Featured (was)
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At the LA Auto Show, Kia revealed a completely new generation of its Soul—including, once again, an all-electric Kia Soul EV that makes overtures to urbanites who need box-on-wheels utility, affordability, parking ease, and some design flair but also want an electric car. The Soul EV is, once again, front-wheel drive, but its electric motor now produces 201 horsepower and 291 pound-feet of torque—significantly more than the 2018 Soul EV’s 109 horsepower and 210 pound-feet. Meanwhile, the other big piece of news is the battery—a liquid-cooled 64-kwh pack that earns 239...
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Toyota Prius AWD-e earns 50 mpg with all-weather treadsIf 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 -
Rivian R1S electric SUV goes family style with 7 seats, 410-mile rangeTwo years from now, the electric-vehicle startup Rivian hopes to be making its R1T electric pickup truck at a former Mitsubishi (and Chrysler) plant in Normal, Illinois. If everything goes according to plan, shortly after that, in early 2021, it will start to deliver its other so-called electric...
Bengt Halvorson -
VW updates I.D. Cargo Buzz with solar for LA ShowCargo 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...
Eric C. Evarts -
GM to kill Chevy Volt production in 2019 (Updated)General Motors confirmed Monday morning that it plans to cease production of the Chevrolet Volt in March, as part of an effort to streamline production and pivot its business more toward zero-emissions and personal-mobility efforts. The Volt was the first production plug-in car sold in the U.S...
Eric C. Evarts -
Rivian R1T all-electric pickup revealed: 400-mile range, 160-kw DC fast chargingWith the Rivian R1T pickup revealed this morning, just ahead of the Los Angeles auto show, and the R1S SUV expected to be shown here this week, a Michigan-based electric-vehicle startup called Rivian might have something that’s been a long time coming: the first widely available fully...
Bengt Halvorson -
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. Counterintuitively—in this day when much of new-car research happens on phones and tablets—they’ve become a more important place for shoppers to peruse vehicles on “neutral ground,” It’s also what pays the bills, giving leads to dealerships, connecting brands with shoppers, or...
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At climate talks, Trump team plans to promote coalAt climate talks scheduled for next month, where nations are expected to set up rules to follow to meet targets set out in the Paris Climate Accord in 2015, the Trump administration is planning a sideshow to promote fossil fuels. President Trump notoriously announced six months after taking office...
Eric C. Evarts -
Gas stations OK, electric-car chargers too ugly?Delays in rolling out new electric-car charging infrastructure may not just be about economics. Aesthetics may be holding back installations in some places too, according to the manager of electric-car sharing company Zipcar in Britain Jonathan Hampson, general manager for Zipcar in the United...
Eric C. Evarts -
Commentary: Plug-in hybrids shouldn't just be California compliance carsWith 17 miles of all-electric range, all-wheel drive, and a rugged-hatchback body style, the Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid could be the perfect entry point for a lot of buyers who'd like to get started driving on electric power. Electric-car advocates, who've already moved on to one of several...
Bengt Halvorson -
2019 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid first drive review: All the bits and pieces in placeThe 2019 RAV4 Hybrid is Toyota’s way of flexing its corporate might. It’s as if the automaker called on each of its departments to create the new hybrid crossover SUV. The folks from design coughed up some 4Runner and Tacoma cues to give it a butch look. The Lexus team chiseled the...
Andrew Ganz -
2019 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid: First drive of 17-mile, 35-mpg plug-in crossoverTo understand the complicated path for Subaru’s first plug-in hybrid, first we needed to hike a mile in the automaker’s shoes. OK, more like 10 miles, actually—driving the 2019 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid gingerly up a dusty, bouldered, steep trail, past signage cautioning...
Bengt Halvorson -
Nissan Group CEO Carlos Ghosn, widely credited as the father of the Nissan Leaf, allegedly lied about his salary to investors and used company assets for personal use, the automaker said Monday. Nissan announced that an internal investigation of Ghosn and a top deputy, American Representative Director Greg Kelly, uncovered the reported fraud. The company said it passed its findings on to Japanese prosecutors. Several media outlets have reported that Ghosn was arrested. Nissan's CEO Hiroto Saikawa said he would propose to the company's board that Ghosn and Kelly be removed from their positions...
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VW has no fun trademarking I.D. name seriesVolkswagen has generated a lot of buzz with the names for its upcoming series of electric cars: I.D., I.D. Crozz, I.D. Lounge, I.D. Vizzion, and I.D. Buzz, for its recreation of the iconic Microbus. Keep in mind that these are all the names of the concept vehicles, not necessarily the production...
Eric C. Evarts -
Before Volkswagen’s $50 billion push, and the e-Golf, there were these VW electric carsWith the formal nod of Volkswagen’s board on Friday, Volkswagen is embarking upon a five-year, $50 billion all-in push to develop a new generation of electric cars, plus complementary autonomous-drive technologies and mobility services. As Volkswagen works toward a viable, global, mass-market...
Bengt Halvorson -
Tesla Model 3s, electric pickup, LA debuts, and wind power: The Week in ReverseWhat 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 -
Tesla fatal crash rate with Autopilot could still be no better than with human driversSince Tesla’s Autopilot was introduced back in October 2014, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has made extravagant claims about its superior safety. Last month, reacting to what Musk considers sensationalized media coverage of Tesla accidents, the company released the first of its promised quarterly...
David Noland -
Tesla will soon be compatible with all DC fast charging—in EuropeWhen the Tesla Model 3 arrives in Europe in early 2019, it will carry a special toolkit: the ability to charge—quickly—in more places than any other electric vehicle. Tesla revealed this week that Model 3 sedans sold in Europe will come with a CCS charge port (inlet). Full compatibility...
Bengt Halvorson -
Update: The scientists behind this study have updated their report in the journal Nature acknowledging key errors in the study. The note that the data regarding scientific uncertainty was mishandled, which inflated the amount of heat the oceans have absorbed. The central finding that the oceans have absorbed more heat than previously reported remains in line with other studies. In a statement to the Washington Post, a Nature spokesman said: “Maintaining the accuracy of the scientific record is of primary importance to us as publishers and we recognize our responsibility to correct...
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Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid plug-in all-electric range revealedNew documents reveal that the upcoming 2019 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid could have a best-case scenario of 25 miles of all-electric range—unadjusted—according to numbers submitted to the California Air Resources Board (CARB). That puts it in the hunt with other plug-in hybrid small...
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 -
Green Car Reports Best Car To Buy 2019: Tesla Model 3The Tesla Model 3 is Green Car Reports' Best Car To Buy 2019. It’s the second time a Tesla product has won our annual award, which was captured by the Tesla Model S in 2013. Many have called the Model 3 Tesla’s “iPhone moment.” But that was the Model S—the shock to an...
Bengt Halvorson -
Eight years of winners show how plug-in vehicles have evolvedAs we’re on the eve of naming our Green Car Reports Best Car To Buy 2019 award winner, a quick glance back at our previous winners offers several points of perspective. One of them is that the field, particularly for anything that plugs in, has evolved tremendously since then, in such a...
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