John Voelcker, Contributing Editor
Articles
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Pretty young women in tight black dresses, 5-inch heels, and sunglasses are too rarely associated with the less glamorous topic of DC fast-charging stations for electric cars.
And that's a shame.
To...
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Sales Of Fuel-Efficient Hybrids And Plug-In Electrics Soared In Q1We already know that April was a great month for Toyota Prius hybrid sales, but it turns out that the first quarter of the year produced stellar sales numbers for hybrids in general, as well as plug-in electric cars. More than 100,000 hybrids and plug-in cars--113,457--were sold in January...
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How Committed Is Nissan To Electric Cars? How About $4 Billion?New global car programs cost a lot, usually starting at $1 billion for a new platform and all the engineering, testing, and validation of the vehicle(s) it involves. Now a high-ranking Nissan executive has given a glimpse of what the company is spending on its electric-car program: $4 billion...
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Updated BYD e6: First Drive Of Chinese Electric CrossoverMost Chinese carmakers have backed away from plans to attack the U.S. market, and their hopes of dominating electric cars have slowed. But Chinese maker BYD continues to develop and test the e6 all-electric crossover utility it hopes to sell in the U.S. within a couple of years. Now, we've had the...
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EVS-26: Are Electric Cars Suffering Sophomore Slump?Has the electric-car industry passed through its first-year euphoria and entered a sophomore slump? That’s the question on our mind after dozens of panels, presentations, meetings, and corridor chats at the 26th annual Electric Vehicle Symposium. EVS-26 is being held through today at the Los...
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More Details, Live Photos: 2012 Toyota RAV4 EV Electric SUV LaunchThis is what it looked like yesterday when the wraps came off the production model of the 2012 Toyota RAV4 EV, Toyota's first battery electric vehicle in more than a decade. The exposition hall at the 26th annual Electric Vehicle Symposium is more likely to see displays of electric vehicle...
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Today, Toyota revealed the production version of its eagerly awaited 2012 RAV4 EV all-electric crossover, with a powertrain designed and provided by startup electric carmaker Tesla Motors.
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Optimizing For Electric Miles: One Reader Does The MathIt's one of the main points of dispute among electric-car buyers and advocates: What is the "right" number of all-electric miles? Some say maximal range is needed, e.g. the EPA-rated 73 miles of the Nissan Leaf or the promised 320 miles of the highest-spec 2012 Tesla Model S (that's not an EPA...
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Army Diesel-Hybrid Concept: Twice The MPG, Just As Fierce As HumveeFor U.S. armed forces, green is mostly seen these days as accents in beige battlefield camo. But reducing the cost and risk of delivering very expensive diesel fuel in vulnerable military convoys has long been a Pentagon goal, and one way to do that is to make all military vehicles more fuel...
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Dept Of Unforeseen Effects: High Gas Prices Boost Car SalesWith gas prices high, you'd expect people to buckle down and hang onto their existing cars rather than spending the money to buy new ones, right? Errrrrrr, actually not. According to Mike Jackson, the outspoken and always quotable CEO of AutoNation, buyers who've put off their new-car purchases are...
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Electric Cars Are Tougher Than They Look, Eh, China?Several years ago, the world's auto industry heard a constant refrain: "The Chinese are coming, the Chinese are coming!" With low labor costs and a government imperative to create globally competitive car companies, Chinese makers were expected to follow in the footsteps of the Japanese and Koreans...
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Best Used Green Cars To Buy: Chevrolet Tahoe HybridOK, OK, calm down. Yes, we're recommending a full-size sport utility with a huge V-8 engine as a "best used green car to buy." Why? Because there are green choices in every automotive category, and this is by far the greenest full-size sport utility vehicle. We often read in our comments that no...
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Ethanol has been problematic for several years now.
Promoted as a way for the U.S. to grow its own vehicle fuel, the alcohol was so popular several years ago that Congress passed a Federal Renewable...
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Electric Cars: Some Are Real, Most Are Only 'Compliance Cars'--We Name NamesSince last year, you've likely heard a lot about electric cars. You'll hear much more in the years to come. But whether you're a fan or a foe, understand this: A few of the battery-electric cars you've heard about are "real"--meaning their makers want to sell as many as they can. But quite a few of...
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Toyota Prius Hybrid Sales Soar For Second MonthYesterday, we told you electric-car sales were down slightly in April--even as overall car sales continued to recover. But while the plug-in sales will likely stay low for awhile, both ebbing and flowing, one green model benefited greatly in April: the ur-hybrid Toyota Prius. Now that all four...
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Best Used Green Cars To Buy: 2005-2012 Ford Escape HybridThe Ford Escape Hybrid occupies a special place in green-car history. It was the first hybrid built in the U.S., the first one from a U.S. carmaker, and the first hybrid crossover utility. That makes it one of our five best used green cars. A pet project of then-CEO Bill Ford, the Escape Hybrid was...
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2014 Cadillac ELR Electric Luxury Coupe To Arrive Late 2013You may remember that last August, we broke the story that what is now called the 2014 Cadillac ELR electric coupe got the green light for production by GM's overlords. An abashed GM confirmed the story a few days later and released the name of the new model, known until then as the Converj concept...
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April Electric Car Sales Lower; Plug-In Prius Leads SalesSales of plug-in electric cars fell last month, with especially low sales of the Nissan Leaf, following their strong showing in March. Last month, just 370 Nissan Leaf battery-electric cars were sold, down from 579 in March, and bringing this year's Leaf sales to only 2,103 in the first four...
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The eagerly-awaited new 2013 Dodge Dart compact sedan will start arriving at dealerships in June. But the first volley of Darts won't include every model.
The model with the highest gas mileage will...
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Toyota Prius To Be Built In U.S. At Last, But Not Until 2015The Toyota Prius is the world's highest-selling hybrid vehicle and the third best-selling Toyota car in the U.S. Now, after one failed attempt, it appears that Prius production will come to North America--but not until 2015 or thereabouts, as Toyota first acknowledged back in July 2010. Koie Saga...
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Toyota RAV4 EV Teaser: Launch Details Coming Next WeekFor people in the electric-car world, next week is a big deal. And Toyota is taking advantage of it. The company will formally launch its Toyota RAV4 EV next Monday at noon Pacific (3 pm Eastern) at the 26th International Electric Vehicle Symposium (EVS26), which takes place in Los Angeles from...
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One In 10 New Vehicles Will Be Diesel In 2015, Bosch Says; Here's WhyHybrids have fans, diesels have fans, and while they produce their best fuel economy under different circumstances, each one tends to be a greener choice than a conventional gasoline car. But passenger cars with diesels are now just a tiny part of the U.S. market (less than 1 percent) compared to...
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Exclusive: Spy Shots Of Next-Generation Jeep Liberty Mule (Updated)Always carry a camera; you never know what you'll see parked on the street. That's how our contributor, Thomas Bey, shot these exclusive spy shots of an engineering prototype for what may be a future hybrid Jeep or Dodge model to be based on the same running gear as the 2013 Dodge Dart compact...
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Earth Day Stunt: Plug-In Electric Cars Trace 'E' In NYCA week ago today, you may have seen a small caravan of green cars wending its way through the streets of Manhattan. Or you may not have noticed them at all amidst yellow cabs, delivery trucks, sport utilities with drivers texting or talking on their phones, and all the other hazards of driving in a...
John Voelcker