Green Car News
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So you want a hybrid car, with its high gas mileage and maybe some all-electric running--but you also need all-wheel drive. What are your options? The question came to mind after testing the 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek Hybrid, the small Japanese brand's first-ever hybrid, which comes standard with all-wheel drive just like every other sedan and utility vehicle in its lineup. MORE: 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek Hybrid: Gas Mileage Review One of the most popular AWD hybrids is no longer made. The Ford Escape Hybrid, sold from 2005 through 2012, offered AWD as an option, and roughly half of the 126,000...
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It's Not Just Cars: Diesel Tractors, Construction Equipment Clean Up Emissions Too
Agricultural and construction equipment is getting greener to meet stricter EPA standards.
Stephen Edelstein -
2014 Honda Hybrid Cars: Ultimate Guide
Japanese automaker Honda has been in the hybrid game from the very start, releasing the quirky, two-seat Insight back in 1999. Since then, the company has sold a variety of other hybrid models, and currently offers four to U.S. consumers. We've compiled reviews and articles for each Honda hybrid to...
Antony Ingram -
Volkswagen Golf GTE Plug-In Hybrid: First Drive Of Prototype
Volkswagen is on an electric-vehicle model offensive right now. Not only is the e-Up electric minicar on sale in Europe, dominating Germany's electric sales charts, but the automaker has now launched the e-Golf, an electric version of its popular compact--a car that will make its way to U.S...
Antony Ingram -
Most Electric Cars Ever? Guinness World Record Try In Montreal Next Month
A Canadian group hopes to set the record for largest electric-car parade.
Stephen Edelstein -
Hybrid Subaru, Electric-Car Charging, Tesla 'TV Ad' Tickles Musk: Today's Car News
Today on Green CarReports: We drive the first-ever hybrid Subaru, electric cars crop up even in small towns, and we have the Tesla "TV ad" that even Elon Musk enjoyed. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Batteries are the subject of much research these days; now scientists have new insight into...
John Voelcker -
Scientists found that charging disrupts the structure of lithium-ion cathode material, degrading performance.
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2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek Hybrid: Gas Mileage Review
If ever any car brand should have offered a hybrid before now, it would be Subaru. Now we've driven the 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek Hybrid, its very first hybrid offering. It's a much better car than the Crosstrek on which it's based, but little of that improvement has anything to do with the hybrid...
John Voelcker -
Even Small Towns See Demand For Electric-Car Charging
Naperville, Illinois has seen a surge in electric-car popularity.
Stephen Edelstein -
Ohio State University Team Readies Electric Motorcycle For TT Zero
Electric vehicle technology is finding its way into various motorsport disciplines, but few are more exciting than the world of electric motorcycling. Not only did an electric motorcycle win the two-wheeled class at last year's Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, each year one race at the world's...
Antony Ingram -
VW e-Golf Drive Report, Tesla In Arizona, Used Honda Insight Guide: Today's Car News
Today on Green CarReports: We drive VW's first electric car to be sold in the U.S., run down what you need to know if you want to buy an early Honda Insight, and dig deeper into GM's new and more fuel-efficient engines. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Last week, we drove the Volkswagen...
John Voelcker -
2015 Volkswagen e-Golf: Drive Report, First U.S. Sale Details
The 2015 Volkswagen e-Golf is the German maker's first production electric car to be offered for sale in the U.S. On sale late this year, it adds a plug-in electric powertrain option to the all-new seventh generation of the classic Golf five-door hatchback, now celebrating its 40th birthday. While...
John Voelcker -
Yesterday's announcement by General Motors that it would launch a new line of three- and four-cylinder Ecotec engines for better fuel economy was short on some details. Notably, the carmaker only gave two examples of future cars they would power--and even declined to identify the three existing engine lines that would be replaced by the new design. But it's clear which companies and products it expects its new engines to face off against, especially in Europe: Volkswagen and Ford. MORE: Volkswagen's Future Engines: All Turbo For Gasoline & Diesel VW is now in the process of replacing a...
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Good News For Tesla: AZ Bill Would Legalize Direct Sales As State Angles For Gigafactory
When the possibility of new jobs clashes with the desires of powerful campaign contributors, sometimes jobs can take priority. That may be what's happening in Arizona, where a new bill in the state legislature would legalize the direct-sales model of electric-car maker Tesla Motors--to the intense...
John Voelcker -
Buying A Used 2000-2006 Honda Insight Hybrid: The Guide
If you've been reading Green Car Reports over the past week, you might have seen we recently bought a 2001 Honda Insight--an example of one of the first hybrids sold by a major automaker. But what if you want to buy your own early Insight? What do you need to look out for? And more importantly...
Antony Ingram -
Quick-Charging Effects, GM Ecotec Details, 2015 Volkswagen Diesels: Today's Car News
Ford, Toyota, and Volkswagen make headlines today.
Stephen Edelstein -
GM Releases First Details On Next-Gen Ecotec Engine Family
General Motors is stepping up its engine game. Today it released first details of a new range of three- and four-cylinder Ecotec engines from 1.0 to 1.5 liters that replace no fewer than three separate engine families globally. GM had already shown one variant, a new turbocharged 1.0-liter...
John Voelcker -
2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel Uses 'Maserati' Engine (Trivia Today)
Well, OK, perhaps the 2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel doesn't have an engine actually designed by Maserati. But, hey, what other pickup truck can claim to use even the same engine as sexy, sinuous, six-figure Italian luxury sport sedans? As cleverly pointed out by Ward's Auto, the new diesel Ram 1500...
John Voelcker -
Oh, Nissan, you just shouldn't have gone there. As captured by Autoblog Green writer Domenick Yoney last Friday, the @NissanLeaf Twitter account posted the following message: It's okay #NewJersey, you can still #GoElectric with the #NissanLEAF #EV Sloppy punctuation aside, the tweet was a clear dig at the travails of Tesla Motors, which had just lost a battle in New Jersey against a state rule change aimed at requiring it to sell its electric cars through franchised third-party businesses, which is to say traditional car dealers. Hilarity ensued. Or, rather, a few electric-car advocates...
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2015 VW Golf, Beetle, Passat, Jetta All Get New Clean Diesel Engine
Volkswagen's most popular vehicles will all receive a new engine in the second half of the year, in the shape of the company's latest 2-liter turbodiesel unit. The new EA288 engine is already powering vehicles all around Europe, and Volkswagen has now announced the models it'll power in North...
Antony Ingram -
Germany Likes German Electric Cars; Leaf, Volt, Not So Much
It isn't unusual for citizens of a particular country to employ a little patriotism when buying vehicles and stick to brands from that country. A huge swathe of Americans buy cars built by the Big Three, for example. Italians buy plenty of Fiats. French drivers often stick to Renaults, Peugeots and...
Antony Ingram -
Used Toyota, Ford Hybrids Score Well In Consumer Reports' Best Used Car List
There are many reasons to recommend a hybrid car--the easy driving experience, the gas mileage, even the shove of an electrically-assisted engine in some sportier models. But it's reassuring to know they make equally good used buys as they do when brand new, whatever your budget. The latest list of...
Antony Ingram -
Does Quick Charging Hurt Battery Life? Total Miles Are More Important
Some electric car makers, notably Nissan with its Leaf, make recommendations that owners don't charge too frequently using quick-charging stations. The belief is that the chemical processes involved in rapidly charging a battery can lead it to degrade faster than regular charges, reducing range...
Antony Ingram -
2016 Chevy Volt, Tesla Gigafactory And Tucson, Electric-Car Batteries: Today's Car News
Chevrolet and Tesla are in the news today.
Stephen Edelstein