Green Car News

  • 2016 Acura CDX (Chinese spec)

    Today, we run down a whole host of electric cars that Chinese buyers saw and we didn't, look at a potentially risky move by Tesla on its affordable Model 3, and explain why the EPA has eradicated all mention of climate science from its website. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Saturday we ran down the previous week's top stories with our News In Reverse roundup. Drive Oregon, the electric-car advocacy group, has a new name, an expanded mission, and now covers more states. Go Forth! Tesla finally added automatic emergency braking to its latest Autopilot, but Consumer Reports had...

  • 2017 Kia Niro Touring, Catskill Mountains, NY, March 2017
    Six things to know about new hybrid cars (if you haven't paid much attention lately)

    For the past few years, plug-in electric cars have gotten more publicity than their small share of the market deserved. That's exactly what had happened to hybrids a decade earlier—and hybrids still outsell cars with plugs, even if they're no longer getting outsize publicity. We've been...

  • Tesla Model 3 design prototype  -  March 2016
    Manufacturing expert says Tesla Model 3 plan to skip beta testing is risky

    Tesla is taking a major gamble regarding the production of its upcoming Model 3 sedan in skipping prototype tooling and jumping straight to permanent production tooling, says a noted auto-manufacturing expert. "He's pushing the envelope to see how much time and cost he can take out of the process,"...

  • 2018 BMW 5-Series Li
    What diesel backlash? 2018 BMW 540d coming to U.S.: report

    While the diesel backlash stemming from the VW emission scandal is real, BMW is forging ahead with the high-torque, high-efficiency engines regardless. For its latest 5-Series luxury sedan, it will announce that a new 540d mid-size diesel luxury sedan will arrive in U.S. showrooms later in 2017...

  • MG E-Motion concept, 2017 Shanghai auto show
    Shanghai auto show roundup: China plugs into electric cars in a big way

    China has long aimed to be the global leader in battery cells, solar power, and electric vehicles. But with more carrots and stronger sticks, electric-car sales started to rise in the country a couple of years ago. With close to a fifth of the world’s population starting to consider cars...

  • EPA website redirect page replaces scientific information on climate change, April 30, 2017
    EPA website removes climate-change pages, because science contradicts Pruitt policy goals

    On Saturday, tens of thousands of people joined a Science March in Washington, D.C., to support use of data-based science to set government policy on climate change. The day before, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency removed detailed climate data and scientific information because it appeared...

  • Honda Fit EV at launch, Northeast Portland community electric car sharing program  [PhotosByKim LLC]

    Oregon is a state that punches well above its weight in promoting and adopting zero-emission vehicles and plug-in electric cars. Smaller than California, it offers a laboratory where EV makers can try out new programs and experiment with new marketing and charging programs to see how they work. That was the pitch, at least, from the state-funded Drive Oregon advocacy group, which mounts the influential "EV Roadmap" conference in Portland each summer. CHECK OUT: Oregon's Pitch To Electric-Car Industry: Come Test New Stuff Here! (Nov 2015) With its state funds due to end this summer, the group...

  • 2017 Chevrolet Volt
    2018 Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid carries over with few changes (updated)

    It appears that Chevy isn't following its own precedent as the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid enters its third model year. In the past, the Volt received a battery upgrade every other year that provided it with increasingly more electric range—but that's not the case for the largely unchanged...

  • Teaser for 2019 Volkswagen T-Roc debuting at 2017 Frankfurt auto show
    Volkswagen T-Roc video teases new small SUV five months early (updated)

    Sales of crossover utility vehicles—the ones that look like tough, capable, high-riding SUVs but actually sit on passenger-car underpinnings—continue to surge all over the world. Carmakers are meeting the demand by adding new varieties (four-door coupe utility vehicle, anyone?) and...

  • 2017 Tesla Model S
    Tesla electric car battery life, Toyota fuel-cell fervor, new diesels still dirty, coal-free England: The Week in Reverse

    Why did readers post 1,000 comments when we asked whether Toyota's fuel-cell cars were foresighted or foolish? What good news did we get this week for Tesla Model S electric-car owners? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending on...

  • 2018 Volkswagen Atlas, Boerne, Texas
    2018 Chevy Volt, Fisker electric, Eurodiesels still dirty, Audi on the moon, Model T myth: Today's Car News

    Today, we've got a few details on next year's Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid, we bust a myth about alt-fuels, there's video of a new electric Audi, and we look at some disturbing diesel test results. All this and more on Green Car Reports. The Fisker EMotion all-electric luxury sedan will be fully...

  • 2017 Nissan Leaf
    Nissan's plans: reignite electric-car sales, boost lagging Mitsubishi

    The Nissan Leaf has been a fading light in the electric car market, but after a few years in the dark, it will soon get a chance to shine once more. Despite a battery capacity increase in 2016 and a quarter of a million in sales since its 2010 launch, the Leaf has been in dire need of a proper trip...

