Green Car News
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Two days ago, BMW and Nissan announced the latest expansion of their jointly funded DC fast-charging sites for electric cars, which is operated by the EVgo charging network. Those sites now cover more than 50 metropolitan areas in 33 states. This morning, BMW announced that its ChargeNow by EVgo program for owners of its plug-in cars would commensurately expand to cover all those locations. DON'T MISS: BMW, Nissan fund EVgo fast-charging network expansion: 670 dual-standard sites open The ChargeNow membership, BMW says, "provides no-cost and low-cost public charging access programs" for...
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2017 Kia Niro hybrid 'crossover' wagon priced from $23,800
Almost a year after it was unveiled at the 2016 Chicago Auto Show, the 2017 Kia Niro hybrid is finally going on sale. The Niro is Kia's first dedicated hybrid vehicle, and the Korean carmaker has taken an unusual tack in describing its new model. Kia calls the Niro a crossover, but its relatively...
Stephen Edelstein -
More than half of car buyers know little about electric cars, if anything
In the six years since modern electric cars went on sale in large numbers, educating the public has been one of the greatest challenges for advocates of plug-in cars. Those efforts still have a long way to go, it seems. Electric cars have become more common over the past few years, but more than...
Stephen Edelstein -
Electric-car fast charging, diesel emission cost, small luxury cars, Trump and CEOs: Today's Car News
Today, we look at how far electric-car fast charging has expanded, look at the cost of controlling diesel emissions, and learn more about the schedule for Tesla cars to move further toward self-driving. All this and more on Green Car Reports. What's it like to charge a Nissan Leaf wirelessly? We...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Autopilot features edge closer to self-driving in 3 to 6 months
Last year, after Tesla updated the radar, camera, and ultrasonic sensors on its electric cars, CEO Elon Musk said the new hardware's capabilities would lag behind the cars on the street already. Now, Musk has projected that the "Hardware 2.0" cars may surpass the older generation of "Hardware 1.0"...
Aaron Cole -
BMW, Nissan fund EVgo fast-charging network expansion: 670 dual-standard sites open
At the end of 2015, BMW and Nissan announced that the two companies had partnered to fund the installation of 120 DC fast-charging stations for electric cars across 19 states. All the sites had one or more 50-kilowatt stations with a pair of charging cables: one with the CHAdeMO connector that...
John Voelcker -
Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, believes diesels will allow the company to meet future, tougher fuel-economy standards. But that faith is being sorely tested at the moment. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) now says the company failed to disclose software for its EcoDiesel 3.0-liter V-6 engine that could affect emissions. DON'T MISS: EPA says Ram, Jeep diesel emission software violates Clean Air Act (updated) Even before the EPA publicly made that accusation, Marchionne said that rising costs could eventually make diesel irrelevant in passenger cars...
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Using Plugless Power's wireless charging with Nissan Leaf: video
Wireless charging for electric cars has been discussed for some time, but at last it is close to becoming a more realistic option for drivers. Evatran currently markets its Plugless wireless-charging system for multiple electric-car models. But what does it really take to ditch that charging...
Stephen Edelstein -
How Paris will ban the dirtiest diesels: color-coded stickers
Yesterday, analyses of the air in several parts of France showed it contained high levels of ultrafine particles emitted by road vehicles. Among the guiltiest culprits were older diesel vehicles with minimal emission-control systems, particularly those built under the Euro 4 standard in effect...
John Voelcker -
$1 billion for electric cars, Mini changes, climate science views, Tesla acceleration: Today's Car News
Today, we talk about a very controversial Tesla, consider the idea of $1 billion in electric-car infrastructure and incentives, and look at the percentage of Americans who accept climate science (it's high). All this and more on Green Car Reports. Germany's minister for the environment is facing...
John Voelcker -
Renault adds new Master ZE larger electric delivery van
French carmaker Renault sells no passenger cars in North America, and hasn't for almost 30 years now. But in Europe, its all-electric Zoe subcompact hatchback has been the best-selling plug-in electric car for months on end. The Zoe is one of three "ZE" (zero emission) vehicles sold by Renault, and...
John Voelcker -
California utilities submit $1 billion of electric-car projects to regulators
California continues to lead the United States, and in some ways the world, in efforts to reduce and eliminate harmful emissions from road vehicles. Following the lead of Governor Jerry Brown, the state legislature and regulatory agencies have set aggressive goals to reduce emission of...
