We Obsessively Cover the Green Scene…

Given that the 2013 Avalon shares a platform with the new Lexus ES, this news should come as no surprise: Toyota's largest sedan is getting its own hybrid variant for the first time ever. Judging by these first photos, carspotters will have to squint hard to tell that they're looking at a hybrid, as there are only a few small badges and blue-tinted lenses as a tip-off to this vehicle's gas-electric motivation.

As with its luxury-minded sibling, the Avalon Hybrid will arrive under the spell of a 2.5-liter Atkinson-cycle four paired with a duo of electric motors juiced by a nickel-metal hydride battery pack. Total system power is stated at 200 horsepower, but the meatier number is an EPA fuel economy rating of 40 miles per gallon city and 39 highway.

Also like its Lexus relation, Toyota is touting a trio of operation modes that includes pure EV (only good for one mile at speeds up to 25 mph), Eco, and Sport, the latter of which tweaks both steering weight and throttle response.

Toyota hasn't released any dynamic performance figures or pricing information, but the new Avalon Hybrid will be in dealers this fall, where it will square off against the Buick LaCrosse eAssist and soon-to-be-replaced Lincoln MKZ Hybrid.

Electric vehicle fans the world over can get a kick out of Gísli Gíslason, a leader in Iceland's push to take the bountiful renewable energy that country produces and stuff it into as many EVs as possible. When he was recently pulled over for speeding in his white Tesla Roadster for going 124 kilometers per hour (77 miles per hour) – the first time an EV has been pulled over in Iceland – he told local media that, "I forgot myself in good weather," and encouraged other drivers to be careful. He also recognized the incident as something bigger than one man's lead foot, telling AutoblogGreen it was, "A great marketing stunt."

The charismatic Gislason, CEO of Northern Lights Energy, is even more excited about a bigger piece of news, though – he calls it "the hottest news in Iceland" – which is that the bill to reduce the high "value added tax" (VAT) rate on electric vehicles has passed. He shared the news that at 22:15 on the last day that the Parliament was in session before summer vacation, the bill was accepted. As we reported earlier, this bill does completely remove the VAT (currently set at 25.5 percent for vehicles, which Gislason calls "the highest in the world"), just on the first $45,000 of the price of EVs. Thus, electric vehicles like the Nissan Leaf and other smaller cars will be VAT free. The NLE staff, which is working to import and sell EVs in Iceland, celebrated with champagne and, as Gislason put it, "Let the games begin."

Toyota has already made it abundantly clear the company intends to scale back production in Japan in an attempt to combat the ever-strengthening Yen, and now it looks as if we know one of the ways the automaker plans to do so. Toyota has announced it will manufacture U.S. and Canadian-spec Yaris models in its Onnaing-Valenciennes facility in France. The plant has been producing the Yaris hatchback for European buyers since 2001, though this marks the first time in Toyota history that the automaker has built a vehicle in Europe and imported the model to the States.

North American-spec Yaris models differ slightly from their European counterparts. In addition to using different fascia designs front and rear, the NA model comes available with an automatic transmission and a market-specific 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine. There is some differentiation in safety equipment between the two models as well.

Japanese automakers have recently revealed that building cars in Japan and exporting them around the globe is quickly becoming a money-losing proposition. Honda has made it clear the company is seeking alternatives to producing models like the Fit and CR-Z in Japan due to the high costs associated with exporting the vehicles.

At the big launch event Friday for the Tesla Model S, invited journalists were able to get just a few precious moments behind the wheel. The drives were far too short, everyone agreed (most were just 10 minutes long), but people made the best of it, including our companions over at Engadget, where Myriam Joire says, "you don't have to be a car nut to appreciate all the innovation and technology that's gone into Tesla's sophomore vehicle." She continues, "So what's it like to drive the Model S? In a word: amazing. ... The Model S is surprisingly nimble for such a large and heavy automobile, and it doesn't sacrifice ride quality for the sake of dynamics – it handled rough roads with composure and just the right amount of stiffness." Our favorite bit is this one: "Acceleration is where the Model S shines. The electric motor dishes out gobs of linear, head-snapping torque, quickly propelling you past the speed limit – you've been warned."

