Los Angeles Auto Show
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Volkswagen could present another production-intent ID concept at the LA auto show in November.
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Toyota Prius AWD-e: Going light on the rear motor helps it hit 50 mpg
The all-wheel drive version of the Toyota Prius introduced last week at the LA Auto Show earns an astoundingly good EPA fuel economy rating of 50 mpg combined—nearly as good as the 52 mpg earned by much of the Prius lineup (LE, XLE and Limited). But the system isn’t nearly as capable as...
Bengt Halvorson -
Lithium-ion vs. nickel-metal hydride: Toyota still likes both for its hybrids
Toyota continues to stay the course with nickel-metal hydride battery cells for many of its hybrid vehicles, even though most other hybrid vehicles from other brands have moved on to using lithium-ion cells exclusively. According to Prius chief engineer Shoichi Kaneko, in an interview this past...
Bengt Halvorson -
What electric car are you most excited to hear about from the LA Auto Show? Twitter poll results
Pickups and electric cars. Two opposites that haven't been attracted to each other—until now. Our readers, though, seem excited about the possibility of combining the two. In our Twitter poll last week, we asked, "What electric car are you most excited to hear about from the LA Auto Show?"...
Eric C. Evarts -
Electric cars from Audi, Porsche: Explaining platform magic
It would be unthinkable for any automaker but Porsche to introduce a new car with a flat-6 engine hung out behind the rear axle. At this week’s 2018 LA Auto Show, the 2020 Porsche 911 duly made its debut in the hallowed configuration that has persisted since 1964. But with underpinnings...
John Voelcker -
LA Auto Show electrics, no Volts, 1 billion Tesla miles: The Week in Reverse
Which company plans on introducing a new electric pickup and SUV? What car caused a ruckus when its manufacturer announced it would be discontinued? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending November 30, 2018. This week was all...
Eric C. Evarts -
One key specification in the 2020 Kia Soul EV that was revealed at the LA Auto Show this week was a bit unexpected: its inclusion of a large, 64-kwh battery pack. That leaves two vehicles—the Soul EV and the 2019 Kia Niro EV—with the same big battery. And both will be arriving at U.S. dealerships in the first quarter of 2019. Based on earlier hints, we expected Kia to fit the more city-focused, lease-oriented Soul EV with the company’s 39-kwh pack. So we asked Kia why it decided to go big on battery for both of these high-utility hatchbacks. Simply put, according to Kia...
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2019 Kia Niro EV rated at 239 miles, on sale soon
At the LA Auto Show, Kia has provided some long-awaited U.S. market details for the Niro EV. Among the most important ones: With a large 64-kwh battery pack, it will offer an EPA-rated range of 239 miles. The Niro, which Kia describes as a “multi-function crossover format,” is built on...
Bengt Halvorson -
Mitsubishi Evo rally sedan morphs into electric crossover concept
Electric power has come to drag racers, hill-climb cars, and Formula E racers. Why not rally cars? At least that's Mitsubishi's idea with its new e-Evolution concept that debuted Wednesday at the LA Auto Show. Unlike the winged sedan that took the off-road rally racing world by storm 15 years ago...
Eric C. Evarts -
2020 Toyota Corolla Hybrid aims for 50 mpg—Prius tech meets frugal mainstream
With the introduction of a 50-mile-per-gallon Corolla Hybrid at the Los Angeles Auto Show, Toyota is keeping true to a mission it undertook a long time ago: democratizing hybrid technology, and making it mainstream. The carmaker has long aimed to deploy its hybrid system aggressively into pretty...
Bengt Halvorson -
2019 Mazda 3 sedan and hatch aim for an X factor–and that’s not electric
Mazda has revealed its 2019 Mazda 3 compact car, in new-generation form, at the 2018 LA Auto Show. It’s not surprising, given the brand’s go-it-alone strategy this decade, that the new ‘3’ appears to take a different path than key global compact-car rivals in nearly every...
Bengt Halvorson -
Toyota Prius AWD-e earns 50 mpg with all-weather treads
If you want one of the highest-mileage non-plug-in vehicles on the market—like the Toyota Prius, Hyundai Ioniq, Kia Niro, or Honda Insight, there’s been one quite significant deal-breaker for many Snow Belt families: All-wheel drive simply isn’t a possibility. That’s due to...
