First Drive Subscribe
First Drive: 2010 Lincoln MKT EcoBoost and MKS EcoBoost
2010 Lincoln MKT EcoBoost – Click above for high-res image gallery For the last year and a half, Ford has repeatedly discussed EcoBoost as its high volume, mainstream technology for reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. While Ford is putting a lot of effort into developing hybrids, plug-in hybrids and battery electric vehicles, the high cost of those technologies will keep volumes low for the near term. Meanwhile, gasoline engine downsizing combined with turbocharging and direct fuel injection (GTDI) can cut consumption for a ... Read more →
Quick Drive: Nissan EV-02 prototype Sam Abuelsamid
Nissan EV-02 prototype - click above for a high res gallery Among the world's high-volume manufacturers, two stand apart from the crowd in their efforts to bring battery electric vehicles to the ...
First Drive: Chevrolet Volt powertrain mule w/VIDEO Sam Abuelsamid
Chevy Volt powertrain mule - click above for a high res gallery It's been 28 months since we watched Bob Lutz drive onto the stage at Cobo Hall in Detroit and step out of the Chevrolet Volt concept. ...
Quick Drive: Ford Fiesta 5-door hatchback Sam Abuelsamid
Ford Fiesta - click above for a high res gallery For all the strength that the U.S. automakers have shown in the realm of big trucks and SUVs over the last thirty years, they are remarkably weak ...
Quick Drive: 2010 Mercedes-Benz ML450 Hybrid, two-mode goes German Sam Abuelsamid
Click above for a high res gallery of the Mercedes-Benz ML450 hybrid An hour after Mercedes-Benz unveiled its new ML450 hybrid at the New York Auto Show, we got to take our first quick drive in ...
More first-drive news
Ford Fiesta first impression: very, very cool 3 months ago on AutoblogGreen
We'll admit, we're a little bummed we didn't win a chance for the six-month Ford Fiesta visiting rights. Sadly, we're even less enthused about our Fiesta-free 2009 now that we've had a chance to read Autoblog's first impression of this little wonder. This is good news for Ford, which is bringing ...
First Drive: 2010 Toyota Prius puts up BIG numbers 3 months ago on AutoblogGreen
2010 Toyota Prius – Click above for high-res image gallery When you sit in the 2010 Toyota Prius, you notice all those little things that provide the "Prius experience" – the shift lever, information screen, center-mounted instrument panel – are all present, but they're ...
ABG First Drive: Think City electric car 3 months ago on AutoblogGreen
Click above for a gallery of the Th!nk City in Detroit Pulling out of the parking lot in the Th!nk City electric car yesterday, the first thing I noticed was the sound. No, not the wonderful silence that is usually first on my mind when I'm on an EV, but something loud coming from the front of ...
First Drive: Sailing in Stuttgart with Porsche's Cayenne S Hybrid 3 months ago on AutoblogGreen
Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid - Click above for high-res gallery While charging along at 85 mph with a particularly poker-faced Porsche engineer riding shotgun, traffic begins to cluster on the horizon. Not willing to risk our seven-figure prototype, I gently roll off the accelerator, at which point ...
First Drive: 2009 Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid and GMC Sierra Hybrid 4 months ago on AutoblogGreen
Click above for high-res gallery of the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra Hybrid The more things change, the more they stay the same. Once again, this time-honored dictum is proving true as pickup trucks regain their rightful place at the top of the U.S. sales charts following a precipitous fall ...
ABG Quick Drive: Ford Focus EV mule [w/VIDEO] 5 months ago on AutoblogGreen
Click the Focus EV "mule" for a high res gallery As Ford was getting ready to make its big announcement this week in Detroit that it would build and sell a battery electric car beginning in 2011, I got a call asking if I'd like to come down and drive one of the development "mules." Being loathe ...
ABG First Drive: 2010 Honda Insight, 63.4 mpg! 5 months ago on AutoblogGreen
Click above for high-res gallery of the 2010 Honda Insight Honda may not have been first to market with a modern hybrid electric vehicle, but the original Insight did beat the Toyota Prius to the US by a few months. As so many other companies have discovered over the years, being first doesn't ...
First Drive: 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid 6 months ago on AutoblogGreen
43.1 mpg on the streets of LA! Click above for high-res gallery of the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid While General Motors and Chrysler basically turned out the lights on their presence at the LA Auto Show last month, Ford kicked off one of its biggest product onslaughts in decades. The 2010 Mustang ...
ABG First Drive: 2009 BMW 335d 7 months ago on AutoblogGreen
Click the 335d for a high res gallery Last week, BMW revealed most of the details on its first new 50-state legal clean diesels and we've now had the chance to spend some quality time behind the wheel of the new US-spec 335d. Following our arrival at Los Angeles International Airport, we were ...
ABG Quick Drive: Battery-powered MINI-E w/VIDEO 7 months ago on AutoblogGreen
Click the MINI E for a high res gallery For three days before and during the media previews for the Los Angeles Auto Show last week, BMW had about a dozen electric MINIs available for evaluation drives. We finally got our crack at one Thursday morning at the LA convention center. The 6.5 mile ...
First Drive: Daimler F-Cell, Hyundai FCEV, Toyota FCHV and GM HydroGen4 8 months ago on AutoblogGreen
Click above for more shots of the GM HydroGen4 fuel cell Equinox The hydrogen economy seems to be very far away into the future, if it ever comes to fruition at all. If hydrogen is going to make a significant impact as a major source of energy, an infrastructure for getting the hydrogen to ...
