What do Tesla CEO Elon Musk and comedy legend Mel Brooks have in common?
And, how many miles can you cover on the original battery pack of a Toyota Prius hybrid?
This is our video look back at the Week In Reverse--right here at Green Car Reports--for the week ending on Friday, July 17, 2015.
Friday, we told you all about the latest updates to the Tesla Model S electric luxury sedan.
There's a new, larger, 90-kilowatt-hour battery pack, and a "Ludicrous" mode that's even faster than the previous top-end mode called "Insane."
Spaceballs references, anyone?
On Thursday, we noted that no less an authority than Consumer Reports had deemed a used Nissan Leaf electric car to be a good deal, under some circumstances.
Wednesday brought news from Volvo. It's sold more plug-in hybrids in Europe than any other maker, and now the Polestar tuning shop--which it just bought--will offer higher-performance versions of its cars with plugs.
Presumably, they too will be in the unique shade of blue that instantly identifies the Polestar models on any show floor.
On Tuesday, we noted that California residents who want to drive the 2016 Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle will be able to sign up starting on Monday, July 20.
Toyota will carefully qualify the first buyers and lessees of this new zero-emission vehicle to ensure they live near one of the few hydrogen fueling stations now in operation.
Monday, we reported that startup carmaker Elio Motors--it's the one with the two-seat, three-wheeled, "68-mpg" minicar--has now raised more than $20 million from small investors.
Regrettably, it says it still needs upwards of $100 million more to make its self-identified goal of launching production in a former GM plant in Louisiana.
Over the weekend, we described the updates to the European version of the 2016 Fiat 500 minicar.
Mostly, they're minor styling tweaks and a better infotainment system, but we expect some of them to appear in the North American models as well.
Finally, what's the most miles you've ever put on a single vehicle? We're betting it's not close to 600,000.
That's how many an Austrian cabbie claims he's put on his Toyota Prius hybrid--and, he's still using the original battery pack.
So much for those worries about battery durability, eh?
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