Green Car News
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It's formally called the Electric Production Car Series, but for the moment it may come to be known as "the Tesla Model S series" by electric-car fans and racing followers alike. After being unveiled almost two years ago, it's now officially a legitimate racing series: On Wednesday that the FIA, the governing body for world motorsports, officially sanctioned (approved) it. It's the second FIA racing series for electric cars, following the Formula E open-wheel single-seater races now entering their fourth season. DON'T MISS: Mercedes, Porsche to join Audi, BMW, Jaguar, Renault in Formula E...
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Income-tax credits, Harley Davidson electrics, killing clean energy, Jan plug-in car sales: Today's Car NewsToday, we've got bad news from our capitol (again), an electric Harley Davidson on the way, an explanation of which carmakers may lose income-tax credits for electric-car sales, and a January plug-in car sales report. All this and more on Green Car Reports. For the first time since modern electric...
John Voelcker -
Trump to slash clean-energy funding 72 percent, lauds "beautiful clean coal"If a marketer talked enthusiastically about "healthy delicious cyanide," what would you think? You may wish to apply those judgments to mentions of "beautiful clean coal" by President Donald Trump, who used the phrase in Tuesday's State of the Union address. Trump claimed his administration had...
John Voelcker -
When do electric-car tax credits expire? (updated for 2018)In less than three months, personal income-tax returns or 2017 will be due for most U.S. adults. Some of those taxpayers will have bought a plug-in electric car last year, knowing that the Federal government offers an income-tax credit to help reduce the effective cost. But as more and more...
John Voelcker -
Jaguar I-Pace intro, used Fiat 500e service, 2018 Kia Niro preview, electric cars crucial: Today's Car NewsToday, we've got a rundown of the 2018 Kia Niro lineup, a date for the Jaguar I-Pace unveiling, some advice on servicing a used Fiat 500e bought outside California, and why electric cars are more important than ever. All this and more on Green Car Reports. In the array of U.S. climate-action tools...
John Voelcker -
2019 Jaguar I-Pace to debut before Geneva; cold-weather testing video releasedJaguar Land Rover was a relatively late arrival to the luxury electric-car game, revealing its plans in the form of a concept car only at the 2016 Los Angeles auto show. But it's now planning the launch of what will likely be the 2019 Jaguar I-Pace electric crossover just four weeks hence. What is...
John Voelcker -
Of the 90 million or so new vehicles sold globally last year, plug-in electric cars made up only a tiny proportion, roughly 1 percent. But the auto industry works on long product cycles and buyers tend to be conservative, only changing the types of cars they buy if life circumstances change or there's a compelling financial reason to do so. Nonetheless, it's now abundantly clear that the 2020s will see vastly more cars with plugs on the world's roads than we have today. CHECK OUT: 2018 Nissan Leaf vs Chevrolet Bolt EV: new electric cars compared With that as context, Nissan and its allied...
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Used Fiat 500e electric cars outside California: is service an issue for buyers?So you've always wanted to drive a battery-electric car, but you're a frugal and sensible shopper who's noticed that prices of used electric cars are remarkably low. And you always through the Fiat 500 was kind of interesting; the idea of a tiny three-door all-electric hatchback appealed to you...
John Voelcker -
2018 Kia Niro previewMost highly fuel-efficient dedicated hybrids are compact five-door hatchbacks, the most popular vehicle segment globally. When Korean maker Kia was drawing up plans for its first dedicated hybrid vehicle, it took a different path. The wagon it came up with—it calls the Kia Niro a crossover...
John Voelcker -
US climate action requires electric cars; utilities doing their part alreadyThe subject of carbon dioxide emissions is hardly a simple one, especially when it comes to electric cars. They may not have tailpipes, but the electricity generated in order to keep them going has to come from somewhere. Electric utilities, it turns out, are doing their bit to reduce carbon...
Andrew Ganz -
Charging at peak times, California's plug-in takeup, Bolt EV in winter, Trump and coal: Today's Car NewsToday, we've got a hot electric car in some very cold, snowy weather, a plea for charging-infrastructure cash, a look at the waning coal industry, and a report card on California's electric-car adoption rate. All this and more on Green Car Reports. To meet its carbon-emission reduction goals...
John Voelcker -
Chevy Bolt EV electric car range and performance in winter: one owner's logThe arrival of the first affordable long-range electric car on the market has naturally led some owners to push the car in a way that they might not do with a plug-in car offering just 80 miles of battery range. The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, EPA-rated at 238 miles combined, removes most daily range...
