Which makers showed plug-in electric concepts in Shanghai that were conspicuously absent from the New York auto show?

What caused Tesla to recall more than 50,000 of its electric cars?

This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending on Friday, April 21, 2017.

Friday, we explained a recall of 53,000 Tesla Model S and Model X electric cars for a parking-brake problem.

We also covered the confusion over U.S. policy toward the Paris Climate Agreement: it's entirely unclear whether the White House will pull out or not.

Trump and his appointees continue to deny accepted climate science, so we polled our followers to find out whether climate science was still open for debate. (Spoiler: it's not.)

2012 Toyota RAV4 EV, Newport Beach, California, July 2012

2012 Toyota RAV4 EV, Newport Beach, California, July 2012

On Thursday, we asked why Toyota had to make an "agonizing" shift to develop electric cars, and explained what's behind it. (The company's not happy about it.)

Edmunds suggested that ending tax credits would kill electric-car sales, even though the AAA says as many buyers are interested in EVs as in pickup trucks.

Wednesday, we described the Honda CR-V Hybrid unveiled at the Shanghai auto show. Honda's U.S. arm all but confirmed it for us as a future North American offering.

While the Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell sedan has pros and cons, Toyota is now testing a proof-of-concept heavy-duty semi tractor powered by fuel cells as well.

On Tuesday, we detailed multiple 2017 Tesla Model S price and feature changes, followed by an update on the smaller set of changes to the 2017 Tesla Model X crossover.

Meanwhile, a limited number of 2015 Volkswagen TDI diesel cars are back on sale after modifications to make them comply with EPA emission limits.

Consumer Reports tests 2015 Volkswagen Jetta TDI diesel in 'cheat mode,' October 2015 [video frame]

Consumer Reports tests 2015 Volkswagen Jetta TDI diesel in 'cheat mode,' October 2015 [video frame]

Those "new" 2015 diesel VWs come with some hefty discounts, too, but it varies hugely by dealer—so, as always, caveat emptor.

We kicked off the week on Monday covering one of the first drive reports of the 2017 Cadillac CT6 Plug-In Hybrid luxury sedan. It wasn't ours, but it'll do.

Diesel sales continue to sag in Europe, but they haven't fallen off a cliff, despite the Volkswagen diesel emission scandal.

During the course of the whole week, the Shanghai auto show offered a plethora of all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

They included the Volkswagen ID Crozz "four-door coupe crossover" utility vehicle. It's another in VW's series of ID battery-electric concepts.

VW Group also debuted the Audi e-tron Sportback Concept, a sleek four-door version of the more SUV-like Audi e-tron all-electric crossover that goes into production next year.

Audi e-tron Sportback Concept, 2017 Shanghai auto show [photo:Ronan Glon]

Audi e-tron Sportback Concept, 2017 Shanghai auto show [photo:Ronan Glon]

Then there was the Chevrolet FNR-X Concept plug-in hybrid crossover, though it appeared to be more of a styling exercise than the Volt crossover U.S. buyers long for.

The Jeep Yuntu Concept was a smaller seven-seat crossover with what was apparently a plug-in hybrid powertrain. No details from either Jeep or Chevy on those, however.

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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