Japan quake idles Ford, Toyota Philippine units

MANILA—Toyota and Ford on Wednesday announced temporary shutdowns at their Philippine plants due to expected parts shortages caused by Japan's March 11 earthquake disaster, officials said.

Honda's Philippine subsidiary announced last week it would halve its April output for the same reason

Nissan Leaf Tops the Top 10 'Green' Cars of 2011

With gasoline prices inching up towards a national average of $4 a gallon, Kelley Blue Book’s just-released ranking of the most fuel efficient vehicles for 2011 couldn’t come at a better time.

Drivers of Nissan's electric Leaf report problems

Japanese auto giant Nissan on Monday said customers in the United States and Japan had reported problems restarting their all-electric Leaf vehicles after switching the motor off.

"Some customers have reported problems restarting the car after it has stopped," a Nissan spokesman told AFP

Electric Cars and the Environment 2

Another factor to consider is the environmental impact of producing the electricity that is used to charge the electric vehicle.  Certainly there are many sources of renewable energy which have minimal environmental impact, but the majority of electricity produced in the United States is generated by the burning of coal.  In Texas,

Electric Cars and the Environment

In the first installment of our series on the true costs of driving electric vehicles we looked at a comparison between driving electric powered versus gas powered automobiles.  Although electricity was the cheaper option, it was not as cheap as some people might have imagined.  It’s certainly not free, and your electricity rate can make a big difference in your true savings