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  • Exhaust emissions from tailpipe [photo: Simone Ramella, 2005, used under Creative Commons 2.0]

    Last week the Trump administration unveiled a broad drawdown of fuel-economy regulations that had been aimed at cutting emissions from passenger vehicles. In the 978-page proposal, administration officials argued those rules implemented by the Obama administration would create lighter, potentially more fuel-efficient vehicles that would be less safe and more expensive than today’s fleet. “Moreover, assuming that manufacturers try to pass the costs of those technologies on to consumers in the form of higher new vehicle prices, rather than absorbing them and hurting profitability...

  • Traffic at the I-10 & I-405 interchange in Los Angeles, California (by Mario Roberto Duran Ortiz)
    California warns it won't follow lower EPA fuel economy, emissions rules

    In response to an EPA proposal to freeze emissions and fuel economy standards, California said it will not honor federal vehicle certifications if the proposal goes through. "The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has proposed amending the California Low-Emission Vehicle III Greenhouse Gas...

  • Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk at Tesla Store opening in Westfield Mall, London, Oct 2013
    Elon Musk announces he's considering taking Tesla private (Updated)

    Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Tuesday he is considering taking the electric car company private. The executive posted on Twitter, "Am considering taking Tesla private at $420 a share." Tesla's stock bounced 7.3 percent Tuesday immediately after the news. Trading was halted for well over an hour on...

  • 2018 Kia Niro Plug-In Hybrid, Six Flags Magic Mountain, California, Dec 2017
    The 7 best plug-in cars for students going back to school

    Today's environmentally conscious students are thinking more about the environment in the choices they make. They still need to get around, but they may be less likely to accept the price of doing so in a car with a tailpipe spewing pollution and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Many may need...

  • 2013 Nissan Leaf electric car tested as taxi in New York City, April 2013
    Nissan gets new batteries, Tesla lawsuit, Canadian sales, Twitter poll: Today's Car News

    Nissan announced Friday that it sold its in-house battery division in a business deal that has been a long time in the making. Electric car sales drop off in Canada after purchase incentives were canceled in Ontario. We look at how Tesla's lawsuit in Michigan could open its ability to sell cars...

  • GM Silver Volt converted by Electric Auto Corporation [Credit: AutoHistorian
    The first Volt from GM was also a plug-in hybrid, but it was built in 1980

    Chevrolet's Volt wasn't the original, or even the first Volt from GM. Electric Auto Corporation receives that distinction for their car built in 1980, at the height of America's second gas crisis. It built the Silver Volt, a plug-in hybrid based on a contemporary Buick station wagon—16 years...

  • Tesla Autopilot

    Tesla announced Wednesday that it would release a complete update to its Autopilot system later this month, including new self-driving capabilities. The new version, which Tesla owners and fans have long-awaited, will update the system with faster hardware as well as new optical software that CEO Elon Musk says will improve safety. Pete Bannon, a Tesla engineer who is leading hardware development for the Autopilot system, says the company has chips working in prototypes that will drop-in to all three of the company's models: S, X, and 3. The company did not specify whether the new chip could...

  • Smog over Los Angeles, courtesy Flickr user steven-buss
    Trump administration releases proposal to weaken fuel economy, emissions standards

    President Donald Trump and federal officials on Thursday formally proposed scaling back Obama-era regulations for fuel economy and cited safety concerns that lighter, more fuel-efficient cars would be more dangerous on American roadways. The 978-page proposal outlines federal guidelines to freeze...

  • 2017 Tesla Model 3, in photo tweeted by Elon Musk on July 9, 2017
    Tesla cuts losses on Model 3 sales, Musk promises profits next quarter

    As it ramps up production of the Tesla Model 3, Tesla announced Wednesday that it reduced its financial losses in the second quarter—barely. The result is significant, because Tesla is racing against the clock to keep from running out of money before it can build enough of its new, more...

  • 2017 Tesla Model X
    Is there anything you wish your electric car could do that it can't? Twitter poll results

    Electric cars are becoming more capable, but they still can't do everything, our Twitter followers suggest. Last week, a study showed that the biggest factor in spreading electric-car adoption in the U.S. is a broader selection. Teslas outsell most other electric cars not only because of their...

  • Terrafugia prototype in flight
    Final Terrafugia prototype flying car ready to take to the air

    Sometimes a hybrid is more than a hybrid. The Terrafugia uses a hybrid powertain as it drives down the road. It's also a hybrid car and airplane. Even in the sky, it can make use of hybrid power. Terrafugia started in 2005 and designed what observers have called a "flying car," and it plans to put...

  • 2018 Kia Niro Plug-In Hybrid, Six Flags Magic Mountain, California, Dec 2017
    Tesla Model 3 reviews, Sergio Marchionne's death, Niro Plug-In test, A-Class aero: The Week In Reverse

    How well did the Model 3 Performance perform in its first batch of reviews? Which big oil company ExxonMobil left the ALEC political conference? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending on Friday, July 27, 2018. Friday, a new...

