safety

More than three-quarters of the American public say limited driving range is a point of concern when considering an electric vehicle, while almost 30 percent indicated that they thought EVs were more dangerous than conventional vehicles, Consumer Reports said, citing responses to its 2012 Car ...

Maybe this will calm some of the "plug-in cars are scary!" fears that are out there. Recently, a Nissan Leaf driver rear-ended a school bus in Oregon, causing minor injuries but no fire, the Yamhill Valley News-Register reported. The Leaf's front and side airbags deployed during the accident, ...

General Motors has launched an advertising campaign touting the safety of the Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in electric vehicle, just as its CEO testified to Congress that a recent Volt fire that took place after a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration crash test would never occur ...

Chevrolet dealers in some U.S. markets are turning away Chevrolet Volts that General Motors is allocating to them, indicating that consumers remain concerned that the extended-range plug-in vehicles pose an additional safety risk relative to convention cars, are too expensive or are otherwise not ...

In the wake of a post-accident fire at a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration facility and with a safety probe underway, GM is considering a redesign of the battery used in the plug-in hybrid Chevy Volt. GM Chief Executive Dan Akerson has said he is open the possibility of redesigning ...

Hybrid models don't just have the advantage of fuel economy over their gas-only siblings – it appears that batteries and electric motors make them safer as well. To find this out, the Highway Loss Data Institute studied 25 2003 to 2011 vehicles that featured both conventional and hybrid ...

Yesterday, a House of Representatives panel kicked off a hearing to review the Obama Administration's fuel economy standards of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. Today, U.S. regulators, including officials from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Environmental ...

Only 286 Model Year 2007 to 2011 units are thought to be affected by a recall issued by the NHTSA, but when the vehicles in question are the converted-by-Roush, propane-fueled Ford E-Series vans, 286 units turns out to be quite a lot. Roush has announced it's recalling some of its converted ...

Honda is recalling 2011 CR-Z hybrids with manual transmissions to update software that controls the hatchbacks electric motor. This recall is part of a global campaign that involves nearly 960,000 vehicles, including the not-for-U.S.-consumption Honda Fit Hybrid, for problems with its window ...

The 2011 Chevrolet Aveo hatchback, to be sold in North America as the Chevy Sonic starting this fall, has received a five-star safety rating from the European New Car Assessment Program (Euro NCAP). According to NCAP, the Aveo hatchback scored 85 out of 100 points, which places it among the top ...