Green Car News
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After being teased last week, the Chevrolet FNR-X Concept crossover made its debut yesterday at the Shanghai auto show. The new shape, which sports a plug-in hybrid powertrain, is intended to showcase the design talents of Chevy's Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center in Shanghai It's the second concept to be named FNR—for "Find New Roads," Chevrolet's global tagline—but the first as a globally popular crossover utility vehicle: the FNR unveiled two years ago at the same show was a sports car. DON'T MISS: Is Chevy FNR-X concept the plug-in hybrid CrossVolt SUV? The Pan Asia design...
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Most Fords will be hybrid or electric by 2025 ... in ChinaFord has aggressive electrification plans for China. In a recent announcement, the U.S. automaker said that 70 percent of the vehicles it sells in the country by 2025 will be hybrids—either plug-in or conventional—or fully electric. Ford builds vehicles in China through a joint venture...
Zach Bowman -
Audi e-tron Sportback Concept: full electic-car details, photos from Shanghai auto showAudi has injected a dash of sporting character and a look at the future of electric-vehicle design into its latest e-tron concept car, which made its debut at the 2017 Shanghai auto show. The Audi e-tron Sportback Concept previews a coupe-esque electric utility vehicle to come following the...
Sean Szymkowski -
2018 (?) Honda CR-V Hybrid all but confirmed for U.S. sale after Shanghai debutIt's one of the more frequently asked questions on consumer car sites: why aren't there any hybrid crossover utility vehicles? The Ford Escape Hybrid reigned alone in that segment from 2004 through 2012. Then Ford simply walked away from the segment, replacing it with the underwhelming C-Max Hybrid...
John Voelcker -
Hybrid Honda CR-V, VW diesel discounts, hydrogen heavy hauler, Model X updates: Today's Car NewsToday, we've got more from the influential Shanghai auto show, more Tesla updates, the end of debate over climate science, and a huge heavy-duty hydrogen vehicle. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Following yesterday's update on 2017 Tesla Model S price and feature changes, today we updated...
John Voelcker -
Toyota 'Project Portal' hydrogen fuel-cell heavy-duty semi tractor as proof of conceptThe challenges of building fueling infrastructure for passenger cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells are well known by now. Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai now lease low volumes of fuel-cell vehicles in selected areas of California where a few dozen hydrogen fueling stations are now up and running. The...
John Voelcker -
It's mixed news these days for those concerned about continuing manmade climate change. On the one hand, global carbon emissions were flat for the third year in a row, increasing numbers of global corporations have lined up to support climate-change reduction efforts, and electric power is getting cleaner as coal slowly ebbs as a fuel despite the administration's promises to coal miners. On the other hand ... Donald Trump. DON'T MISS: How to curb climate change yourself: drive a more efficient car Diametrically contrary to his predecessor, the current U.S. president has denied the accepted...
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Modified 'new' 2015 Volkswagen TDI diesels come with big discountsIf you're itching to climb into a brand new, 2015 Volkswagen TDI, the german automaker wants to sweeten the deal for you. Volkswagen has begun selling its fixed, 2015 model year TDI diesel vehicles and the marque has given dealers a bit of firepower to help move cars from dealerships to driveways...
Sean Szymkowski -
2017 Tesla Model X electric-car pricing, feature changesTesla has released updated pricing and features for its 2017 Tesla Model X all-electric crossover utility vehicle, including lower prices for both the 75D and 90D models. Like the changes released at the same time to the Model S sedan, the new lineup increases the distance between the two lower-end...
Zach Bowman -
VW diesels back, Shanghai show news, Model S prices, electric-car fast charging: Today's Car NewsToday, we've got three separate Volkswagen stories: one on a new all-electric concept car, one on the return of (a few) VW TDI diesels, and one on its Electrify America plan. Plus, more Tesla Model S electric luxury sedan changes! All this and more on Green Car Reports. As we've noted before, this...
John Voelcker -
VW Electrify America plan for electric-car charging across U.S. releasedTwo billion dollars is a lot of money. When VW Group of America agreed to fund a $2 billion project to spread zero-emission vehicle infrastructure across the U.S. as part of its settlements in the Volkswagen diesel emission scandal, that immediately changed the playing field for electric-car fast...
John Voelcker -
What's the best Porsche Panamera? It's a plug-in hybrid nowThe top 2018 Porsche Panamera that money can buy now comes with a plug. That’s according to Porsche Cars North America’s Chief Operating Officer Joe Lawrence, who said as much to Green Car Reports last week during the 2017 New York auto show. “I think what we have with the (2018...
