John Voelcker, Contributing Editor
Articles
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That huge intake of breath you may have heard from across the Atlantic Ocean was the sound of German carmakers gasping at a court decision handed down on Tuesday.
After a week's delay in issuing its...
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Fake science: University disavows study EPA cited to approve old dirty diesels in "glider" trucksLast November, the Environmental Protection Agency said it would rescind a rule that banned companies from fitting outdated, older, and dirtier diesel engines into brand-new "glider" chassis-cab trucks. Among the many regulations to limit emissions and other forms of pollution that EPA...
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XL Hybrids adds Ford F-250 hybrid to F-150 plug-in hybrid pickups; production to start in MarchThe idea of a Ford F-Series hybrid pickup truck has now been around since August 2011, but its maker now expects to launch such a truck sometime during 2020. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Boston-based XL Hybrids unveiled both a Ford F-250 Super Duty pickup fitted with its XLH hybrid system and an F-150...
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If you own an electric car, what's your at-home charging source? Take our Twitter pollDrivers who buy an electric car that plugs into the power grid to recharge the battery often start to consider the source of their energy. A 2012 analysis from California, in the earliest days of modern electric cars, indicated as many as four in 10 electric-car drivers were already using or...
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Cheaper Lexus hybrids, 2018 Leaf review, Prius lawsuit, FCA diesels, 200K Teslas: Today's Car NewsToday, we've got a road-trip drive report on the new 2018 Nissan Leaf, Tesla's statement on the impending end of tax credits for its buyers, a Toyota Prius lawsuit, and cheaper Lexus hybrids. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Over the weekend, as we do every seven days, we ran down last...
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2018 Nissan Leaf electric car: four-day winter road-trip reviewThe first generation of mass-priced electric cars with ranges of 60 to 90 miles simply didn't have enough range to be used outside predictable daily commute duties and local errands around town. Sure, four-fifths of vehicles in the U.S. cover less than 40 miles a day—but that other fifth...
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Fiat Chrysler will abandon the use of diesel engines in all its passenger vehicles by 2022, according to a report Sunday.
Demand for diesel versions of passenger cars in Europe is waning and car...
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Lexus lowers hybrid prices to reduce premium over gasoline substantiallyGas is cheap in the U.S. and has been for years. Hybrids are no longer a cutting-edge or cool technology; they're just another powertrain. The result is that hybrids have been quietly ebbing as a proportion of total vehicle sales. DON'T MISS: 2018 Lexus RX 450hL hybrid three-row SUV priced from...
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Tesla expects 200,000th U.S. sale this year, electric-car tax credits to start phaseoutIt's been a topic of discussion for years: What will happen when a carmaker reaches the cap on U.S. sales of electric cars that qualify for the full federal tax credit of $7,500? That number is 200,000; after the rest of that calendar quarter and the one following, the credit is halved for a...
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Toyota Prius recall in 2014 failed to fix problem, lawsuit says, may have cut mileageEarly in 2014, Toyota filed a voluntary recall notice with the NHTSA to fix a defect in roughly 800,000 third-generation Prius Liftback hybrids sold in the U.S. from 2010 through 2014. The company said it would make unspecified changes to software that controlled the vehicle's inverter, which...
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Tesla and Nissan EV totals, start-stop surges, RIP Opel Ampera-e, diesel decline: The Week in ReverseWhich German luxury make has killed off its diesel vehicles far ahead of schedule? What two electric-car makers have each now built and sold more than 300,000 vehicles? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending on Friday, February...
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Tesla charging, grim climate studies, Mercedes diesels, Outlander PHEV updates: Today's Car NewsToday, Tesla expands its destination charging to workplaces, some grim climate studies appear, the Outlander PHEV gets a more sophisticated powertrain next year, and Mercedes may have cheated on its diesels too. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Some Tesla drivers will be able to charge at...
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Investigators probing U.S. models of Mercedes-Benz sold with diesel engines have found software, possibly illegal under EPA rules, that helped them pass emission tests.
Such software may be similar...
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2019 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV updates for Europe to debut in GenevaThe Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV has been a huge success in Europe, selling more than 100,000 copies there over several years. As the first and least expensive plug-in hybrid SUV, it received many incentives in different European countries and provided the first taste of plug-in electric driving for...
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Planet at "very high risk" for extreme warming, per leaked UN report; every 5-year delay mattersThe processes of climate change don't care about politics. Or economics. Or public sentiment about science. Last December, an analysis showed the most accurate climate-science models to date predicted the worst effects in future years. Now, two more grim assessments have arrived. DON'T MISS...
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Tesla offers some employers at-work charging stations, for its cars onlyToday, most people charge their electric cars at home, overnight. That's much harder for residents of multiple dwellings or those without dedicated off-street parking, increasing numbers of whom instead recharge during the day while parked at their workplace. Now Tesla plans to make it easier for...
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Hyundai Nexo SUV, Rivian electric pickup in 2020, Nissan eyes end of EV tax credits: Today's Car NewsToday, a bit of clarity on a mysterious auto startup, some verdicts on the Hyundai Nexo fuel-cell SUV, and a look at how Nissan and others may handle the end of electric-car tax credits. All this and more on Green Car Reports. What will happen when electric-car tax credits expire, and how will each...
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Electric pickup truck in 2020 to launch mysterious Rivian's "future mobility"When a mysterious company called Rivian issued a mysterious video in January 2017, it promised to "reshape mobility." As is often the case, that has turned out to involve electric cars. A year later, the company has released a few more details about its plans and its team. DON'T MISS: Chinese...
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The Hyundai Nexo hydrogen fuel-cell SUV that debuted last month at the Consumer Electronics Show won't be seen on California roads for many months yet.
It is expected to go on sale in the U.S. in the...
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Electric-car sales champ, more Zoe power, Lexus UX launch, hydrogen station density: Today's Car NewsToday, we've got a more powerful Renault Zoe, a new hybrid crossover for Geneva, the same old electric-car global sales champ, and some analysis on hydrogen fueling station numbers. All this and more on Green Car Reports. We asked our Twitter followers where we'll see the most electric-car...
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China's BYD tops global electric-car production for third year in a rowTry asking any electric-car owner or advocate, or for that matter any member of the public, which automaker sold the most electric cars last year. In North America, the answer will likely be Tesla, or possibly Nissan or Chevrolet. But we'd bet you hear Tesla most often. The correct answer for...
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2018 Renault Zoe electric car: more powerful motor to go with last year's bigger batteryThe subcompact Renault Zoe hatchback has been Europe's best-selling electric car for several years now. Last year, sales soared after it received a major upgrade to its battery pack, which grew to 41 kilowatt-hours, up from 22 kwh in earlier versions, almost doubling its range to 300 to 400...
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Germany's hydrogen stations exceed US; California beats Japan on densityAs of today, there are 39 hydrogen fueling stations in the U.S., all but four of them in the state of California. They serve roughly 39 million Californians, whereas 284 million Americans outside the state have no access to hydrogen fuel-cell cars nor stations at which to refill them. Germany, on...
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Where will we see the most electric-car innovation? Twitter poll resultsInnovation can be a hard concept to define as it relates to electric cars. Sure, there are the powertrains and structural designs of the vehicles themselves—including new proportions for the cabin enabled by the compact running gear and battery packs under the floor. But there are also many...
John Voelcker