Green
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The Senate on Thursday confirmed acting EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler to head the agency. Since Wheeler became the acting administrator last July, he has released plans to unwind rising emissions and attendant fuel economy standards enacted under President Obama, and to rescind California's half-century-old authority to set tighter emissions standards than the federal government. He's moved twice to loosen emissions standards on coal-fired powerplants and promoted "clean coal" at a U.N. global-warming conference in Poland in December, and axed the EPA's office of the science advisor. DON'T...
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Nissan Leaf progress, fast electric motorcycle charging, Audi plug-ins: Today's Car News
Audi plans to introduce four new plug-in hybrids at next week's Geneva auto show. A drive in the Nissan Leaf Plus reveals how far electric cars have come in nine years. Electric motorcycle maker Zero has a novel way to get faster charging and longer trips on an electric bike. And German prosecutors...
Eric C. Evarts -
2019 Nissan Leaf Plus vs. 2011 Nissan Leaf: 5 takeaways over 8 years
When a completely new vehicle is introduced, it's generally around for five to seven years before an entirely redesigned generation of that vehicle is launched. By that measure, the 2019 Nissan Leaf Plus we reviewed earlier this week is ancient, with a basic structure in its ninth model...
John Voelcker -
Audi plans new plug-in hybrid Q5, A6, A7, and A8 for Geneva reveal
Audi's future plans for plug-in vehicles involve more than the all-electric e-tron quattro scheduled to roll out later this year. Now, with the previous plug-in hybrid, the A3 Sportback e-tron, already in the rearview mirror, the company has announced plans to reboot its plug-in lineup with four...
Eric C. Evarts -
Germany fines BMW over diesel emissions
German automakers have been under a microscope when it comes to emissions from their diesel cars, which were formerly bestsellers in Europe. After Daimler, Volkswagen, and German supplier Bosch paid billions in fines and several Audi managers have been arrested over installing diesel-emissions...
Eric C. Evarts -
Volvo's Polestar 2 electric car, plug-in Jeeps, Honda e Prototype: Today's Car News
Honda showed off its e Prototype concept for the upcoming Geneva auto show. Volvo unveiled its first all-electric car, the Polestar 2, and we compared it with the Tesla Model 3 Fiat Chrysler announced a new $4.5 million investment to lay the groundwork to begin producing plug-in versions of all of...
Eric C. Evarts -
In a study released on Tuesday, Volvo and its Harris polling partners found that 29 percent of electric-car drivers wished for more wireless charging. That may or may not be what our readers think. After one of the biggest suppliers of wireless charging, Qualcomm, announced last week that it would sell its Halo wireless charging business to rival WiTricity, in a deal that looks likely to break open the wireless charging market, we asked our own Twitter followers whether wireless charging would be a meaningful benefit to them. Our Twitter poll last week asked: "Do you look forward to home...
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Fiat Chrysler lays groundwork to build electrified Jeep models
With a $4.5 billion investment in manufacturing in Michigan announced Tuesday, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will put some big plans in motion to electrify its entire future Jeep lineup. That is likely to include a new Jeep Grand Cherokee plug-in hybrid, based on an all-new Grand Cherokee planned to...
Eric C. Evarts -
Porsche Macan goes electric, Rivian auxiliary battery, more chargers needed: Today's Car News
A Volvo/Harris poll reveals that three quarters of Americans see electric cars as the future—and they might buy one if more chargers were available. Porsche announced that its next Macan small SUV won't offer a gas engine. Our Twitter poll has some suggestions for other names for an upcoming...
Eric C. Evarts -
Rivian patent reveals removable battery for the truck bed
Rivian is proving that there's more than one way to get more range out of an electric car. A new patent filing from the company reveals that its upcoming R1T electric pickup could have even more than 400 miles of range by using an auxiliary battery in the bed of the pickup. The filing was revealed...
Eric C. Evarts -
What name should Ford revive for a future electric vehicle? Take our Twitter Poll
Ford has teased its planned 300-mile-electric performance SUV, but so far it's thin on details—other than the fact that it's supposed to be inspired by the performance of the Mustang (and, to some degree the F-150 Raptor off-road pickup.) Originally, the company said it might call the new...
Eric C. Evarts -
Poll suggests more Americans might buy an EV—if only they had a place to charge
Almost three-quarters of Americans see electric cars as the future of transportation, according to a new Volvo/Harris poll released Tuesday. In the poll conducted last October, which surveyed 1,510 drivers in the U.S. during the middle of October, including 250 electric-car drivers, 74 percent of...
