Green Car News

  • President Donald Trump (Photo courtesy Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons)

    President Donald Trump is expected Tuesday to direct the EPA to lift the seasonal ban on higher-ethanol E15 blends of pump gasoline linked to summer smog issues. The move has been anticipated for months. This timing for it, according to Reuters, is aimed at helping Republican candidates in farm-belt states during mid-term elections held in four weeks. DON'T MISS: U.S. now uses more corn for ethanol than anything else (2011) In recent years it has been increasingly difficult to find sound supporters of the U.S. ethanol mandate—outside of the agribusiness and corn-growing communities that...

  • Chevrolet Bolt EV being charged outside Go Forth electric-car showroom, Portland   [photo: Forth]
    Nothing comes close to Tesla: 2018 Q3 plug-in sales

    Even with solid increases, other electric-car sales paled in comparison with numbers from Tesla in September and for the third quarter of 2018. The next highest sellers, were the Chevrolet Bolt EV, with 3,949 sales from July to September, and the Nissan Leaf just behind with 3,767 for the quarter...

  • 2019 Jeep Renegade
    FCA announces production Jeep Renegade plug-in hybrid in Italy

    Jeep said Monday that it laid the groundwork to begin production of a plug-in hybrid version of its small Renegade at the factory in southern Italy where it's produced alongside the Fiat 500X. The model is expected to go on sale in early 2020, though it's not clear whether it is intended for the...

  • Tesla Model S 'swimming' through flooded underpass, June 2016  [YouTube video by Sanzhar Altayev]
    Catastrophic climate effects could hit by 2040, UN report says

    Two decades. That's all the time world leaders have to reverse emissions of greenhouse gases to avoid inundating coastal cities, killing off coral reefs and their attendant marine wildlife, and potential food shortages, according to a new UN report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change...

  • Audi e-tron GT prototype teaser
    Report: Audi e-tron GT electric sport coupe will fast-charge in 12 minutes

    Audi revealed last month that its e-tron GT, which is described as a “highly dynamic coupe,” will make its debut at the Los Angeles auto show in November. Although that model isn’t likely to be produced until 2020, at the earliest, it’s shaping up to be one of several...

  • Volkswagen ID Buzz
    VW electric car pricing, Tesla software update, and electric motor recycling: Today's Car News

    Volkswagen's upcoming electric cars won't feature big price tags. Magnets from hard drives could end up in electric vehicles' motors. Tesla rolls out its Version 9 software. And we ask where readers would like to see more public charging options in a new Twitter poll. All of this and more on Green...

  • Volkswagen MEB platform architecture

    Volkswagen says that it aims to make “electric vehicles for millions, not millionaires” with its next-generation EVs. While that’s a clever tagline, what ultimately will matter to many households who want a new electric vehicle in the driveway is whether they can afford one of those models. Speaking at an event last month previewing some fundamentals of the upcoming modular electric platform (MEB) that it hopes will underpin a million EVs a year by 2025, Thomas Ulbrich, the member of the VW Group Board of Management responsible for e-mobility, gave some important guidance...

  • Electrify America DC fast chargers in Gulfport, Mississippi
    Where would you most like to see more public chargers installed? Take our Twitter poll

    Public charging networks are booming. Even if it often seems to electric car drivers like there aren't enough public chargers to go around. massive new charging network companies are coming online, existing networks are expanding, and all are planning on installing a new wave of ultra-fast...

  • Axial motor with recycled rare-earth material - ORNL
    Circular economy: Magnets from old hard drives could wind up in EV motors

    As some of the world’s largest automakers ramp up production for a generation of electric vehicles, the supply of one of the most important ingredients—rare-earth elements—is surely a cause for concern. Rare-earth elements—especially neodymium—are in short supply...

  • Tesla Version 9 sofwtare in Model 3
    Tesla rolls out new Version 9 software–without full-self-driving features

    Tesla chief executive Elon Musk on Friday announced that the company released its long-awaited Version 9 software update, but without the full-self-driving features that he promised back in June. Instead, the new software now rolling out to all Model 3's, Model S's, and Model X's makes improvements...

  • 1938 Oldsmobile Convertible Coupe with Automatic Safety Transmission [CREDIT: Hemmings Motor News]
    Electric cars may end the automatic era this Olds began

    With only the possible exception of the electric starter, nothing has done more to expand the adoption of personal cars than the automatic transmission, as reflected by one of the first cars so-equipped, being sold this week in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The 1938 Oldsmobile L-38 convertible coupe used...

  • 2018 Tesla Model 3
    Mazda EVs, Tesla numbers, and questions about EV profitability: The Week in Reverse

    Will automakers be able to turn a profit on all the electric vehicles under development? And how many Model 3 sedans, again, did Tesla deliver just last month? This is Green Car Reports’ look back at the Week in Reverse, for the week ending October 5, 2018. Friday, we looked at a test of semi...

