John Voelcker, Contributing Editor
Articles
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Car production data may cause some eyes to glaze over, but the numbers are closely followed in the auto industry.
Electric-car maker Tesla Motors doesn't report its exact sales, nor its precise...
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2014 Detroit Auto Show: Summing Up The Cars And ConceptsAnother year, another Detroit Auto Show. The public won't pass through the doors of Cobo Hall until Friday, but the world's media have largely departed after two days' worth of press previews. It felt like a somewhat flat show, despite rah-rah coverage in the local press, and it really had only...
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Tesla Recall: Over-The-Air Updates, NEMA Connectors, And MoreEvery carmaker puts its own interpretation on news, especially at Detroit Auto Show. So it's reasonable for Tesla Motors to cast an NHTSA recall yesterday as an example of its ability to respond swiftly and effectively to update its Model S electric car to make the customer experience even better...
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2015 Honda Fit: Full Details From 2014 Detroit Auto ShowThe all-new 2015 Honda Fit was unveiled this afternoon at the Detroit Auto Show--one of very few cars that could conceivably be deemed "green" at an event dominated by the huge new 2015 Ford F-150 full-size pickup truck. The new Fit is a complete redesign of the five-door subcompact that won raves...
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2015 Ford F-150 Aluminum Body, Smaller Engines: Details EmergeThe 2015 Ford F-150 full-size pickup truck won't be unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show until tomorrow morning, but some details of its innovations to boost gas mileage have emerged already. Ford apparently gave exclusive details to The New York Times, which reports that the new truck will use an...
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Electric-Car Trivia: When Was Regenerative Braking First Used?Regenerative braking is a standard and expected part of any electrified car now, from Honda's mild hybrids up through battery-electric vehicles like the Tesla Model S. It lets the car recapture energy from momentum, which would otherwise be wasted as brake heat, by running the electric motor in...
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Bad news for fans of diesel passenger cars, it seems.
Mazda said today that the launch of its new SkyActiv-D diesel engine would be delayed past the previous date of sometime this spring.
A terse...
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With Demand Soaring, Nissan Leaf U.S. Production Could Double This YearWith the 2014 Nissan Leaf going on sale this week and next, Nissan is poised to expand production and dramatically boost sales of its U.S.-built battery-electric hatchback. And if its CEO has his way, sales will double in 2014, from the 22,610 Leafs delivered in 2013 to 40,000 or more, perhaps as...
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2014 Nissan Leaf Electric Car: 84-Mile Range, RearView Monitor StandardThe 2014 Nissan Leaf is now rolling off the assembly lines in Tennessee, and the first examples should arrive at dealerships this week or next. Now, after a long wait, we have information on the updates to the electric car for the new model year. Rated range rises to 84 miles Most importantly to...
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Volkswagen Passat BlueMotion Concept: High-MPG Model At Detroit Auto ShowAt next week's Detroit Auto Show, VW will take the wraps off a concept car that previews a new and more fuel-efficient version of its mainstream Passat mid-size sedan. The Volkswagen Passat BlueMotion Concept features a direct-injected and turbocharged 150-horsepower, 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine...
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2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel: Diesel SUV Fuel Economy TestedDiesel engines are now offered in a growing number of passenger vehicles on sale this year and next, especially crossovers and sport utilities. The 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel is one of two popular models this year that offer a good test of how attractive buyers find today's modern diesels...
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Should GM Buy Tesla? What Would Be The Pros And Cons?The suggestion hit the day before Christmas: Analyst Yra Harris of Praxis Trading predicted in a CNBC interview that General Motors might buy Tesla Motors sometime in 2014. Harris called it "a perfect fit" for one of the three largest carmakers in the world to buy the closely-watched Silicon Valley...
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In their third full year of sales, more plug-in electric cars were sold in the U.S. than ever before.
The 2013 total of roughly 96,000 90,000 electric vehicles didn't quite double the 2012 total of...
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Toyota FCV Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Test Cars, Concept Shown At CESToyota revealed a bit more about its plans to offer a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle for sale next year, at a press event held today at the opening of the huge Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The company sounded a confident note on the prospects for electric vehicles that use power generated...
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Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-In Hybrid SUV Now Delayed Til 2015 In U.S.The Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-In Hybrid has generated a fair bit of attention, as the only plug-in hybrid sport utility vehicle thus far that will be offered for sale in the U.S. But potential buyers will have to wait a little longer, it turns out, due to high demand in other parts of the world and...
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Volkswagen, Audi & Porsche Grow Diesel Sales Beyond 100,000 In 2013For drivers whose travel include long stretches of high-speed highways, diesel cars offer a fuel-efficient alternative to gasoline vehicles. For many years, the biggest seller of diesel vehicles in the U.S. has been Volkswagen--more recently joined by its corporate siblings Audi and Porsche. MORE...
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2014 Mazda CX-5 2.5-liter SkyActiv: Gas Mileage Drive ReportWhile hybrids are one way to get good gas mileage in a variety of cars, another way is to wring every last drop of efficiency out of new and highly-efficient gasoline engines and transmissions. That's the path Mazda's taken, and it seems to be working. Two overachievers Almost two years ago, we...
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One Ford F-150 Pickup Driver Profile--Why He Likes Electric CarsAs we noted in our roundup of most popular stories last year, the topic of covering pickup trucks turned controversial on Green Car Reports this year. It started with a story on how what technologies we expect to be used for the 2015 Ford F-150 to boost its fuel economy from the current 18 mpg...
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It's a given that the costs of batteries for electric cars will fall in the coming years.
The industry hotly debates how much and how fast--after interviewing numerous auto and battery engineers, our...
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Mercedes-Benz GLK 250 BlueTEC Diesel: Luxury Crossover Fuel EconomyThis year has seen several new diesel passenger vehicles hit U.S. roads, and last fall, we were able to spend a full weekend with the 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK 250 BlueTEC 4matic crossover. We'd driven the luxury compact utility vehicle for a day last spring, and enjoyed it--but we wanted to put it...
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2013-2014 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid Recall: Transmission Sensor IssueSlightly more than 7,000 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid sedans from the 2013 and 2014 model years are being recalled for a potential problem that could allow the car to be shifted into gear without the brake pedal being applied. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's SaferCar.gov lists a recall...
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Renewable 'Pedal Power' To Light Times Square Ball TonightNever let it be said that New York City doesn't get everything it can out of its 50 million-plus tourist visitors each year. In this case, it's pedal-powered energy to offset the roughly 50 kilowatt-hours of electricity consumed by the famous lighted ball that drops to signal the New Year. Times...
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Electric-Car Evangelism, Ethanol Angst, Anne Hathaway, Energy Of The Future: Today's Car NewsToday on Green Car Reports: We start to run down what's happened in green-car news and social media, an electric-car evangelist explains how it's done, and ethanol faces strong headwinds in next year's Congress. All this and more on Green Car Reports. While hydrogen-powered vehicles like the 2015...
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Green Car Reports Year In Reverse: Our Five Biggest StoriesAt the end of every year, we look back at our traffic to identify the most popular stories we've published. Some of them may be evergreen topics that draw consistent traffic--three of the five were first published in 2012--while others are news or reviews that really took off and captured readers'...
John Voelcker