Electric Cars
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Tesla confirmed last Thursday that Track Mode has started rolling out for the Model 3 Performance, in an update for vehicles that have already received Version 9 of the automaker’s vehicle software. The company emphasized that Track Mode is intended specifically for closed circuits. It’s primarily a series of updates to the vehicle dynamics controller—to allow more ‘steering’ of the vehicle using the front and rear motors. It also includes stronger cooling for the vehicle’s power systems and higher regenerative braking levels. While stability control...
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Faraday Future loses final founding executive (Updated)Faraday Future is a startup electric carmaker founded by a Chinese investor and five executives with experience in building cars and electric cars. Now that the company seems to be in its final throes of its latest financial crisis, the last of those executives has reportedly left the company. READ...
Eric C. Evarts -
Which car would you pick as Green Car Reports' Best Car To Buy 2019? Twitter poll resultsNow that we've named the Tesla Model 3 as Green Car Reports Best Car To Buy 2019, it's time to see what our readers picked. After we named our three finalists for the contest, The Model 3, the Hyundai Kona electric, and the Jaguar I-Pace, we included all three in our Twitter poll last week that...
Eric C. Evarts -
VW is planning to build 15 million electric vehiclesUPDATE: The very premise of this piece has been shaken when Volkswagen told the original source of this report, Automotive News, that its chief executive had misstated the number of MEB vehicles it now planned to eventually build to be 50 million, not 15 million. The latter is not surprising based...
Bengt Halvorson -
Tesla Model 3 Best Car To Buy, German diesels, hydrogen Chevy: Today's Car NewsToday's news is—almost—all about our Best Car To Buy for 2019. There's also a new hydrogen fuel cell concept from Chevrolet. And German authorities announced a new diesel settlement with carmakers there. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Green Car Reports Best Car To Buy 2019...
Eric C. Evarts -
Why haven't you bought a Tesla Model 3 yet? Take our Twitter pollWe just named the Tesla Model 3 Green Car Reports Best Car To Buy for 2019 for its combination of innovation, functionality, and performance. Like other Teslas, the Model 3 is designed to be an electric car meant to ignite buyers' passion. It isn't just a car you buy to do good for the world by...
Eric C. Evarts -
Hydrogen fuel cells may have a place on the battlefield. That's the conclusion that Chevrolet drew when it introduced the fuel-cell powered Colorado ZH2 for military use in 2016. We even had a chance to ride in it. Now the company is doubling down on the strategy with a full-size fuel-cell pickup, the Silverado ZH2, which appeared on the brand's military web page earlier this week after being shown at the 2018 meeting of the Association of the U.S. Army last month. DON'T MISS: Chevrolet Colorado ZH2: first ride in hydrogen fuel-cell Army truck "The Silverado ZH2 is a concept and is on the GM...
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Tesla news, VW pricing, electric Harley, and Best Car To Buy: The Week in ReverseWho will fill the role of Tesla's chairman to replace Elon Musk? Which cars made the list of finalists for Green Car Reports Best Car To Buy for 2019? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending Nov. 9, 2018. Toyota teased an...
Eric C. Evarts -
All-wheel-drive Prius, low-priced VWs, expensive Autopilot: Today's Car NewsVW announces that its new electric lineup will be priced as low as gasoline vehicles. Tesla raises prices on Autopilot following a two-week free trial. Toyota hints that it may bring an all-wheel-drive Prius to market. And we look at the best deals for November. All this and more on Green Car...
Eric C. Evarts -
Tesla bumps price of Autopilot post-deliveryAfter removing its former Full Self-Driving Mode feature, Tesla is doubling down on selling Enhanced Autopilot. In a new software rollout, the company has temporarily enabled Enhanced Autopilot on all the cars that have the hardware to run it in a 14-day free trial that chief executive officer Elon...
Eric C. Evarts -
Base price of VW's electric cars could be as low as $21,000Volkswagen plans to price its new generation of upcoming fully electric vehicles lower than it had previously hinted—as low as 18,000 euros for Europe, or about $21,000 for an entry-level fully electric model that will launch there in late 2019. The news, via Reuters, comes as Volkswagen aims...
Bengt Halvorson -
Best deals on electric, plug-in, and hybrid cars for November 2018With the new 2019 model year in full swing, and the holidays around the corner, a lot of consumers are looking for new cars. That means the deals aren't quite as good as they were in August and September when dealers and automakers were trying to clear out old inventory in preparation for the new...
