The future of plug-in electric cars boils down to their adoption by drivers. As we have reported, car buyers are leery about EVs and concerned about charging their vehicles in public areas.  A public charging infrastructure is virtually non-existent in the U.S. at this point.

Automakers are working with utility companies, local governments, and municipalities to develop such an infrastructure in a timely manner.

Lack of infrastructure has not dissuaded automakers from

Yes, you PT Cruiser fans read that right; the popular retro hauler has been given a production extension through the end of 2011. As reported by our colleagues over at GreenCarReports.com, the PT Cruiser has a somewhat “irrational” following, especially given a car that was debuted in 1999. In April, I posed the question of whether the PT Cruiser was a ‘Modern Classic or Worn Out Design.’ Check out the review for the full story, but the synopsis

In case you've been trapped in a cubicle for the past few months, it's summer again, and that means gas prices are making their march back up toward their peak. While fears of $4 per gallon gas aren't prominent - yet - Hyundai is pre-empting the rise with a promise of $1.49 gas for a full year, or 12,000 miles, for buyers that take home a new Hyundai before August 31.

The savings from the program, called Gas Lock, could be substantial, at least from a percentage perspective - average

According to the French research organization IFP, making lithium-ion powered hybrids makes economic sense right now for both the carmaker and the buyer.

The research company came to this conclusion after extensively researching a true cost of ownership over the lifetime of a vehicle.  Their comparisons show that lithium-ion plug-in hybrids do not cost significantly more over the entire life of the

If you live in South Florida, your Fisker dealership is on its way. Car selling veteran, Warren Henry Zinn, plans to open a Fisker Chic showroom in North Dade County by the fourth quarter of 2009. The new facility will showcase Fisker's $87,900 plug-in hybrid Karma sports sedan.

Zinn's current network of dealerships sells the likes of Jaguars, Land Rovers, Volvos and Infinitis, so he should be no stranger to the desires of discriminating car buyers. That experience will be put to good use,

The National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) has rolled out a national ad campaign relying, quite simply, on the cuteness of kids.

The print ads depict adorable tykes (or rugrats) discussing how their lives have improved since mommy and daddy bought a new car and rely on sweet-as-sugar but oh-so-transparent tag lines including:

"My mommy says we're gettin' a new car for free!"

"We get to buy more video games 'cuz my dad got this

As our own Richard Read reported this morning, there's news from Capitol Hill that the "Cash For Clunkers" legislation is moving forward.

Who could be against a program that speeds up the elimination of bad, evil vehicles, helping bunnies and wild flowers to breath more easily across the globe? As it stands, the idea behind the program would have the Feds (via the taxes paid by working Americans, profitable American companies, and others that get hosed by existing or new taxes) send new car

The Cash for Clunkers Bill which in effect rewards car buyers for trading in old inefficient vehicles towards new more efficient vehicles has finally passed in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Information about the bill, which we have covered several times previously, can be found here House Bill Cash For Clunkers Meets Resistance From Senate and here Cash For Guzzlers Agreement Reached.

The vote took place yesterday afternoon and met little resistance as it passed with a