Green Car News
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Natural gas has not proven popular for vehicles bought by individual consumers, but some fleet operators continue to find it an attractive alternative to gasoline and diesel. That's because the lack of public fueling infrastructure proves a major drawback for natural-gas passenger cars, but fleets can circumvent that by operating their own centralized fueling stations. That's the case with UPS, which invested $100 million in natural-gas fueling stations and vehicles last year, and now plans to expand that program. DON'T MISS: Audi A5 is third model to run on natural gas, for Europe only The...
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What does a Chevy Volt do when it runs out of gas and battery charge?
Unlike conventional hybrids and many plug-in hybrids, the first-generation Chevrolet Volt makes extensive use of both electric and gasoline power. With a fully-charged battery pack, it will drive on electric power alone until the charge is depleted, at which point the onboard gasoline engine...
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla Model S lineup slims down as 60, 60D versions end
The ever-shifting Tesla Model S lineup has gone through another change. It will slim down as Tesla discontinues the electric car's current base models—the rear-wheel drive Model S 60, and the all-wheel drive Model S 60D, both with 60 kilowatt-hours of battery capacity. Both versions are being...
Stephen Edelstein -
Bolt EV impressions, Kia Niro mileage, small-car bargains, what Trump told EPA: The Week in Reverse
What did President Trump actually say he'd tell the EPA to do when he spoke to automakers in Detroit on Wednesday? Why did one longtime reader decide to cancel his order for a 238-mile Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car...
John Voelcker -
2017 Kia Niro: gas mileage review
However you choose to view the 2017 Kia Niro hybrid—Kia says it's a crossover utility, we call it a wagon—it's a good-looking and relatively capacious small car. The debate over segments comes because the Niro has neither the ground clearance of a utility vehicle nor available all-wheel...
John Voelcker -
Trump on EPA emissions rules, $10 billion electric-car buy, Lexus UX: Today's Car News
Today, we have analysis of President Donald Trump's much-discussed appearance in Detroit, 30 cities plan to buy $10 billion worth of electric cars, and why the upcoming Lexus UX crossover may get a hybrid powertrain. All this and more on Green Car Reports. A female Tesla engineer is suing the...
Stephen Edelstein -
It may have taken some time, but the auto industry is now reacting to Tesla in full force. More than four years after the first Tesla Model S was delivered, we are on the verge of a bumper crop of luxury electric cars. A mix of established automakers and startups looking to emulate Tesla's success are planning a growing array of new models, the first of which will enter production next year. DON'T MISS: Six new electric cars coming for 2018 and 2019 While some of this contingent are sedans like the Model S, many are crossover utilities that compete more directly with the Tesla Model X. That's...
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What Trump did and didn't say in Detroit on EPA emission rules
One of the challenges of today's uber-polarized political environment is that fear and alarmism increasingly overtake the factual realities of an issue. This appears to be the case with President Donald Trump's Wednesday appearance in Detroit to announce the reopening of the comment period for EPA...
John Voelcker -
30 cities join to explore $10 billion electric-car purchase
While federal policies to reduce vehicular emissions of carbon dioxide are now back in the limelight, it's a different story on the state and local level. A group of 30 U.S. cities is discussing a major purchase of electric cars for their municipal fleets. The cities have jointly asked automakers...
Stephen Edelstein -
Lexus UX small crossover may get hybrid version that Toyota C-HR won't
For better or worse, many Toyota models ultimately donate their underpinnings to the Japanese automaker's Lexus luxury brand. That may not give certain Lexus models the pedigree some purists desire, but it's a fact of life in the modern auto industry—and an effective way for Toyota to...
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla engineer alleges 'culture of discrimination' against women
A female Tesla engineer has accused the automaker of widespread discrimination against women. In a lawsuit filed last year, AJ Vandermeyden alleged Tesla ignored complaints of "pervasive harassment" of female employees, paid her a lower salary than men doing the same work, and promoted...
Stephen Edelstein -
Porsche Mission E electric car to cost less than Panamera sedan
Porsche's most ardent fans no longer complain about the expansion of the German sports-car maker's lineup into sedans and, even worse, sport-utility vehicles. The large Panamera sedan and the Cayenne and Macan SUVs are not only some of Porsche's more popular models, but fund its development of the...
