Green
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See the people who have been driving electric cars longer than the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt have been on sale.
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Shell Eco Marathon: Why Odd Cars Built By Students Matter
Many of the cars are more like enclosed bicycles, and virtually none of them could operate on public roads or highways. But the Shell Eco-Marathon offers some useful lessons for the more than 100 high-school and college teams that compete in it--many of them having little to do with the cars...
John Voelcker -
Electric Police Cars? Seattle Uses Nissan Leafs For Traffic Enforcement
Seattle will use 28 Nissan Leaf electric cars for traffic enforcement.
Stephen Edelstein -
New Drivers Start To Take Lessons In Electric Cars In Germany
Daimler will start a pilot electric-car program with a German driving school.
Stephen Edelstein -
Propel Renewable Diesel: Usable By Any Vehicle, Going Beyond 'Biodiesel'
Fuels produced using plant-based materials can offer a promising way to reduce the carbon emitted by road vehicles. That's because their plant feedstocks absorb carbon dioxide from the air, bringing them far closer to a carbon-neutral footprint than any fuel refined from crude oil. But for...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model S Body Kit: Definitely Different, Range-Robbing Too?
Body kits--add-on components and replacements for a car's front and rear fascias and door sills--are often a good way for owners to make their vehicle stand out from the crowd. Often used on luxury brands and tuner cars, the updated looks are usually edgier and more aggressive than the factory...
John Voelcker -
We look at California's ambitious plans for zero-emission vehicles, name the small state with big electric-car news, and learn about how aluminum bodies keep pickup passengers safe. All this and more today on Green Car Reports. Aerodynamic drag is bad for fuel economy. So are roof boxes and ski racks. Chevrolet has confirmed the Bolt EV name for its electric car. We're cringing. One model of the aluminum-bodied 2015 Ford F-150 gets a 5-Star safety rating from the NHTSA. Tesla sales are now legal in Maryland. And it's getting a new electric car for sale too. California has modeled several...
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Scenarios For 2030 Zero-Emissions Cars In CA: Hydrogen Or Not?
With epic smog in the Los Angeles Basin, the state of California has led the nation's charge to reduce emissions from road vehicles for more than half a century. And it is now state policy to reduce emissions of climate-change gases, primarily carbon dioxide, from its 30 million-plus road vehicles...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Sales Now Legal As Little Maryland Goes Big On Electric Cars
Well, add one more to the list of states where Tesla Motors can legally sell its electric cars--and do so without having to use franchised dealers. The Maryland General Assembly has reversed a ban on direct sales by Tesla, which displays its cars in Tesla Store and "gallery" facilities it operates...
John Voelcker -
Aluminum-Body 2015 Ford F-150 Gets 5-Star NHTSA Rating For Crash Safety
Cutting weight can be one of the most effective tactics to increase fuel economy, but it doesn't necessarily come cheap. The 2015 Ford F-150 pickup, with its aluminum body and bed mounted on a conventional steel frame, represents a huge gamble by Ford on its highest-volume vehicle line. The company...
John Voelcker -
GM Confirms Electric-Car Name Will Be 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV
Well, they did it. General Motors confirmed yesterday that its upcoming 200-mile battery-electric car will be named the Chevrolet Bolt EV. That's Bolt-with-a-B, not Volt-with-a-V. The Volt-with-a-V is Chevy's now-established plug-in hybrid compact hatchback. DON'T MISS: Why 'Bolt' Is A Really...
John Voelcker -
A123 Says Start-Stop Batteries A Better Business Than Electric Cars
Ten years ago, startup lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems was the darling of business media, poised to enter the big leagues of electric cars after successfully selling its cells to power-tool makers. Then came the Fisker Karma, U.S. government grants, a factory in Michigan, the economic...
John Voelcker -
We've now driven the newest Tesla, and reported on a pair of price cuts on plug-in cars from General Motors. And then we tell you about the least popular car on sale in the U.S. All this and more today on Green Car Reports. Our biggest story is a drive report by our Tesla-owning reporter David Noland on the 2015 Tesla Model S 70D, the new base model with more range and a larger battery pack. Noland writes that he was sufficiently impressed that he asked his local Tesla Store to estimate the value of his current 85-kWh Tesla. Just in case, you understand. Lexus, however, sees the future of...
