Featured (was)
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Last week, we drove the new 2019 Honda Insight sedan and found Honda's newest compact hybrid roomy and comfortable. During our drive around Minneapolis, its exurbs, and into Wisconsin, we wanted to put to the test Honda's claims that its 1.5-liter inline-4 and 96-kw electric motor combination could return an EPA-rated 52 mpg combined (48 mpg combined in Touring trim). In base and EX trims, the Insight is rated at 55 mpg city, 49 highway, 52 combined (51/45/48 mpg in Touring trim). The Insight's 1.1-kwh battery is enough to achieve those competitive mileage figures, but it's clear that the...
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2019 Honda Insight video reviewYou could be forgiven for not remembering the two Honda vehicles that have worn an Insight badge before. The first was a quirky hatchback two-seater that struggled for acceptance with mainstream buyers. The second was a Prius-like Prius fighter, egg shape and all. This 2019 Honda Insight is the...
Aaron Cole -
First Tesla Model 3 Performance AWD built; Musk claims company was "sabotaged"After laying off 9 percent of its workforce last week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk sent a company-wide email in which he claimed an employee had committed "extensive and damaging sabotage" against the company. The news comes on the heels of another Musk tweet that congratulated employees for building the...
Eric C. Evarts -
Why Chargeway matters: making EV charging comprehensible for buyers, dealers, utilities, networksAsk anyone what kind of fuel their next car will take, and you'll likely get one of three answers: regular, premium, or diesel. Ask that same person what kind of charging an electric car takes, and you'll probably get a blank stare. Ask a salesperson at a car dealer how he explains the different...
John Voelcker -
Big bets on Byton, Ford "exploring" hybrids with its popular SUV, and Hyundai Ioniq is back; The Week in ReverseWhat's next for the 2019 Hyundai Ioniq? What's next for Ford's Explorer? And what's coming from electric-car startup Byton? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending June 17, 2018. The 2019 Hyundai Ioniq is back this year with...
Aaron Cole -
New Ford cab take stabs at fuel-efficient powertrainsIf you're like us, you can remember seas of yellow Ford Crown Victorias dashing through cramped city streets, shuttling tourists and Carrie Bradshaws through New York City. If you're like us, you're also probably old. Ford on Thursday debuted two new taxis for fleet service next year with twists...
Aaron Cole -
The 2019 Hyundai Ioniq returns this year as an inexpensive alternative for green car shoppers on a budget. Its lineup has fully matured now; the Ioniq is available as an affordable hybrid, a slightly more expensive plug-in hybrid, or a fully electric model available in limited areas. We say: green, greener, or greenest—no bad pick. The most notable change for the Ioniq this year is the addition of standard automatic emergency braking on the Hybrid SEL, the bread-and-butter trim level that likely starts at just more than $25,000 (Hyundai hasn't yet announced pricing for the 2019 models)...
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When Tesla's tax credits expire, which electric car would you buy? Twitter poll resultsLast week, we reported that the federal tax credits for electric-car buyers are about to expire. Once any automaker sells 200,000 electric cars, the credits available to its buyers begin to wind down. Since Tesla has been selling electric cars longer than any other automaker (at least since the...
Eric C. Evarts -
What does a green car mean to you? Take our Twitter pollWe get a lot of comments on Green Car Reports arguing (mostly in a friendly way) about what makes a green car. Or, put another way, what makes a car green. Some readers clearly think the only way to be green is to drive a pure electric car, the bigger the battery the better. Others think as long as...
Eric C. Evarts -
Tesla Model 3 refunds, CO2 to fuel, less harmful batteries, awards, records, and deals: The Week in ReverseWhat is the next big innovation in electric car charging? What element is a major battery manufacturer trying to remove from its electric car batteries? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending June 8, 2018. Friday, we learned the...
Eric C. Evarts -
Scientists find affordable way to recapture CO2 and burn itScientists at Harvard have developed a new method of scrubbing carbon from the atmosphere, and turning it into hydrocarbon fuels that could be burned in airplanes or even cars. The process has been demonstrated at a small scale and combines common technologies from the pulp and petroleum industries...
Eric C. Evarts -
Best deals on hybrid, electric, fuel-efficient cars for June 2018June is proving to be a great month for those who want to buy a car that plugs in, with some electric cars offering rebates as high as $16,400, or zero-percent financing along with a hefty cash rebate. The cars look a lot like the ones that had the best deals last month, but we'll go through them...
