Green Car News
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Pretty much any story on a new vehicle these days notes that new-car buyers are snapping up utility vehicles, while traditional sedans languish on sales lots. That puts Hyundai right on trend with its latest hydrogen-powered entry, the Nexo, which it dubs a crossover utility vehicle. It succeeds the earlier Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell, also a crossover, of which roughly 200 were leased in Southern California over three years. The Nexo gives Hyundai a pair of distinctions: It’s the only hydrogen-powered utility on the market, and its EPA-rated range comes in at 380 miles combined from the...
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2019 Hyundai Kona Electric, Tesla board, long-range Mercedes plug-in: Today's Car NewsWe got a chance drove the 238-mile Hyundai Kona Electric and came away mostly impressed. Mercedes-Benz announced a truly long-range plug-in hybrid. Hot seats lead to a recall for the Kia Niro hybrid. And we explore who should replace Elon Musk as chairman of Tesla's board in our latest Twitter...
Eric C. Evarts -
2020 Mercedes-Benz GLE plug-in hybrid to have 60 miles of electric range?Mercedes's new line of more capable plug-in hybrids will start with the 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLE plug-in hybrid that the company says has more electric driving range than previous efforts. It will arrive late next year and will be based on a redesigned version of the mid-size GLE SUV arriving with...
Eric C. Evarts -
Who should lead Tesla's board after Musk steps down? Take our Twitter pollAs Elon Musk prepares to step aside from Tesla's board in an expected settlement with the SEC, speculation has erupted over who might replace him. According to the SEC settlement, the new chairman must be an independent board member—not one tied to Musk. Tesla's board currently has two...
Eric C. Evarts -
2017-2018 Kia Niro hybrid recall concerns extra heat in the back seatDrive a 2017 Kia Niro (or a 2018) and find your back seat becoming a hot seat? It might be a good idea to stop driving it and call your dealership. In 2017 and some 2018 Kia Niro models, a main relay, within what’s called the power relay assembly, may not have adequate contact connections...
Bengt Halvorson -
2019 Hyundai Kona Electric: first drive of affordable 258-mile crossoverOur first test-drive time with the Hyundai Kona Electric included plenty of what’s very familiar to Los Angelenos: plodding along to the next stoplight on wide boulevards, waiting another few minutes, and repeating—with occasional squirts into traffic gaps and quick merges into the...
Bengt Halvorson -
First, it was the Porsche 911, then the Jaguar E-Type. Now it's the MGB. Converting classic old cars into electrics has become the rage across Europe. The latest comes from RBW Classic Electric Cars in the UK, which isn't taking classic MGBs and modifying them, but recreating new classic MGBs with electric powertrains. READ MORE: Royal couple's electric Jaguar E-type Zero coupe will go into production The bodies will come from British Motoring Heritage, which builds replacement parts and body shells for classic British cars. The powertrain will come from Zytek Automotive, a division of...
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UN’s climate catastrophe, Trump’s ethanol, Tesla’s Q3 sales surge: The Week in ReverseWill some very intriguing products from Bollinger Motors and Faraday Future make it to market? Electric-vehicle sales surged to new levels in the third quarter of the year, thanks to Tesla. Will it push even harder to meet a tax-credit deadline? This is Green Car Reports’ look back at the...
Bengt Halvorson -
Tesla tax credits, BMW charger recall, and Israel to ban internal-combustion engines: Today's Car NewsTesla tells buyers the final date to order a car before federal tax credits expire. BMW recalls charge cords for its electric cars. Israel plans to stop the sale of cars with internal-combustion engines by 2030. And we round up the best deals on green cars this month. All of this and more on Green...
Sean Szymkowski -
BMW recalls chargers for 2018, 2019 plug-in modelsBMW issued a recall for the charge cords of virtually all the 2018 and 2019 plug-in vehicles it has built for sale in the U.S. According to the recall notice on the NHTSA's website, capacitors in the charge cords could fail, resulting in a shock hazard or a fire. DON'T MISS: Ford recalls Focus...
Eric C. Evarts -
Tesla sets Monday deadline for full tax creditTesla has given buyers a deadline of Monday to order a car if they want the full $7,500 federal tax credit. That's 2-1/2 months before the credit officially expires, but since most Teslas are built to order, the company needs some lead time for orders. A notice on Tesla's website reads: "All orders...
Eric C. Evarts -
Best deals on green cars for October 2018One of the best ways to get people to buy green cars is the same way automakers get consumers to buy any car—by making deals. Looking at October sales, among plug in cars other than Teslas, the bestsellers were those that offer the best deals from month to month. This month, many of the same...
