Green Car News
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Tesla’s Thursday night reveal event for the 2020 Tesla Model Y electric crossover SUV, just as previous events from the automaker, was raucous and packed with enthusiastic fans, including many who appeared to relish everything uttered by CEO Elon Musk. What made this event a bit of a departure—and perhaps a sign of the times—was that Tesla was prepared to release quite a few facts and figures and specifics about multiple production versions. At first look—for a vehicle that won’t arrive for Americans until late 2020—Tesla was ready not just to build the...
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Mazda rotary hybrids, plug-in hybrid Ford F-250, EPA ethanol push: Today's ReportThe EPA releases a proposal to increase ethanol blends, even in the summer when it can increase smog. Mazda may have more plans for its rotary engine technology than a single new hybrid. Conversion company XL Hybrids releases its new Heavy Duty Ford F-250 Hybrid pickup. And we run down the best...
Eric C. Evarts -
Best deals on electric, plug-in, and hybrid cars for March 2019As more and more long-range electric cars such as the Audi e-tron quattro, the long-range Nissan Leaf Plus, and the Kia Niro and Soul EVs make their way onto the market, some are starting to offer great deals. Every month, our partners at CarsDirect.com sift through all the deals offered that month...
Eric C. Evarts -
Mazda range-extended electric car may help the rotary live onThe Wankel rotary, the peculiar pistonless internal combustion engine design that Mazda built so much of its heritage around, may see a resurgence after all. Earlier reports and remarks from Mazda executives have suggested that while the rotary will make a comeback, it will be relegated to...
Bengt Halvorson -
Forget the F-150, XL offers a plug-in F-250 to do real workAs both established and startup automakers rush to build electric pickups, many seem to have forgotten a fundamental principle of pickup design: Trucks were meant to work. Ford has announced it is developing a plug-in hybrid F150, and Ford, GMC, Tesla, and startup automaker Rivian are all working...
Eric C. Evarts -
EPA proposes more smog-contributing ethanol in summer gasolineEthanol is known as an alternative fuel, and is even renewable. But that doesn't always make it clean. The Environmental Protection Agency, after proposing watered down emissions and fuel economy standards for cars, has now released a proposal to increase the amount of ethanol blended into pump gas...
Eric C. Evarts -
Volkswagen dramatically expanded its already big plans for electric cars. Karma released its vision for the next 10 years with three new or updated models. FCA will recall more than 860,000 gas-powered cars for failing on-road emissions tests. And our latest Twitter poll shows which versions of the Tesla Model 3 may generate the most interest. All this and more on Green Car Reports. At its annual meeting in Germany Tuesday, the company announced a planned second wave of electric cars based on its "affordable" new MEB EV platform. The new wave will add 20 to the existing plan for 50 new...
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Not just diesel: FCA recalling 860K cars for emissions failureThe Patriots are in good company, surrounded by cheaters!
Eric C. Evarts -
Which Tesla Model 3 would you buy? Twitter poll resultsNow that Tesla has finally released the $35,000 Model 3 that got hundreds of thousands of buyers interested in the brand, we wondered how many people might follow through and buy it. Along with the new base Short Range Model 3, the company recently filled out the rest of the Model 3 lineup with the...
Eric C. Evarts -
Karma plans to relaunch with three new models at Shanghai auto showKarma, the company that started as the new maker of the Fisker plug-in hybrid (and once Tesla-fighter) of the same name—now called Revero—plans a new birth, four years after buying the company out of bankruptcy. At next month's Shanghai auto show, the company plans a product revival led...
Eric C. Evarts -
VW boosts electric car plans with more models, 22 million EVs in 10 yearsVW has been busy putting logistics in place to build as many as 15 million examples of 50 new electric models (across its portfolio of brands) by 2028. At its annual conference at its headquarters in Wolfsburg Tuesday, the company upped that commitment to 22 million cars among 70 new electric...
Eric C. Evarts -
2020 Trump budget would pull plug on electric vehicle tax creditIn his budget aimed at cutting $126 billion or 5 percent from non-defense federal spending, President Trump proposes to eliminate the plug-in vehicle tax credit that gives electric-car buyers up to $7,500 back on their federal taxes. Trump economic adviser Larry Kudlow says he expects ending the...
