Green Car News
-
Austria is offering would-be electric-car owners (and current ones) a tempting incentive to go tailpipe-emissions-free: permission to drive faster than those with gasoline, diesel, or hybrid vehicles in certain conditions. Under a recently approved amendment to the country’s speed limits, aimed at rewarding those who choose electric vehicles, they will be given a legal exemption. During emissions-restricted times tied to high pollution levels, owners of EVs will be allowed to go 81 mph (130 km/h), versus 62 mph (100 km/h), in a particular speed region that includes 273 miles (440 km) of...
-
California girds for battle with EPA over fuel economyLast Friday, California released a 400-page repudiation of the Trump administration's plan to freeze fuel economy standards and revoke California's statutory right to set its own limits on vehicle emissions. The report comes in response to the EPA and NHTSA's proposed Safer Affordable Fuel...
Eric C. Evarts -
Recall alert: Hyundai Ioniq in the hot seatHyundai is recalling 10,575 Ioniq Hybrid and Plug-in Hybrid models from 2017 and 2018 to replace a wiring relay in the drive system. The recall mirrors a similar problem announced last month with the Ioniq's platform-mate, the Kia Niro, which was also recalled. Bad connections in a drive-system...
Eric C. Evarts -
Solar from Hyundai, Kia; GM plan trouble, VW-Ford electrics, getting warmer: Today's Car NewsHyundai and Kia plan to put solar panels on cars. VW won't rule out sharing electric cars with Ford. A prominent electric-car advocate takes issue with GM's plan for a national mandate. And a new report from the journal Nature shows global warming may already be much worse than expected. All this...
Eric C. Evarts -
VW may share electric-car platform with FordVolkswagen is investing $40 billion in new electric cars and plans to have 27 new models on the market by 2022. Ford announced last March that it will invest $11 billion in developing hybrid systems for all but one of its new pickup and SUV models due out by 2020. The company also said at an event...
Eric C. Evarts -
GM's national electric car plan may not be all that, scientist arguesJust as General Motors prepared to release record profits on Wednesday, the respected Union of Concerned Scientists took issue with the company's plan last week to develop a plan to require electric car sales nationwide. GM is a leader in electric cars and is expected to be the second automaker to...
Eric C. Evarts -
As solar cells get more efficient, powerful panels can fit on smaller areas. For those looking to use renewable energy for transportation, that means solar panels can now move from home rooftops used to power car chargers to cars themselves. In Korea on Wednesday, Hyundai and Kia revealed some production-bound examples of that concept—including a solar roof that can boost vehicle efficiency no matter what type of propulsion is on board. DON’T MISS: Hyundai-Kia: eight electric cars by 2022, dedicated EV platform Hyundai aims to roll out the technology in three different...
-
Tesla owners sue, Hot Wheels 'Starman,' plastic roads: Today's Car NewsA second Tesla owner is suing the company over an Autopilot crash. Recycled bottles could make good roads. Hot Wheels launches its own Tesla 'Starman' Roadster. Our Twitter followers weigh in on how soon all new cars could be electric. All this and more on Green Car Reports. After the latest...
Eric C. Evarts -
Another owner sues Tesla over Autopilot rear-end crashAnother Tesla owner whose car crashed while Autopilot was engaged has sued the automaker claiming false advertising In September, a woman whose Tesla crashed into the back of a stationary fire truck at speed while driving on Autopilot in Utah sued the automaker with similar claims. On Tuesday...
Eric C. Evarts -
Broken bottles may be good for roads and the environmentCars could soon provide a solution to one of the world's biggest environmental problems, not just contribute to them. Cars, or at least the roads they drive on, could provide a much needed outlet for tons of recycled plastics that currently have no place else to go. According to the EPA, the U.S...
Eric C. Evarts -
Tesla ‘Starman’ stunt commemorated by Hot WheelsTesla’s chief executive officer Elon Musk has pulled off some elaborate visions—and madcap stunts—for future mobility, often with multiple levels of nerdy references to be found within. If that appeals to you and you’ve ever been a Hot Wheels collector, there’s...
Bengt Halvorson -
How soon can all new car sales realistically be electric? Twitter poll resultsElectric cars are coming. The question is how soon. According to a new report by the UN International Panel on Climate Change earlier in October, coastal cities and coral reefs will begin experiencing "devastating effects" by 2040 from climate change if emissions of global-warming carbon-dioxide...