Bengt Halvorson -
Cargo vans look to be the next big opportunity for electrification, as they can save a lot of pollution with all the time and mileage the spend on the road. At the LA auto show, VW updated its I.D. Buzz cargo van concept into the ultimate delivery or contractor van, with a high-powered electrical outlet, solar power, and at least conceptually a full-self-driving system. First shown in Germany in September, the I.D. Buzz cargo van concept is based on the passenger version of the electric I.D. Buzz microbus, an updated concept of Volkswagen's classic bus. DON'T MISS: Volkswagen ID Buzz drive...
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What electric car are you most excited to hear about from the LA auto show?
With the green-car oriented Los Angeles auto show ramping up into full swing today, it seemed a good day to ask our readers what models they're most excited to hear about from the show. There are several electric cars debuting at the show, including the Rivian R1T electric pickup, which the startup...
Eric C. Evarts -
2018 LA auto show preview: 10 green-vehicle intros that matter
Most of the major auto shows, like the Los Angeles auto show, have always had two components: news-making and car-selling. And it’s the second part—the public days—that thrives today. People are attending traditional, consumer-focused auto shows in record numbers...
Bengt Halvorson -
Tesla Model 3s, electric pickup, LA debuts, and wind power: The Week in Reverse
What company will show a new electric pickup later this month at the LA Auto Show? How many miles will the new Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid go on its battery power? And which car won Green Car Reports Best Car To Buy competition for 2019? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at...
Eric C. Evarts -
2019 BMW i8: larger battery, more range, plus new Roadster priced from $164,295
BMW is breathing some fresh air into its three-year-old alternative flagship to improve performance, increase range, and add some style. Revealed at the 2017 Los Angeles Auto Show, the i8's update (known in the industry as a "mid-cycle refresh") increases its battery capacity from 7.1 to 11.7...
Mark Stevenson -
Jeep Wrangler Plug-In Hybrid to go into production in 2020
Looking back at last week's Los Angeles auto show media days, one new vehicle sucked up a disproportionate amount of attention and airtime. That would be the new 2018 Jeep Wrangler, a once-in-a-decade redesign of the iconic off-roader that's the linchpin of the Jeep brand image worldwide. While the...
John Voelcker -
Ten years ago, the subcompact crossover segment barely existed. Now multiple automakers are clamoring for your attention as each brand rushes to bring its own take on the small utility to market. At this week's 2017 Los Angeles auto show, Nissan and Hyundai revealed two new models that will vie for buyers' attention in the burgeoning segment. Unfortunately, neither of them will be offered in electric or electrified form when they arrive at dealerships in the first half of next year—though one is confirmed to get a full electric variant later. DON'T MISS: Crossover shoo-in: 2018 Nissan...
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Toyota to build megawatt electric and hydrogen plant fueled by California bio-waste
Toyota today is the world's most ardent proponent of using hydrogen fuel cells for zero-emission vehicles rather than large battery packs. The huge Japanese carmaker, one of the world's four largest, now sells its Toyota Mirai fuel-cell sedan around the world, and has more hydrogen-powered vehicles...
John Voelcker -
Half of all Porsches will plug in by 2025, showing importance of electric cars
Its customers and employees know, but the rest of the world may not quite have realized that Porsche will soon sell six separate plug-in hybrid models. They span three different vehicles—the Porsche Panamera large sedan, the Panamera Sport Turismo shooting brake, and the Cayenne sport utility...
John Voelcker -
Volkswagen ID Crozz electric SUV to launch in US in 2020
A production vehicle based on the Volkswagen ID Crozz all-electric compact crossover will be launched in the U.S. market during 2020, VW said. The announcement came at a media event Tuesday night before the first of two media days at the Los Angeles auto show, where the electric SUV makes its North...
John Voelcker -
BMW to debut electric-car concept at LA show; electric Mini makes U.S. debut
BMW will use media days at the Los Angeles auto show, which begin on November 29, to unveil a new electric car that's never before been seen. The electric model that will debut in California wasn't otherwise specified in the German maker's announcement, which called it simply "a world premiere...
John Voelcker -
Another tiny SUV? No AWD for 2018 Toyota C-HR subcompact crossover
The 2018 Toyota C-HR subcompact crossover debuted at the 2016 Los Angeles Auto Show.
Stephen Edelstein