Green
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Today, Europe's dirtiest diesels may start to vanish, Formula E has an audacious goal to live up to, another electric highway is underway, and Tesla Model 3 fans are out of luck if they live in Michigan. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Michigan may be home to the domestic auto industry, but it has no love for the Tesla Model 3: like any other model from the Silicon Valley automaker, it can't legally be delivered to a buyer within the state. A day after the EPA reopened its finalized emission limits for 2022 through 2025 vehicles, we updated our article on what an automaker lobbyist...
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VW, Mercedes, Opel, Fiat launch buybacks of dirtiest diesels in Europe
Almost two years ago, the Volkswagen diesel emission scandal burst into public view, and nothing has been quite the same since then. The news that VW Group engineers had deliberately cheated on eight years of emission tests for the "clean diesels" sold by Volkswagen, Audi, and Porsche sent...
John Voelcker -
Another 'electric highway, 1,250 miles along Australia's coast
The country of Australia is poised to build one of the world's longest "electric highways," which will span 1,250 miles (2,000 kilometers). Specifically, the Northeast region of the country will see the electric highway open through the state of Queensland. In total, 18 stations will be installed...
Sean Szymkowski -
Will Formula E racing boost electric-car sales by 77 million? Erm...
Three years ago, an all-new motor racing series began. Called Formula E, the series pits battery-electric race cars from teams around the world in competition on circuits in the heart of some of the world's most iconic cities. The third season has just wound up, and the list of carmakers fielding...
John Voelcker -
Carmaker lobbyist urges fuel-economy deal to keep emission limits, but stretch them out (updated)
Automakers appear to have united behind a surprising position: reviews of emission rules should not involve scrapping the current standards. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a lobbying group that represents automakers building cars in the U.S., has suggested the Trump administration should...
Sean Szymkowski -
Tesla Model 3 won't be delivered in Michigan to buyers; lawsuit grinds on
An ongoing lawsuit continues to complicate life for potential buyers of the Tesla Model 3, and the automaker's other electric cars, who live in Michigan. Tesla and the state remain locked in a legal battle over the state's franchise law, which requires automakers to sell vehicles only via an...
Sean Szymkowski -
Today, Panasonic loves Tesla profits, while Tesla loves self-driving semis; we drive both Chevy Cruze diesels and weigh in on fuel efficiency; and, could alkaline batteries change enough for electric cars? All this and more on Green Car Reports. That Tesla electric semi that the company plans to show in September? It may be self-driving, and there's more. The Chevrolet Cruze Diesel compact sedan faces some headwinds, even at 37 mpg combined; we've driven both the automatic and the manual, and reported on what we found. Alkaline batteries can't recharge, so they've largely been written off for...
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Tesla Model 3 battery cells will turn a profit for Panasonic by next year
Relatively few people focus on it, but the huge Japanese electronics company Panasonic is a minority shareholder in electric-car maker Tesla. The deal dates all the way back to November 2010, the same year that Tesla completed its initial public offering after Toyota took a stake in the company and...
John Voelcker -
Electric-car discovery, education centers are now a thing
Breaking with routine and tradition is never easy, especially when it comes to buying, owning, and operating a vehicle powered by an internal-combustion engine. Around the world, roughly 1 billion vehicle owners stop at fuel stations and keep cars powered by fossil fuels running—and have done...
Sean Szymkowski -
Better alkaline batteries, made rechargeable, to power electric cars?
Alkaline batteries have been a staple energy source for decades, but their potential has been capped by their chemical properties. Notably, alkaline batteries cannot be recharged, which means their application is often limited to single uses in small devices such as flashlights and remote controls...
Sean Szymkowski -
2017 Chevrolet Cruze Diesel: fuel economy review for automatic, manual versions
Times are tough for sedans in general, as buyers swarm into crossover utility vehicles and ignore the passenger cars sitting next to them on the showroom floor. Also, gasoline remains cheap. All of which may add up to tough times for the current Chevrolet Cruze Diesel, the compact sedan to be...
John Voelcker -
Tesla semi truck to test self-driving, capable of 'platooning': report
With Tesla, there's always something new coming up to keep owners, buyers, and fans excited. The company's main task over the next year is to get its lower-priced Model 3 electric car into volume assembly at high quality, a process CEO Elon Musk has called "production hell." But there's more to...
