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Latest Trump rally: Electric cars have a range of 160 miles, and families will be restricted to one vehicle under the Green New Deal.
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Chevy Bolt EV deals, Ram eTorque, in-wheel motors, wind and solar costs: Today's Car News
Ram's new eTorque does more than most mild-hybrid start/stop systems. Chevrolet is making no big sales push at the end of the quarter, despite the expiration of full tax credits for its vehicles. In-wheel motors for EVs may be making their way to the mainstream. And renewable electricity may have...
Eric C. Evarts -
No deal for Chevrolet Volt, Chevy Bolt EV buyers in final days of tax credit
Consumers have less than three days to buy a plug-in Chevy Volt or Bolt EV from GM and still qualify for the full $7,500 federal tax. And yet Chevrolet isn't making any final push to clear out inventories of either car. Nor does GM have any plans to cut prices after the tax cut expires on Monday...
Eric C. Evarts -
Motor supplier sees mass-produced in-wheel motors around 2023
Nidec has a new in-wheel motor system that could be mass-produced for an electric car as soon as 2023. But old obstacles like weight and cost remain.
Bengt Halvorson -
10 lessons from the short life of the Chevy Volt, 2011-2019
On February 15, GM ended production of the innovative Chevrolet Volt with little fanfare. Over two generations and nine model years, the company sold more than 150,000 of the compact plug-in hybrid hatchbacks. In automotive time, nine model years isn’t that long. The best brand names live for...
John Voelcker -
Could grassroots racing bridge the electric-car culture clash?
The daily news cycle already provides plenty of fodder for taking sides for or against electric cars. In the real world it’s just not that polarizing. Most people who decide to embrace electric vehicles probably understand that EVs do anything but preclude driving enjoyment; and many want to...
Bengt Halvorson -
If more power, a 226-mile range, and a $39,405 base price—before considering the full $7,500 federal EV tax credit you can still get—collectively seems like the sweet spot for the Leaf, you probably have GM to thank. Nissan has admitted that it never planned to push the Leaf above a 40-kwh battery pack and beyond a rated range of 150 miles. But with the introduction of the Chevrolet Bolt EV in 2015, it stepped up its plans for the second-generation Leaf, which made its debut last year. By shoehorning a new 62-kwh pack into the 2019 Leaf Plus, Nissan now has an electric car that...
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Tesla eliminates annual service, keeps some periodic maintenance
Electric cars are supposed to be more reliable than internal combustion models. Certainly, they have a lot fewer moving parts and need a lot less lubrication. Yet Tesla, like most corner auto dealerships, has made money selling extended service plans for annual maintenance on its cars, sometimes...
Eric C. Evarts -
Bugatti Baby, meet the baby Bugatti electric
Like other marquee luxury brands, Bugatti is dipping its toes into the electric waters, reviving one of its classic models, but with a twist. To celebrate the storied brand's 110th birthday, instead of shoehorning a battery pack into a classic car, or creating a wild new electric concept with lines...
Eric C. Evarts -
Tesla comparisons, Jaguar I-Pace and Chevy Bolt EV drives: The Week in Reverse
Which self-driving system didn't rank well in the latest study? What car has given us range anxiety at least once? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending March 22, 2019. This week ended with lots of announcements from automakers...
Eric C. Evarts -
Chevrolet Bolt EV to get electric sibling, with Michigan plant investment
General Motors announced on Friday that it will build a second electric car for Chevrolet, alongside the Chevy Bolt EV. The new model is widely expected to be a somewhat larger crossover SUV, though GM would not confirm that at this point. MUST READ: Long-range Cadillac SUV to lead GM's next...
Eric C. Evarts -
2019 Jaguar I-Pace electric car range: Why the short circuit?
It’s not unusual for fuel gauges on gasoline cars to be inaccurate. Often they can hug "Full" so long you might suspect it’s malfunctioning—only to then swing rapidly toward the halfway mark and below. Usually these idiosyncrasies are no big deal. When the low-fuel light and chime...
