Mercedes and Renault Working on New Small Car Platform
According to a report from Autocar UK, Renault and Mercedes are teaming up to design a new, modular small car platform that will form the basis for a new Smart Car, a new Renault City car and the upcoming Renault Twizy EV. In addition, the two companies are jointly developing new engine platforms to power these vehicles—well, the gas versions anyway.

Climate Change a Threat to Russian Oil Wealth
Two million square miles of permafrost—an area two-thirds the size of the United States has now thawed since the beginning of the 20th century. And all that thawing permafrost is costing the Russian oil and gas industry billions of dollars to repair damaged pipelines and infrastructure as global warming changes the face of western Siberia. The energy program head of Greenpeace in Russia, Vladimir Chuprov, after interviewing experts at Gazprom, concluded, “For Russia, the biggest threat of the permafrost melt

Electric Rolls Royce On Road Within The Year?
You know electric cars are serious when even Rolls Royce is considering ditching fossil fuel for electrons. The maker of luxury cars renowned the world over for their opulence is seriously considering having an electric version of its luxo-bargo Phantom on the road as early as next year… just in time for the 2012 Olympics being held in its native London. But will an electric Rolls work?

Tesla’s Model S Plant 99% Certain to Be Built in Downey, California
If the city council of Downey, CA, approves it tonight, Tesla’s new factory to build the upcoming Model S sedan will be at the site of Downey Studios, just outside of Los Angeles. The plant is expected to initially create up to 1,200 much needed jobs in a city with high unemployment. Read more of this story »

Electric Cars Are Better Even When “Fueled” with Coal
Due to the fact that our current energy grid is roughly 51% coal-powered, electric cars and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) have taken some heat as being more polluting than their manufacturers claim, and as we get closer to the release of actual mass-market electric cars, the debate seems to get more intense. A