Which government agency jolted Washington with a surprise decision that will have a huge impact on future cars?

What did Consumer Reports have to say about the Tesla Model X electric SUV?

This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending on Friday, December 2, 2016.

Friday, we covered another piece of news in the Toyota's surprise turnabout that will see it sell a battery-electric car in 2020.

CEO Akio Toyoda will head the unit that develops the electric car, it said. Toyoda is the grandson of the founder of what is now one of the world's three largest carmakers.

Akio Toyoda

Akio Toyoda

On Thursday, we noted that the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica (plug-in) Hybrid minivan received its EPA ratings: the agency rates it at 33 miles of electric range and 84 MPGe.

We also wrote that if you plan to buy a home electric-car charging station (or an electric motorcycle, for that matter), December is the last month before federal tax credits expire.

Wednesday, the EPA released a surprise recommendation to keep its 2022-2025 emission standards for light-duty vehicles.

And we looked at what could happen to those rules under the incoming Trump administration.

That team, by the way, has named consummate Washington insider and former labor secretary Elaine Chao to be U.S. transportation secretary.

2016 Tesla Model X

2016 Tesla Model X

On Tuesday, we covered Consumer Reports weighing in on Tesla's electric SUV. The Tesla Model X is "fast but flawed," its reviewers wrote.

We also published our first drive of the 2017 Smart Fortwo Electric Drive, suggesting that it's a good version of a two-seat car that still has very limited utility.

We kicked off the week on Monday with yet another Volkswagen diesel scandal story, this one alleging that German regulators colluded with VW Group to cover up emission irregularities.

And we published an opinion piece by our Tesla-owning contributor George Parrott, who explained why he thinks the Tesla Model 3 should use standard model-year changes.

Much discussion followed that one (230 comments and counting), and not all readers agreed. Ahem.

Over the weekend, we described how Tesla Stores will change to focus on clean-energy products as well as the company's lineup of electric cars.

Jeremy Clarkson of The Grand Tour [publicity photo provided by Amazon]

Jeremy Clarkson of The Grand Tour [publicity photo provided by Amazon]

Finally, the former Top Gear team has a new show, The Grand Tour, on Amazon Prime. That includes the opinionated Jeremy Clarkson (he's the one who punched a producer).

Unfortunately, during a publicity tour, an interview made it clear that Clarkson knows very little about electric cars despite his strong views and professed knowledge. Sad.

Those were our main stories this week; we'll see you again next week. Until then, this has been the Green Car Reports Week in Reverse update.

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