We're working on getting some real Autoblog seat time, but for now we look at other first impressions from around the internet, which are universally positive, something that's darn hard to come by in this day and age:

• Motor Trend calls it, "an out-of-this-world sedan that happens to be electric" and adds that, "after a walk through the factory, a visit to a dealer showroom, and an hour-and-a-half spent driving the car on a mix of roads, my eyes are wide and my jaw has dropped."
• CNet says that upon, "seeing a straight road ahead I ... let the pedal meet the floor. The Model S felt like a freight train, with inexorable acceleration pushing forward without a break. There were no power peaks – it was all torque all the time."
• GigaOm says, "The low center of gravity, smooth ride, and lack of vibration were pretty amazing."
• Yahoo! News reports that, "the Tesla Model S successfully challenges a century of assumptions about what a great car can be" and that, "from behind the wheel of the Tesla Model S, you feel you're driving the future, instead of burning increasingly limited gallons of the past."
• Our old friend Damon Lavrinc, now at Wired, says, "if our brief seat time is any indication, Tesla hasn't just delivered a functional, all-electric sedan – it's made a luxury EV that can outpace and outclass the stalwarts of the premium sports sedan segment, while changing the perceptions of electric mobility. It's also a complete hoot to drive."
• USA Today makes it simple: "There's no other way to put it: Tesla's Model S luxury sedan is spectacular."

What you read there, in other words, is a paradigm being shifted. We've got some video reviews below.

Say hello to the latest diesel hybrid, the new Peugeot 508 HYbrid4.

This is the third body style to feature the automaker's HYbrid4 technology, the others being the DS5 and the 3008. The four-wheel-drive diesel-electric spits out just 95 grams of CO2 per kilometer, Peugeot says, from a 2-liter HDi diesel engine that offers 120 kW (163 horsepower) alongside a 27-kW (37-hp) electric motor. That's the same set-up that has been the heart of the HYbrid4 powerplant since the system was launched in 2009.

If you're more used to mpg numbers than CO2/km, that's about equivalent to 65 miles per U.S. gallon. The car also has an all-electric mode, alongside "Auto," "Sport" and "4WD," but details on this option were not disclosed. Price, too, has not yet been revealed. On the DS5, going for the diesel-hybrid over the normal powertrain costs an extra $6,000 or so.

There's an old problem on the law book that has hindered plug-in vehicle adoption in the U.S.: figuring out who has the rights to sell electricity. Traditionally, in many areas, only utilities have that right because of, we've heard, unscrupulous landlords who overcharged their tenants. Of course, if you're a landlord today who wants to install an electric vehicle charging station, how do you legally sell your tenants the juice? Colorado has an answer.

A new state law will take effect in August whereby, for $5,000, you can get a permit to sell electricity at a vehicle recharging station. Given that around 1,200 EVs are registered in the state, Governor John Hickenlooper says the new law will encourage more businesses to install vehicle chargers. The Denver Post reports that there are around 60 charging stations in the state ("most" of them currently free), including 40 at various Walgreens. Dave Altman, regional development and government sales chief for Eaton, told the paper that he expects $1-an-hour battery charging to become a reality soon.

Earlier this month, Audi released a video about the e-tron pilot project featuring the plug-in A3 hatchback in Colorado. There's also a federal program, Fostering Electric Vehicle Expansion in the Rockies (FEVER) that, well, the name describes what it's about.

In December of 2011, BMW and Toyota signed an agreement to collaborate on lithium-ion battery development, and the deal included a provision where BMW would small-displacement diesel engines for Toyota products sold in Europe. It was brought up at the time that the partnership could expand further, and seven months later, it apparently has: Reuters reports the two companies "have now agreed several projects" in "other fields of cooperation."