Eric C. Evarts -
Porsche has somewhat publicly, for months if not years, been examining the possibility of producing an electric version of its top-selling model, the Macan. It turns out that may not have been the whole truth, and what's actually now confirmed is a huge step beyond just another version to satisfy regulators. Porsche announced on Tuesday that the next-generation version of the Macan will only be sold as a fully electric vehicle. The automaker said that the next Macan will be built on the PPE (Premium Platform Electric) architecture being co-developed between Porsche and Audi, which doesn't...
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Chinese Kandi cars, longer-range Volvos, Nissan Leaf Plus review: Today's Car News
A new car company from China gets approval to sell electric cars in the U.S. We have a first chance to drive the longer-range Nissan Leaf Plus. Volvo gives is plug-in hybrids additional battery range for 2020. And the last Volt rolls off the assembly line. All this and more on Green Car Reports. We...
Eric C. Evarts -
GM rolls last Chevy Volt off Detroit assembly line
With the end of Chevrolet Volt production last week, it looks more like pure electric cars are winning the race to transform driving over more complicated, if versatile plug-in hybrids. GM built the last 2019 Chevy Volt on February 15, and in a ceremony last Tuesday it rolled off the assembly line...
Eric C. Evarts -
Volvo XC90, XC60 T8 plug-in hybrids add electric miles for 2020
Volvo announced on Friday that it is updating its lineup with two new "mild-hybrids" and more electric range for its existing T8 plug-in hybrid models. The XC60 and XC90 T8 plug-in hybrids will get up to 15 percent more range, according to Volvo's European announcement, which could boost their...
Eric C. Evarts -
Chinese Kandi electric cars a step closer to U.S. arrival (Updated)
The federal government has given initial approval for the Chinese electric car manufacturer Kandi to import two electric cars to the U.S. in coming years, the company announced to investors last week. The company, which is known as Zhejiang Kangdi Vehicles Company in China, is publicly traded on...
Eric C. Evarts -
First drive review: The 2019 Nissan Leaf Plus delivers more power, 226-mile range at last
At the moment, there are more Nissan Leafs on the world’s roads than any other electric car in history—closing in on 400,000. As of Jan 1, Nissan had delivered 380,000 Leafs globally, 130,000 of them in the United States. Nissan is entirely aware that honor may not last long. It all...
John Voelcker -
Electric-car batteries need to get recycled or reused at the end of their road. And campers are always in need of more batteries to stay out longer and run more things without resorting to gas power. Combine the two needs and you get the Nissan x Opus, an inflatable, folding camping trailer that relies on second-life batteries from used Nissan Leafs. Nissan showed the camper at the Caravan, Camping, and Motorhome Show in Birmingham, England this week. CHECK OUT: Volvo reuses bus batteries for solar storage The Opus is an existing folding camping trailer, something like a pop-up camper in the...
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Tesla Model 3 reliability, Bill Gates, California fast lanes: The Week in Reverse
Which electric car gets great satisfaction but subpar reliability ratings? What did a bill in California propose instead of the high-speed rail project from San Francisco to LA? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending Feb. 22...
Eric C. Evarts -
Ford fuel economy, EPA ends talks, better hybrids, Audi ad: Today's Car News
Ford opened an investigation into the way it conducts fuel economy tests. The EPA quit speaking to California in their dispute over emissions rules. Half of Consumer Reports top picks for 2019 include hybrids or plug-in cars. And Audi makes good on advertising the performance benefits of an...
Eric C. Evarts -
E-tron follows original Quattro to the ski slopes in Audi's latest ad
You asked, now you've received. In our Twitter poll last week, readers told us that they think automakers should quit focusing on electric cars' green credentials in ads and start advertising their performance. Apparently Audi was reading their thoughts. After spending as much as $5 million (or...
Eric C. Evarts -
Consumer Reports Top Picks show hybrids have come a long way
Carbuyers no longer have to give up space, comfort, features, or reliability to make a difference in saving gas. That's the message of Consumer Reports' latest list of 10 top picks for 2019, published in its Autos Spotlight, and April Auto Issue Thursday. Out of CR's 10 Top Picks, three are...
Eric C. Evarts -
EPA cuts off fuel-economy talks with California
The Trump administration has ended talks with California aimed at settling their differences over increasing fuel economy and tightening emissions regulations, Reuters reported Thursday, citing an unnamed government official. In August, the EPA, led by Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler, released...
Eric C. Evarts