Green Car News

The Nissan Leaf is by far the highest-volume electric car ever sold, with total sales now having passed 250,000 units. First launched in 2011, the Leaf got some updates for the 2013 model when production for North American sales moved from Oppama, Japan, to Smyrna, Tennessee. It got a battery...

The news on the renewable energy front continues to be good, with the costs of wind and solar generation falling steadily. By some measures, large-scale renewable energy is now cost-competitive (or close) with the most efficient natural-gas electric plants. Moreover, the amounts of clean generating...

The past week has not been a particularly pleasant one for advocates of diesel cars. Volkswagen agreed to plead guilty to criminal counts related to its diesel-emissions cheating and pay $4.3 billion in fines, while U.S. prosecutors arrested one of the company's executives and indicted five more...

It's a hot topic whenever anyone mentions electric cars: pricing. Many electric cars are more expensive than their regular counterparts, though in general they cost far less to run on a per-mile basis. But what do today's electric and plug-in cars actually cost? We've gathered the relevant data for...

Today, we have a state-by-state launch schedule for the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, the U.S. Justice Department launches a criminal probe of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles diesels, while Volkswagen settles its diesel-cheating case with the Justice Department. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Read...

Last week, Volkswagen settled an array of criminal and civil charges over its 16-month-old diesel scandal with the U.S. Justice Department. The news of the settlement was quickly swamped by a variety of further stories, both on the regulatory and diesel fronts. Those included the arrest of one...

In the waning months of 2016, no dramatic changes occurred in European plug-in electric car sales. The established players remained on top of the sales charts, in virtually the same sequence seen in previous months. The Renault Zoe was again the best-selling electric car in Europe between January...

This might not seem to be the most convenient moment to restart production of a gaggle of diesel cars. The Volkswagen diesel scandal continues to unfold, and last week the EPA accused Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) of failing to reveal eight separate software routines that altered the behavior of...

Last month, the first Chevrolet Bolt EV electric cars were sold in California's Silicon Valley. Electric-car advocates and buyers across the U.S. now want to know when they too can expect to take delivery of their 238-mile electric hatchbacks. And as numerous comments and e-mails from readers...

The differences between gasoline and diesel engines lie not only in their fuels, but in how those fuels are ignited. Gasoline engines use spark plugs, while diesels simply use compression. But it is possible to ignite gasoline in an internal-combustion engine with compression, as in a diesel. DON'T...

Formerly the domain of heavy-duty pickups, diesel engines are slowly creeping into smaller trucks. Ram arguably started the most recent trend with the 1500's 3.0-liter EcoDiesel V6. General Motors sells diesel-powered Chevrolet Colorados and GMC Canyons. Now, the Ford F-150 is getting in on the...

While modern electric cars have only been available in large numbers for a few years, electric trains have been commonplace for some time. As with electric cars, the source of the electricity used to power these trains impacts their overall carbon footprint. The cleaner an energy source, the...

It's been a busy week for U.S. agencies as they release information on their final actions before a new administration takes office. Yesterday the U.S. Department of Justice reportedly opened a criminal probe into the actions of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles over the emission certification of its...

Which U.S. automaker may have its own diesel emission problem (though it's different to those bedeviling VW)? And what all-new version of an extremely popular hybrid sedan broke cover at this week's Detroit Auto Show? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car...

Today, the U.S. Justice Department indicts Volkswagen executives in connection to the diesel scandal, details on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's claims that Ram and Jeep diesel vehicles used "defeat devices," and Tesla releases "Ludicrous Plus" mode for its P100D performance models. All...

Tesla announced in November that it would end free unlimited use of its Supercharger DC fast-charging stations. Now that the cutoff point for that perk has arrived, the company is offering more details on Supercharger pricing. The new rates take effect for buyers who ordered a Tesla electric car...

On Wednesday, six senior VW Group executives were indicted by the Justice Department on multiple counts of conspiracy and intent to defraud. The charges include conspiracy to defraud the United States, to defraud customers, and to violate the Clean Air Act. All stemmed from the Volkswagen diesel...

It has long been official Chinese government industrial policy to dominate the world's production of lithium-ion battery cells and to establish a commanding electric-car industry. This would not only position the country in crucial industries of the future but give it a way to start attacking the...

China is now the world's largest new-car market, but no native Chinese manufacturers sell passenger cars in the U.S. At least one of those manufacturers is at least considering having a go at the U.S. market. GAC appeared this week at the 2017 Detroit Auto Show with three vehicles, including an...

As well as software updates to add back Autopilot functionality in its latest cars, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has hinted on Twitter at an update to improve performance even further. Musk recently teased a software update that would allow the latest Model S P100D to do 0 to 60 mph in 2.4...