Bengt Halvorson, Senior Editor
Articles
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The Lexus LF-SA Concept that made a first appearance this past month at the Geneva Motor Show definitely pushes the brand into unexpected design territory—and down to an unexpectedly small...
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Why Toyota’s Scion Brand Isn’t Planning A Hybrid Or Electric Car Anytime SoonToyota’s Scion small-car brand has been called a laboratory; and it seems like the perfect testbed for new plug-in hybrid or full electric-car products. Yet you won’t see any of those from the brand—not even hybrids—in the lineup anytime soon. The reason why is that the...
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Canadian Club: The Small Cars That U.S. Buyers Can’t HaveCanada is bigger than the U.S.; the distances are equally vast; and there’s way more land area per person. And yet Canadians tend to buy smaller cars. Why is this? The simple answer, at least from the south side of the border, is that Canadians are less ostentatious. They typically spend...
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Fiat 500e Deals, BMW X5 Plug-In, Tesla Ends Range Anxiety: The Week In Reverse (Video)Want to know how Tesla will end range anxiety? And how some California enthusiasts got such a great deal on the Fiat 500e? This is our video look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending Friday, March 20, 2015. This week, we looked at the features...
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Electric Highway Now Covers Much Of WA, OR: Will CA Follow?If you’ve been thinking of making a electric-car road trip, the Pacific Northwest is a good place for it. And a quick study of the ‘Electric Highway Map,’ released by the West Coast Electric Highway earlier this year [and at the bottom of this page, as well as here], makes it easy...
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Koenigsegg Regera Supercar: A New Configuration For Plug-In Hybrids?Hybrid powertrains used to always tag vehicles as optimized for fuel efficiency. But that’s changed in very pronounced ways the past several years, as the fastest supercars in the world--from McLaren, Ferrari, and Porsche--have all adopted some form of hybrid technology that helps with...
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Would you be more likely to use car-sharing if you could bring your bike along? For Portlanders, that will soon be a real possibility, as 250 vehicles in its Car2Go fleet will get bike racks.
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Nissan Qashqai ZEOD Plug-In Concept Confirmed For Later This YearIs a plug-in version of the Rogue compact crossover joining the Nissan U.S. lineup anytime soon? Based on comments made by Nissan officials this week at the Geneva Motor Show, it’s a distinct possibility. As part of his speech presenting the Sway Concept, which points to the design direction...
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New Quant Flow-Cell Car Concepts Arrive, Still Dodgy On DetailsThe company NanoFlowcell offered an attention-getting list of claims for the Quant F prototype it revealed at the Geneva Motor Show this past week. They included an unlimited power source, zero emissions, acceleration from 0 to 62 mph in 2.8 seconds, and a top speed of 186 mph. Last year at Geneva...
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Nissan Sway Concept Sets The Look For Future Small Cars—And Leaf?The Nissan Sway concept, shown this past week at the Geneva Motor Show, consolidates some of Nissan’s design themes into a single expression that’s important for Europe. Although it’s worth wondering: Are we also seeing a first glimpse of the look of the next Nissan Leaf electric...
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2017 Audi R8 e-tron All-Electric Sports Car: Live Photos From Geneva Motor ShowThe all-new Audi R8 sports car was officially unveiled today at the Geneva Motor Show, including the limited-production R8 e-tron battery electric version. Audi had previously released some advance information—including the first official details—about the all-electric R8 e-tron sports...
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2016 Volt Powertrain, Electric-Car Performance, Tesla Again At The Top: The Week In Reverse (Video)Interested in the powertrain technology in the 2016 Volt? Or the performance potential in electric cars? Of course you are. This is our video look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending on Friday, February 27, 2015. If you think pure electric...
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Nearly five years ago, as a tidal wave of charging stations were rapidly planned for some West Coast regions, in support of a new wave of all-electric and plug-in vehicles, the question may have...
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New 2016 Smart ForTwo Will Keep Older Electric Drive Model In LineupAttracted by the new look, much-improved feature set, and better fuel economy ratings of the all-new 2016 Smart Fortwo? You’ll have to wait another six to eight months before you’ll find it at U.S. dealerships. On the other hand, if it’s the next generation of the all-electric...
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Future Volkswagen Plug-Ins Will All Have CCS Fast-ChargingVolkswagen plans to take full advantage of the SAE-approved CCS Combo-plug standard for fast charging. It's so committed to the standard, in fact, that it plans to include Combo-plug capability on every plug-in vehicle, looking ahead. Michael Horn, Volkswagen’s U.S. CEO, confirmed the feature...
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Electric-Car Road Trips: Be Prepared, With Charging Apps And RealismThinking about taking your electric car on a road trip? Be prepared, and you’ll probably be pleasantly surprised by how smoothly it can go. If you plan to take a trip outside of your normal comfort zone, it’s now possible in many regions of the country. It just takes a little advance...
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2015 Kia Soul EV: First Drive Of Newest Electric CarThe hamsters are back in Kia’s ads for its new Soul EV all-electric hatchback. And while their geeky, sexy, danceable 'science experiment' is definitely memorable, after driving the 2015 Kia Soul EV we have to wonder if perhaps the Energizer Bunny would have been a better cheer-creature. More...
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Toyota i-Road Electric City Car: Here's How It LeansToyota might not be planning to invest in a mainstream electric vehicle for the U.S. anytime soon, but now, globally, it has this oddity: the i-Road. As we caught last month in this demonstration at the Paris Auto Show, the i-Road is driven at the front wheels by twin 2-kW electric motors, and...
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What will the next-generation 2018 Nissan Leaf electric car look like?
No actual photos, or even teasers, have yet been released.
Despite that, we're gradually getting a better picture: It'll still...
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Ghosn: Nissan Not Tied To Its Own Electric-Car Batteries, Will Seek Other Suppliers PragmaticallyBatteries are the key component in building practical electric cars. And for its first all-electric Leaf in 2011, Nissan developed its own proprietary lithium-ion battery pack--even planning and setting up its own assembly facilities to build them. That trajectory started back in 2007, but today...
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Mercedes S-Class Plug-In Driven, Nissan Batteries, Kia Soul EV: The Week In ReverseWe test a plug-in version of the largest, most luxurious Mercedes sedan, wonder if Nissan is charting a change in the direction of its battery sourcing, and get some of the numbers that matter for the Kia Soul EV. This is The Week In Reverse for Friday, September 19, here at Green Car Reports. A...
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Outlander Plug-In, Downsized Pickups, Tesla Chooses Nevada: The Week In ReverseWe drive Mitsubishi’s plug-in SUV, and wonder if downsized pickups really are a bigger thing than automakers project. And guess who’s now neighbors with the Mustang Ranch? This is The Week In Reverse for Friday, September 12, here at Green Car Reports. This week at Green Car Reports, we...
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The Future Of Volt And Leaf, VW e-Golf Priced, Electric-Car Hamsters: The Week In ReverseWe look ahead to the next Volt and Leaf, get a first look at the only seven-passenger plug-in hybrid, and a price for the Volkswagen e-Golf. And guess who's using hamsters to market an electric car. It's The Week In Reverse for Friday, August 29, 2014, right here at Green Car Reports. This week at...
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2016 Audi A3 e-tron: First DrivePlug-in hybrids like the 2016 Audi A3 e-tron—especially those with well-tuned responses and zippy performance—are the evangelists that have the best chance of converting the masses to the joys of all-electric motoring. Yes, electric-car fans, please set aside your all-the-way-or-nothing...
Bengt Halvorson