Eric C. Evarts -
Tesla CEO Elon Musk told shareholders Tuesday that the last few months have been "hellacious" for building the Tesla Model 3, but that the automaker expects by the end of this month to build 5,000 of the mid-size luxury sedan each week and beyond. "It's insanely hard to stay alive," Musk added. The Model 3 may be critical for the automaker to stay alive without turning to investors for more money this year, but the upcoming Tesla Model Y crossover could be critical to vault the automaker's bottom line beyond survival. DON'T MISS: Tesla airlifts factory machinery from Europe to speed Model 3...
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Chargeway pilot program to post labels to help electric-car drivers sort out charging levelsCharging has been a key obstacle to electric carbuyers, and it may not just be the number of public stations available. With three different "levels" of charging, and multiple charging speeds and connector types within each of those, it can be confusing for the average driver to know what type of...
Eric C. Evarts -
Nature study shows it's cheaper to reduce global warming than to adapt to itOne of the main objections that critics of global warming mitigation measures often cite is that they cost too much. A new study in the journal Nature takes issue with that conclusion. Several studies since 1991 have concluded that it is cheaper to develop new technologies to mitigate climate...
Eric C. Evarts -
Even Wackier! Most bizarre green cars ever proposed, Part IILast week we listed seven of the most bizarre "green" cars (and some not-so-green) of the 20th century, most of which were rolled out in response to depression, war recovery, or out-of-control gas prices. This week, we'll look at seven more from the 21st century, which seems to have had a...
Eric C. Evarts -
Report: Trump EPA plans to cancel California emissions waiverThe EPA is planning to cancel the special waiver that California has relied on since 1970 to set its own emissions standards, according to a Bloomberg report. As part of its plan to reverse a program to steadily tighten fuel economy standards that it coordinates with California and the National...
Eric C. Evarts -
FCA electrification push, crowdfunded electric car, and California charging incentives: Today's Car NewsFiat Chrysler Automobiles will charge ahead with an electrification strategy beginning with the Jeep brand. An Estonian electric car may come to life thanks to a crowdfunding campaign. California has approved record incentives for charging infrastructure. And Washington state has lost its...
Sean Szymkowski -
A week after Consumer Reports announced that it could not recommend the Tesla Model 3 because of poor braking performance, a software update improved its performance sufficiently to earn the magazine's recommendation. Consumer Reports announced the update to the Model 3's ratings Wednesday. In the organization's updated emergency braking tests, the car stopped from 60 mph in 133 feet, on par with the BMW 3-Series, and earned the Tesla a good score. Prior tests measured the braking distance at 152 feet. READ THIS: Consumer Reports won't recommend Tesla Model 3 (Updated) Since braking is an...
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EPA overturning of fuel economy increases requires review, agency watchdog saysThe EPA's Science Advisory Board, tasked with agency oversight, is taking issue with at least three of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's signature decisions. First, according to a Bloomberg report, is Pruitt's decision to freeze fuel economy standards and eliminate increases that had been approved...
Eric C. Evarts -
Tesla Model 3 gets over-the-air update for brakesIn a tweet on Friday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the company had started rolling out an over-the-air software update for its Model 3 electric cars to address a problem with their braking performance, a problem revealed by Consumer Reports last week. In the tweet, Musk said the update should improve...
Eric C. Evarts -
That's wacky! The most bizarre green cars ever proposed, Part IOften the growth of green cars comes in fits and starts, and new ideas are rushed to market regularly before they're ready. Visionaries with dreams of changing the world may have little real-world experience and find themselves in over their heads after they jump in too quickly. Even pure...
Eric C. Evarts -
Tesla Model 3 braking problems, new electric SUVs, 2-cylinder pickup: The Week in ReverseWhich new car won't Consumer Reports recommend? What new company is getting ready to build electric SUVs in Illinois? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending May 25, 2018. Friday, we shared a report from Bloomberg New Energy...
Eric C. Evarts -
Electric cars will exceed half the market and displace 7 percent of gasoline consumption by 2040: reportElectric car sales are poised to increase tenfold by 2025 and reach 55 percent of car sales worldwide by 2040, according to the latest report on electric cars from Bloomberg New Energy Finance. While electric cars' share of the market is still small—less than 2 percent in most...
Eric C. Evarts