Andrew Ganz, Senior Editor
Articles
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It appears that Chevy isn't following its own precedent as the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid enters its third model year.
In the past, the Volt received a battery upgrade every other year that...
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Asking prices climb for used VW TDI diesels as buybacks proceed
If you have your eyes on a used Volkswagen or Audi TDI turbodiesel, you may wind up having to pay more today for 2009 through 2015 models than you would have when they were new. At least right now, only 2015 model-year versions of VW and Audi vehicles sold with the 2.0-liter turbodiesel 4-cylinder...
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BMW i3, Tesla Model S electric cars miss top IIHS safety ratings
Two of the most prominent electric cars have missed out on the highest award given for vehicle safety by the influential IIHS: Top Safety Pick+. Funded by the insurance industry, the IIHS—which operates independently of the federal government—says that neither the BMW i3 nor the Tesla...
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Faraday Future unveils FF 91, its first production electric car; deposits open, no price given
Faraday Future unveiled its FF 91 electric car on the sidelines of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The battery-powered 1,050-horsepower vehicle is intended to rival (or perhaps best) anything Tesla Motors may have up its sleeve. As an upright crossover, it appears to be designed to...
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New orders for Tesla Model 3 won't be filled until mid-2018
If you haven't placed your order for a Tesla Model 3, the electric car builder now says that your request won't be fulfilled until the middle of 2018. That's at least a few month delay over the "late 2017" figure for new orders that the automaker had been quoting on its website until just a couple...
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Mercedes previews new electric car lineup with Generation EQ concept
Mercedes-Benz took to the stage at the 2016 Paris auto show with a quirky new concept car that the German automaker says serves as a forerunner to its upcoming lineup of electric cars. Mercedes chief Dr. Dieter Zetsche said that one of the biggest hurdles automakers will face in the future is...
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AM General, the firm best known for building Hummer H1s in both civilian and military versions, has been selected by a rather different governmental agency to help create a prototype with a different...
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2017 Chrysler Pacifica fuel economy review
They say you never really forget how to ride a bike, but if you're Chrysler, you may temporarily forget how to build a minivan. That's just what happened for the company that invented the multi-purpose vehicle more than 30 years ago. Its last generation of Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge...
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New Volvo concepts tease upcoming V40, XC40 compacts
Ahead of their formal unveiling possibly next week, Volvo has teased one of the show cars that is set to preview a far more high-tech range of compact models based on an all-new architecture. The teaser appears to show a small crossover and the image was released on social media with the taglines...
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2016 Ram 1500 HFE EcoDiesel fuel-economy review: 24-mpg full-size pickup truck
It may not look like it, but the Ram full-size pickup you see here may be one of the more interesting new trucks on the road today. You might view it as this decade's version of the Camaros, Mustangs, and Mopars that emerged in earlier days from back-corner "skunkworks" engineering groups at each...
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2016 Nissan Altima 2.5 SL gas mileage review
Nissan made big waves a few years ago when it introduced its then-new 2013 Altima. On the side of a barn not too far from its Franklin, Tennessee, headquarters, the automaker painted "38 mpg"—referring not to its combined EPA rating, but its highway number. And then it took a bunch of...
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Dealer brings 'forbidden fruit' used electric cars to Boulder, Colorado
Some markets are stronger than others for certain types of cars. Think Subarus in the Northeast or the Rocky Mountains, convertibles in Florida, and pickup trucks in Texas. Used-car dealers carefully watch auctions to find cars in less demand elsewhere that they can sell locally for more money...
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A Florida city has become the nation's—and presumably the world's—first to subsidize Uber rides beginning or ending within its borders.
Altamonte Springs, a suburb of Orlando, will cover...
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2016 Land Rover Range Rover Sport HSE Td6: fuel economy review of luxury diesel SUV
Buyer expectations of a silent, refined driving experience traditionally kept diesel engines out of the upper echelons of the automotive market, but times have definitely changed. Witness the major expansion by Jaguar Land Rover to offer American buyers a 3.0-liter turbo diesel V-6 in a large...
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BMW marks 100th birthday with autonomous, zero-emission concept
BMW is now a century old. To celebrate, the brand has unveiled a concept car that emits nothing from its tailpipe and can drive itself. The automaker hasn't said just how the Vision Next 100 concept manages to go emission-free, but it did talk a lot about the car's exotic materials and...
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Why I bought a new Nissan Leaf electric car 2 hours from home: $8,500 net cost
If you’re looking to spend $8,500 on a car, you’re probably going to bring home something with close to six digits on the odometer. Unless, that is, you buy a brand new electric car deep in the heart of oil and gas country. That’s what I did, and that’s how I wound up...
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2016 Honda Civic Touring: Gas Mileage Review
The once-humble Honda Civic has been a mainstay of the carmaker's lineup in the United States for nearly 40 years. But never before has it been so aspirational inside, outside, and underneath. This year, the Civic's makeover was intense, to say the least. Shedding its ugly duckling looks for a...
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New diesel Audi SQ7: electric turbo, 48-volt electrics aid efficiency
Given the diesel scandal lingering over Volkswagen's operations, it might come as a surprise that Audi has unveiled a new, high-performance flagship crossover powered by the controversial fuel. But the new SQ7 brings to the table much more than just a high-power 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged diesel...
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What would be your ultimate Toyota Prius hybrid?
Maybe a convertible version? One that brings fond memories of bygone performance to middle-aged friends and neighbors?
An Ohio man is now in the...
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U.S. advanced research agency optimistic on storage-battery progress
The Federal government's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy said last week that it has made huge strides toward creating a next generation of batteries for energy storage. The agency is tasked with kickstarting energy-related projects in the private sector; its director suggested that the new...
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Borgward SUVs' Geneva debut: new plug-in hybrids, old German name, Chinese owners
Borgward is hardly a household name anywhere, but the recently-revived automaker hopes that its new plug-in hybrids will make it a hit in China's still-growing new car market. At this week's Geneva Motor Show, Borgward debuted a pair of crossovers christened BX5 and Projekt BX6 TS. The Geneva...
Andrew Ganz