John Voelcker, Contributing Editor
Articles
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Electric cars still cost significantly more to buy than gasoline-powered vehicles of the same size and capabilities.
But cars that plug in are almost always cheaper to run per mile, often by a...
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For 2018, only a dozen diesel vehicles on sale in U.S. (guess who has most)With the permanent end of diesel sales in the U.S. by three VW Group brands—Volkswagen, Audi, and Porsche—the number of diesel passenger cars and light trucks has plummeted. In fact, for the 2018 model year thus far, there are only 11 basic models listed in an annual publication issued...
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Cruise AV, GM's autonomous electric Bolt EV, to go into production in 2019How comfortable would you be in a taxi or car-service vehicle that had no steering wheel, accelerator or brake pedals? That's the question prompted by a photo that has already produced some subconscious anxiety among at least auto writers. How the public will react remains to be seen, but they'll...
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50-mpg 2019 Honda Insight, Tesla Model 3 parts, electric Corvette, climate trolling: Today's Car NewsToday, we've got more details on the 2019 Honda Insight hybrid, some deep research into where Tesla Model 3 parts come from, an amusing troll by one head of state on another, and a very fast, very pricey all-electric Chevy Corvette. All this and more on Green Car Reports. The two-seat Smart minicar...
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Green-car deals, Porsche Mission E specs, 300,000 Leafs, California's EV lessons: Today's Car NewsToday, we've got some tantalizing performance specs on the future Porsche Mission E, electric-car lessons from California, our monthly green-car deals roundup, and a ringing decision in favor of renewable energy. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Mazda has essentially confirmed that it's...
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U.S. regulator rejects coal, nuclear bailout, says renewable energy may double by 2020For much of last year, U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry pursued a plan that, in essence, would prop up the financially challenged U.S. coal and nuclear industries. His proposal, submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last fall, provided financial subsidies to electric-generation...
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How optimistic are you on efforts to address climate-change impacts? Twitter poll results John VoelckerIt remains entirely unclear if the world as a whole will be able to cut its emissions of carbon dioxide fast enough to keep the global temperature rise below 2 degrees C over the next few decades.
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Hyundai Nexo SUV, 238-mile Kia Niro EV, electric-car range, Range Rover P400e: Today's Car NewsToday, we've got news from the huge Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas, including a surprise electric-car concept from Kia, a hydrogen fuel-cell SUV from Hyundai, and the debut of the Fisker EMotion luxury electric car. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Yesterday afternoon at the massive CES...
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2018 Kia Soul EV gets bigger battery, range boost from 93 to 111 milesUpdates to conventional cars come in a predictable pattern. Once a new model is launched, it gets only minor tweaks to features, prices, and paint colors for two or three years. Then in the third or fourth year, it gets what the industry calls a "mid-cycle refresh": some updated sheetmetal, perhaps...
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What will your next car be? Take our Twitter pollSeven years after the first mass-priced modern electric car was sold in the U.S., more car buyers than ever are at least dimly aware that such vehicles exist. Sales of cars that plug in have risen every year, with one slight dip in 2015, but they were still just 1 percent of the U.S. market of 17.5...
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Kia Niro EV concept at CES: 238 miles of range from 64-kwh batteryIt's well known that a battery-electric version of the Kia Niro will join the lineup soon, completing a range that now comprises the Niro Hybrid and the recently launched plug-in hybrid. Most observers had assumed the Niro EV would use the same underpinnings as its corporate sibling the Hyundai...
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Production Hyundai Nexo hydrogen fuel-cell SUV appears at CESThe world of cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells is still small and low-volume, but Korean maker Hyundai unveiled its production entry into that group on Monday. The sprawling Consumer Electronics Show is increasingly a showcase for advanced-technology and zero-emission vehicles, and the Korean...
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Electrics, hybrids soar in Norway, China; Ford F-150 diesel; gas mileage flat; E30 ethanol? Today's Car News John VoelckerToday, news from Norway about electric cars (and streetlights), gas mileage stuck in a rut, a new wrinkle on ethanol, and a new diesel for the Ford F-150 pickup truck promises higher fuel efficiency....
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Half of all new cars sold in Norway last year are electric or hybrid, as diesel ebbs fastNorway was one of the earliest nations to set a coherent and broad-based national plan to cut its carbon emissions, and then stick to it. For road transport, it plans to phase out sales of cars with internal-combustion engines by 2025 using a variety of carrots (financial incentives and special...
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Tesla Model 3 numbers, missing hydrogen stations, electric-car sales, 2018 Leaf: The Week in ReverseHow much did sales of plug-in electric cars grow during 2017? Why did China end sales of more than 500 separate cars on January 1? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending on Friday, January 5, 2018. Friday, we noted that while the...
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Electric-car batteries, media coverage, Model 3 range, missing hydrogen stations: Today's Car NewsToday, we've got a full slate of stories, from a bill in California to ban all but zero-emission vehicles in 2040 to a poll on climate change. Also, media coverage of electric cars and the story behind the 310-mile range rating of the Tesla Model 3. All this and more on Green Car Reports. As we had...
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Plug-in electric car sales in Dec: 2017 set new record, Bolt EV ends strong (final update)It was clear late last year that the number of plug-in electric cars sold in the U.S. during 2017 would set a new record. December is always a strong sales month for all vehicles, and dealerships across the country have rushed to deliver new cars, crossovers, and trucks to hit their year-end...
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Tesla Model 3 Long Range rating of 310 miles: Is it understated?Amidst all the coverage on Wednesday of the Tesla Model 3 production numbers, we realized we'd forgotten one piece of the Model 3 saga. That would be the official EPA range and efficiency ratings for the 2017 Tesla Model 3 Long Range version. Those were issued at the end of November, and they...
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As with any innovation, coverage of plug-in electric cars by mainstream media has been, shall we say, variable.
Seven years after the first Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt were delivered to their...
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Are you optimistic about efforts to address climate change? Take our Twitter pollTen years ago, energy security may have been as much a driving force behind electric cars for U.S. policymakers as climate change. Now, with continuous growth in domestic oil and gas production over that period, you just don't hear energy security discussed as much. Scientists agree that the...
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Kia Niro EV concept, Tesla Model 3 deliveries, climate-change To Do list, Korea picks CCS: Today's Car News
Today, we've got news on vehicles to be shown at next week's CES, Tesla's Q4 sales results—including the Model 3—a map to address climate change, and more than 16,000 all-electric city buses. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Tesla announced its fourth-quarter deliveries on...
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What topic should we have covered less in 2017? Twitter poll resultsOver the nine years this site has published daily news about green cars, the focus of our coverage has shifted significantly. In February 2009, when we started daily coverage, our most popular topics were hybrid cars and the Toyota Prius. With Prius sales in 2017 less than half what they were just...
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Concept for Kia Niro EV all-electric wagon to appear at CESWe've long known that the Kia Niro wagon would get an all-electric version to accompany the 2017 Niro Hybrid and the just-launched 2018 Niro Plug-In Hybrid. The battery-electric Niro will fill out the suite of six cars sharing the same underpinnings, with the others being the same three versions of...
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Tesla delivers 1,550 Model 3s in Q4; Models S, X over 100,000 in 2017Tesla reported its fourth-quarter global deliveries on Wednesday, saying it delivered 1,550 Model 3 electric cars between October 1 and December 31 last year, but built 2,425 over the same period. That compares to a total of 260 Model 3s delivered in the third quarter, after a splashy "handover...
John Voelcker