Featured (was)
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Back in December 2010, an unassuming compact hatchback hit the Japanese and American markets. A new small Nissan isn't normally the cause for fanfares and celebration, but the Leaf is one of the most significant cars of recent years--as it's a competitive, usable electric car. Whether you love or hate the Leaf, it's playing a part in both turning electric cars into a mainstream product, and showing that a large car company really can put an electric vehicle into mass production. We've been covering the Leaf since its early days, and we've now brought together a guide that covers all aspects...
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2016 Chevrolet Cruze To Be Shown This Week, Hatchback Model Included: ReportThe 2016 Chevrolet Cruze could be sold as both a sedan and a hatchback.
Stephen Edelstein -
BMW To Make Whole Lineup Electric, With Range Extenders, AWD: ReportGerman carmaker BMW may be on the cusp of the most radical transformation in its history--one that will stun the auto industry if it comes to pass. If a report from early this year is accurate, the company plans to convert the bulk of its product lineup to electric power over the next 10 years...
John Voelcker -
2016 Toyota Prius Hybrid: Clearer Spy Shot Of High-Tailed RearDetroit-area residents occasionally see camouflaged development prototypes from GM, Ford, and Chrysler testing on public roads. Similarly, Southern California residents often see Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai prototypes pass them clad in disguise. And so it was for a Cars Direct employee driving to...
John Voelcker -
Honda Civic Hybrid, Natural-Gas Models Eliminated After 2015Honda surprised the industry when it pulled the wraps off a brand-new tenth generation of its Civic compact at April's New York Auto Show. But two members of today's Civic lineup won't survive into the new generation: the Honda Civic Hybrid, and the Honda Civic Natural Gas. Honda executive...
John Voelcker -
UPDATED: Should I Buy A Used Nissan Leaf (Or Another Electric Car)?About 15 million people buy a new vehicle in the U.S. each year, on average--but almost 40 million buy used cars in that same year. Modern electric cars have been sold in the U.S. since December 2010. Not surprisingly, they're started to show up on used-car lots. Should you buy one? The answer, of...
John Voelcker -
While Toyota remains coy about the launch date of its fourth-generation Prius hybrid, a company executive has confirmed that the car is coming "soon." Jim Lentz, CEO of Toyota North America, didn't release any specifications on the car when he mentioned it during the groundbreaking for an expansion of the Toyota Technical Center near Ann Arbor, Michigan. Industry sources expect the car to be unveiled either at the Tokyo Motor Show in September or the Los Angeles Auto Show in November. DON'T MISS: Is This The Next Toyota Prius Hybrid Captured On Video? But Lentz did tell the Detroit Free Press...
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Model X Due Date, Sonata Eco, Mercedes Plug-In Hybrid: The Week In Reverse (Video)Which zero-emission vehicle is so powerful it actually broke the dyno it was being tested on? And, what's the electric range of the latest plug-in hybrid from Mercedes-Benz? This is our video look back at the Week In Reverse--right here at Green Car Reports--for the week ending on Friday, June 12...
John Voelcker -
Life With Tesla Model S: Local Supercharger Joys & FrustrationsAs an early Tesla Model S owner, I’m accustomed to waiting. After putting down a $5,000 deposit in April 2009, I waited nearly four years to take delivery of the car. And then I waited another 18 months for the vast barren Northeast Supercharger Desert to bloom, finally unleashing the...
David Noland -
Tesla Model X To Arrive In 'Three To Four Months,' Autopilot In Testing: CEO MuskWhenever Tesla Motors holds a conference call to discuss its financial results, its webcast is mobbed by journalists, financial analysts, and fans. So it was yesterday, when the electric-car maker broadcast its 2015 annual shareholders meeting. As always, a few pieces of news emerged--the most...
John Voelcker -
Bills To Kill Renewable Fuel Law, Ban E15 Ethanol Fuel Likely DoomedThe addition of ethanol to gasoline has now been a political hot potato in the U.S. for more than a decade. Joined by cosponsors from both sides of the aisle, U.S. Representative Bob Goodlatte [R-VA] introduced two bills in February that together would eliminate the Renewable Fuels Act passed in...
