John Voelcker, Contributing Editor
Articles
-
Want to drive a Chinese car--and a plug-in hybrid at that?
There are none offered for sale in the U.S. or Canada yet, but if you happen to be on vacation in Costa Rica--or living there--you'll have a...
-
Chevy Volt's Wind Thrumming Noise: Aero Fix Now AvailableIt's become a common part of road testing: Get the car up to speed, then roll down a window to see how bad the drumming and buffeting gets. Never experienced it? Try it on your own car sometime. Now, it turns out, there's an aerodynamic add-on fix available to cure the worst of the thrumming...
John Voelcker -
Buying A Used Toyota Prius Hybrid: 5 Quick Pieces Of AdviceThe Toyota Prius is by far the most common hybrid car on U.S. roads, which means there are a lot of them out there for sale as used cars. A reader wrote to ask what she should keep in mind when starting to shop for a used Toyota Prius hybrid. What follows are some quick notes from our editors...
John Voelcker -
FINAL UPDATE: Plug-In Electric Car Sales For November: Down On OctoberAs the year winds toward a close, U.S. car sales are at their highest levels in years. And modern plug-in electric cars will set a new sales record too. With one month left, November deliveries of cars with plugs looked like they'll hold steady with last month's--but as the final numbers came in...
John Voelcker -
Can Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Vehicles Compete With Electric Cars?Suddenly, hydrogen fuel-cell cars are back in the news. Headlines have proclaimed a coming battle between plug-in electric cars and the new shining hope, hydrogen-powered vehicles. Three automakers--Honda, Hyundai, and Toyota--will offer fuel-cell cars to consumers by the end of 2015, albeit in...
John Voelcker -
2015 Ford Mustang Revealed, With First 4-Cylinder Since 1993 (Photos)You may or may not be aware that the new 2015 Ford Mustang has now officially been unveiled. Perhaps you saw it this morning on Good Morning America, or came across some of the other coverage that's emerged over the last couple of days. MORE: 2015 Ford Mustang Preview: Official Photos And Video The...
John Voelcker -
Hyundai is an aggressive company, and that applies to its green cars as much as the bread-and-butter sedans and crossovers it sells in growing numbers.
So when the company approached Green Car...
-
2015 Volkswagen e-Golf Electric Car: Los Angeles Auto Show VideoWalking through the Volkswagen stand at the Los Angeles Auto Show, you would have seen quite a few 2015 Volkswagen Golf models. But a blue one over in the corner was more special than it may have looked: It was the 2015 Volkswagen e-Golf, the battery-electric version of the all-new seventh...
John Voelcker -
Why Gas Mileage In Canada Is Very DifferentYour mileage may vary from the published estimates, as all drivers know. But it turns out it may vary more in Canada, whose fuel-efficiency ratings are higher than those from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for an identical car. That's because the Canadian authorities use a two-cycle...
John Voelcker -
Electric-Car Charging-Station Tax Credit Expires On Dec 31stConsider this your last warning: If you're planning on getting a charging station for a plug-in electric car, you only have 30 days. More specifically, at least, you'll have to get it up and running by December 31 this year in order to take advantage of a Federal income-tax credit of 30 percent of...
John Voelcker -
Branding Bad: 10 Eco-Marketing Car Labels That Mean NothingPretty much every carmaker wants to brand itself green--or at least fuel-efficient. And toward that end, most of them seem to have created sub-brands for their green technologies, programs, and aspirations. Based on conversations with car buyers all over North America, we're convinced that most...
John Voelcker -
2015 Honda Fit Hybrid: Forbidden Fruit Drive ReportWe've always liked the Honda Fit; the current 2013 model remains one of the better, more capacious, and most flexible subcompacts on the market even though it's now the oldest vehicle in its class. That'll change with next spring's launch of the 2015 Honda Fit, at least one version of which will be...
