Green Car News

  • 2017 Mazda MAZDA3

    It's a technology that's been a sort of Holy Grail in the auto industry for at least a couple of decades. Now Mazda, one of the smallest global automakers, plans to introduce it in a radical new engine to be used in a future Mazda vehicle in 2019. It's called homogeneous charge compression ignition, or HCCI: in essence it lets a gasoline engine behave like a diesel under low-power demand, vastly improving its efficiency. DON'T MISS: Mazda to launch homogeneous-charge compression engine The new engines capable of HCCI, which will be known as SkyActiv-X, are thought to be destined for the...

  • 2017 Tesla Model 3 "first production" car, in photo tweeted by Elon Musk on July 9, 2017
    Tesla Model 3 electric car: what's your take? Poll results

    With the Tesla Model 3 electric car now in early production and an aggressive ramp rate targeted, it's getting lots of media attention. Part of that is due to the allure of the Tesla brand and fascination with company CEO Elon Musk. Some more may be due to the widespread misapprehension that the...

  • Teaser for BMW i8 Roadster debuting in 2018
    Model 3 MPGe, Prime vs Bolt EV vs Volt, electric SUV, Mirai for Hawaii: Today's Car News

    Today, a Tesla Model 3 EPA rating, a future electric SUV from Nissan, who loves tiny crossovers and who doesn't, and hydrogen fuel for Maui. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Over the weekend, we covered last week's most popular green-car news. One reviewer called the Chevy Bolt EV user...

  • 2016 Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell car, Newport Beach, CA, Nov 2014
    Hawaii to get hydrogen fueling station; Toyota Mirai leases to follow

    Tropical islands are some of the best places on earth to pioneer carbon-free energy and zero-emission vehicles. Within the United States, the eight islands of Hawaii are blessed with a temperate climate, abundant sunshine, few high-speed highways, and a statewide speed limit of 60 mph, achievable...

  • Teaser for 2018 Nissan Leaf debuting on September 6, 2017
    Nissan Leaf electric car platform to spawn more models, SUV included: report

    The 2018 Nissan Leaf apparently won't be the brand's lone electric car for much longer, if a new report with details on plans to expand the electric car's underpinnings to additional models proves accurate. Following the introduction of the second-generation 2018 Nissan Leaf, the electric car's...

  • 2018 Buick Encore
    Smallest SUVs most popular in US Midwest, less so in west, south

    The small SUV segment has ballooned into a hugely important market for many automakers, as consumers continue to shift from traditional sedans to crossovers and other utility vehicles. The smallest of the expanding array of SUVs on the market offers the flexibility of a hatchback or wagon, combined...

  • 2017 Tesla Model 3

    Ten days ago, when the first 30 Tesla Model 3 electric cars were delivered to their owners at a much-publicized Handover Party, we didn't get full information on the latest Tesla model. The company didn't discuss battery capacity in kilowatt-hours, for instance, giving range in miles instead, nor did it release specs for motor output, EPA ratings, or other usual information. Now, however, one fan has uncovered what appears to be the Model 3's EPA energy-efficiency rating. CHECK OUT: Tesla Model 3 drive reports, reviews: raves for sporty electric car The news came yesterday from a Tesla Motors...

  • 2006 Toyota Prius and 2015 Nissan Leaf  [photo: John C. Briggs]
    Should we buy a Toyota Prius Prime, Chevy Bolt EV, or Volt?

    It's now time to shop for a new car for my wife, as her wonderful 2006 Toyota Prius has 144,000 miles and we're ready for something new. So I thought I might throw the question out to Green Car Reports readers. What car should replace our 2006 Prius hybrid? DON'T MISS: 2017 Toyota Prius Prime: gas...

  • 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV
    Chevy Bolt EV user interface: reviewer calls it best of any electric car

    The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV is an amazing, long-range electric vehicle that won multiple awards for good reason. Driving the EV for an extended test for the first time, it’s obvious this is the future of driving. (Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently predicted that 50 percent of new cars will be...

  • 2018 Tesla Model 3
    Tesla Model 3 launch, 2018 Leaf, CAFE debate, Porsche faster charging, 'dead' coal: The Week in Reverse

    What did we learn about the Tesla Model 3 electric car this week? Why is the EPA planning to remove an exhibit on climate change? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending on Friday, August 4, 2017. Friday, we noted that while the...

  • BMW 5-Series Gran Turismo hydrogen fuel cell concept
    Model Y sanity, 2018 Leaf teaser, VW guilty plea, Tesla service, Toyota-Mazda pact: Today's Car News

    Today, again we have two Tesla stories, this time on Model Y "insanity" averted plus extended service plans; a VW executive pleads guilty; Toyota and Mazda hook up; and we get another 2018 Nissan Leaf electric car teaser image. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Toyota and Mazda announced they...

  • Teaser for Tesla Model Y electric SUV due for reveal in 2019
    Tesla Model Y to be based on Model 3 after all; Musk 'reeled back' from 'insanity'

    It's fair to say that Tesla CEO Elon Musk probably raises more eyebrows more often than all other automaker CEOs combined. One case in point came in early May, when he mentioned during a financial-results call that the upcoming Tesla Model Y compact crossover utility would be based on a new...