  • 2018 Toyota Mirai

    The biggest challenge to driving a fuel-cell car is finding fuel. Automakers who sell fuel-cell models—Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai for now—have made progress in getting 33 hydrogen fueling stations built around Los Angeles and San Francisco. It's not helping drivers this week though. According to a photo tweeted by user Paolo NonVTEC Acoba, the hydrogen pumps around LA are out of fuel. A large sign on a hydrogen pump in LA, dated last Thursday and addressed to Toyota Mirai owners, reads: "Be advised: Hydrogen delivery issues everywhere. Don't take chances, top off frequently...

  • Tesla factory, Fremont, California
    Tesla and its fans lash out at critics: commentary

    One of the most vocal critics of electric-car maker Tesla appears to have been silenced. Known as Montana Skeptic, he wrote 138 articles over three years on the stock-tip website Seeking Alpha. On Tuesday, he published what he says will be his final article after he claims Elon Musk called his...

  • 2018 Tesla Model 3
    Early Tesla Model 3 Performance reviews are positive

    The first reviews of the Tesla Model 3 Performance are in, and they are positive—even occasionally glowing. Tesla has trickled out cars for review to a handful of outlets so far, including the The Wall Street Journal (and its affiliated website, Market Watch), CNET, CleanTechnica, Motor...

  • Sergio Marchionne
    Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne dies suddenly

    Sergio Marchionne, the man who engineered a historic merger between Fiat and Chrysler to rescue the Detroit automaker from financial collapse, died Wednesday in Switzerland. He was 66. Marchionne died after complications from surgery last week. On Saturday, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles quickly...

  • 2018 Tesla Model 3
    Tesla Model 3 Performance to get new "track mode"

    Tesla is developing a new track mode for performance versions of the Model 3. YouTube reviewer Marques Brownlee posted a video on Instagram showing a development version of the "track mode" in action. Green Car Reports reached out to Tesla for comment, and the company confirmed in a statement that...

  • Traffic at the I-10 & I-405 interchange in Los Angeles, California (by Mario Roberto Duran Ortiz)
    Everything you need to know about California’s new HOV stickers

    If you’re more than a little confused by California’s rules allowing clean cars into the much-prized diamond lanes, join the club. The state DMV and the California Air Resources Board haven’t done a great job of clarifying matters, either, though they’re getting better...

  • EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler

    The rollback of federal emissions and fuel economy standards that President Donald Trump promised during his campaign could be released as early as next week, according to a new Bloomberg report. A person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that the administration will roll out proposals from the EPA and NHTSA, which jointly govern fuel-economy standards, to freeze standards through 2026. Under President Barack Obama, the standards were set to increase steadily from 2011 through 2025, eventually reaching a theoretical level of 54.5 mpg in 2025. The standards were set in response to the...

  • Mockup of Electrify Canada DC fast charge station from Volkswagen
    VW electric charger network spreads to Canada

    Mirroring its Electrify America network of public fast chargers for electric cars in the U.S., Volkswagen announced Thursday that it will set up a similar network in Canada—called Electrify Canada, logically enough. Electrify Canada plans to set up 32 DC fast-charging stations in major...

  • Tesla Model 3 all-wheel drive Performance rolls off a new assembly line in a temporary structure
    Tesla Model 3 shows bigger profit in latest cost breakdown

    Tesla isn't the only one with a lot riding on the financial success of the Model 3. CEO Elon Musk has called ramping up production of the Model 3 a "bet the company" decision, and said that if the company couldn't build 5,000 of the cars a week, Tesla would "die." Thousands of individual and...

  • Volkswagen ID Buzz and ID Crozz concept, 2017 Los Angeles auto show
    Report: VW may build ID Crozz and ID Buzz electric cars in America

    Two future VW electric cars could be built in the U.S. for American buyers, according to a report Tuesday. VW's North American CEO, Hinrich Woebcken, told British magazine Autocar that upcoming electric cars, which may include the ID Crozz and ID Buzz, would need to be built in the States "for...

  • 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV
    2018 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV gas mileage review: practical and efficient

    The Mitsubishi Outlander plug-in hybrid is something of a missing link in the market for plug-in cars. There are finally plenty of choices for those who want to dispense with gas entirely and buy a small hatchback. Several electric SUVs are coming, but the only one that really lives up to the...

  • 2017 Toyota Prius Prime and 2017 Chevrolet Volt with Green Car Reports editor John Voelcker
    How many miles are enough for a plug-in hybrid? Readers respond

    Green Car Reports readers and Twitter followers are clearly fired up when it comes to plug-in hybrids. When we asked in last week's Twitter poll how many miles are enough for a plug-in hybrid, we got two to three times our usual responses. We asked the question because plug-in hybrids come in a...

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