Bengt Halvorson -
Until recently, there have been electric cars, and then there have been Teslas. Quite a few automakers were scrambling to build electric cars to meet increasing demand from California and other states, to earn ZEV credits, and to give their Corporate Average Fuel Economy numbers a booster shot. Most were small hatchbacks, and had relatively short ranges of around 100 miles. They tried hard not to cost too much more than conventional cars, but largely relied on federal tax credits to make them competitive. Some automakers, such as Nissan with its Leaf and Chevrolet with its Bolt EV did a fine...
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Mountain hardware: Testing the 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV on a high-country day trip
Colorado, which is taking steps to adopt California’s EV mandate, has always had a different wildcard factor affecting road trips: altitude. The state has the highest portions of the Interstate highway system, including routes spanning past 11,000 feet and varying several thousand feet. Even...
Andrew Ganz -
2020 Tesla Model Y: Latest price, range, specs for new crossover SUV
The 2020 Tesla Model Y borrows some of the same underpinnings of the Model 3 sedan, and marries it to what so many American families today want: a crossover utility vehicle shape. As such, the Model Y has the potential to amount to an even greater sales success than the Model 3. The California...
Bengt Halvorson -
Electric crossover charge: These are the rivals to the Tesla Model Y
As Tesla finds its sea legs as a larger-scale global automaker, the launch of the Model Y small crossover is its most critical test since the California company started in 2003. No other Tesla has faced this much competition. No other Tesla has faced much of any. When Tesla first delivered the...
Green Car Reports -
Will Aston Martin RapideE be James Bond's new electric ride?
To chase down criminals in a new carbon-constrained era, Agent 007 will need a new kind of Q Ship. But he won't stray far from the royal stable. Introducing the latest, kinder, gentler, reportedly less misogynistic Bond: James Bond, and his new all-electric Aston Martin RapideE, which will appear...
Eric C. Evarts -
2020 Tesla Model Y, Mazda rotary, wider VW electric plans: The Week in Reverse
Which two companies announced expanded lines of plug-in hybrids this week? What big decision did Tesla take back? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending March 15, 2019. The big news this week was Tesla's unveiling of its...
Eric C. Evarts -
Tesla’s Thursday night reveal event for the 2020 Tesla Model Y electric crossover SUV, just as previous events from the automaker, was raucous and packed with enthusiastic fans, including many who appeared to relish everything uttered by CEO Elon Musk. What made this event a bit of a departure—and perhaps a sign of the times—was that Tesla was prepared to release quite a few facts and figures and specifics about multiple production versions. At first look—for a vehicle that won’t arrive for Americans until late 2020—Tesla was ready not just to build the...
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Best deals on electric, plug-in, and hybrid cars for March 2019
As more and more long-range electric cars such as the Audi e-tron quattro, the long-range Nissan Leaf Plus, and the Kia Niro and Soul EVs make their way onto the market, some are starting to offer great deals. Every month, our partners at CarsDirect.com sift through all the deals offered that month...
Eric C. Evarts -
Karma plans to relaunch with three new models at Shanghai auto show
Karma, the company that started as the new maker of the Fisker plug-in hybrid (and once Tesla-fighter) of the same name—now called Revero—plans a new birth, four years after buying the company out of bankruptcy. At next month's Shanghai auto show, the company plans a product revival led...
Eric C. Evarts -
Next Fiat 500 to arrive in 2020 only as electric car, executive confirms
Are you ready for a new generation of the Fiat 500e electric car? At the pace of the auto industry, and its five or six year cycles, it’s overdue. And from a report released last week, it could arrive around this time next year. Last week Fiat revealed an all-electric Concept Centoventi...
Bengt Halvorson -
Jeep announces two more plug-in hybrids, for Europe
Last week, Fiat Chrysler announced plans, along with a $4.5 billion investment, to expand its lineup of plug-in hybrids, including plans to build two new plug-in hybrid Jeeps in the U.S., including the Grand Cherokee and new versions of the Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer planned to roll out in...
Eric C. Evarts -
Electrified Bell Nexus concept shows how Uber Air could take off
Although flying cars aren’t looking that much closer to reality, your Uber could take to the air in just a few years and be electric. Well, mostly electric, eventually. Hybrid electric-powered vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) vehicles could come into service specifically as air taxis. In...
Bengt Halvorson