First Drive: 2009 Saturn Vue 2 Mode Hybrid 8 months ago on AutoblogGreen
Click above to view high-res gallery of the Saturn VUE 2 Mode Hybrid We attended the New York-area "GM Collection" event this week, which is basically an opportunity for journalists to drive a variety of 2009 models up at Bear Mountain, an hour or so outside Manhattan. What we didn't know going ...
Driven: 2009 Tesla Roadster v1.5 8 months ago on AutoblogGreen
Click above for high-res gallery of Tesla Roadster v1.5 Last January we landed an exclusive first drive of the Tesla Roadster. We were impressed, but well aware that the particular two-gear model we drove that wet afternoon wasn't identical to the version set to land in customers' hands later in ...
Drive Impression: Audi TT TDI, who says you can't have a diesel sports car! 8 months ago on AutoblogGreen
Click the TT for a high res gallery In conjunction with the Audi Mileage Marathon, the company also brought along some extra vehicles that are being used by the staff that are supporting the event. Among those are a pair of TT TDIs that were sent over but will unfortunately probably never be ...
AutoblogGreen First Drive: 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Sedan 9 months ago on AutoblogGreen
2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI The state of California has the toughest vehicle emissions regulations in the world with its LEV II (and the corresponding national Tier 2 Bin 5) standards. Those rules treat all engine types the same regardless of what type of fuel they use. It doesn't matter if the ...
ABG First Drive: 2009 Honda Fit Sport 10 months ago on AutoblogGreen
Click the 2009 Honda Fit Sport for a high res gallery When Honda introduced the first generation Fit to the North American market in mid-2006, its timing couldn't have been better. The entry level hatchback appeared just as fuel prices in the U.S. were heading skyward. Ever since then, the Fit has ...
ABG First Drive: 2009 Chevy Silverado Hybrid and Silverado XFE 10 months ago on AutoblogGreen
Let's get something out of the way right now. Not every vehicle we write about here is going to be as efficient as a Prius or have a plug or require pedal power. There is a huge market place of vehicles out there. None of those vehicles are for everyone. Not everyone needs or wants a Prius or a ...
ABG First Drive: 2009 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid 11 months ago on AutoblogGreen
Click for a high-res gallery As of this month GM is adding a third model to its family of Two-Mode hybrids as the Cadillac Escalade hybrid becomes the first luxury SUV so equipped. The Escalade is of course built on the same GMT900 platform as the Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon. As such much of what ...
ABG First Drive: 2009 Chrysler Aspen/Dodge Durango 2-Mode hybrids 11 months ago on AutoblogGreen
Click the Aspen Hybrid for a high-res gallery This summer, Chrysler hits the market with the 2-Mode hybrid Dodge Durango and Chrysler Aspen. Chrysler and former owner Daimler partnered with General Motors and BMW back in 2006 to help bring the 2-Mode hybrid system to light-duty vehicles. The setup ...
AutoblogGreen First Drive: 2009 Mercedes-Benz BLUETEC SUVs 1 year ago on AutoblogGreen
Click the ML320 BLUETEC for a high res gallery Mercedes-Benz kicked off the race to the finish line for 50-state legal, urea-injected diesels this week with a first drive in Vermont. Mercedes chose Vermont for the international media debut of its BLUETEC diesel SUVs for the scenic vistas and the ...
ABG First Drive: 2009 Ford Escape Hybrid 1 year ago on AutoblogGreen
Click the 2009 Escape Hybrid for a high res gallery When we visited with the 2008 Ford Escape hybrid last year, it had just received a whole new look. It went from the softer, rounder appearance of the first-generation model that debuted in 2001 to a sharper-edged look more in keeping with its big ...
First Drive: 2008 Audi A4 3.0 TDI Quattro 1 year ago on AutoblogGreen
Click the A4 TDI for a high-res gallery This week Audi invited invited a group of auto scribes to come over to their home turf and drive the newest edition of the A4 sedan. We spent a day driving a couple of hundred miles around Bavaria in the A4 TDI 3.0 Quattro and came away very impressed by both ...
ABG First Drive: Hitting the road in the Tesla Roadster! 1 year ago on AutoblogGreen
Click on the Tesla Roadster for a high-res gallery var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/autos/AutoblogGreen_gets_the_first_drive_of_the_Tesla_Roadster'; Ever since Tesla Motors emerged from its Silicon Valley startup stealth mode in July 2006, the company has been getting a remarkable amount of media ...
First Drive: 2009 Honda FCX Clarity on the road 1 year ago on AutoblogGreen
It's ironic that the FCX Clarity debuted at this time in this place just weeks after much of the surrounding hillsides were engulfed in flames. Fires at this time of year are pretty typical in this region, but 2007 was especially bad after a long period of drought. Global warming probably didn't ...
First Drive: 2009 Honda FCX Clarity, world's first series production fuel cell car 1 year ago on AutoblogGreen
Click on the FCX Clarity for a high-res gallery digg_url = 'http://digg.com/hardware/Blogger_takes_Honda_s_10m_hydrogen_fuel_cell_FCX_Clarity_for_a_test_drive'; What you see pictured above is the world's first fuel cell-powered car designed from the ground up expressly for that purpose with ...