  • Teaser for 2018 Nissan Leaf debuting on September 6, 2017

    The global debut of the 2018 Nissan Leaf electric car is just a month away, and now another teaser image has been released. This one's a design sketch showing a drawing of the car's side profile, suitably shaded to obscure some of the details. You can compare it to a shot of the actual vehicle, captured last week in Norway while a 2018 Leaf was being filmed for an advertisement. DON'T MISS: 2018 Nissan Leaf caught without camouflage in ad shoot The release that accompanied Nissan's latest photo focuses on the aerodynamics of the second-generation Leaf. It's lower to the ground, for better...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S, in July 2017   [photo: David Noland]
    Life with Tesla Model S: beware Extended Service Agreement fine print

    A couple of years ago, as my 2013 Tesla Model S approached the end of its 50,000-mile warranty, I debated long and hard whether to opt for Tesla’s extended warranty, which they call an Extended Service Agreement (ESA). At $4,000, it wasn’t cheap. It provided four years and an additional...

  • 2015 Volkswagen Golf TDI SE
    VW exec to plead guilty to diesel cheating charges after jail, house arrest

    It has been almost two years since Volkswagen changed the prospects for diesel-powered cars when it admitted to eight years' worth of cheating on emissions tests for its so-called clean diesel vehicles. The effects of the German automaker's diesel scandal are still unfolding today, not only in the...

  • 2017 Mazda CX-5 First Drive
    Toyota, Mazda plan joint plant in U.S., electric-car cooperation: updated

    Toyota is one of the largest global automakers, while Mazda is one of the smallest. This morning, the two Japanese makers announced a capital-investment deal under which Toyota would take a small shareholding in Mazda, the smaller maker would invest in Toyota as well, and the two would set up a...

  • Distracted pedestrian, walking and texting
    Fiat 500e autocrossing, Model 3 update, Canada EV news, charging at gas stations: Today's Car News

    Today, we've got two Tesla stories covering its entire model lineup, an electric car that went racing, a news roundup from Canada, and a distracted-pedestrian idea. All this and more on Green Car Reports. A piece we published on the net number of Tesla Model 3 reservations may have contributed to...

  • 2017 Tesla Model S
    Tesla Model S, Model X electric cars updated with new features

    Before the Tesla Model 3 officially entered production, the electric-car maker shuffled features on its Model S to provide a clear distinction between the two sedans. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has often said those looking for luxury will be happiest in a Model S, while the Model 3 remains a much more...

  • Andrea Kerr driving Fiat 500e electric car in autocross, Great Park, Irvine, Califronia, July 2017

    When we published an article on one owner's experience using his Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car to compete in a local autocross, it contained a comment that riled up our reader Doug Kerr. That comment—"Outside of one high-performance electric vehicle, casual electric cars are hardly the racer’s choice"—prompted Kerr to take the family's Fiat 500e to the nearest autocross, driven by his daughter Andrea. What follows are Kerr's words, lightly edited by Green Car Reports for clarity and style. DON'T MISS: Chevy Bolt EV electric car does many things: autocrossing is one I talked...

  • Plug'n'Drive EV Discovery Centre, Toronto
    Canada electric-car news: EV Discovery Centre, more charging sites, ZEV mandates debated

    As Canada celebrates its 150th birthday, the plug-in electric vehicle sector has charged forward, with developments on the national, provincial and even municipal levels. Here’s our take on six of the most salient stories. Federal ZEV committee On May 26, the Canadian government announced its...

  • Highway sign for electric-car fast-charging station at BP in Metrolina area of Charlotte, NC
    BP follows other gas-station brands, adds electric-car charging

    Major oil companies are beginning to take the threat of electric cars seriously, and the latest evidence comes from British Petroleum. BP has begun discussions with electric-vehicle makers to partner on a network of charging stations. The move comes as many European countries announce plans to ban...

  • Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk at Tesla Store opening in Westfield Mall, London, Oct 2013
    Tesla Model 3 net reservations clarified after 16 months: 455,000

    Sometimes, if you ask a question often enough for long enough, an answer will eventually be forthcoming. In the case of the net number of $1,000 reservations for the Tesla Model 3 electric car, it took 16 months for the company to cough up the latest data. It came, not surprisingly, from CEO Elon...

  • 2017 Chevrolet Volt
    Plug-in electric car sales for July: Bolt EV, Prime, Volt, Teslas, Leaf lead (updated)

    In a U.S. car market that's coming off record numbers over the last couple of years, plug-in electric car sales continued strong last month. The Chevrolet Bolt EV, GM's 238-mile battery electric hatchback, set a new monthly sales record of 1,937 deliveries in its eighth month on sale—the...

  • 2016 Mitsubishi i-MiEV Quick Drive  -  Portland OR  -  July 2015   [photo: Doug Berger]
    RIP Mitsubishi i-MiEV: lowest-range, slowest electric car departs U.S. market

    The Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric car deserves a place in history. It was arguably the first mass-produced modern electric car put on sale, well before the Nissan Leaf arrived in December 2010. Pre-production i-MiEVs were operating in test fleets in Japan as early as 2007, and it was on sale in that...

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