Bengt Halvorson, Senior Editor
Articles
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Tesla Model 3 shuffle, Jaguar I-Pace delivery, and Hyundai first drives: The Week in Reverse Bengt HalvorsonWill Tesla see a groundswell of interest in its new, $45k Model 3 Mid Range, and is it doing the right thing in (perhaps temporarily) dropping the Full Self-Driving option from the configurator?
And...
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Tesla removes Full Self Driving option from website for all modelsFriday marked exactly two years since Tesla announced that every one of its cars was being produced with the hardware needed for Full Self-Driving. Friday was also the first full day that Tesla removed the option from its configurator—at the same time that it introduced a new $45k Model 3 Mid...
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Documents: 60-kwh Nissan Leaf pricing aligned with Chevy Bolt EVEven before the second-generation Leaf was introduced last year, it was an open secret that Nissan planned an extended-range, 60-kwh version of the Leaf. Now our friends CarsDirect have found some documents—U.S. order guides that dealerships plan their orders and marketing...
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Jaguar delivers first I-Pace electric crossover in North AmericaJaguar confirmed its first retail delivery of the I-Pace electric crossover Monday, a few weeks ahead of the company’s early November target for retail sales. The I-Pace isn’t late, but a vehicle like it has been a long time coming. It’s the first of what we can rightfully call a...
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2017-2018 Kia Niro hybrid recall concerns extra heat in the back seatDrive a 2017 Kia Niro (or a 2018) and find your back seat becoming a hot seat? It might be a good idea to stop driving it and call your dealership. In 2017 and some 2018 Kia Niro models, a main relay, within what’s called the power relay assembly, may not have adequate contact connections...
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2019 Hyundai Kona Electric: first drive of affordable 258-mile crossoverOur first test-drive time with the Hyundai Kona Electric included plenty of what’s very familiar to Los Angelenos: plodding along to the next stoplight on wide boulevards, waiting another few minutes, and repeating—with occasional squirts into traffic gaps and quick merges into the...
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UN’s climate catastrophe, Trump’s ethanol, Tesla’s Q3 sales surge: The Week in Reverse Bengt HalvorsonWill some very intriguing products from Bollinger Motors and Faraday Future make it to market?
Electric-vehicle sales surged to new levels in the third quarter of the year, thanks to Tesla. Will it...
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Trump expected to lift E15 ban limiting ethanol in summer gasolinePresident Donald Trump is expected Tuesday to direct the EPA to lift the seasonal ban on higher-ethanol E15 blends of pump gasoline linked to summer smog issues. The move has been anticipated for months. This timing for it, according to Reuters, is aimed at helping Republican candidates in...
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Report: Audi e-tron GT electric sport coupe will fast-charge in 12 minutesAudi revealed last month that its e-tron GT, which is described as a “highly dynamic coupe,” will make its debut at the Los Angeles auto show in November. Although that model isn’t likely to be produced until 2020, at the earliest, it’s shaping up to be one of several...
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How will VW price its next-generation electric vehicles? Think TDIVolkswagen says that it aims to make “electric vehicles for millions, not millionaires” with its next-generation EVs. While that’s a clever tagline, what ultimately will matter to many households who want a new electric vehicle in the driveway is whether they can afford one of...
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Circular economy: Magnets from old hard drives could wind up in EV motorsAs some of the world’s largest automakers ramp up production for a generation of electric vehicles, the supply of one of the most important ingredients—rare-earth elements—is surely a cause for concern. Rare-earth elements—especially neodymium—are in short supply...
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Mazda EVs, Tesla numbers, and questions about EV profitability: The Week in ReverseWill automakers be able to turn a profit on all the electric vehicles under development? And how many Model 3 sedans, again, did Tesla deliver just last month? This is Green Car Reports’ look back at the Week in Reverse, for the week ending October 5, 2018. Friday, we looked at a test of semi...
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Solid-state batteries sometimes sound a bit like the missing link that would punt electric vehicles soundly into mainstream acceptance.
The list of potential virtues for solid-state tech, which would...
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Is the Tesla Model 3 the top-selling car from an American brand?Earlier this week we reported the Model 3 is possibly the fifth best-selling car in the U.S., based on Tesla’s update on deliveries. These Model 3 numbers released Tuesday are likely an anomaly; they’re based on a coordinated surge in U.S. deliveries in September. But also to be fair...
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Algae blooms could be a boon for eco-diesel under DOE-funded projectAlgae-based biodiesel has been hyped in the past as a renewable fuel that can be produced here in the U.S., lowering greenhouse-gas emissions without displacing food crops or taxing water supplies. And yet it still hasn’t arrived in any significant way. There’s no single factor to blame...
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Kia smothers plans to bring Sorento diesel to AmericaThe Kia Sorento may not get a diesel version for the U.S. after all. On the eve of the Paris Motor Show and the introduction of the production-spec Kia Niro EV, company officials have confirmed that it’s shelved plans to bring any diesel model Stateside for now. The hold is officially...
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Volkswagen details the foundation for 10 million electric vehiclesVolkswagen last week laid out the basics for its set of electric-car components that plans to use to underpin a million new all-electric vehicles each year by 2025. With those components on the Modular Electric Toolkit (MEB), VW claims that it has the first pure-EV platform designed for high-volume...
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Here's the battery pack behind VW's global electric-vehicle pushNo single core component in an electric vehicle costs more—or probably matters more for the acceptance of EVs—than the battery pack. Many would argue that one of the best decisions Tesla ever made was going with the Panasonic 18650 cells in the Model S (and later, Model X). Thanks in...
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Volkswagen is expecting to launch at least three new all-electric vehicles in the U.S. in the next five years.
The first will be the 2020 introduction of the ID, a unique electric-only that would...
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2017 Toyota Prius Prime: first drive of new plug-in hybridToyota is the king of electrified powertrains. With more than nine million hybrid vehicles sold worldwide at this point, and well over 5.5 million of those wearing a Prius badge, no other automaker comes close. Yet somehow that expertise and market domination hasn’t resulted in any...
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Tesla deadlines, VW’s V-6 TDI fix, Chevy Bolt EV predictions: The Week In ReverseAt least one analyst thinks GM’s massively underestimating interest in the Chevy Bolt EV. And is it really a surprise that to hear that Elon Musk uses some wishful thinking with deadlines? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week...
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Tesla deadlines aren't meant to be met, Musk says: they just pressure employeesTesla Motors has a history of delays in bringing its cars from the design and prototype stage all the way to normal production. Its Roadster was delayed about nine months from its original anticipated launch, while the Model S was delayed more than six months. And then the Model X was delayed by...
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VW e-Golf likes, dislikes, and surprises: the wrap-upWe have to admit, the Volkswagen e-Golf had us rather charmed from the start. Even based on early Euro-spec prototypes, and when we pitted all-electric against diesel with our back-to-back e-Golf vs. Golf TDI test drive review nearly two years ago, we found a lot of potential in the all-electric...
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Volkswagen e-Golf: real-world range vs. EPA estimates over six-month testThe reality of range—reproducible, real-world daily-driving range—is one of the most important concepts you have to become familiar with if you’re new to electric vehicles. Generally speaking, the faster you drive, the quicker you accelerate, and the more accessories (like climate...
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