Green Car News

  • 2019 Honda Insight

    That sound you hear isn’t the 2019 Honda Insight’s hybrid powertrain whirring along. It’s the undertaker coming for the vaunted Honda Civic nameplate. The 2019 Insight isn’t just a better hybrid, it’s a better compact car. I spent a week moseying around in an Insight Touring, a well-equipped $29,000 compact sedan with mid-size space for passengers and cargo that averaged about 45 mpg no matter how I drove it. READ THIS: 2019 Honda Insight first drive mpg review: 55 mpg from hybrid sedan With its soft leather trim, power-adjustable front seats, quality sound...

  • Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy race car dynamic debut during 2018 Formula E Berlin ePrix
    Formula E develops new off-road Extreme E racing series

    Formula E, the first all-electric worldwide racing series, plans to expand beyond street racing to remote parts of the planet with a new series. Called Extreme E, the new series would use SUV-like race cars to tackle the wilds of lands such as the Arctic and the Himalayas. Formula E CEO and founder...

  • Mercedes-Benz EQC prototype testing in Black Forest
    Mercedes-Benz EQC, Byton M-Byte, Faraday's Future, fuel-economy demands: The Week in Reverse

    Which company started testing new electric cars in China? What's different about a new travel trailer in Europe? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending August 31, 2018. Friday we learned that Chinese startup electric-carmaker...

  • Byton M-Byte electric SUV prototype
    Dyson electric car track, Byton electric SUV testing, and Labor Day gas saving tips: Today's Car News

    Dyson plans to invest in a new test track for its electric-car program. Chinese startup Byton begins testing its electric crossover SUV in the real world. We provide tips on how to save fuel on a Labor Day road trip. And did you know internal-combustion engines still waste up to 88 percent of the...

  • Byton M-Byte electric SUV prototype
    Byton begins road testing its electric car in China

    Chinese electric-car startup automaker Byton has begun testing its upcoming M-Byte electric car in China, the company said Tuesday. The company introduced the car at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January, and gave reporters rides to demonstrate its self-driving and electronics...

  • Dyson Hullavington campus for electric car development
    Dyson plans to build electric-car test track in Britain

    In another step to show it's serious about building an electric car, Dyson, the British vacuum-cleaner maker, has laid out plans to build a test track in Britain. Reuters reported Thursday that Dyson plans to build a vehicle test track at a former World War II airfield in Wiltshire, England, to go...

  • Energy losses from internal combustion car [Source: DOE]

    Conventional cars manage better fuel economy every year. According to the latest Department of Energy "Fact of the Week," though, their efficiency ranges from a-little-better-than-before to still-abysmal. This week, the DOE noted that of all the energy splashed into a conventional car's gas tank, only 12 to 30 percent actually goes to move the car down the road. Everything else is lost to engine inefficiencies, heat, or used to power accessories, the DOE says. DON'T MISS: Americans still want better fuel economy, survey says How much is lost depends partly on the car and partly on the type of...

  • Overloaded Subaru Legacy with stuff on roof
    How to save gas on Labor Day trips

    Labor Day is one of the biggest travel weekends for all year, as Americans close out the summer and enjoy a last excursion before heading back to school. That makes it one of the biggest weekends for gas sales too, though nobody wants to spend more than they need to on fuel. If you're making a trip...

  • Byton M-Byte electric SUV prototype
    VW diesel settlement, California clean air, and fuel economy demands: Today's Car News

    California clean air regulators held a reportedly contentious meeting with Trump administration officials over the proposal to roll back fuel economy standards. A wide survey of Americans told researchers that they're dissatisfied with the fuel economy their cars get now, implying they might want...

  • Exhaust emissions from tailpipe [photo: Simone Ramella, 2005, used under Creative Commons 2.0]
    California meets with federal regulators over fuel-economy rollback

    Trump administration officials met with California regulators Wednesday to discuss the EPA and NHTSA's proposal to freeze fuel economy and emissions standards from 2020 through 2026. The proposal would rescind scheduled increases planned under the Obama administration, which would have raised...

  • Volkswagen turbodiesels await their fate near Pikes Peak International Raceway in Colorado Springs
    Final deadline for VW TDI diesel settlement

    Two more days. That's all the time owners of 2.0-liter diesel VWs have to file claims to receive a large financial settlement and to have their cars repaired to meet emissions standards. TDI owners have had plenty of notice to file paperwork to receive a financial settlement to replace or fix their...

  • 2017 Ford Focus Electric window sticker showing 115-mile range rating
    Americans still want better fuel economy, survey says

    Just as the Trump administration moves to roll back fuel economy standards, a new survey shows that Americans are dissatisfied with the fuel economy their cars already get. The American Customer Satisfaction Index survey for cars was released Tuesday, and among the 10 attributes the survey studied...

