Honda 90951-zv7-010 on 2040-parts.com

Make money from your electric vehicle

Imagine if your Nissan Leaf or Mitsubishi iMiEV started earning its own car payment every month in the form of a rebate check from your local utility. A small (for now) startup in Palo Alto, Calif. called EV Grid Inc.

Aston Martin drops Cygnet city car

Autocar is reporting that the diminutive Aston Martin Cygnet has been dropped from the company’s portfolio. The automaker, now owned by Prodrive and private equity firm Invenstindustrial, will focus on its “core product range,” also known as “good cars.” Autocar posits that the justification for the Cygnet was to continue producing V8 and V12 cars, while keeping its average CO2 emissions down. The Cygnet shared bones with the Toyota iQ city car and used a 97-hp, 1.3-liter engine and got 58.9 mpg using the U.S.

2011 Chevrolet Volt faces toughest test--consumers

Scientists, journalists and a slew of other alleged experts have all weighed in on the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, and now the only verdict that truly matters--the public's--will be rendered. General Motors said 6,348 consumers have taken the extended-range car for a spin during a 12-city “Volt Unplugged Tour,” and not surprisingly, GM's reviewers like it. Still, initial feedback does appear to be truly positive.