Buying
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In an article last fall, I reached out to the GCR readers for a suggestion for what plug-in vehicle I should buy to complement my 84-mile range 2015 Nissan LEAF. The new vehicle, my wife’s car, had to handle a 16-mile daily commute, occasional 300-mile trips to Vermont (a place of few DC fast chargers), and be less than $40,000. Readers generously gave their thoughts with over 500 comments, leaning heavily toward the 2017 Chevy Volt as the car of choice with the 2017 Prius Prime coming in second and the Chevy Bolt EV a third. But there was a surprisingly long list of other ideas...
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Electric-car buyers want same things as all car buyers, research shows
Cheaper batteries alone won't get consumers to abandon their internal combustion cars for any type of electric car. Purchase incentives and charging boost plug-in hybrids. But what buyers really seem to want is fuel cells.
Matthew Klippenstein -
How to buy or lease an electric car: advice from owner who's done it four times
Most shoppers seem to view visiting a franchised auto dealer to negotiate the purchase or lease of a new car with a distinct lack of enthusiasm. In fact, as electric-car driver Douglas Kerr notes, the process is often compared to having a cavity filled. Kerr has now leased or bought four separate...
John Voelcker -
What if car buyers aren't ready for electric cars, even in California?
It's accepted wisdom among electric-car fans and advocates that within a few years, mass-market car buyers will start snapping up battery-electric cars. First, battery prices have to come down to the point that electric vehicles aren't much pricier than comparable models with gasoline engines. But...
John Voelcker -
What will your next car be? Take our Twitter poll
Seven years after the first mass-priced modern electric car was sold in the U.S., more car buyers than ever are at least dimly aware that such vehicles exist. Sales of cars that plug in have risen every year, with one slight dip in 2015, but they were still just 1 percent of the U.S. market of 17.5...
John Voelcker -
How much electric-car range is 'enough'? 300 miles much better than 200 miles: survey
Electric-car drivers know that range anxiety abates quickly once you start using an electric car and get confident with its abilities. Although a range of 60 to 90 miles covers the majority of daily car use in the U.S., it isn't enough for many drivers with longer commutes—especially at high...
John Voelcker -
It's now time to shop for a new car for my wife, as her wonderful 2006 Toyota Prius has 144,000 miles and we're ready for something new. So I thought I might throw the question out to Green Car Reports readers. What car should replace our 2006 Prius hybrid? DON'T MISS: 2017 Toyota Prius Prime: gas mileage, electric range review Our needs and requirements are clear: No plug, no deal: it must be electric, either a full battery-electric or a plug-in hybrid The main use is a 16-mile daily roundtrip commute to work. It must also handle occasional 300-mile round trips from Boston to Woodstock...
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Note to (a few) electric-car advocates: get off your high horses
Any movement produces passionate advocates and angry detractors, even as the vast mass of people pay it little or no attention. When that movement involves most people's second most-expensive purchase, and plays a role in reducing manmade carbon emissions to alleviate the worst effects of climate...
John Voelcker -
What it took to buy an electric car in Texas: the good, the bad, and the ugly
Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to locate and purchase or lease a Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid somewhere in the heart of Texas oil country. Hoping to make Tom Cruise proud, I accepted the mission. But first, a bit of perspective: in 2005 I had set out to purchase a Mercury Mariner...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model S 'Limited Time' Lease Offered At $698 Per Month
Tesla is offering a new Model S lease deal.
Stephen Edelstein -
2016 Nissan Leaf: How Does It Compare To 2012 Model On Price, Equipment, Range?
How has the Nissan Leaf changed over the years?
Stephen Edelstein -
More Informed Car Buyers Don't Need Salesmen, But 'Facilitators'
Car buyers today have far more information than they did just 15 years ago, and they're using it. Google says that three-quarters of all auto shoppers now do hours of research before they ever visit a dealer. They can find some information on dealer invoice prices--though not necessarily all the...
John Voelcker -
Younger buyers emphasize fuel efficiency, a new study says.
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What's The Best Electric Car To Buy For The Average Consumer?
Automotive journalists often use each other as information sources, or to get reality checks on new material. Recently, a colleague asked, "If auto journalists had the choice of only driving electric, which production electric car would you purchase--and why?" Which seemed like an excellent topic...
John Voelcker -
Here's Why Electric Cars Will Succeed: Owners Just Adore Them
Imagine you're a carmaker, and you found you could build a type of vehicle that customers all absolutely adored. Not just liked. Not just said, "Yeah, it's fine, it does what I need"--but out-and-out loved, cherished, talked about incessantly, and recommended to everyone they met, all the time...
John Voelcker -
U.K. Plug-In Electric Car Incentives: Why Haven't They Worked?
Sales figures for plug-in cars in the U.S. crossed the 100,000 mark four months ago, but in the U.K., the government has announced that it will end plug-in car incentives. Some point to poor sales and an apathetic buying public. One trade organization claims existing grants of £5,000 ($8,100)...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Wait, Tesla Owners And Fans Don't Care So Much About Green?
It's dangerous to assume, as the saying goes. And a lot of assumptions about why people buy electric cars are wrong--including that they only do so because they're "green," meaning to help the environment. Now a new attitudinal survey shows this isn't much true for Tesla owners and fans. A study by...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Loses Legal Battles To Texas, North Carolina Dealers
Win some, lose some. Tesla's had a very good year thus far, but it was recently dealt legislative defeats in two states where it had hoped to sell its electric cars. In Texas, the state legislature declined to make an exception to existing rules that make it illegal for automakers to sell cars to...
John Voelcker -
Slowly, the economic recession is winding down and consumer moods are improving. Plus, today's new cars get better gas mileage than they did just a few years ago. Is this year the best time to buy a new car? According to several industry analysts quoted in The Detroit News, the answer is unequivocally yes. Their confidence rests on the idea that all cars and trucks are getting better fuel economy now than they ever have. But, they say, future vehicles--with better gas-mileage yet, as mandated by last year's EPA rules through 2025--are going to cost so much more that some consumers won't be...
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Five Ideal Companion Cars To The 2012 Nissan Leaf
You’ve taken the plunge and shelled out anything from $33,000 upwards for an all-electric 2012 Nissan Leaf. Quiet, efficient and full of gadgets, you’ve discovered that it has quickly relegated your gas car to the garage, carrying out the weekend chores, work commutes and maybe even...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Electric Cars' Secret Advantage: They're Just Nicer To Drive
Plug-in electric cars are now on sale from several carmakers, and their sales will rise slowly over the next decade. Right now, most of the marketing for those electric cars focuses on green themes or cost savings on the gasoline drivers don't have to buy. But there's one factor no electric-car...
John Voelcker -
Study Says Hybrid Owners Don’t Always Buy Another Hybrid: Here’s Why
For many years, ever-rising gas prices have encouraged more and more car drivers to make the switch to cars with hybrid drivetrains. But with the first hybrids well over 10 years old, what happens when hybrid owners search for their next car? Do they buy another hybrid, or make the switch to...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Why Do Buyers Avoid Prius, Electric Cars? It's Styling And Price
According to the ninth annual Avoider study published yesterday by J.D. Power and Associates, many car-buyers avoid green cars because they’re too small, look strange, or cost too much. As we’ve previously found from other recent surveys, gas mileage proved to be the number one...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Why Buy Green Cars? For the Cost Savings, Not the Planet, Survey Says
If you're reading this site, there's a good chance that you're interested in driving green: saving fuel, perhaps reducing the overall impact of your transportation choices on the planet. Or maybe not. Maybe, like the vast majority of U.S. buyers, you're interested in better fuel economy not for...
John Voelcker