When buying any new type of technology, it’s important to read the fine print. That’s what some electric car owners are apparently finding out. Otherwise, there is a risk that you could turn your green machine into nothing more than a fancy case for a battery pack that has become a chemical-filled brick.

Drivers are especially bothered by people who text on a cell phone while driving and by able-bodied drivers parking in handicapped spaces. Those are among the findings of a nationally representative telephone survey conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center in January 2012.

Tesla Motor's next electric car, the Model S sedan, still won't be ready until next summer. But the company announced yesterday that it's sticking to its guns on pricing for the next-generation all-electric vehicle.

Honda and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have issued a recall alert for approximately 126,000 Goldwing motorcycles. The company has identified an issue with the motorbikes' secondary brake master cylinders that may cause the rear brakes to drag, increasing the risk of a collision. Riding a motorcycle with a stuck rear brake may also generate enough heat to cause a fire.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has some mixed safety news for those who choose hybrid cars such as the Honda Civic Hybrid. The chances of being injured in a collision while in a green car are 25 percent lower than in a comparable conventional powered car. The bad news? Hybrid car drivers are 20 percent more likely to be involved in accidents with pedestrians.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced a recall of ATVs, or all-terrain vehicles, made by Arctic Cat Inc. of Thief River Falls, Minn. The four-wheeled off-road vehicles have faulty steering tie-rods which can bend and cause a rider to lose control.

The 2012 Ford Focus Electric may be the first all-electric car from one of Detroit's Big Three auto makers. But, it will come with a big price tag.

Harley-Davidson is recalling certain Touring, CVO Touring, and Trike motorcycles from model years 2009 through 2012 because of a faulty rear brake light, and a potential brake fluid leak that could affect rear brake performance.

For the last of our series of updates on Automotive X Prize contestants, we check in on California-based ZAP. We find the company has charged ahead since the contest, expanding its product line and acquiring a Chinese automaker.

Detractors of pricey, fuel-efficient cars, such as the Chevrolet Volt and Toyota Prius, often claim consumers have many cost-effective transportation choices in motorcycles. The two-wheeled vehicles can get mileage that often rivals, or even bests, hybrids without the new car sticker price shock. Still, are they really "green" choices of transportation?

Yamaha is recalling 2,300 VMX17 (V-MAX) motorcycles, because high oil pressure inside the oil pump can cause it to malfunction. If oil stops pumping through the engine, severe engine damage can occur, causing the engine to stall and not restart again, increasing the risk of a crash.

The North American arm of Nissan Motors announced today that the all-electric Nissan Leaf will become more widely-available in the U.S.

Battery-powered electric cars and gas-electric hybrid vehicles might emit less chemical pollutants into the air. But eco-vehicles, such as Toyota's 2012 Prius V hybrid, will have another kind of emission: Noise.

Detractors of all-electric vehicles, beware. A group of German automotive students has set a new distance record for EVs—1,013 miles on a single charge—and may point the way to future battery-powered cars that won't give owners "range anxiety."

One of the great advantages of pure-electric vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf is simplicity. An electric motor drives the wheels through a single-speed transmission. Want to go faster? Just press on the accelerator harder and the motor and single gear spin faster. But an English company wants to challenge that simplistic set-up and make its own electric car that requires a bit more of a hands-on approach.