The Reuters report, based on an article in Germany's Der Spiegel, said there were no more specifics but that the two company CEOS would make an announcement "in the near future." A story in Germany's Manager magazine went further, however, citing the same Der Spiegel piece and saying that BMW and Toyota would form an alliance around "joint projects in hybrid technology, fuel cells, vehicle electronics" and lightweight technology.

The announcement isn't surprising – BMW's move into the small, lightweight hybrid space with its forthcoming i sub-brand gives it all the reason to save R&D dollars by teaming up with the company considered the world's green auto leader, and the rumored expansion topics could help replace BMW's partnership with Peugeot, on the rocks ever since the French firm tied up with General Motors' Opel division. We'll know more when an official announcement is made.

Get this: the recharge time in the humongous Tesla Model S battery pack – yes, the 300-mile version – could be as short as an hour. That is, if you happen to have one of Tesla's Supercharger stations handy.

At the big Model S launch event Friday, Tesla chief technology officer J.B. Straubel told Automotive News that the upcoming 90-kW 440-volt Superchargers will be able to recharge a top-of-the-line, 300-mile-range car in an hour. Say what you want about proprietary technology, that's far, far faster than today's DC Fast Chargers, which take 20-30 minutes to give an EV around 80 miles of range. He said that, "If you recharge a Nissan Leaf in 30 minutes, it's much different than if you can do a 300-mile Model S in 30 minutes," adding that putting 150 miles of range into a Model S in a half-hour is "not science fiction," and will be unveiled "in less than one year."

Other numbers from Friday's event:

• Tesla is building a Model S a day right now, but this could ramp up to 80/day by the end of the year. That equals 8,000 from the first year, given a single shift working.
• At the end of Q1 2012, there were 9,800 reservations for the Model S, which means putting money down today equals a delivery in May 2013. This could be shortened if Tesla ramps production up quicker than anticipated.
• There should be 22 Tesla stores in the U.S. by the end of the year (there are 12 today). Tesla had expected 1,000 people a month to stop in, but apparently around 4,000 stop by.

For more on Tesla's Supercharging network, read this and this.

This weekend, Nissan was accepting Tweets as payment for cab rides in Nissan Leaf battery-electric vehicles in. The reasoning? To boost the profile of its electric vehicles in the UK.

Nissan says riders needed to send Tweets that included the hashtag '#6XCHEAPER' and their destination to get a free lift. Why that hashtag? Nissan estimates that powering a Leaf is about one-sixth the cost of paying for fuel in a conventional vehicle and says it's no skin off their back to offer free cab rides because running the cabs is so cheap.

The promotion was part of Nissan's "The Big Turn On" campaign that launched in April that was geared towards getting one million people to experience electric-vehicle driving in just 100 days. Through this and other events, that goal was reached June 20, 18 days ahead of schedule.

In a blink-and-you'd-miss-it announcement during an event in Berlin, the head of marketing and sales for Smart, Martin Hülder, told us that the third model in the Smart e-Mobility range – after the Smart ForTwo Electric Drive and eBike – will be the Smart electric scooter (or "smart scooter"). To be fair, the original announcement happened in mid-May at a shindig in Davos, Switzerland, but Daimler had some new news for us in Berlin.

The stylish two-wheeler was first shown at the 2010 Paris Motor Show but was whisked into limbo from there, presumably to end up a no-go along with several previous ideas from the traditionally cash-burning company. Instead, the scooter has gotten the green light and the United States is a key market for it.

To rehash the features of the silent plug-in runabout, a 48-volt lithium-ion battery pack stored down low behind your feet supplies juice to a 4-kW (i.e. 5.4 horsepower) wheel-hub electric motor at the rear wheel. Top speed is listed at 45 km/h or 28 mph – a choice by Smart that allows the scooter to be driven on streets in many countries before one has a driver's license.

By all accounts, the Renault Twizy is a surprisingly entertaining vehicle to drive. With its very low center of gravity, firm suspension and wheels at the extreme corners, it can whip around turns with extraordinary confidence. What happens though, if all its grip goes away? Will it drift?