  • Tesla Powerpacks

    A new report on pollution, economic growth, and renewable energy in California sheds new light on the link between emissions regulations and economic growth ahead of the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco next month. The report released Thursday shows that even as the state implemented stricter emissions standards than other states and most countries, its economy continued to grow faster. The report, the 10th edition of the California Green Innovation Index, was produced by Next10, a non-profit research and education firm, and Beacon Economics, a California economic research and...

  • 2019 Chevrolet Cruze
    2019 Chevy Cruze's upcoming CVT rated at 33 mpg combined (Updated)

    Fuel economy estimates posted to the EPA's website for the redesigned 2019 Chevrolet Cruze show some changes—plus a big surprise. The latest ratings reveal that the EPA has certified a gas-fueled Cruze with a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) that boosts city fuel economy...

  • Faraday Future completes first pre-production FF91 on August 28, 2018
    Faraday Future's first car, Nissan Leaf sedan, and electric camping trailers: Today's Car News

    Faraday Future built its first pre-production car at the company's California factory. Nissan introduced the Leaf-based Sylphy electric sedan for China. A German company reveals an electric RV camping trailer. And the results are in from one of our latest Twitter polls. All of this and more on...

  • Dethleffs e.Home Coco electric camping trailer
    German RV maker builds electric camping trailer

    Electric cars are great for efficiency. They're less adept at pulling heavy loads at highway speeds and the extra power needed to pull a trailer can quickly drain batteries. That means more charging, more travel time, and less vacation time. Now German RV maker Dethleffs has a solution for those...

  • Chevrolet Bolt EV being charged outside Go Forth electric-car showroom, Portland   [photo: Forth]
    How much would you spend on an electric car? Twitter poll results

    With a flood of electric cars about to enter the market and tax credits beginning to expire for some established brands the question of how much buyers are willing to spend for an electric car seems worth revisiting. Since the $35,000 Model 3 hasn't yet materialized, Teslas start at about $50,000...

  • Chinese market Nissan Slyphy
    Nissan Leaf sedan: Company builds Sylphy, first electric car for China

    Nissan on Monday announced it had started production in China of a Nissan Leaf-based sedan called the Sylphy. The company first introduced the car at the Beijing auto show in April. China, the world's largest market for electric cars, also leans heavily toward sedans. The Sylphy stretches the...

  • Faraday Future FF 91 first pre-production prototype in Hanford, California factory

    The Faraday Future factory is up and running. It produced its first complete pre-production electric car on Tuesday, after building its first production body late last month. A company memo leaked to Green Car Reports reveals that Faraday plans a party to celebrate the milestone at its assembly plant in California's Central Valley on Tuesday. The Faraday Future FF91 crossover SUV is intended to be an ultra-luxury electric competitor to Tesla with a range of 385 miles and a price tag over $300,000—think an electric Rolls Royce. “It is inspirational for us at FF to see all the parts...

  • 2018 Tesla Model 3 Long Range electric car, road test in greater Atlanta area, Feb 2018
    Tesla lawsuit dismissed, faster-charging batteries, and classics turned electric cars: Today's Car News

    A judge dismisses a lawsuit against Tesla over Model 3 production delays. Researchers from Penn State develop faster-charging lithium-ion batteries. We ask if classic cars should be converted to electric power in a new Twitter poll. And Aston Martin says it could be first with 800-volt charging...

  • Teaser for Aston Martin Rapide E due in 2019
    Aston Martin may be first with 800-volt charging

    Automakers look ahead to the day when fast-charging changes the electric-car landscape. Many have debated and some have announced 800-volt electric cars, especially Porsche, with forthcoming versions of its Taycan electric car. Prior to last weekend’s Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, Aston...

  • Penn State nickel foil fast charging battery diagram [Credit: Penn State]
    Penn State researchers develop faster-charging lithium battery cell

    Researchers at Pennsylvania State University claim they may have found the "Goldilocks" battery for electric cars, according to a report in ChargedEVs. One of the biggest challenges for electric-car batteries has been that the batteries have to be charged slowly. If they're charged too quickly too...

  • Elon Musk at Tesla Model 3 reveal
    Judge dismisses lawsuit against Tesla over Model 3 production delays

    Amid a topsy-turvy month of mostly bad news for Tesla, the company got one major reprieve on Monday. According to a Reuters report, a federal court in San Francisco has dismissed a lawsuit from shareholders over delays in Model 3 production. The suit against Tesla and its CEO, Elon Musk, claimed...

  • Jaguar E-Type Zero
    Should classic cars be converted to electric power? Twitter poll

    The latest trend in classic cars is converting them to electric power. Jaguar announced last Thursday that it will convert its ultimate classic, the 1960s E-type, to electric power. It will build the cars at its classic center in England, and is taking orders. Jaguar says its electric powertrain is...

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