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  • Tesla Model 3 all-wheel drive Performance rolls off a new assembly line in a temporary structure

    After laying off 9 percent of its workforce last week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk sent a company-wide email in which he claimed an employee had committed "extensive and damaging sabotage" against the company. The news comes on the heels of another Musk tweet that congratulated employees for building the first all-wheel-drive Performance version of the Model 3. Assembly took place on a new line hastily constructed in an aluminum-framed shelter adjacent to the Tesla factory in Fremont, California. Musk had long promised to ramp up production of the Model 3 to 5,000 cars a week, but had been challenged...

  • Mockup of Chargeway dealership kiosk to explain charging to electric-car shoppers, June 2018
    Why Chargeway matters: making EV charging comprehensible for buyers, dealers, utilities, networks

    Ask anyone what kind of fuel their next car will take, and you'll likely get one of three answers: regular, premium, or diesel. Ask that same person what kind of charging an electric car takes, and you'll probably get a blank stare. Ask a salesperson at a car dealer how he explains the different...

  • New Ford Police Interceptor
    Big bets on Byton, Ford "exploring" hybrids with its popular SUV, and Hyundai Ioniq is back; The Week in Reverse

    What's next for the 2019 Hyundai Ioniq? What's next for Ford's Explorer? And what's coming from electric-car startup Byton? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending June 17, 2018. The 2019 Hyundai Ioniq is back this year with...

  • Ford Fusion Hybrid Taxi
    New Ford cab take stabs at fuel-efficient powertrains

    If you're like us, you can remember seas of yellow Ford Crown Victorias dashing through cramped city streets, shuttling tourists and Carrie Bradshaws through New York City. If you're like us, you're also probably old. Ford on Thursday debuted two new taxis for fleet service next year with twists...

  • 2019 Hyundai Ioniq
    2019 Hyundai Ioniq preview

    The 2019 Hyundai Ioniq returns this year as an inexpensive alternative for green car shoppers on a budget. Its lineup has fully matured now; the Ioniq is available as an affordable hybrid, a slightly more expensive plug-in hybrid, or a fully electric model available in limited areas. We say: green...

  • 2018 Tesla Model 3
    When Tesla's tax credits expire, which electric car would you buy? Twitter poll results

    Last week, we reported that the federal tax credits for electric-car buyers are about to expire. Once any automaker sells 200,000 electric cars, the credits available to its buyers begin to wind down. Since Tesla has been selling electric cars longer than any other automaker (at least since the...

  • "Reserved parking for green vehicles." Is that a green vehicle?

    We get a lot of comments on Green Car Reports arguing (mostly in a friendly way) about what makes a green car. Or, put another way, what makes a car green. Some readers clearly think the only way to be green is to drive a pure electric car, the bigger the battery the better. Others think as long as they have a car they can live with that plugs in and lets them drive the vast majority of their miles on electricity that's a better solution for them than rearranging their lives around range and charge times. DON'T MISS: 7 things we learned in 9 years, and where green cars are headed Still others...

  • Smokestacks pollution air quality
    Tesla Model 3 refunds, CO2 to fuel, less harmful batteries, awards, records, and deals: The Week in Reverse

    What is the next big innovation in electric car charging? What element is a major battery manufacturer trying to remove from its electric car batteries? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending June 8, 2018. Friday, we learned the...

  • Forest
    Scientists find affordable way to recapture CO2 and burn it

    Scientists at Harvard have developed a new method of scrubbing carbon from the atmosphere, and turning it into hydrocarbon fuels that could be burned in airplanes or even cars. The process has been demonstrated at a small scale and combines common technologies from the pulp and petroleum industries...

  • 2018 Chevrolet Volt
    Best deals on hybrid, electric, fuel-efficient cars for June 2018

    June is proving to be a great month for those who want to buy a car that plugs in, with some electric cars offering rebates as high as $16,400, or zero-percent financing along with a hefty cash rebate. The cars look a lot like the ones that had the best deals last month, but we'll go through them...

  • Teaser for Tesla Model Y electric SUV due for reveal in 2019
    Tesla Model Y coming in 2020; Roadster and Semi still on the way, says Musk

    Tesla CEO Elon Musk told shareholders Tuesday that the last few months have been "hellacious" for building the Tesla Model 3, but that the automaker expects by the end of this month to build 5,000 of the mid-size luxury sedan each week and beyond. "It's insanely hard to stay alive," Musk added. The...

  • Chargeway electric-car charging schematic
    Chargeway pilot program to post labels to help electric-car drivers sort out charging levels

    Charging has been a key obstacle to electric carbuyers, and it may not just be the number of public stations available. With three different "levels" of charging, and multiple charging speeds and connector types within each of those, it can be confusing for the average driver to know what type of...