John Voelcker -
The new U.S. administration has made it clear that it does not accept the scientific consensus on climate change. From President Donald Trump down through his nominees for key roles—Scott Pruitt for EPA adminstrator, Rick Perry for Department of Energy head, and others—key elected and appointed officials have rejected the idea of human contribution to climate change or questioned its significance. Those views, however, are not shared by the American public. DON'T MISS: Action on climate change 'harmful, unnecessary': Trump White House An article published by the Brookings...
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Even top German minister for environment prefers Tesla
Government officials in Germany seeking to express national pride in their choice of vehicle have no shortage of options. The established German luxury brands offer many models that frequently serve in the capacity of official vehicle for an elected official. Indeed, given Germany's considerable...
Stephen Edelstein -
Hybrid sales, coal in China, Panasonic loves Tesla: Today's Car News
Today, we cover coal plants in China, plug-in hybrid tests in London, and hybrid sales right here in the U.S. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Tesla Motors has bought battery cells from Panasonic for 10 years; now the Japanese company wants to tighten the partnership. Despite critics'...
John Voelcker -
Hybrid market share peaked in 2013, down since then
What's a "green car"? Is it a hybrid? A zero-emission vehicle? One that plugs in? Or just one that uses less fuel than other cars in its segment? It's a perpetual conundrum, for Green Car Reports among others, but it illustrates one of the longstanding challenges in the field. Will the market for...
John Voelcker -
SimpleFuel home hydrogen fuel dispenser wins $1 million DoE prize
Last week, the U.S. Department of Energy awarded a $1 million prize to a little-known team for what you might call a new garage appliance. The SimpleFuel team—actually a collaboration of three separate companies—won the prize, first offered in November 2014, for its hydrogen...
John Voelcker -
Ford to test plug-in hybrid Transit Custom van in London
Earlier this month, Ford announced a host of new electrified vehicles, including prototype and production hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and battery-electric models. Before its planned 2019 production launch, one of those vehicles will soon begin testing in London. It's a plug-in hybrid version of the...
Stephen Edelstein -
During negotiations for the Paris Climate Treaty signed last fall, a major concern among critics was whether the carbon emissions of China's sprawling and inefficient energy sector could be reined in. With China, the U.S., and dozens of other countries signing the agreement, the world's most populous country committed itself to decarbonizing its growing energy consumption. Now, more evidence of its willingness to meet that commitment has emerged. DON'T MISS: Action on climate change 'harmful, unnecessary': Trump White House Last week, a directive from the country's National Energy...
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Panasonic sees Tesla as deeper partner for self-driving cars too: CEO
Japanese electronics firm Panasonic has been a close partner of Tesla Motors for many years now. It is the Silicon Valley automaker's sole battery supplier, it helps fund and operate the Tesla "Gigafactory" in Nevada, and the company owns a small stake in the carmaker. But Panasonic wants to move...
Stephen Edelstein -
Energy storage batteries face biggest test in California
From the perspective of both renewable-energy advocates and electric utilities, grid-scale energy storage offers many potential benefits. By storing energy in battery packs for later use, energy storage can make intermittent renewable sources like solar and wind into more reliable forms of power...
Stephen Edelstein -
New Tesla Model S 100D version rated at 335 miles of electric range
If anything, the pace of new Tesla model changes seem to have increased of late. Over the last year, a 60-kilowatt-hour battery option has reappeared, a new 100-kwh battery was launched, followed by a sequence of software updates to make it faster, and all Autopilot sensors were replaced with new...
John Voelcker -
Action on climate change 'harmful, unnecessary': Trump White House
If there were any doubt that U.S. policy on climate change would change drastically under President Donald Trump, it should have been laid to rest shortly after noon yesterday. Following inauguration ceremonies for the 45th president of the United States, the Obama White House website was replaced...
John Voelcker -
Bolt EV availability, Rogue Hybrid, next Leaf, VW diesel crimes: The Week in Reverse
When can you buy a 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car from your local Chevy dealer? And what carmaker pleaded guilty to four felony charges and will pay more than $4 billion in fines for its criminal actions? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car...
John Voelcker