The Tesla Roadster
Tesla cars were first offered for sale in two thousand eight. The company says there are now one thousand three hundred Roadsters being driven around the world.
The Roadster can reach speeds up to about two hundred kilometers an hour. And it releases zero pollution. It can travel almost four hundred kilometers before it needs recharging, depending on how fast it is driven.
Fisker Automotive is a new carmaker based in Irvine, California. Its costly sports car is called the Karma. Like the Chevy Volt, the Karma runs on electricity at first. Then it uses gas to power an electric motor. It also has solar panels on the roof. The company says the panels collect enough energy to extend the life of the battery charge. Fisker says the Karma travels about twenty-nine kilometers on a liter of gas and a full electric charge.
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SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Not all new, fuel-efficient cars are electric or hybrid. Diesel engines have long been used in trucks and buses that travel long distances. Diesel fuel is more dense than gasoline. It produces more energy when it burns. High levels of sulfur in diesel made from petroleum have meant diesel engines produce a strong smell. Newer, more refined diesel solves this problem.
Don Hillebrand is the director of transportation research at the Energy Department's Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago, Illinois. His team of engineers works on new diesel technology. He says until recently, American car makers have not offered many diesel cars in the United States.
最新
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25