfort even on a long drive. The 2013 Avalon Hybrid is rated at 40 MPG city, 39 highway, 40 MPG overall. Price starts $35,555.
Model year 2012 is the year of the green car, with record fleet fuel economy, record high hybrid sales, and a 228% increase in plug-in electric car sales. While it’s true that plug-in electric car sales still represent a very small fraction of total auto sales, model year 2012 saw about 38,000 Americans buying plug-in cars. The Chevy Volt, often described by critics as a failure, falls right in the middle of the pack, outselling half the cars, trucks, and SUVs on the market.
The 50,000 electric car owners in the United States are discovering more range from their electric vehicles. Range anxiety is real, but over played due to 2 car households, public charging, business model and battery innovation, and especially due to the convenience of plug-in hybrids.