Eric C. Evarts -
GM plans to announce a major shift in manufacturing that could benefit electric cars. Chevrolet introduced a concept electric drag racer. Charging networks join forces. And Faraday Future loses a key executive in financing turmoil. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Multiple sources indicate that GM plans a big shift in its manufacturing plans that could benefit its lineup of plug-in cars. The announcement is expected late Wednesday morning, and we'll keep readers updated when we know more. Meanwhile at the Specialty Equipment Manufacturers' Association show in Las Vegas, Chevrolet...
-
Chevy eCOPO Camaro hints at 800-volt chargingChevrolet can't let Teslas win all the electric drag races. Monday night at the Specialty Equipment Manufacturers' Association gathering in Las Vegas, Chevrolet revealed an electric concept version of its drag-race focused COPO Camaro. The company says the eCOPO Camaro should be able to cover the...
Eric C. Evarts -
Blink charging network joins interoperability pushBeginning in early 2019, all 135,000 users of the Blink charging network will soon be able to use other charging networks as part of their membership, while Blink’s chargers will be open to easy access by a wider range of drivers with other charging-network membership cards. The...
Bengt Halvorson -
Sources: GM manufacturing revamp could signal faster lane-change to EVsLess than a week after speaking out in favor of a national electric vehicle mandate, and in the shadow of Tesla reporting a profitable quarter, General Motors might be on the verge of announcing a radical change to its plans for future electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids in the U.S. The automaker...
Bengt Halvorson -
EPA faces backlash, Fisker interests Caterpillar, Hyundai unsubscribes: Today’s Car NewsThe backlash builds over the EPA fuel-economy freeze; Hyundai’s subscription plan for the Ioniq Electric is gone; and Caterpillar shovels some money into Fisker for solid-state battery technology. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Honda has joined General Motors in calling for a...
Bengt Halvorson -
Fisker gets Caterpillar investment for solid-state battery techHenrik Fisker has been sketching out big plans—well beyond cars—for the solid-state battery technology being developed by a Fisker Inc. team. And now it appears that the heavy-equipment maker Caterpillar has given it some vote of confidence. On Oct. 22, both companies announced that a...
Bengt Halvorson -
Hyundai’s “Unlimited+” electric-car subscription plan, which was only offered in Southern California but originally destined for wider rollout, won’t be coming back at all on the 2019 Hyundai Ioniq Electric, the automaker confirmed last week. When the program was first offered on initial 2017 Ioniq Electric models it included Blue Link remote-vehicle services (with the agreement to share mileage and charging data), maintenance, and a no-haggle process—with three different monthly prices depending on the trim level (Base, Limited, and Limited Ultimate). Versus...
-
Honda joins GM, others in heated opposition to Trump's EPA fuel-economy freezeHonda joined General Motors on Friday and called on the EPA to abandon its proposed fuel-economy rollback, asking federal officials to negotiate with states like California to offer a single, comprehensive update to federal fuel-economy standards. Honda filed its comment Friday, the last day for...
Aaron Cole -
Volkswagen XL1 eco halo already a sound investment?It’s been less than five years since Volkswagen produced its limited run of just 250 XL1 plug-in diesel hybrid coupes, of which only 200 were sold to retail buyers. The Volkswagen XL1 has all the makings of an instant collectible, with its combination of low production volume, advanced...
Bengt Halvorson -
Dyson’s electric-vehicle gamble, Musk’s redemption, GM’s 50-state mandate: The Week in ReverseWhich automaker managed to turn a profit, without ever making a model with an internal-combustion engine? And which automaker asked specifically for a national electric-vehicle mandate? This is Green Car Reports’ look back at the Week in Reverse, for the week ending October 26, 2018. We ended...
Bengt Halvorson -
Feds reportedly probing further into Elon Musk's claims about Tesla Model 3 productionFederal investigators may be looking into whether Tesla CEO Elon Musk knowingly lied to investors when he said that the automaker could build tens of thousands of Model 3 sedans by the end of 2017, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday. The newspaper reported that the FBI is looking closer at...
Aaron Cole -
GM wants Trump administration to consider national electric-vehicle mandateThe term “hail Mary” might be appropriate for what General Motors, led by chief executive officer Mary Barra, is attempting at this stage of the federal government’s dialog on fuel efficiency and electric vehicles. GM is launching an effort to propose a 50-state solution for...
Bengt Halvorson