Eric C. Evarts -
Tesla opened its reservation bank for the quick and giant Semi. Sono revealed the production version of its Sion solar-assisted electric cars. A Fiat Chrysler executive confirmed that the company will offer a longer-range replacement for the Fiat 500e electric car next year. And our latest Twitter poll asks whether Tesla stores still matter to buyers. All this and more on Green Car Reports. President Trump's new budget proposal aims to save 5 percent of non-military spending—in part by doing away with the tax credit for electric cars. Chief marketing officer Olivier François...
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Do Tesla stores still matter? Take our Twitter pollLast week, Tesla announced it would close all its stores. This week, it said it would keep most of them open. Lots of people have speculated about the causes and effects of both moves, from rent owed, to state statutes, to the logistics of test drives. Our question is, what do potential...
Eric C. Evarts -
Next Fiat 500 to arrive in 2020 only as electric car, executive confirmsAre you ready for a new generation of the Fiat 500e electric car? At the pace of the auto industry, and its five or six year cycles, it’s overdue. And from a report released last week, it could arrive around this time next year. Last week Fiat revealed an all-electric Concept Centoventi...
Bengt Halvorson -
Production Sono Sion solar-assisted car makes appearanceConcept cars are relatively easy to build—particularly concepts of cars that may exist only on paper or as clay and foil design studies. That has given rise to a host of new concepts launched as online crowd-funded endeavors of various levels of seriousness and potential. One is Sono Motors...
Eric C. Evarts -
Tesla stores, plug-in Jeeps, EPA fuel-economy, Colorado charging: Today's Car NewsTesla reversed its decision to go online only, and is keeping many stores open. Fiat Chrysler announced two new plug-in Jeeps for Europe. An annual EPA report shows rising fuel-economy standards are working—just as the EPA plans to gut them. And a new program aims to get Colorado ready for...
Eric C. Evarts -
Tesla will raise prices on all but $35k Model 3, keep more stores openTesla's announcement late February that it will close stores and move entirely to online sales has already been cause for a minor uproar, as news emerged about mammoth lease obligations it may need to keep. Those lease obligations potentially add up to $1.6 billion currently and $1.1 billion until...
Eric C. Evarts -
Last week, Fiat Chrysler announced plans, along with a $4.5 billion investment, to expand its lineup of plug-in hybrids, including plans to build two new plug-in hybrid Jeeps in the U.S., including the Grand Cherokee and new versions of the Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer planned to roll out in 2020. Last June, at an investors' meeting, late Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne announced that the company is working on a plug in version of the Italian-made Jeep Renegade. Now the company has revealed plans to build another Jeep heading up the plug-in mountain, the Compass. READ THIS: Fiat...
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Colorado to launch smart-charging pilot program as it prepares for EVsAs it prepares to launch an electric-car mandate in coming years, Colorado is working to learn how electric cars can help it move to a more renewable energy grid. The non-profit Platte River Power Authority announced last month that it is teaming up with eMotorWerks, which sells home smart...
Eric C. Evarts -
EPA says fuel economy rose in 2017, but it may be falling againAn EPA report released Wednesday shows that cars are getting better gas mileage in response to rising fuel economy standards. Yet a roaring economy and low gas prices have put Americans on a truck-buying spree, and the EPA is working to undermine those standards. According to its annual automotive...
Eric C. Evarts -
Electrified Bell Nexus concept shows how Uber Air could take offAlthough flying cars aren’t looking that much closer to reality, your Uber could take to the air in just a few years and be electric. Well, mostly electric, eventually. Hybrid electric-powered vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) vehicles could come into service specifically as air taxis. In...
Bengt Halvorson -
Plug-in cars and concepts at Geneva, Tesla Model Y and Superchargers: The Week in ReverseWhich new electric car may be able to recharge 240 miles in less than five minutes? What is the bestselling electric car in the world, and what milestone did it pass this week? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending March 8...
Eric C. Evarts -
BMW X3 plug-in, 400,000 Leafs, Audi e-tron Sportback, Fiat EV: Today's Car NewsBMW and Audi are rounding out their lineups with new plug-in and electric SUVs. Customizable Fiat Centoventi concept could show a replacement for the 500e. And the Nissan Leaf retains its global EV sales lead with 400,000 cars. All this and more on Green Car Reports. BMW announced that it will sell...
Eric C. Evarts