  • Tesla Model 3 dashboard in Autopilot testing with IIHS [CREDIT: IIHS]

    The Tesla Autopilot system gets outranked by a rival. VW confirms plans for solid-state batteries. Future Kia electric cars are about what fits the market. Volvo's parent company is reportedly in talks with Toyota over hybrid systems. And will electric cars hurt automaker profitability? All of this and more on Green Car Reports. Tesla's Autopilot system placed second in a new semi self-driving tech comparison. Cadillac's Super Cruise took first place. VW has confirmed plans to introduce solid-state batteries by 2025. The battery technology could be seen as a major improvement over today's...

  • 2019 Kia Niro EV
    One size won't fit all for future Kia EVs

    For an automaker that’s pitching itself toward the fun side of the Hyundai Motor Group, the tone for the automaker’s sizable electric push soon sounds altogether like pants. “It’s all about what fits,” said Michael Winkler, director of powertrains for Kia in Europe. By...

  • 2019 Volvo XC40
    Report: Volvo's parent company in talks with Toyota over hybrid systems

    Toyota revealed on Thursday that it is in talks with Chinese automaker Geely, which owns Volvo, about cooperation on hybrid vehicle technology, Reuters reported. As the company that has sold by far the most hybrids worldwide, the discussions could involve selling Toyota hybrid technology in Geely...

  • Thomas Ulbrich
    VW confirms it’s planning for solid-state batteries by 2025

    Solid-state batteries sometimes sound a bit like the missing link that would punt electric vehicles soundly into mainstream acceptance. The list of potential virtues for solid-state tech, which would replace the polymer/gel electrolyte commonly used in lithium-ion cells with a solid one, is...

  • Consumer Reports tests Tesla Model 3 braking [CREDIT: Consumer Reports]
    Consumer Reports ranks Tesla Autopilot second among self-driving systems

    In the latest ranking of automaker self-driving systems, Tesla's popular Autopilot system ranked second to Cadillac's Super Cruise system. The ratings come from Consumer Reports, which tested the cars on its test track and on local highways, in both lead and following positions. The organization...

  • Volkswagen MEB platform architecture
    Electric cars are clean, but can they be profitable? New report casts doubt

    A flood of new electric-car models is washing into the market in the next year as automakers scramble to meet regulatory demands for electric cars around the world—not to mention scrambling to compete with Tesla. The challenge, as with Tesla, is whether they can sell those cars at a profit. A...

  • Tesla Model 3 all-wheel drive Performance rolls off a new assembly line in a temporary structure

    The Tesla Model 3 might be the top-selling car from an American brand. Electrify America announces its second round of electric-car chargers in California. Algae blooms may boost eco-diesel development. And new electric-car ads hope to raise awareness. All of this and more on Green Car Reports. Pending confirmation from a range of sources, the Tesla Model 3 could be the best-selling car from an American brand. Tesla doesn't release monthly sales data, but outlets have begun analyzing registration data. Electrify America has laid out its second round of investment for new electric-car chargers...

  • 2018 Tesla Model 3
    Is the Tesla Model 3 the top-selling car from an American brand?

    Earlier this week we reported the Model 3 is possibly the fifth best-selling car in the U.S., based on Tesla’s update on deliveries. These Model 3 numbers released Tuesday are likely an anomaly; they’re based on a coordinated surge in U.S. deliveries in September. But also to be fair...

  • Chevrolet Bolt charging at Electrify America 350 kw charger at Home Depot in Chicopee, Mass.
    New electric-car ads to hit the other half of California drivers

    One problem with electric cars is that they may be invisible. Despite proliferating charging stations, multiplying car models, and extended range for many new electric cars, fewer than half of California drivers are even aware they exist, says Mary Nichols, head of the California Air Resources...

  • University of Michigan algae biodiesel project
    Algae blooms could be a boon for eco-diesel under DOE-funded project

    Algae-based biodiesel has been hyped in the past as a renewable fuel that can be produced here in the U.S., lowering greenhouse-gas emissions without displacing food crops or taxing water supplies. And yet it still hasn’t arrived in any significant way. There’s no single factor to blame...

  • Electrify America DC fast chargers in Gulfport, Mississippi
    Electrify America lays out plans for second round of chargers in California

    Midway through building its first installments of electric-car chargers, Electrify America sketched out plans for its second $200-million round of investments in California on Wednesday. These installations will add more California cities, target charging networks for ride hailing services and...

  • 2020 Mercedes-Benz EQC
    2020 Mercedes-Benz EQC, Borgward electric cars, and cleaner electric vehicles: Today's Car News

    The 2020 Mercedes-Benz EQC makes its public debut. Chinese automaker Borgward wants to sell electric cars in the United States. Electric cars have gotten even cleaner in 2018. And the results are in from one of our latest Twitter polls. All of this and more on Green Car Reports. The 2020...

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