Green Car News
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With a new book imminent that gives new details on its diesel-emission cheating scandal, Volkswagen Group continues to struggle for positive corporate PR. Yet the company publicly appears to be confident that it has weathered the worst of that storm. Moreover, while its first high-volume electric cars won't hit the market until 2019 or 2020, the company promises great things once that happens. DON'T MISS: 2017 VW e-Golf: first drive of updated 125-mile electric car Now, the CEO of the Volkswagen brand has said that the Group will "leapfrog" electric-car pioneer Tesla as it comes to dominate...
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Solar panels, EV chargers required in new homes in Fremont, CAHalf a century ago, the General Motors assembly plant was the largest employer in Fremont, California, and the town was known for its dragstrip. Today, that plant makes Tesla electric cars and Fremont is a part of the San Francisco Bay Area's Silicon Valley, creating advanced technology for the...
Green Car Reports -
Model 3 risk, 2017 VW e-Golf driven, Shanghai roundup, hydrogen energy math: The Week in ReverseWhy is one noted manufacturing expert very worried about the Tesla Model 3? Which article topic got more reader comments: hydrogen fuel-cell prospects or the impact of delayed CAFE rules? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending on...
John Voelcker -
2017 VW e-Golf first drive, Model S swap, Karma on TV, rolling coal banned: Today's Car NewsToday, one Tesla will be replaced with another, we've driven the longer-range 2017 Volkswagen e-Golf, the Karma Revero is on TV, and we bust another alt-fuel myth. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Our writer David Noland has covered his ownership of a Tesla Model S (and many other topics...
John Voelcker -
Ethanol wasn't killed by Prohibition at Rockefeller's request: another alt-fuel myth bustedFor almost a century, many people have blamed oil magnate John D. Rockefeller for the demise of ethanol as a viable fuel for internal-combustion engines. He fought its use, the theory goes, to eliminate competition for the gasoline derived from his Standard Oil business—whose descendant...
Sean Szymkowski -
2017 Volkswagen e-Golf: first drive of updated 125-mile electric carThe 2017 Volkswagen e-Golf, the only battery-electric car sold by VW in the U.S., got a large range boost for its third year on the market. While the current model year is winding to a close, 2017 e-Golfs are just now reaching dealers in the handful of states where the compact electric car is...
John Voelcker -
Acura today has a thin lineup that has as many passenger sedans as crossover utility vehicles. With only the TLX, RDX, MDX, RLX, and NSX to work with, Honda's premium line doesn't compete in a number of important markets. The most glaring absence is in the raging hot subcompact crossover realm. DON'T MISS: 2017 Acura NSX: Sexy, Powerful Hybrid Supercar Specs Released That could be set to change based on a report from Ward's Automotive. Speaking to Ward's during the launch of the 2018 Acura TLX, group vice president Jon Ikeda hinted that the brand could bring over the more luxurious version of...
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First TV ad for Karma Revero drops as sales to start next monthEverything old is new again, including the 2017 Karma Revero, a reborn 2012 Fisker Karma. Now its maker has released the first-ever television advertisement for the car, a spot that debuted during the 2017 U.S. Open Polo Championship, sponsored by Karma Automotive. Simply titled "Delivery," the...
Sean Szymkowski -
Life with Tesla Model S: out with the old, in with the newOver the first three years of driving my 2013 Tesla Model S, there wasn't a single time when I looked at another car and said, “You know, I’d really rather be driving that car than this one.” Not once. The Tesla’s combination of performance, style, economy, technology, plus...
David Noland -
Teslas scare Germans, electric pickup truck, fuel-cell energy use, plug-in sales update: Today's Car NewsToday, we've got some amusing news out of Germany, a range-extended electric pickup truck, a sales update, and a multi-linked analysis of how much energy hydrogen fuel-cell cars really require. All this and more on Green Car Reports. We explained why BMW is using Teslas to scare its staff about the...
John Voelcker -
Plug-in electric car sales for Apr: Bolt EV back over 1,000 (updated)With four-figure sales for both its all-electric Chevrolet Bolt EV and the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid, GM probably led April's plug-in electric car sales. The "probably" comes because Tesla refuses to release its deliveries broken down either by month or by country, meaning there's no data to...
John Voelcker -
Workhorse W-15 range-extended electric pickup truck revealed (video)Workhorse may have the ultimate proposal for commercial fleets with the reveal of its W-15 pickup truck, the first range-extended electric pickup truck to be built from the ground up with fleets in mind. While Tesla says it is developing an all-electric pickup, which will supposedly be revealed in...