John Voelcker -
Vastly greater numbers of electric cars on United Kingdom roads could pose problems for the power supplies used to recharge them—if, that is, they all plug in during the day. Frank Mitchell, head of SP Energy Networks a unit of ScottishPower, said a rush to electric cars in the U.K. could burden the power grid if owners opt to charge those cars during peak hours when electricity demand is highest. Mitchell told the U.K.'s Financial Times late last year that charging in the high-demand hours shouldn't be restricted, but owners who add electrons during peak times “then have to pick...
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What percent of US full-size pickup trucks will plug in by 2025? Twitter poll resultsIf the U.S. is serious about reducing carbon emissions from road vehicles—under the current administration, the jury remains out—pickup trucks are key. More than half of the reduction in fuel consumption in pickup trucks projected under corporate average fuel economy rules comes from...
John Voelcker -
GM suggests Congress fund EV charging, Toyota asks for hydrogen fueling supportIt's now abundantly clear that Tesla has created the roadmap on how to build a widespread DC fast-charging network that lets electric-car drivers travel long distances, even across the country. The Tesla Supercharger network can only be used by Tesla cars, however—and it remains entirely...
John Voelcker -
Trump promised to save the coal industry; it hasn't happenedYou may recall that President Donald Trump made some ambitious and audacious campaign promises about his plans to revive America's dwindling coal industry. Two weeks ago, The Washington Post fact-checked the president's delivery on those promises after his first year in office—in multiples of...
Aaron Cole -
CA needs 5 million zero-emission cars by 2030; will it reach 1.5 million by 2025?Last Thursday, Governor Jerry Brown said in his annual State of the State address that California would need 5 million zero-emission vehicles on its roads by 2030 to meet its goals for reducing carbon emissions. An executive order on Friday laid out new state actions toward that goal, including a...
John Voelcker -
Porsche "Turbo Charging," 2018 Leaf leases and range, Georgia electric-car credit redux: Today's Car NewsToday, weekend news on the 2018 Nissan Leaf, more on ultra-fast charging from Porsche, carbon capture to come (maybe), and new solar-panel tariffs from Trump. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Over the weekend, as we do every seven days, we ran down last week's most important green-car...
John Voelcker -
A majority of the photovoltaic solar panels used in the U.S. are imported from such countries as China, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam. Now, environmentalists and energy analysts worry that the new 30-percent tariff on solar-panel imports announced last Monday by President Donald Trump may stymie the rapidly growing clean-energy industry. The tariff would apply to imported panels above 2.5 gigawatts and would fall by 5 percent each year for four years. DON'T MISS: Soaring growth of solar power demonstrated in one chart (updated) Observers worry the tariff could have a crippling...
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Porsche Mission E electric sedan buyers want, expect fast "Turbo Charging"Possibly no German carmaker was more shocked by the emergence of the Tesla Model S in 2012 than Porsche. Each of Porsche's models was a top performer in its segment for power, handling, and features, and sold at highly profitable prices. Then came the Tesla Model S, a five-seat hatchback sedan that...
John Voelcker -
Trump administration to work with Saudis on carbon capture for fossil fuelsLast month, U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry signed an agreement with Saudi Arabian officials to research "carbon capture" technology for fossil fuels, the Department of Energy announced. Perry and Khalid Al Falih, the Saudi Minister of Energy, Industry, and Mineral Resources, signed a memorandum...
Aaron Cole -
Georgia to take second try at electric-car tax credit after killing first oneSeveral years ago, Georgia offered a generous state-tax credit for purchase of a zero-emission vehicle, and its sales of electric cars boomed. When state politics interceded to kill that credit in 2015—and add a new tax specifically on those same vehicles—the state became a case study...
John Voelcker -
Looking at leases on 2018 Nissan Leaf electric car: how do they stack up?This past Tuesday, the 2018 Nissan Leaf—an entirely redesigned second generation of the pioneering electric car—officially went on sale in the U.S. It's quicker and has more features than its predecessors, not to mention a significantly longer range: 151 miles combined, according to the...
John Voelcker -
2018 Nissan Leaf electric car gets 151-mile EPA range ratingWhen the 2018 Nissan Leaf electric car was unveiled last fall, the company said it would have a range of "140 miles or more." That had risen to "150 miles or more" by the end of last year, and now we have the final confirmed figure. The EPA combined range rating for the second-generation Leaf is...
John Voelcker