John Voelcker -
We know what the all-new 2015 Honda Fit hatchback will look like; that car was unveiled in Japan last July, and then went on sale in September there.
But have we now seen what the sedan model of the...
-
Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Cars To Come From Toyota, Hyundai, HondaLast week saw no fewer than three hydrogen fuel-cell cars appear at auto shows around the world. At the Tokyo Motor Show, Toyota unveiled its FCV Concept, a somewhat-disguised version of a production car it's expected to launch next year and offer for limited sale in 2015. Meanwhile, at the Los...
John Voelcker -
2013 Honda Civic EX Automatic: Gas Mileage Advice To ReaderSometimes we get letters from readers asking for advice, or criticizing our reports on gas mileage. We're always happy to hear their experiences--but a bit of perspective is sometimes needed. Reader Marcus Witte recently sent us the following note (we've edited it slightly for clarity): Your review...
John Voelcker -
Toyota's Largest, Heaviest Hybrid: Hino 195h TruckThe Toyota Prius may be the most popular hybrid model of the many Toyota sells. But the company's largest hybrid vehicle weighs more than six new 2014 Prius Liftbacks when it's fully loaded. It's the Hino 195h, a 7- to 9-ton diesel-electric Class 5 commercial truck known as a "cab-over," meaning...
John Voelcker -
2014 Lexus CT 200h Update Appears At Los Angeles Auto ShowNovember is fairly late for the next model year of a car to arrive, but now we've finally seen the updated 2014 Lexus CT 200h compact hybrid hatchback. The lightly restyled model was unveiled at the Guangzhou Motor Show, but made an appearance just hours later at the Los Angeles Auto Show as well...
John Voelcker -
Electric Cars: Drivers Love 'Em, Want 'Em--But Butts In Seats Is the ChallengeIt's pretty clear that many car buyers are very interested in electric cars, and that they love them when they drive them. Electric cars have a handful of natural advantages that offset their higher purchase cost: They cost far less per mile than gasoline cars, and they're simply nicer to drive...
John Voelcker -
The 2014 Honda Accord Hybrid is proving unexpectedly popular, both in Japan and the U.S., and that's causing supply challenges for Honda.
Two readers have contacted us in the last week to complain...
-
Bad Day For Tesla: Sales VP Blankenship Out, NHTSA ThreatThere must be days where Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk feels his multiple burdens more acutely than others. Today may be one, because yesterday was not a good day for Tesla. First, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a new set of publicity rules for its crash-testing...
John Voelcker -
Chevy Volt Owners Drive More Electric Miles Than Nissan Leaf Drivers: Why?Is it a case of picking the right electric car for the right job? Or could a lack of "range anxiety" really lead drivers to cover more miles? It's a kind of chicken-or-egg question, but it came to mind when our author Matthew Klippenstein sent us some data. On average, owners of the Nissan Leaf...
John Voelcker -
Another Lexus LF-NX Crossover Concept: Tokyo Motor Show PhotosThe startling Lexus LF-NX Concept, launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, appeared with a new powertrain at the Tokyo Motor Show. And this one's not the hybrid system it was shown with previously The LF-NX Concept that Lexus has been showing this year previews a production model that...
John Voelcker -
2015 Volkswagen E-Golf Electric Car Preview And Live Photos: 2013 L.A. Auto Show
This morning, we got all the details on the new Volkswagen e-Golf electric car, ahead of its debut next week at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The E-Golf is a battery-electric version of the all-new seventh-generation VW Golf, which will go on sale in the U.S. next spring as a 2015 model. The electric...
John Voelcker -
New Cars From Tokyo, Gas-Saving Volts, Tesla Fire Drama: Today's Car NewsToday on Green Car Reports: More drama around Tesla (surprise, surprise!), more reports from the Tokyo Motor Show, and more gasoline saved by driving the Chevy Volt on electricity. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Tesla and the NHTSA are wrangling over who initiated the agency's...
John Voelcker