The new Kia Soul EV (pictured) has been revealed in Chicago
The Kia Soul EV is Kia’s first effort at a proper mass production EV, and if you’re looking for an electric car it does look promising. Due to go on sale later in 2014 in the US – initially in California, New York and Oregan because of their charging infrastructure – and, Kia promised, the UK and Europe later in 2014 or early 2015, the Soul EV offers a real world driving range of 80-100 miles from a recharge taking half an hour for 80 per cent on a rapid 50kW charger or up to 5 hours for a full recharge from a UK 240 volt supply. The range is helped by Kia’s third-generation regenerative braking system which manages to capture 12 per cent of the car’s kinetic energy, feeding it back in to the battery as electricity during braking and coasting, with four different regeneration modes.
Buyers of 11,351 Chrysler products will be getting a recall notice to fix a problem in the steering column. The recall covers 2011 models of the Chrysler 200 sedan and convertible and the Town & Country minivan; the Dodge Avenger sedan, the Caliber, Nitro and Journey SUVs, and the Grand Caravan minivan; and the Jeep Compass, Liberty, Patriot and Wrangler SUVs. The steering column in some of those vehicles might be missing a pivot rivet, or the rivet may have been installed incorrectly.
In a search for the latest and greatest (and greenest) vehicle advancements, companies like Lincoln are looking to substitute traditionally manufactured items with more eco-friendly ones. Lincoln Motor Co. collaborated with Weyerhaeuser and Johnson Controls in a three-year project to find a suitable replacement for fiberglass in auto parts.