News

The Meguru electric trike is a low-speed urban runabout built from lacquered recycled iron, bamboo and washi paper – a car that you can throw on the compost heap when it reaches the end of its life. The Meguru is a new breed of electric vehicle intended for use in Japanese towns. It is barely heavier than a cycle rickshaw and has a range of...

A team of French students has built a single-seat diesel-powered car with CO2 emmisions of 0.88g/km – less than one per cent of that produced the most recent Toyota Prius hybrid (89g/km). The car competed in the Shell Eco marathon in Germany earlier this month and achieved an impressive 8,372mpg – the equivalent of driving from London to...

Toyota, a company that favours hybrid technology such as that used in its Prius over electric vehicles, is to buy a £35m ($50m) stake in California electric-sports car maker Tesla. The decision comes months before Nissan is due to start selling the 100 per cent electric Leaf car in America. As car makers in America are jostling to produce...

In stark contrast with the pro-electric vehicle stance adopted by Nissan, and Toyota’s announcement yesterday that it plans to invest in Tesla, head of research and development at Honda, Tomohiko Kawanabe, this week told Bloomberg news: “We are definitely conducting research on electric cars, but I can’t say I can wholeheartedly recommend...

The Nissan Leaf, the world’s first mass-market electric car, will offer significant environmental advantages over conventional vehicles, but is to cost £28,350 when it goes on sale in Britain early next year – £10,000 more than a similarly-sized clean diesel such as the VW Golf Bluemotion. If the government honours its commitment to offer...

Digital signs that scan cycle paths and display a tally of passing cyclists have been installed by Brighton & Hove City Council. The counter displays also keep track of how many cyclists have passed by since the beginning of the year. Brighton will use the data to monitor cycling levels and hopes the counters will more people to take to...

The Land Rovers built to tackle the most extreme terrain on Earth but that never venture further from a road than a supermarket car park may have been the inspiration for a forthcoming 2WD version of the Range Rover. Four-wheel-drive cars, or SUVs as they are sometimes called, soared in popularity for their elevated driving position, power,...

Two cyclists who between them have ridden their bicycles over 30,000 miles through 31 countries are offering to share their hard-earned knowledge of cycle touring for free in a 60-page e-book. Other advice offered by Friedel and Andrew on their blog includes tips on how to turn a modest £70 bicycle into a touring bike ready for adventure....

London’s new Routemaster hybrid unveiled this week features an open platform, but it is not yet clear whether passngers will be free to hop and off whenever they choose. The new bus is 40 per cent more efficient than the city’s current double deckers and cleaner than existing hybrid designs. Crucially, the 87-seater retains the open...

When environmentalists and road safety campaigners criticise 4X4s, in most part they are objecting to “Chelsea tractors”; the unnecessarily large and heavy off-road cars used primarily in urban areas, and not four-wheel drive city cars like the 66mpg Nissan Carol. Four-wheel drive may add weight to a car, but it is an undeniable aid to safe...