2016
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The eAssist mild hybrid system is dead, long live the eAssist mild hybrid system? With continually rising corporate average fuel economy levels required through 2025, General Motors will test a third generation of its eAssist mild-hybrid system during the current model year. This time, though, they're not sedans and small SUVs. They're full-size pickup trucks, some of the highest-volume and most profitable vehicles GM sells. DON'T MISS: Pickup Truck Fuel Economy For 2016: Diesels Take Top Three Spots A few hundred 2016 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks will be offered with the...
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2016 Hyundai Tucson Eco: Gas Mileage Drive Of New Compact SUV
South Korean carmaker Hyundai has aggressive plans to expand its lineup and its sales in virtually every segment, and it's launched consistently better cars for several years in a row. With gas prices remaining low, the compact crossover utility segment is red-hot in the U.S. market right now, and...
John Voelcker -
2016 Volvo XC90 T8 Plug-In Hybrid: An Owner's First 21 Days
The 2016 Volvo XC90 T8 'Twin Engine' that went on sale last August was only the second plug-in hybrid SUV to be sold in the U.S., after the Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid. Since then it has been joined by the BMW X5 xDrive 40e, and coming up are the Mercedes-Benz GLE 550e, the Mitsubishi Outlander...
Green Car Reports -
2016 Honda Civic Coupe: Gas Mileage Equals Sedan's 35 MPG Combined
The 2016 Honda Civic Coupe is expected to achieve 35 mpg combined.
Stephen Edelstein -
2016 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid: Gas Mileage Review
The 2016 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid is the first mass-market crossover utility with a hybrid powertrain since the demise of the Ford Escape Hybrid in 2012. Granted, there's the luxury Lexus NX hybrid (using some of the same underpinninngs), and the low-volume Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid, with a mild-hybrid...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model X European Buyers Will Have To Wait For Chinese
Tesla Model X deliveries in China will apparently start before Europe.
Stephen Edelstein -
The 2016 Toyota Prius appears in a Super Bowl TV ad.
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2016 Chevrolet Volt: Gas Mileage Review
By now, it's hardly a secret that we're big fans of the redesigned second-generation Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid. We gave it our Best Car To Buy 2016 award, and we've written that it's better in pretty much every way than the innovative first-generation Volt. Last month, we were able to spend four...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model S 'Limited Time' Lease Offered At $698 Per Month
Tesla is offering a new Model S lease deal.
Stephen Edelstein -
Why Isn't The 2016 Chevy Volt A Flex-Fuel Plug-In Hybrid That Can Use E85 Ethanol?
The 2016 Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid has received numerous accolades, including this site's Best Car To Buy 2016 Award. It's better-looking, quicker, quieter, and has a significantly longer all-electric range of 53 miles. It is not, however, certified to use E85, the fuel blend containing 85...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model X 'Falcon Door': Lawsuit Against German Supplier Over Failed Development
Even Tesla CEO Elon Musk has conceded that the company's electric Model X crossover utility vehicle ended up a more complicated vehicle than may have been necessary. Now, a lawsuit by Tesla Motors against German supplier Hoerbiger Automotive Comfort Systems describes the difficulties of developing...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model X Now Offers Synthetic Leather, For Vegan Appeal
The Tesla Model X is now available with a full synthetic-leather interior.
Stephen Edelstein -
Toyota is asking some California dealers to stop Mirai deliveries until more fueling stations open.
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2016 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid: First Drive Of Sedan Using Volt Hybrid System
The second generation of GM’s Voltec plug-in hybrid system is now powering a car that doesn’t actually have a plug at all. The new 2016 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid uses essentially the same powertrain as the 2016 Chevy Volt, but with a far smaller battery pack. That makes it a new entrant...
John Voelcker -
Chevrolet Volt: Green Car Reports' Best Car To Buy 2016
Every year, Green Car Reports picks a new car or model line that we feel is the best green car for that new model year. This year, we picked a car that's the all-new version of one that was revolutionary when it was introduced several years ago. The latest version improves on it in pretty much...
John Voelcker -
2016 Nissan Leaf: First Drive Of 107-Mile Electric Car
Electric-car buyers have eagerly waited for the 2016 Nissan Leaf, whose SV and SL models now offer a higher range, rated by the EPA at 107 miles. That's up from the 84 miles of last year's Leaf, and so we eagerly accepted a short-term loan of a new 2016 Leaf SL to test the car ourselves. The bottom...
John Voelcker -
2016 Toyota Prius: Gas Mileage Review Of 50-MPG-Plus Hybrid
After spending four days and covering 440 miles with a new Toyota Prius, we can say that in our first real-world testing, the car delivers on its 50-mpg promise. We got daily readings of 50 to 54 miles per gallon in a mix of three-quarters highway miles and one-quarter low-speed local use. Our...
John Voelcker -
Green Car Reports 2016 Best Car To Buy Nominee: 2016 Toyota Prius
The Toyota Prius hybrid occupies a special niche in automotive history. It's the world's best-known and best-selling hybrid car, and it's the halo vehicle for one of the world's three largest automakers. This year, there's an all-new 2016 Prius, and it's quite a different car from its predecessors...
John Voelcker -
The new 2016 Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid keeps and expands on all the good points of the first-generation Volt, while fixing a number of the old car's quirks. As we wrote in September, "The new Volt's a great car, and brings practical electric drive to U.S. drivers without a shred of range anxiety." But, we noted, "We just hope that Chevrolet's marketers can figure out how to tell that story soon, quickly, and persistently." DON'T MISS: 2016 Chevrolet Volt First Drive: Plug-In Hybrid Home Run More than a year ago, Chevrolet's global chief marketing officer, Tim Mahoney, said marketing...
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Here's What The Tesla Model X Assembly Line Looks Like
See the Tesla Model X assembly line in a new video.
Stephen Edelstein -
2016 Toyota Prius: Most Fuel-Efficient Car Without A Plug, Ever
It was the first hybrid car to be sold in the U.S., beating the now-legendary Toyota Prius by a few months. It was a tiny two-seater with a three-cylinder engine, spats over the rear wheel openings to reduce aerodynamic drag, and a host of highly advanced technologies for its time. It was the 2000...
John Voelcker -
Green Car Reports 2016 Best Car To Buy Nominee: 2016 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid And Plug-In Hybrid
Hyundai is widely viewed as one of the most aggressive car companies in the world. In global industry terms, it's relatively young, having designed and sold its first car only in 1975. But the South Korean company has ambitious plans, including many on the green-car front; it wants to have the...
John Voelcker -
Green Car Reports 2016 Best Car To Buy Nominee: 2016 Honda Civic
It's important to understand how important a car the Honda Civic compact sedan is in the U.S. market. Between the Civic sedan and its coupe sibling, Honda sells more than 300,000 of them a year--or roughly 20 times this year's sales of the Chevy Volt. The Civic nameplate is more than 40 years old...
John Voelcker -
2015 Mercedes-Benz S550e Plug-In Hybrid: Quick Drive
The Mercedes-Benz S550e Plug-In Hybrid is packed with some of the best safety technology and creature comforts you can get in any new car today, regardless of price. It also moves smartly, with an advanced plug-in hybrid system that lets you plug in overnight—or even for a few hours—and...
Bengt Halvorson