Aaron Cole -
It is widely accepted in the energy industry that U.S. coal production will fall as a percentage of the total electric grid mix. That has little to do with its high carbon footprint per kilowatt-hour generated; it is largely due to far greater supplies of much cheaper fracked natural gas. It is also widely accepted that renewable energy sources will increase as a proportion of the total as technology advances continue to lower their costs—and that unpredictable wind and solar generation may threaten grid stability. DON'T MISS: Clean Power Plan carbon cuts may survive, even if Trump EPA...
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2017 Tesla Model S pricing, feature changes: breaking them down in detailAs its owners know, although much of the car-buying world doesn't, Tesla doesn't believe in the idea of model years. Rather than updating its electric cars each autumn, to correspond to a new model year, it simply changes them when it feels the updates are ready. This can lead to some confusion...
John Voelcker -
Brand-new 2015 Volkswagen TDI diesels back on sale after modificationsIf you're a diehard diesel fan, you now have one last chance to buy a brand-new Volkswagen TDI diesel car. Well, almost brand-new, anyhow: the cars in question are 2015 models, and about 11,000 of them will go on sale after they have been modified. Once they're sold, there will likely be no more...
John Voelcker -
Volkswagen ID Crozz concept for all-electric crossover debuts at Shanghai auto showThe Chinese government wants more plug-in electric cars sold in the country—and quickly. The Shanghai auto show this week demonstrates that multiple global automakers are stepping up to the plate, both with production cars and concepts. The Volkswagen ID Crozz Concept shows what a future...
John Voelcker -
Electric jet, Cadillac plug-in hybrid, European diesel sales, another Audi e-tron: Today's Car NewsToday, we've got another preview from the important Shanghai auto show, some Eurodiesel news, a first drive of a plug-in hybrid Cadillac, and the audacious idea of an electric airplane All this and more on Green Car Reports. A new electric-jet startup has some important backers: Boeing and JetBlue...
John Voelcker -
2017 Cadillac CT6 plug-in hybrid sedan reviewed by LA TimesWhile the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid and the Chevy Malibu Hybrid rack up four-figure sales in most months, the third vehicle to use elements of that same drivetrain remains all but invisible in the U.S. That's the 2017 Cadillac CT6 Plug-In Hybrid, a version of the CT6 large luxury sedan from...
John Voelcker -
Despite efforts by Chevrolet to step into the void left by Volkswagen, sales of diesel passenger vehicles in the U.S. may have been permanently crippled by the VW diesel emission scandal. In Europe, however, diesel has been entrenched for decades as roughly 50 percent of the market. Even before the scandal, it wasn't expected to rise much beyond that—so the question became to what degree the global VW scandal would tarnish sales of all diesels. DON'T MISS: Here's which VW TDIs can and cannot be fixed Thus far, it appears that the effect hasn't been that large. According to statistics...
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All-electric Audi e-tron Sportback concept teased for Shanghai auto showThe Shanghai auto show is shaping up to be a showcase for all the green cars and concepts that were absent from last week's New York auto show. Among them is a concept for a "four-door coupe" version of the Audi e-tron all-electric SUV that'll go into production sometime next year. The Audi e-Tron...
John Voelcker -
Electric jet startup is backed by Boeing and JetBlueSeattle-based startup Zunum Aero has received funding from Boeing HorizonX and JetBlue Technology Ventures toward making its dream of electrified air travel a reality. Sometimes billed as the Tesla of the airplane industry, Zunum is developing a relatively small regional aircraft with about 700...
Green Car Reports -
What U.S. cities have the most solar power? New report lays it outCities across the U.S. are working to limit their emissions of climate-change gases turning to solar power, among other tactics. In 2016, programs focused on bringing the benefits of photovoltaic solar power to business and residents helped to expand that capacity with record-breaking growth...
Green Car Reports -
Leaf vs Bolt EV, Tesla pickup, cheaper Prius, Honda's plug-in Clarity pair: The Week in ReverseWhich carmaker launched the first-ever pursuit-rated hybrid police car? What do automakers really want the EPA to do about those 2022 through 2025 vehicle emission rules? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending on Friday, April...
John Voelcker -
Tesla trucks, 217-mph Lucid electric, cheaper Prius hybrid, and puppies: Today's Car NewsToday, Elon Musk tweets, Toyota offers a cheaper Prius, a luxury electric sedan crosses 200 mph, and ... adorable doggies, too! All this and more on Green Car Reports. Elon Musk tweeted some news about future Tesla products: how about an electric semi and then a pickup truck too? Sales of the...
John Voelcker