Sean Szymkowski -
It's now clear that the zero-emission vehicles of the future will be powered by electric motors. The electricity to power those motors, however, will come from one of two competing technologies: high-capacity batteries or hydrogen fuel cells. The debate over which technology is superior, which has the lowest wells-to-wheels carbon footprint, and which is likely to appeal more to mass-market buyers has become ... epic. DON'T MISS: 10 Questions On Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Cars To Ask Toyota, Honda & Hyundai (Oct 2014) As long as the costs, efficiency, practicality, and consumer appeal of the two...
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Why BMW uses Tesla electric cars to scare its staff into the futureWhen Tesla arrived on the scene 10 years ago, no major automaker took it very seriously—let alone thought it would cause the disruption it has in the market for luxury cars. At the same time, BMW, once the harbinger of performance and luxury, worries that it may be falling behind when it...
Sean Szymkowski -
Electric car sales to soar, hydrogen UPS van, better batteries, Apple car: Today's Car NewsToday, we've got some optimistic projections on electric-car sales, possibly better batteries with a not-very-secret new ingredient, and an all-electric UPS van with a hydrogen range extender. All this and more on Green Car Reports. A couple of different studies suggest that consumer interest in...
John Voelcker -
2017 Hyundai Ioniq Electric: how 'Unlimited' subscription really worksTo dig its teeth into California's crowded electric vehicle market, its Korean maker has rolled out an "Unlimited+" lease program for the 2017 Hyundai Ioniq Electric. The plan mimics a subscription service, and adds unlimited mileage allowance, vehicle-charging reimbursement, and a cohesive...
Sean Szymkowski -
Could water be the secret to faster electric-car battery technology?Electric vehicles aren't always associated with speed and performance, but researchers at North Carolina State University may have discovered a breakthrough to change those qualities inside their batteries. Of all things, water may hold the key to faster electric-car battery technology. Researchers...
Sean Szymkowski -
UPS electric van with fuel-cell range extender to be tested in CaliforniaConsiderable skepticism remains that passenger vehicles powered by hydrogen will become a major part of U.S. sales any time soon—or ever. Quietly, however, analysts suggest that hydrogen may provide a solution to the different challenges of producing zero-emission heavy trucks and delivery...
John Voelcker -
Despite a slower-than-expected start, plug-in electric cars are gaining momentum on the North American market. Not only are sales rising, so is consumer interest: according to a survey by AAA, shoppers’ interest in electric and plug-in hybrid cars is now neck to neck with that of pickup trucks. In fact, 15 percent of the interviewed participants showed interest in the purchase of an electric car, versus 16 percent for pick-up trucks. DON’T MISS: Plug-in electric car sales for Apr: Bolt EV back over 1,000 Now, the Consumer Federation of America has projected that for 2017, sales of...
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Tesla electric semi, plug-in car sales, CAFE changes impact, China's importance: Today's Car NewsToday, we've got an update on Tesla's promised semi tractor, some real-world analysis of the possible impact of fuel-economy rules, and the start of our monthly report on sales of cars with plugs. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Which is more important to the future of electric cars, China...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Autopilot gets automatic braking just as Consumer Reports downgrades safety rating (updated)Six months ago, Tesla abruptly announced that it had upgraded its electric cars with a new package of sensors for the Autopilot driver-assist system, known as "Hardware 2." The equipment was being fitted to all new Tesla Model S and Model X electric cars then in production—but there was a...
John Voelcker -
Elon Musk teased Tesla's electric semi truck at a TED talkIt's no secret Tesla CEO Elon Musk is an ambitious man, but he continues to fuel the hype surrounding the company by recently teasing the first Tesla semi truck. In typical Tesla fashion, the semi truck will be all electric. Its goal is to showcase the possibilities of electric range over diesel...
Sean Szymkowski -
Extra fuel used if 2022-2025 CAFE rules delayed would be low: here's the mathBarbie never said "Math is hard!" The talking doll did, notoriously, say "Math class is tough!" in 1989, sparking a media firestorm over gender roles in childrens' toys and then a voluntary recall by Mattel for offended parents. Reworded, however, the point remains accurate: many people don't...
John Voelcker -
Is China more important to the future of electric cars than the U.S.? Poll resultsMany U.S. car buyers still aren't aware that the Chinese market surpassed North America in volume and importance fully a decade ago. Similarly, in advanced automotive technology, a case can be made that China is more important than the U.S. Nowhere is that more evident than in plug-in electric...
John Voelcker