John Voelcker -
High-Volume Chevy Volt Dealer: How To Sell Successfully, Lessons LearnedPlug-in electric vehicle pioneers perennially proclaim that the electric driving experience is as pleasant as the dealership experience isn't. (Tesla stores excepted, of course.) Recently the organizers of the EV2015VE electric vehicle conference in Canada invited Quebec-based Bourgeois Chevrolet...
Matthew Klippenstein -
Some car dealers would like to see franchise laws relaxed, a Morgan Stanley report finds.
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Tesla Model S, Three Years Later: What Electric Car Taught UsThree years ago today, the very first production Tesla Model S electric luxury sedan was delivered to its buyer. That would be Silicon Valley venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson, who's also a Tesla board member. The delivery took place, on a weekend, as soon as the Model S had been fully certified...
John Voelcker -
2015 BMW 740Ld xDrive Diesel: Fuel Economy ReviewFor long road trips, there are few better ways to travel than in a large German luxury sedan with a diesel engine. We learned that lesson three years ago, when we tested a Mercedes-Benz S-Class diesel, and now we've had a chance to drive its BMW counterpart as well. DON'T MISS: 2012 Mercedes-Benz S...
John Voelcker -
The History Of Tesla Motors And Its Electric Cars, In Only 2 Minutes Of VideoElectric-car startup Tesla Motors attracts huge interest, lots of controversy, and truly passionate customers and followers. For a company that's been around only a little more than 10 years, it's got a lot of history. Now, a video from Bloomberg Business distills that history down into a mere two...
John Voelcker -
Chevy Bolt EV Trademark To Be Shared With Yamaha After U.S. Patent Office Suspension: UPDATEThe U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has suspended GM's application for the Chevrolet Bolt trademark.
Stephen Edelstein -
Why Electric Cars Are Rare Outside CA: Arcane 'Travel Provision' RuleThe sparsity of cars with plugs has been one of the biggest frustrations for Northeastern electric-car shoppers and advocates. While California buyers can choose among roughly two dozen different battery-electric and plug-in hybrid offerings, just a handful are available outside the state. And...
John Voelcker -
A large red electrical shutdown switch inside a car says it all: You're driving a prototype. New York City passers-by who looked approvingly at our shiny bronze Volkswagen Beetle Dune concept car didn't know it, but the butcher-looking Beetle was running on a hybrid system not currently offered in the Beetle. The message, as articulated by numerous VW executives organizing the drive, was simple: Volkswagen is going to have more hybrid offerings in the future. DON'T MISS: 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid: First Drive Details? Nope, not right now. What cars might they come in? We're not ready to...
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Tesla Model S Door-Handle Failures Still Plague Electric Car, Consumer Reports Learns: UPDATEIt is one of the more remarkable features of the Tesla Model S electric luxury sedan: door handles that retract flush with the body until needed. But the retracting door handles proved tricky in practice; owner of early Model S cars reported that quite a lot of them had to be replaced under...
John Voelcker -
Used Electric Cars: About To Get Big, What You Need To KnowThink electric-car ownership is priced out of your league? It’s simply not. Even if leasing isn’t for you, or you don’t have the stellar credit required to get some of those deals, prices are plummeting on used electric vehicles—and that makes it a buyers’ market...
Bengt Halvorson -
Ford Fusion Or Toyota Prius: Environmentalist's Vacation DilemmaCarbon guilt weighed heavily on my mind as I approached the car rental counter at the Salt Lake City Airport. The book I was reading on the plane (Sustainable Energy, by David JC Mackay) suggested that my portion of the energy for the round-trip plane ride from Boston and back would amount to...
John Briggs -
2016 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid And Plug-In Hybrid First DriveWhat if you could fully restore your charge in a plug-in hybrid, on the fly, just by driving? It’s a feature that’s unparalleled in mass-market plug-in hybrids—that in the 2016 Hyundai Sonata Plug-In Hybrid you can enter not the charge-sustaining mode that some models have, but a...
Bengt Halvorson -
New Prius Efficiency, Gigafactory Flyover, Famous Electric-Car Driver: The Week In Reverse (Video)Which famous race driver turns out to love driving his electric car around London? And, what really gigantic object did a drone fly over, and shoot video of, last weekend? This is our video look back at the Week In Reverse--right here at Green Car Reports--for the week ending on Friday, May 22...
John Voelcker