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Honda Insight Hybrid: The Least-Wanted Car In America?
Automakers and their dealers know that when a vehicle is updated, redesigned, or discontinued, the last lagging examples of the old model may sit on lots for months, perhaps even years. So it appears to be with the Honda Insight, the subcompact mild hybrid hatchback that the company discontinued...
John Voelcker -
2016 Cadillac ELR: More Performance, More Range, Lower Price
The specifications of the updated 2016 Cadillac ELR range-extended electric car were released this morning, and one big question has been answered. The luxury coupe will not use the revised Voltec powertrain that propels the new second-generation 2016 Chevrolet Volt on sale later this year. But it...
John Voelcker -
2015 Tesla Model S 70D: First Drive Of New Electric Car Base Model
Last week, the new base version of the Tesla Model S, known as the 70D, hit the electric-car world like a thunderclap. No early-warning publicity, no teasing tweet from Elon. Just the sudden appearance on the Tesla website configurator of the new model--with dual motors, all-wheel drive, a 70-kWh...
David Noland -
2015 Chevrolet Spark EV Price Cut To $25,995; $139 Lease, No Money Down
The suggested retail price of the 2015 Chevrolet Spark EV electric car will be cut by $1,650, to $25,995, GM announced today. Chevrolet's chief global marketing officer, Tim Mahoney, announced the price cut today in a luncheon speech at the Washington Automotive Press Association. Mahoney also said...
John Voelcker -
Electric-Car Battery Costs, 40-MPG Surprise, 11-Speed Automatic: Today's Car News
We look at sales figures for a surprisingly popular fuel-efficient small car, analyze cost declines in electric-car batteries, and suggest why the European and Asian idea of "city cars" doesn't make sense in North America. All this and more today on Green Car Reports. Can you guess which 40-mpg...
John Voelcker -
Time was that the most gears you could get in an automatic transmission was three or four. Then came five- and six-speed automatics, which are now pretty much the standard (along with increasingly prevalent continuously variable transmissions, or CVTs). But the transmission wars have continued to escalate. DON'T MISS: Auto Industry Doing Fine In Meeting Gas-Mileage Goals, It Turns Out (Aug 2014) Today, seven-, eight-, and nine-speed automatics are offered in everything from large European luxury sedans to the Jeep Renegade subcompact SUV. Now Autoguide has reported on a patent filing by Ford...
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Electric Cars Are City Cars? Not In U.S.: They're Suburb Cars Here
Automotive journalists who write about electric cars hear the phrase "city car" a lot. As in, "Battery-electric cars are perfect city cars, but [fill in different powertrain] is required for other uses." There's just one problem: No one in the U.S. has ever turned to their better half and said...
John Voelcker -
Electric-Car Battery Costs Fell 8 Percent A Year For Market Leaders: Study
Five years into the era of modern electric cars, the biggest cost remains the battery pack. Now there's data to confirm that not only are the costs of the battery cells falling, but that they are falling at rates pretty much in line with historical declines. A study published last month not only...
John Voelcker -
Which 40-MPG Small Car Outsells Prius V And Ford C-Max Some Months?
The Mitsubishi Mirage is selling better than certain hybrid models.
Stephen Edelstein -
BMW i5 Report, Accord Hybrid Relocates, More Efficient Camaros: Today's Car News
Welcome back to another week of Green Car Reports. Today we dive into why an upcoming BMW plug-in hybrid may be more important than people appreciate. Also, we look at a third recall for a California compliance car, and report on expanded sales regions for another electric minicar. All this and...
John Voelcker -
How A Chevy Camaro Gets Greener: Student Competition In EcoCar 3
All cars are getting more fuel-efficient under the rising requirements for corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) from now through 2025. Still, if you thought about the category of cars with good gas mileage, the Chevrolet Camaro muscle car likely wouldn't be high on your list. DON'T MISS: How Do...
John Voelcker