2017
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As its new electric car gets closer to public sale, General Motors has apparently made its first allocations of 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EVs to Chevy dealers. The news comes via a posting on the GM-Volt forum from a southern California dealership. Rick Alpern, the general manager of Keyes Chevrolet in Van Nuys, California, wrote that the dealer had been allocated 78 Bolt EVs for its first delivery. DON'T MISS: 2017 Chevy Bolt EV: here's what can go wrong for electric-car pioneer The news was reported by HybridCars.com, which interviewed Alpern and confirmed his posting. He expects to know more in...
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At 133 MPGe, Toyota Prius Prime wallops BMW i3 on energy efficiency
Move over, BMW: there's a new efficiency champion in town this year—and you'll have to give back that laurel wreath you've worn since 2014. Last week, final EPA fuel-efficiency results were released for the 2017 Toyota Prius Prime plug-in hybrid. When running in all-electric mode, that car is...
John Voelcker -
2017 BMW i3 preview
The 2017 BMW i3 gets a larger battery pack and estimated 114-mile maximum range.
Stephen Edelstein -
Which green cars didn't make the cut for Best Car To Buy award?
We have a slim field of only three new green cars this year competing for the Green Car Reports 2017 Best Car To Buy award. They are the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, the 2016 Tesla Model X, and the 2017 Toyota Prius Prime. There's a much longer list of new vehicles that didn't make the cut this year;...
John Voelcker -
2017 Ford F-150 pickup gas mileage rises to 21 mpg combined
The 2017 Ford F-150 pickup truck gets a new 10-speed automatic transmission and upgraded 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged EcoBoost V-6.
Stephen Edelstein -
How many Toyota Prius Primes will be sold in its first 12 months? Poll results
Next year should be an interesting one for sales of plug-in electric cars, with the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV rolling out to selected dealers in all 50 states, Chevy says. The 2017 BMW i3 gets 50 percent more range, and the Ford Focus Electric and Volkswagen e-Golf are expected to get range upgrades...
John Voelcker -
The past year has been one of anticipation among green-car advocates, who've spent many months waiting for certain vehicles to emerge into production. At the start of the year, it was the Tesla Model X luxury electric utility vehicle, built in very low numbers for several months at the end of 2015. These days, it's the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric hatchback, with its 238-mile rating and a price below $40,000, slated to go on sale in some locations before the end of this year. DON'T MISS: Chevrolet Volt: Green Car Reports' Best Car To Buy 2016 Those two cars, along with the 2017 Toyota...
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2017 Chevy Bolt EV review consensus: car is good, range is real
Early reviews of the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV are encouraging.
Stephen Edelstein -
2017 Toyota Prius Prime: first drive of new plug-in hybrid
The 2017 Toyota Prius Prime is a considerably better car than a few electric-car fans had feared. In fact, with an EPA-rated range of 25 miles (more than projected) and energy efficiency so high—at 133 MPGe—that it matches the BMW i3 with all its whizzy advanced technology, it’s a...
John Voelcker -
How many Chevy Bolt EVs will be sold in the U.S. in its first 12 months? Poll results
The largest number of one single battery-electric car sold in the U.S. in a single year is 30,000, the total logged in 2014 by the Nissan Leaf. (Of course, we don't know Tesla's sales because the company doesn't break out its quarterly global delivery totals by country.) But those were back in the...
John Voelcker -
How to promote a Porsche hybrid? Bring its Le Mans sibling into rush-hour traffic
Porsche sent a 919 Hybrid race car into London traffic to promote its Panamera 4 E-Hybrid luxury sedan.
Stephen Edelstein -
Price cut and monthly sales spike for Toyota Mirai fuel-cell sedan
Sometimes journalists miss the forest for the trees, and we'll plead guilty on this one. When we wrote last week that the Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell sedan was little-changed for the 2017 model year, with only one new color added, we missed one important element. That was, as several readers...
John Voelcker -
The 2017 Toyota Mirai carries over essentially unchanged.
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2017 Chevy Bolt EV: here's what can go wrong for electric-car pioneer
The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV will be on dealership floors within several weeks, cementing its position as the first affordable 200-mile electric car. It will beat planned 200-mile electric cars from BMW, Nissan, Tesla, Volkswagen, and other makers, and that's all to the good for plug-in car...
John Voelcker -
Lyft will have self-driving cars within five years: Bolt EV's main role?
Will the Chevrolet Bolt EV serve as the basis for autonomous Lyft cars?
Stephen Edelstein -
2017 Chevy Bolt EV price: electric car starts at $37,495 before incentives (as promised)
The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car will carry a price of $37,495 for the base LT trim level, including the mandatory destination charge, before incentives. The Bolt EV Premier model starts at $41,780 before incentives. The Premier trim includes front and rear heated and leather-appointed...
John Voelcker -
Chevy Bolt EV not on shared architecture, but platform name secret, GM says
The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV had a fast and unusual development process. General Motors partnered closely with Korean electronics firm LG, whose LG Chem subsidiary provided its lithium-ion battery cells. Other LG units contributed both electric and electronic components and now act as contract...
John Voelcker -
IIHS names 2017 Chevrolet Volt a Top Safety Pick+
The 2017 Chevrolet Volt is an IIHS Top Safety Pick+
Stephen Edelstein -
Over the last five years, much has been written about autonomous-car efforts from Apple and Google. Could these two massively successful Silicon Valley startups overturn the established order in the global auto industry? The answer remains to be seen, but this month brought news that both companies are restructuring their efforts. DON'T MISS: 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV first drive: 240 miles in an electric car Apple has laid off a significant number of staff in a "reset" of its automotive Project Titan (an effort it's never formally acknowledged), according to reports by company followers. And...
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2017 Nissan Rogue Hybrid: better prospects than Pathfinder, Murano for small hybrid SUV?
As predicted several years ago by a now-departed member of the Nissan product team, the third of three hybrid SUVs has rolled out. The 2017 Nissan Rogue Hybrid is the smallest of the three, and the company seems to be somewhat more optimistic about its prospects. Last year's 2016 Murano Hybrid...
John Voelcker -
2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV first drive: 240 miles in an electric car
We drove a 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car 240 miles on a single charge last week. And that was the lowest range achieved among four journalists driving four Bolt EVs along the California coast. One driver covered essentially the same trip with fully 32 miles remaining, according to the...
John Voelcker -
2017 Chevy Bolt EV electric car: 238-mile EPA range rating, 119 MPGe combined
There will be a lot riding on the tall, square shoulders of the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV when it reaches the first Chevy dealers late this year. It will be the first mass-priced electric car with a range of 200 miles or more, and it will go on sale a year before the much-vaunted Tesla Model 3. Now...
John Voelcker -
2017 BMW i3 REx: 97-mile electric range, lower efficiency for range-extended model
The 2017 BMW i3 REx has an electric range of 97 miles, and total range of 180 miles, according to its window sticker.
Stephen Edelstein -
Apple's Woz likes Chevy Bolt EV better than Tesla Model 3, he says
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak likes the Chevrolet Bolt EV.
Stephen Edelstein