John Voelcker -
Pickup-truck politics, green-car deals, faster Model 3, grim climate-change report: Today's Car NewsJohn Voelcker
Today, we've got an intriguing analysis of which makers would win big from rolling back fuel-economy rules, news on the future Tesla Model 3 "P" performance version of the electric car, a grim climate-change update, and great deals on green cars. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Following our U.S. plug-in electric car sales report, we've got last month's EV sales for Canada too. You can get some great deals on hybrids, electric cars, and fuel-efficient vehicles this month; we've got the list. There will be a Tesla Model 3 "P" Performance version, says CEO Elon Musk, but "production...
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For pickup trucks, more than half all fuel savings come in 2022-2025 CAFE rules
Sometimes, when science and technology issues have economic or political consequences, incorrect or misleading information and analyses can be propagated through the media, leading both decision makers and the public astray. A piece published in April by Forbes, covering the effects of the 2022...
John Briggs -
Climate change worse, faster than projected, scientists tell Trump in leaked report
It is abundantly clear that the Trump Administration does not believe in science. In its six months to date, it chose a climate-science denier to lead the Environmental Protection agency; rolled back two dozen regulations limiting air, water, and land pollution; and announced a U.S. withdrawal from...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model 3 Performance version coming, after 'production hell' ends
Now that the Tesla Model 3 has officially entered production, the electric-car maker's main goal will be to ensure the manufacturing process ramps up smoothly. With 1,800 new reservations reportedly placed each day for the affordable electric sedan, Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter to confirm...
Sean Szymkowski -
Best deals on hybrid, electric, fuel-efficient cars for August 2017
As North America rounds out the final weeks of summer, plenty of discounts and deals remain on fuel-efficient, hybrid, and electric cars. The month of August sees a number of familiar nameplates remain as best buys, while a few newcomers arrive to represent excellent new values. Below are August's...
Sean Szymkowski -
Plug-in electric car sales in Canada, July 2017: Golf season
The Volkswagen e-Golf launched in Canada in late June, tallying 39 sales before the month’s end, and followed that with 84 units in its first full month of availability. Aided by the e-Golf, the Toyota Prius Prime and the soon-to-arrive second-generation Nissan Leaf, plug-in electric vehicles...
Matthew Klippenstein -
Today, Mazda will launch a new and far more fuel-efficient engine even as a supplier says engine development will end in a decade; our readers weigh in on the Tesla Model 3; and we look at lessons learned from educating the public on electric cars. All this and more on Green Car Reports. We kicked off with a survey on the prospects for the Tesla Model 3 now that it's out. Our respondents had some very definite opinions. Mazda's forthcoming SkyActiv-X engine will feature HCCI, which boosts fuel economy up to 30 percent by letting a gasoline engine behave like a more efficient diesel. Will $14...
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Go Forth Electric Vehicle Showcase in Portland: lessons learned
One of the challenges in getting car shoppers to consider plug-in electric vehicles is the education required. Tesla attacked this problem head on, opening its stores in malls and other sites where potential future buyers could dip their toes in and start to learn about electric cars without being...
John Voelcker -
New engine development at German makers to end by 2025, says supplier
Continental, a major supplier for automakers around the world, has come out with a bold prediction: internal-combustion engine development by German automakers will essentially end by the year 2025. The supplier, which makes exhaust-gas-cleaning systems for diesel cars and nitrogen oxide-measuring...
Sean Szymkowski -
Faraday Future gets $14 million; factory moved to CA from Vegas
Electric-car maker Faraday Future has received an emergency injection of $14 million to move its FF 91 luxury electric car closer to market. The rescue funds come in the form of a loan from Innovatus Capital Partners, after Faraday Future pledged its California-based headquarters as collateral. For...
Sean Szymkowski -
2019 Mazda 3 to feature world-first HCCI engine for efficiency: report
It's a technology that's been a sort of Holy Grail in the auto industry for at least a couple of decades. Now Mazda, one of the smallest global automakers, plans to introduce it in a radical new engine to be used in a future Mazda vehicle in 2019. It's called homogeneous charge compression...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model 3 electric car: what's your take? Poll results
With the Tesla Model 3 electric car now in early production and an aggressive ramp rate targeted, it's getting lots of media attention. Part of that is due to the allure of the Tesla brand and fascination with company CEO Elon Musk. Some more may be due to the widespread misapprehension that the...
John Voelcker