  • 1914 Ford Model T

    The myth surrounding the car that's credited with putting America on wheels simply isn't true: the Ford Model T was never meant to run fuels other than gasoline. The myth has circulated throughout the car's history, most recently thanks to the internet. It has mostly taken the form of a legend in which Henry Ford supposedly included a switch on the dashboard of the Model T to facilitate switching from gasoline to ethanol. DON'T MISS: The 12 most influential green cars in history Even those old-timers who have owned a Model T will likely rattle off a laundry list of fuels used, but Hemmings...

  • Volkswagen TDI diesel vehicles owned by Phil Grate and family, Seattle, Washington
    Newest, cleanest diesels in Europe can still be very dirty: analysis

    It has become increasingly more evident that carmakers must take aggressive steps to ensure that diesel cars and light trucks meet current environmental regulations. Tests done by Emissions Analytics found that the majority of new diesel-powered cars sold in Europe do not meet the Euro 6 emission...

  • Teaser for Fisker EMotion debuting on August 17, 2017
    All-electric Fisker EMotion luxury sedan to debut in August

    The low, sleek Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid luxury sedan had a stunning design but numerous problems, and Tesla mopped the floor with it. Now designer Henrik Fisker is ready for a rematch, this time with an all-electric sedan promising 400 miles of range (and unusual doors). The Fisker EMotion is...

  • Pininfarina H2 Speed concept, 2016 Geneva Motor Show
    Tesla battery life, EPA loves coal, electric-car charging basics, tiny VW T-Roc: Today's Car News

    Today, we review data (and lots of charts!) on Tesla battery life, cover an EPA shocker, go over the basics of electric-car charging, and more. All this and more on Green Car Reports. The battery life of Tesla Model S electric cars is looking pretty good, so far. It appears the head of the agency...

  • 2015 Nissan Leaf
    Electric car charging: the basics you need to know (updated)

    The number of plug-in electric cars on North American roads grows every year, and with them come new buyers. Each new electric-car driver will have a few things to learn, so we've rounded up some tips on how, where, and when how to charge up that new plug-in vehicle. Whether you're already an...

  • 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car at EVgo fast-charging station, Newport Centre, Jersey City, NJ
    Even oil companies now acknowledge electric cars are coming

    Advocates have long suggested that electric vehicles will begin to take over daily driving duties, slowly but surely, from the internal-combustion engine. Now, even oil companies are starting to acknowledge that there may be reality in that dream of the future. France's Total SA, one of the world's...

  • Tesla Model S lithium-ion battery pack in rolling chassis   [photo: Martin Gillet via Flickr]

    Perhaps the biggest question in buyers' minds over electric cars is how long the batteries will last. Most new-car buyers have mobile phones whose batteries have only lasted a couple of years, perhaps less. Even as electric-car battery packs are warranted against outright failure for eight or 10 years, how much degradation should owners anticipate? DON'T MISS: Electric car battery warranties compared The question has surfaced again as a few of the earliest Nissan Leafs now appear to have lost up to half their battery capacity, with drivers finding their range has fallen below 50 miles of...

  • Coal, by Flicker user oatsy40 (Used Under CC License)
    Did EPA head ask coal lobby to fight Paris climate pact? Claim disputed

    The Trump administration is either having a robust internal debate on its climate positions or floundering incoherently as various interests vie for the president's attention. Its intentions for the Paris Climate Agreement that the U.S. signed last year remain entirely unclear. On Monday, Trump's...

  • Waymo self-driving prototype
    Tesla expands Superchargers, Volvo electric car, Uber in Oregon, self-driving updates: Today's Car News

    Today, more Tesla Superchargers coming, news on Volvo's first all-electric car, and what Uber wants its Portland drivers to do. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Tesla plans to double its number of Supercharger outlets globally as it prepares for the launch of its high-volume, less expensive...

  • Liviu Tudoran's "Apple iMove" design study
    Apple self-driving car plans emerge: how will it play with automakers?

    Last year, techies, auto journalists, and Apple fans spent a great deal of time debating the existence, technology, and potential prospects of an "Apple car" project that the company never officially acknowledged. The idea that Apple would move from fast-turn, high-volume, very profitable consumer...

  • Electric Avenue charging stations in Portland, Oregon [photo: Portland General Electric]
    Uber urges Portland drivers to lease electric cars

    In the wake of numerous recent PR setbacks, Uber may be able to help clean up its image with the launch of the Uber EV initiative in Portland, which supports the city’s green vision for the future. When you think of electric mobility, California might be the first state to come to...

  • Volvo 40.1 concept
    Future Volvo electric car to be built in China

    Finally joining the bandwagon, Swedish manufacturer Volvo has confirmed that it will introduce its first all-electric vehicle to the market in 2019. The announcement was made last week at the 2017 Shanghai auto show. That proved to be an appropriate stage, as the Chinese-owned maker plans on having...

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