Eric C. Evarts -
Tesla announced a new chairwoman to replace Elon Musk in a settlement with the SEC. Harley-Davidson commits to building its electric Livewire motorcycle. Nissan shows off a rescue truck with two Nissan Leaf batteries for backup power. And we consider the Tesla Model 3 as a contender for our 2019 Best Car To Buy award. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Tesla named Robyn Denholm, one of its two current independent directors, as its new chairwoman. She replaces Elon Musk, who had to step aside following an SEC settlement over a tweet he made in August. Musk will remain as chief executive...
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Finalist for Green Car Reports Best Car To Buy 2019: Tesla Model 3Just 16 months passed from when Tesla first showed its Model 3—and we got our first ride in a Model 3 prototype with its VP of engineering Doug Field—to when it made the first batch of deliveries. And it was certainly not our intent to wait nearly another 16 months before considering it...
Bengt Halvorson -
Robyn Denholm appointed new Tesla board chairwomanTesla's board has promoted from within to fill the role of chairman, replacing Elon Musk, who agreed to step down in a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Robyn Denholm, one of the two independent directors appointed to Tesla's board in 2014 will be its new chairwoman, the...
Eric C. Evarts -
Jaguar I-Pace, Faraday Future workers, low-cobalt batteries: Today's Car NewsWe look at what makes the Jaguar I-Pace a contender for our Best Car To Buy 2019 competition—and what holds it back. Facing indefinite furlough after the company ran out of money, Faraday Future employees have launched their own GoFundMe page to stay afloat. A well-known battery entrepreneur...
Eric C. Evarts -
E-bike maker sees space for bare-bones electric car in congested citiesA Danish bicycle and e-bike company, Biomega, has shown an open-wheel concept car that takes the sculpted, less-is-more ideas of Scandinavian design to new extremes—to what may be a regulatory impossibility in the U.S. The four-seat four-wheeler, called SIN, for Singapore, appears to be aimed...
Bengt Halvorson -
Battery entrepreneur releases new invention to reduce cobaltAs other battery scientists are working to develop the solid-state lithium batteries of tomorrow, technology entrepreneur Kenan Sahin is working to make the batteries of today more affordable. Sahin announced at a conference in Berlin this week that his company TIAX has invented a new battery...
Eric C. Evarts -
When some companies fall on hard financial times, they turn to Wall St. to sell stock or to banks to get loans. Faraday Future has tried all of that and is trying to raise another $500 million in cash or debt to continue developing its $300,000 electric luxury car. In the meantime, its employees have turned to Go Fund Me to raise $50,000 to keep their families afloat until the company can find more financing or the workers can find new jobs. READ MORE: GM EV1 exec leaves Faraday Future (Updated) After a funding dispute with its latest investor from Hong Kong, Faraday furloughed all the...
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Finalist for Green Car Reports Best Car To Buy 2019: Jaguar I-PaceThe Jaguar I-Pace is a front-runner—the first fully electric, longer-range vehicle from a long-established luxury brand. But it’s not a “Tesla-fighter” as the I-Pace has often been called. More accurately it exists not to conquest Tesla drivers but to keep...
Bengt Halvorson -
Infiniti tech, Chrysler Pacifica recall, Hyundai Kona electric, charging costs: Today's Car NewsInfiniti bumps turbo fuel efficiency with a new variable-compression engine. Chrysler recalls Pacifica Hybrid plug-in minivans—again. Faster charging is coming—but it won't come cheap. And we detail why the Hyundai Kona Electric is one of our three finalists for Green Car Reports Best...
Eric C. Evarts -
Finalist for Green Car Reports Best Car To Buy 2019: Hyundai Kona ElectricIn our quest to find Green Car Reports’ Best Car To Buy, the 2019 Hyundai Kona Electric is shaping up to be the “no drama” candidate. By now, we’ve had four distinct experiences with this small, fully electric crossover—or tall hatchback, depending on how you see it...
Bengt Halvorson -
Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid recalled for stalling, fire riskFiat Chrysler Automobiles is recalling 10,021 Chrysler plug-in hybrid vans for an issue that could result in a stall, or possibly the increased risk of a vehicle fire. In the vehicles affected—2017 and 2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid models with production dates of August 16, 2016 through...
Bengt Halvorson -
Commentary: Want faster electric-car charging? Pony up!The future may be coming for electric cars, but it's not yet clear what it will look like. When modern electric cars first launched between 2011 and 2014, many shared similar specs: about 80 miles of range, overnight charging, a five-passenger hatchback body, and a price starting around $28,000...
Eric C. Evarts