John Voelcker -
Today, a Tesla Model S owner test drives the Chevrolet Bolt EV, the Lucid Air electric car gets a confirmed base price, and Volkswagen submits its draft "Electrify America" charging-infrastructure plan to regulators. All this and more on Green Car Reports. See what a Tesla Model S owner thinks of the Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car. The Lucid Air electric luxury sedan will start at $60,000, undercutting the Tesla Model S somewhat. Volkswagen submitted a draft plan for electric-car charging infrastructure to regulators as part of its diesel-emissions settlement. Here's what the plan includes...
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European electric and plug-in hybrid sales for Jan 2017
It's a new year, and that means a reset of the tally of European electric-car sales. In January, the top-selling European-market electric car of 2016 maintained its status for one more month. The Renault Zoe accumulated 2,602 sales in the first month of the year. DON'T MISS: Nissan e-NV200 beats...
Stephen Edelstein -
VW's Electrify America submits electric-car charging plan to EPA, CARB: now what?
Volkswagen has submitted a plan for electric-charging infrastructure to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board. VW's "Electrify America" plan shows how the automaker would spend funds it is required to commit to zero-emission vehicle infrastructure under the...
Stephen Edelstein -
Lucid Air priced slightly below Tesla Model S at $60,000
The Lucid Air electric car will be available in a base model with less power and a lower range than the high-end model unveiled last year, but at a much lower price. A Lucid Motors press release confirmed the Air base model will start at $52,500, after the $7,500 federal tax credit for electric...
Stephen Edelstein -
Chevy Bolt EV tested by Tesla Model S owner: his assessment
Fleeing my home in New York’s Hudson Valley for California during February and March has a number of charms. Currently at the top of the list: reading about Winter Storm Stella while watching the surfers at Rincon Beach. For electric-car nuts like me, however, there’s another California...
David Noland -
Tesla battery bet, next Audi electric car, governors support renewable energy: Today's Car News
Today, Tesla offers South Australia battery energy storage within 100 days of signing a contract, Audi will follow the e-tron SUV with a smaller electric car, and a bipartisan group of governors urges President Donald Trump to support wind and solar energy. All this and more on Green Car Reports...
Stephen Edelstein -
The Renault-Nissan Alliance's plans for future electric cars are beginning to come into focus. The two automakers have dominated global battery-electric car sales with the Nissan Leaf and Renault Zoe, as well as lower-volume models like the Nissan e-NV200 and Renault Kangoo ZE electric vans. But many of the automakers' electric models are due for redesigns, and the two carmakers are also expected to emphasize lower costs in a bid to compete in developing markets like China and India. DON'T MISS: Nissan Leaf leases can extend until all-new 2018 electric car late this year: updated With that in...
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After Audi e-tron, next electric car to be compact BMW i3 competitor
Next year, the Audi e-tron luxury electric crossover is expected to arrive at U.S. dealers, bringing Audi into direct competition with the Tesla Model X roughly three years after the world's first all-electric utility vehicle went into production. But with a pledge to sell 25 percent of its cars...
John Voelcker -
Small turbo engines get good MPG ratings; real-world use may be a different story
Automakers may gradually be putting more emphasis on plug-in electric cars and conventional hybrids, but they are far from done with plain old internal combustion. Over the past few years, automakers have applied more technology to a wider array of cars in order to boost their efficiency to meet...
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla offers South Australia battery storage within 100 days
If only we could all be as optimistic, and energetic, as Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Even as Tesla gears up for mass production of the Model 3 electric car and a hoped-for annual production rate of 500,000 total cars by next year, Musk has found time to place a high-profile bet on the renewable energy...
Stephen Edelstein -
Bipartisan governors' group urges Trump to back solar, wind power
The new presidential administration seems poised to take a radically different approach to energy policy than its predecessor. That approach is founded on denial of accepted climate science, and an expressed desire to promote the fossil-fuel industry, including the so-called revival of coal. But...
Stephen Edelstein -
Which luxury brand will do best in electric cars? Poll results
Within the next two years we will see new all-electric luxury cars from Audi, BMW, Jaguar, and Mercedes-Benz appear in actual showrooms. All four of those makes have shown concepts for their pricey, 200-mile-plus electric cars, and most of them are expected to go on sale in the second half of next...
John Voelcker