Hatchbacks
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As its new electric car gets closer to public sale, General Motors has apparently made its first allocations of 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EVs to Chevy dealers. The news comes via a posting on the GM-Volt forum from a southern California dealership. Rick Alpern, the general manager of Keyes Chevrolet in Van Nuys, California, wrote that the dealer had been allocated 78 Bolt EVs for its first delivery. DON'T MISS: 2017 Chevy Bolt EV: here's what can go wrong for electric-car pioneer The news was reported by HybridCars.com, which interviewed Alpern and confirmed his posting. He expects to know more in...
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Toyota Prius design, popular in Japan, not a hit in U.S.
The Toyota Prius' design may be a disadvantage in the U.S., analysts say.
Stephen Edelstein -
2017 Chevy Bolt EV review consensus: car is good, range is real
Early reviews of the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV are encouraging.
Stephen Edelstein -
Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid discontinued for 2017 model year
The Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid is being discontinued after just three model years.
Stephen Edelstein -
2017 Toyota Prius Prime: first drive of new plug-in hybrid
The 2017 Toyota Prius Prime is a considerably better car than a few electric-car fans had feared. In fact, with an EPA-rated range of 25 miles (more than projected) and energy efficiency so high—at 133 MPGe—that it matches the BMW i3 with all its whizzy advanced technology, it’s a...
John Voelcker -
2017 Renault Zoe electric car: larger battery doubles range
The Renault Zoe electric car is by far the best-selling plug-in vehicle in Europe. Now in its fifth year, the Zoe received a significant battery capacity upgrade at today’s Paris Motor Show. The Zoe will now have a 41-kilowatt-hour battery pack, up from 22 kwh in earlier versions, giving it a...
John Voelcker -
The Nissan Versa Note has never been a particularly big seller in North America. Its sedan counterpart is one of the largest and most capacious vehicles in the subcompact segment, but the Note has always been more of a car for European and Asian markets. There, it does fairly well, in part due to a higher-quality interior than the one fitted to the Note when it launched in the U.S. in 2014. DON'T MISS: 2017 Nissan Rogue Hybrid: better prospects than Pathfinder, Murano for small hybrid SUV? Between a shift toward smaller crossover utilities, a U.S. preference for sedans over hatchbacks, and...
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Chevy Bolt EV not on shared architecture, but platform name secret, GM says
The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV had a fast and unusual development process. General Motors partnered closely with Korean electronics firm LG, whose LG Chem subsidiary provided its lithium-ion battery cells. Other LG units contributed both electric and electronic components and now act as contract...
John Voelcker -
2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV first drive: 240 miles in an electric car
We drove a 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car 240 miles on a single charge last week. And that was the lowest range achieved among four journalists driving four Bolt EVs along the California coast. One driver covered essentially the same trip with fully 32 miles remaining, according to the...
John Voelcker -
More details, photos of new Kia Rio to debut at Paris Motor Show
Subcompact hatchbacks and sedans may be a minor part of the U.S. market, but they're hugely important in the rest of the world. So the launch of a new generation of Kia Rio during next month's media days at the Paris Motor Show is worthy of note, even if some U.S. drivers and dealers yawn. The new...
John Voelcker -
What it took to buy an electric car in Texas: the good, the bad, and the ugly
Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to locate and purchase or lease a Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid somewhere in the heart of Texas oil country. Hoping to make Tom Cruise proud, I accepted the mission. But first, a bit of perspective: in 2005 I had set out to purchase a Mercury Mariner...
John Voelcker -
Why I leased a 2017 Chevy Volt (in Texas) to replace a Volvo
Texas is the land of pickups and SUVs, of oil wells and full-day drives from your Texas home to Grandma’s Texas home. Your everyday driver had better be your highway car, because every drive involves a highway. I’ve owned every size of SUV, from Chevy Suburban to Toyota Land Cruiser to...
John Voelcker -
The next-generation Hyundai Elantra GT will appear at the 2016 Paris Motor Show.
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2017 Chevrolet Spark first drive
The 2017 Chevrolet Spark is both the smallest and the least expensive car sold by Chevy in North America. The Korean-made hatchback minicar isn't among the brand's top sellers—those would be its full-size pickup trucks and the Equinox compact crossover—but the previous generation found...
John Voelcker -
2017 Honda Fit priced, unchanged
The 2017 Honda Fit enters the new model year virtually unchanged.
Stephen Edelstein -
Chevy Bolt EV electric car for 'urban' sales: what does that mean?
Almost no U.S. car buyers sit down at their kitchen table and kick off a chat by saying, "Honey, we need to buy a city car." The only exceptions are those in a handful of crowded cities like New York and San Francisco, for whom a very short car that is easy to park may take priority. But as sales...
John Voelcker -
2017 Mitsubishi Mirage preview
The 2017 Mitsubishi Mirage boasts a number of notable updates.
Stephen Edelstein -
2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV preview
The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV will be the world's first mass-priced electric car with a range of 200 miles or more. That alone makes it a hugely important new market entry. Going on sale in late 2016 or early 2017, just six years after modern electric cars arrived, the Bolt EV represents a second...
John Voelcker -
The 2016 Chevrolet Spark is a slightly larger, better equipped, and more stylish version of the smallest Chevy in brand's lineup. It succeeds a model whose unexpected sales numbers showed Chevrolet that there were buyers for a very small but up-to-date five-door hatchback minicar. However, with gas prices cheap and seemingly the whole world's buyers looking with longing at SUVs and crossover utility vehicles, the little Spark is out of the limelight. WATCH THIS: 2016 Chevrolet Spark Video Preview It's now on sale at Chevy dealers across the country, and we'll get a chance to drive one next...
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Some 2015-2016 Ford Focus Electrics recalled for pinion-shaft problem
Certain Ford Focus Electric models are being recalled because they may lose power while driving.
Stephen Edelstein -
2017 Mitsubishi Mirage GT quick first drive
The 2017 Mitsubishi Mirage gets a host of updates, but remains a very basic economy car.
Stephen Edelstein -
2017 BMW i3: up to 114 miles of range from 50-percent battery increase
For its fourth year on the market, the 2017 BMW i3 electric car gets a huge boost in battery capacity and hence its EPA-rated range. The battery capacity rises 50 percent, from 22 to 33 kilowatt-hours, and the company says the rated range for the battery-electric version will be up to 114 miles...
John Voelcker -
2017 Chevrolet Sonic updated with CarPlay, new styling
The 2017 Chevrolet Sonic will debut at the 2016 New York Auto Show.
Stephen Edelstein -
2017 Honda Civic hatchback unveiled in Geneva
The 2017 Honda Civic hatchback debuts in "prototype" form at Geneva.
Stephen Edelstein