July 8th, 2009

By Clint Williams
Green Right Now

Desperate automobile dealers are slashing sticker prices, passing on rebates and offering zero percent financing to move metal, making this a good time to buy a new car. And the good times are about to get better thanks to the federal “Cash for Clunkers” program kicking off later this month.

The Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) signed into law last month is designed to help car makers and the environment by providing vouchers of $3,500 to $4,500 toward the purchase of a new vehicle in exchange for a gas-guzzling clunker. The program essentially inflates the trade-in value of older cars and trucks, providing drivers an incentive to go ahead and buy a new, more fuel-efficient rig right now.

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September 24th, 2008

By John DeFore

Chevy may be stepping up on publicity for its upcoming Volt plug-in, but it isn’t the only American automaker finally throwing itself convincingly into the green marketplace.

In a surprise announcement yesterday, Chrysler showed off not one but three vehicles that, at least within a certain range, can get users around without using a single drop of gasoline.

The three models — a sports car called the Dodge EV, an EV Jeep, and a minivan named Chrysler EV — are touted in this promotional video in which chairman/CEO Bob Nardelli (citing the company’s “social responsibility” to provide environmentally friendly products) boasts, “we intend to deliver on that responsibility faster and more broadly than our competition.”

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