Green Car News

Tesla hacks and California regulations make headlines today.

The word "hack" is a little over-used in today's lexicon, but in the general sense it refers to the process of cracking the software system of a computer, a smartphone--or a car. Many electric cars roll those three categories into one, and now the organizers of a computer security conference have...

A few years ago the concept of a green sports car would have been completely alien, but fast-forward a few years and the market has changed significantly. Tesla, for a time, produced its electric Roadster. Ferrari, Porsche and McLaren have all released hybrid hypercars. And with its next-generation...

We're starting to hear a lot about hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles from Hyundai, Toyota, and Honda--and we're going to hear a great deal more about them in the years to come. The first 2015 Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell was leased last month, and Toyota will bring its own hydrogen-powered vehicle into...

Drivers in the U.S. are finally coming around to the idea of diesel cars, it seems--as sales have increased by 25 percent during the first six months of 2014. In data compiled by HybridCars and Baum and Associates (via Diesel Technology Forum), diesels show six consecutive months of sales growth in...

While Toyota's Scion xB really invented the modern "tall wagon" category, the runaway sales champion in the segment is the Kia Soul. And among the also-rans sits the even-funkier-than-Soul 2014 Nissan Cube, with its asymmetric wraparound rear window and small dash-top panel for growing grass. Sales...

Today on Green Car Reports: Tesla sees another eruption of copyright challenges in China, the natural-gas vehicle industry talks about diesel fuel, and we get the range and efficiency ratings from the EPA for the first Mercedes-Benz electric car. All this and more on Green Car Reports. The 2014...

The 2014 Mercedes-Benz B-Class electric car hasn't quite reached dealerships yet--several are telling customers it could be next week--and its EPA ratings for range and efficiency have been something of a mystery too. Now, courtesy of an alert electric-car fan, we know the ratings for the first...

Whether you call them fuel-economy standards or carbon-emission limits, new vehicles sold in North America, Europe, China, and elsewhere are subject to regulations that will require them to get more energy-efficient. Now, another country is discussing new regulations that would require both new and...

Tesla is once again facing copyright issues over its name in China, up against a trend the industry knows as "trademark trolls". When Tesla first made plans to sell cars in China, it came up against a businessman called Zhan Baosheng. Zhan had trademarked the Tesla name for automotive back in 2006...

As you drive your shiny new Nissan Leaf out of the dealership in silence and zero-emissions cleanliness, it's easy to forget all the resources and energy that have gone into building it. Those are a necessary evil as far as car production goes, but companies like Nissan are doing their best to...

Today on Green Car Reports: Our resident Tesla Model S owner weighs in on the BMW i3, we learn more about the upcoming all-new Smart ForTwo minicar, and we offer advice on the best way to ride long distances on electric motorcycles. All this and more on Green Car Reports. How does a Tesla Model S...

Several reports in general news media recently have touted the new 2014 BMW i3 electric car as a serious challenger to the Tesla Model S. One writer even went so far as to label the i3 a "Tesla killer." Dream on. There's no way a frumpy-looking little 2+2 city car is going to challenge the mighty...

Daimler's Smart brand has spent the last few years releasing concepts that preview the look of its next-generation city car, but the car itself has remained frustratingly under wraps. Now we've got our best look yet at the form of the new cars, in an official video from Smart itself. The video...

Volvo's long-term powertrain strategy is all about four-cylinder engines. Gone are the firm's long-standing five-cylinder gasoline and diesel units, and gone is the old XC90's V-8--replaced, in the next-generation car, with a power unit Volvo calls 'Twin Engine'. Using an intriguing mix of...

If it's worth saying once, it bears repeating a hundred times: The best way to get people to buy electric cars is to put them behind the wheel. One German journalist has done just that, buying a BMW i3 electric car despite protestations from colleagues that the price, short range and lack of...

If you're in the market for a new compact car and want to improve your gas mileage, what do you buy? You could opt for the latest hybrid or diesel models, or even an electric car like the Nissan Leaf. But if those are a little outside your comfort zone, you could do worse than to look at the latest...

"Nobody knows or can know how much oil exists under the earth's surface or how much it will be possible to produce in the future." That's how BP starts its website page defining oil reserves, and it's why we should take statistics like "53.3 years of oil reserves" with a pinch of salt. But...

Tesla Motors is assisting Los Angeles police and fire departments in their investigation following the high-speed crash of a stolen Tesla Model S early Friday morning. Officers reported chasing the Model S at speeds of up to 100 mph before the stolen vehicle hit another car on North La Brea Avenue...

European cities aren't always that easy to navigate when you're in a car. They twist and turn through narrow, busy streets constrained by the topography and architecture, designed long before powered vehicles were prevalent. If that's not enough, one European city--the Spanish capital Madrid--is...