Which electric cars are finalists for our 2017 Best Car To Buy award?

What unusual source for making ethanol did researchers at a Federal lab discover?

This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending on Friday, October 21, 2016.

Friday, we noted that an executive from Korean battery supplier LG Chem had predicted GM will sell more than 30,000 Chevrolet Bolt EVs in the electric car's first year on the market.

GM does not comment on planned volumes for the Chevy Bolt EV. Spokesman Kevin Kelly has said only that it is not production-constrained, and can produce as many Bolt EVs as the market demands.

On Thursday, we covered Tesla's announcement that it had vastly upgraded the sensors in cars now being built.

Tesla Hardware 2 self-driving technology

Tesla Hardware 2 self-driving technology

The new equipment, to be know as "Hardware 2," is comprised of eight cameras, 12 ultrasonic sensors, and a forward-facing radar system, which CEO Elon Musk said would provide full self-driving capabilities beyond those of today's Autopilot system.

At first, however, the latest cars fitted with "Hardware 2" won't immediately be capable of automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, or active lane control. Those features are to be activated via over-the-air updates later on.

Wednesday, we described the recently announced BMW 530e plug-in hybrid sedan, which joins versions of the company's 3-Series and 7-Series to give the company plug-in hybrids across its mainstream sedan lines.

On Tuesday, we noted that researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory accidentally discovered a catalyst that converts carbon dioxide into ethanol.

Much remains to be learned and researched, but if it were to scale up to production quantities, such a technology could change the equation on biofuels—and take the "food or fuel?" argument out of the debate.

We kicked off the week on Monday by noting that the Paris Climate Agreement will take effect at the end of this month, following earlier-than-expected signatures from not only India (China had signed earlier) but many European countries.

Hyundai ix35 (Tucson) Fuel Cell Paris taxi

Hyundai ix35 (Tucson) Fuel Cell Paris taxi

Over the weekend, we covered the surprising fact that a U.S. Department of Energy loan program notorious for its involvement with failed solar company Solyndra is now actually turning a profit.

Finally, we profiled two of this year's three nominees for our Green Car Reports 2017 Best Car To Buy award. They are the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV and the 2017 Tesla Model X, both battery-electric vehicles with ranges of more than 200 miles.

Choice is good.

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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