That's the question Autocar asks and answers in a new short-and-sweet video. (Yes, some automotive enthusiast publications prefer to endow electric vehicles with more grip, others like to take it away.) With a mere 17 horsepower on tap, the 2-seat city car/scooter thingamajig isn't able spin its tires into a smoking frenzy on dry tarmac. Throw adequate amounts of water down however, and the equation changes.

Spoiler alert: Due to a nicely balanced chassis and rear wheel drive, the Twiz can whiz sideways in a nice, controllable manner. Of course, this attribute won't be a direct benefit to many, but still, for those brave souls with a down parka (the Twizy doesn't have side windows) and a sense of adventure, this sort of knowledge might come in handy in the winter.

Scroll on down for a bit of entertaining episode of "will it drift?" from Autocar. As a bonus, we've also thrown in their 'straight" review. Extra special double bonus? Fully Charged's Twizy video review.

The American Le Mans Series is going a little greener next season. Teams are developing Le Mans Prototype Challenge cars that use natural gas in place of traditional race fuel. According to The Washington Post, Patrick Racing is already working on a natural gas 430-horsepower Chevrolet LS3 V8 to power a 1,985-pound ORECA FLM09 chassis. Rated at 130 octane, the fuel is ideal for high-compression race engine applications.

ALMS has made it clear the series is pushing to become one of the world's most efficient by following the Environmental Protection Agency Green Racing protocols. Last year, organizers started researching both natural gas and electric systems for race teams, and while ALMS is keeping details on the Prototype Challenge program quiet at the moment, The Washington Post says that the natural-gas racers should be ready in time for the 2013 season.

We're noticing a trend, here: people like to play with their Nissan Leaf electric vehicles. Some like to drive it insane distances, some like to make it go faster and some like to just make it moar biggar.

Example #1. The distance driver. Tony Williams of LoveMyLeaf.com recently drove his car from Baja California to British Columbia (BC 2 BC, at it's known). The trip was part adventure – he didn't know where he was going to charge up some days – and part advocacy, as Williams helped spread the EV message along the way, including a stop at the Electric Automobile Association's meeting in Cupertino, CA a few days ago.

Example #2. Car and Driver recently took a Leaf to the skidpad and, after swapping tire, turned the EV from a not-so-great 0.79 g to a near-1.0 g machine. Video here.

Example #3. Stretch limo Leaf. Thanks to the modders without fear at Imperial Coach Builders of Springfield, MO, we have our first confirmed Nissan Leaf stretch limo. Head electrician Nathan Daily makes it sound simple. "We took a regular Nissan Leaf electric sedan and we cut it into two and basically extended the frame and everything to add a center section to it to stretch it into a limousine," he told Ozarks First. Exactly what this modification does to the range and other specs is not explained, but you can watch video of the conversion here.

The Big Apple is about to get a little greener.

New York State and the federal government will invest $4.4 million building out 325 electric-vehicle charging stations across the state, many of which are expected to be in the largest U.S. city.

The state's Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and the U.S. Department of Energy are teaming up on the project, which will provide funding to 10 companies and municipalities. Among the recipients of the funding will by Coulomb Technologies, which will receive $1 million to deploy 81 stations; the New York Power Authority, which will get almost $1 million to install 124 stations at bus and train depots; and the New York Port Authority, which will get $720,000 to install EV charging stations for fleet vehicles.

"Creating an infrastructure to accommodate electric vehicles will create jobs and new economic development across the state, while reducing our carbon footprint and helping protect the environment," New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a statement earlier this month.

NYSERDA will also oversee a $10 million fund that offers vouchers – for as much as $20,000 per vehicle – to companies that buy plug-in commercial trucks. About three-quarters of the state's oil use stems from transportation, according to the NYSERDA.

New York State currently accounts for 428 of the more than 10,000 electric-vehicle charging stations across the country, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. California has almost 2,400 stations, while Texas and Washington State each have more than 800.