Eric C. Evarts -
Add Israel to the list of countries planning to ban sales of cars that run on gasoline and diesel fuel. The Jewish state, however, has put internal combustion engines on a shorter leash than most other countries that have announced such plans. By 2030, the Israeli Energy Ministry announced on Tuesday, cars and trucks that run on gasoline or diesel fuel will no longer be available in the country, according to a Reuters report. The country plans to replace internal combustion cars with electrics and to replace gas and diesel trucks with natural gas. READ THIS: UK to ban diesel, gasoline car...
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Bollinger electric pickup, Mercedes plug-in hybrids, and Faraday Future troubles: Today's Car NewsBollinger announces its B2 electric pickup truck. Mercedes-Benz lays out plans for more capable plug-in hybrid cars. Faraday Future's funding hits a snag—again. And Europe commits to slash carbon dioxide by another 35 percent by 2030. All of this and more on Green Car Reports. Bollinger...
Sean Szymkowski -
Does Faraday have a Future? Latest financing disrupted—againFaraday's Future has hit another snag, in a dispute with the company's latest investors. The development of the luxury electric Faraday Future FF91, has been a roller-coaster ride of winning financing, running into disputes, delaying the car, and finding new investors. DON'T MISS: Faraday Future...
Eric C. Evarts -
Mercedes-Benz plans to expand lineup of more capable plug-in hybridsMercedes-Benz announced plans Wednesday improve the range and capability of its plug-in hybrids and to bring the flexible powertrain to more models. It also introduced a new brand name to designate its plug-in hybrid models: EQ Power. The EQ Power designation will appear alongside the company's new...
Eric C. Evarts -
Europe commits to 35 percent CO2 cut by 2030, after dire UN climate reportFollowing a U.N. report on Monday that concluded world leaders have only two decades to end emissions of greenhouse gases or suffer catastrophic climate change, the European Union took just 13 hours to announce plans to cut emissions from cars and trucks a further 35 percent by 2030. Transportation...
Eric C. Evarts -
Bollinger Motors announces B2 electric pickup alongside SUVBollinger Motors has already generated a lot of interest in its B1 electric SUV. And on Wednesday it released images and some details of its long awaited second model, a pickup. The American startup electric truckmaker is one of several to announce an electric pickup. Tesla has said it is...
Eric C. Evarts -
Tesla overstates its safety rating—again. Mercedes-Benz breaks ground on its U.S. battery factory. Canadian plug-in and electric car sales take a dip. And the results are in from last week's Twitter poll. All of this and more on Green Car Reports. Tesla has essentially claimed a higher safety rating for the Model 3 than what the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration allows. The company called the Model 3 the safest car NHTSA has tested, but the agency disputed the claim. Mercedes-Benz has begun construction in its battery manufacturing facility in the United States. The...
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Mercedes breaks ground on US battery factory (Updated)Mercedes-Benz broke ground Friday on a new battery factory in the U.S.—right next door to its SUV factory in Alabama. The move is an indication that the company plans to build its upcoming all-electric EQC electric SUV in Alabama. The EQC is expected to go on sale in the U.S. as a 2021 model...
Eric C. Evarts -
Subsidy's swansong: Canadian plug-in sales take a dipAfter generous tax credits expired in Canada’s largest province of Ontario, September, not April, turned out to be the coldest month for electric-car sales North of the Border. The tax credit was worth up to $10,000 ($14,000 Canadian.) British Columbia was a bright spot, with the provincial...
Matthew Klippenstein -
Tesla again claims higher safety rating than NTHSA givesTesla took a page out of its Model S playbook over the weekend and announced that its Model 3 is the safest car that NHTSA has tested. Only Tesla isn't NHTSA. In a blog post Sunday night, Tesla said it based its findings on NHTSA data, just as it did with the Model S in 2013. "The agency’s...
Eric C. Evarts -
How fast is fast enough for fast charging? Twitter poll resultsIn an effort to make electric-car charging as ubiquitous and easy as filling up with gas, fast chargers are coming to malls, gas stations, rest areas and more, and these upcoming chargers are getting a lot faster. Where original fast chargers could replenish less than 65 miles in a half-hour...
Eric C. Evarts -
Jeep Renegade plug-in, Audi e-tron GT fast charging, and Trump to lift E15 ban: Today's Car NewsJeep confirms a Renegade plug-in hybrid is coming. The Audi e-tron GT electric sport coupe may charge in just 12 minutes. President Trump is expected to lift a ban on E15 ethanol in summer gasoline. A United Nations report says catastrophic climate effects could surface by 2040. And Tesla runs away...
Sean Szymkowski