  • Mercedes-Benz SL-Class stalls in Maryland flash flood

    One of the main objections that critics of global warming mitigation measures often cite is that they cost too much. A new study in the journal Nature takes issue with that conclusion. Several studies since 1991 have concluded that it is cheaper to develop new technologies to mitigate climate change than it will be to adapt to it. What those studies weren't able to do was estimate the amount of the savings. CHECK OUT: Most-accurate climate-change models suggest worst effects on global weather Now a new study in the journal Nature, published last month, has put a price tag on it. The study...

  • Scoot Quad (nee Renault Twizy) tested in San Francisco, Oct 2015
    Even Wackier! Most bizarre green cars ever proposed, Part II

    Last week we listed seven of the most bizarre "green" cars (and some not-so-green) of the 20th century, most of which were rolled out in response to depression, war recovery, or out-of-control gas prices. This week, we'll look at seven more from the 21st century, which seems to have had a...

  • Smog over Los Angeles, courtesy Flickr user steven-buss
    Report: Trump EPA plans to cancel California emissions waiver

    The EPA is planning to cancel the special waiver that California has relied on since 1970 to set its own emissions standards, according to a Bloomberg report. As part of its plan to reverse a program to steadily tighten fuel economy standards that it coordinates with California and the National...

  • Estonian Nobe concept color palette
    FCA electrification push, crowdfunded electric car, and California charging incentives: Today's Car News

    Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will charge ahead with an electrification strategy beginning with the Jeep brand. An Estonian electric car may come to life thanks to a crowdfunding campaign. California has approved record incentives for charging infrastructure. And Washington state has lost its...

  • Consumer Reports tests Tesla Model 3 braking [CREDIT: Consumer Reports]
    Tesla Model 3 earns Consumer Reports recommendation after software brake upgrade

    A week after Consumer Reports announced that it could not recommend the Tesla Model 3 because of poor braking performance, a software update improved its performance sufficiently to earn the magazine's recommendation. Consumer Reports announced the update to the Model 3's ratings Wednesday. In the...

  • Flooded Car
    EPA overturning of fuel economy increases requires review, agency watchdog says

    The EPA's Science Advisory Board, tasked with agency oversight, is taking issue with at least three of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's signature decisions. First, according to a Bloomberg report, is Pruitt's decision to freeze fuel economy standards and eliminate increases that had been approved...

  • 2018 Tesla Model 3

    In a tweet on Friday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the company had started rolling out an over-the-air software update for its Model 3 electric cars to address a problem with their braking performance, a problem revealed by Consumer Reports last week. In the tweet, Musk said the update should improve braking "by ~20 ft for repeated heavy braking events." Also, firmware fix for upgraded brake performance on standard Model 3 started rolling out yesterday. Should improve braking distance by ~20 ft for repeated heavy braking events. Thanks @ConsumerReports for excellent critical feedback! —...

  • The Buckminster Fuller designed Dymaxion - image: National Automobile Museum
    That's wacky! The most bizarre green cars ever proposed, Part I

    Often the growth of green cars comes in fits and starts, and new ideas are rushed to market regularly before they're ready. Visionaries with dreams of changing the world may have little real-world experience and find themselves in over their heads after they jump in too quickly. Even pure...

  • 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric cars outside dealership    [photo: Patrick Reid]
    Tesla Model 3 braking problems, new electric SUVs, 2-cylinder pickup: The Week in Reverse

    Which new car won't Consumer Reports recommend? What new company is getting ready to build electric SUVs in Illinois? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending May 25, 2018. Friday, we shared a report from Bloomberg New Energy...

  • Footage from June 2016 LAPD announcement of lease for 100 BMW i3 electric cars [CBS Channel 2, LA]
    Electric cars will exceed half the market and displace 7 percent of gasoline consumption by 2040: report

    Electric car sales are poised to increase tenfold by 2025 and reach 55 percent of car sales worldwide by 2040, according to the latest report on electric cars from Bloomberg New Energy Finance. While electric cars' share of the market is still small—less than 2 percent in most...

  • Chevrolet Bolt EV being charged outside Go Forth electric-car showroom, Portland   [photo: Forth]
    Car dealers push buyers away from electric cars worldwide, not just U.S., studies find

    Car dealers may be the same all over the world, at least when it comes to electric cars. In 2014, Consumer Reports did a study that showed 50 out of 85 dealerships visited nationwide either outright discouraged its secret shoppers from buying electric cars or tried to talk them into buying a gas or...

  • CARB ZEV vehicle game 2018 point value of chips based on electric range
    Why are so many electric cars (still) only sold in California?

    Car buyers don't have to live under California's golden sunshine to want electric cars. Yet, in some months, buyers in California purchase more than half of all the electric cars sold in the U.S. According to reader Mike Kamm (H/T Mike), even several of the electric cars that used to be sold in the...

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