John Voelcker, Contributing Editor
Articles
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While electric-car advocates may avoid the issue, some buyers simply won't choose a plug-in car that can't travel unlimited distances.
That's where the Chevy Volt-style range extender comes in,...
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2013 Dodge Dart Compact Sedan: Details Preview Detroit Auto ShowWith only a month remaining before it pulls the covers off what may be its most important car in decades, Chrysler has released details of its upcoming 2013 Dodge Dart. That's the model name it's chosen, pulled out of the archives for the new compact sedan that will replace the uncompetitive Dodge...
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Volt Owners Speak Up, Say It's Safe, Rave About Their Electric CarsIt's been a tough few weeks of publicity for the Chevrolet Volt, the extended-range electric car that's the green halo vehicle at General Motors. Now, despite sales below GM's announced target and an NHTSA inquiry into fires in the lithium-ion battery pack several weeks after they were involved in...
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Honda AC-X Concept: Tokyo Motor Show Live PhotosHonda released some details of its Tokyo Motor Show concept cars three weeks ago, and now we can see what they look like in person. For U.S. buyers in particular, the most important of them is the Honda Advanced Cruiser-X (AC-X) Concept, a mid-size sedan that resembles nothing so much as a...
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Today's Volt Update: GM Buyback, Owners Rally, Sales Goal UnmetPhew. Yesterday was quite a day indeed in Chevy Volt land. A bevy of news items hit the wires, following Monday's offer of loaner cars to Volt owners who weren't comfortable with their cars' safety until the NHTSA finishes its investigation into battery-pack fires in cars that had been wrecked in...
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Consumer Watchdog To EPA: Re-Test Hyundai Elantra Gas MileageThe advocacy group Consumer Watchdog has called for the EPA to test whether the Hyundai Elantra lives up to its EPA gas-mileage ratings in real-world use; owners have complained that it doesn't.
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It's the first of the month again, and that means: It's sales report time!
Last month, Chevrolet sold 1,139 Volts and Nissan sold 672 Leafs.
The November numbers bring totals for 2011, with only...
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Chevy Volt Electric Car Owners Most Satisfied, Consumer Reports SaysDespite the NHTSA inquiry into battery-pack fires following severe crash tests of the Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric car, the car's 5,000 or so owners to date seem to be unworried. Comments on Volt owner forums largely dismiss worries about any risk of fire during accidents, and many owners...
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2012 Mitsubishi 'i' Electric Car: Woody Trim And Surfboards Too! (Video)We look at a lot of concept and production cars during auto shows, but rarely does one make us laugh right out loud. The special version of the 2012 Mitsubishi 'i' electric car on display at the Los Angeles Auto Show a couple of weeks ago, however, did just that. Perhaps in honor of southern...
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Third-Row, 7-Seat Family Vehicles With Highest Gas MileageWe get asked a lot about hybrids with seven seats. The answer is simple: There's only one, the 2012 Toyota Highlander Hybrid. But the question is really more about fuel efficiency: What family vehicles with a third row of seats that can carry seven people get the best gas mileage? It's a major...
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2012 Honda Civic Natural Gas: First DriveHonda has been the only carmaker to offer a natural-gas powered passenger car, and they've done it quietly in a handful of states for more than a decade. But with the arrival of an all-new Civic this year, the company will make the 2012 Honda Civic Natural Gas available through selected dealers...
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No, The Electric Cadillac ELR Will NOT Have Rear-Wheel DriveWe follow plug-in cars pretty closely here, and occasionally we manage to break stories. One was the production green light for the Cadillac Converj electric car concept, confirmed by GM as the Cadillac ELR coupe just six days later. So when we see an article that's ... let's say implausible ...
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One of the best ways to improve fuel economy is to keep a car's engine operating at its most efficient speed, regardless of how fast the vehicle is traveling.
That's the principle behind continuously...
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2013 Lexus GS 450h Hybrid Sport Sedan To Be Rated Over 30 MPGIt's not yet in dealerships, but the 2013 Lexus GS 450h offers a big boost in gas mileage for buyers of mid-size sport sedans. The all-new GS 450h hybrid is expected to be rated at 29 mpg city, 34 mpg highway, for a combined rating of 31 mpg. In comparison, the 2012 Infiniti M35h hybrid sport...
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Should 2013 Dodge Compact Be Named Dart, Duster, Camber...Or Caliber?With just six weeks to go before the 2012 Detroit Auto Show, where Chrysler will unveil its critically important 2013 Dodge compact sedan, we still know relatively little about it. We've seen a spy shot, and last week we learned that the new model won't be called the Dodge Hornet, a name we rather...
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2012 Toyota Prius: GreenCarReports' Best Car To Buy 2012The late-night arguments are over, the statistical comparisons and product specs are put away, and we've made our choice. The GreenCarReports Best Car To Buy Award for 2012 goes to a pair of cars: the 2012 Toyota Prius V wagon and the 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid. The two new 2012 entries...
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GM Exec Confirms 2014 Chevrolet Cruze Plug-In Hybrid ModelThe Chevrolet Cruze compact sedan is an important car for General Motors. It's hugely outselling its lackluster predecessor, the Chevy Cobalt, and the EPA rates the special Cruze Eco model at 42 mpg in the highway cycle, giving it gas-mileage bragging rights. Plug-in hybrid to join diesel model But...
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2012 Volkswagen Passat TDI: GreenCarReports Best Car To Buy 2012 NomineeHybrids and, more recently, plug-in cars seem to have gotten all the green ink lately, leaving fans of fuel-sipping clean diesels out in the cold. Four makers sell diesel passenger vehicles in the U.S. for 2012: Audi and BMW joined longtime stalwarts Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen a few years back...
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Ask pretty much any car buyer about green cars or hybrids and, chances are, that person will likely mention the Toyota Prius sooner or later.
Until this year, though, the Prius has been a single...
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2012 Mitsubishi 'i': Green Car Reports Best Car To Buy 2012 NomineeLast year, the only volume battery electric car on sale in the U.S. was the Nissan Leaf. But for 2012, there's a new electric vehicle in town: the 2012 Mitsubishi 'i'. The egg-shaped minicar is Mitsubishi's first plug-in offering, but it's actually been around longer than the Leaf, with tens of...
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2012 Honda Civic Hybrid: Green Car Reports Best Car To Buy 2012 NomineeThough always overshadowed by the more distinctive Toyota Prius, the hybrid model of the Honda Civic compact sedan has been a longstanding competitor in the field of high-mileage hybrid cars. First launched as a 2003 model, the Honda Civic Hybrid has been entirely redesigned for the 2012 model...
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2012 Fiat 500: Green Car Reports Best Car To Buy 2012 NomineeGreenCarReports nominates 2012 Fiat 500 as one of the six contenders for its Best Car To Buy 2012 award, given to the car or cars that provide the best and most practical alternatives for car buyers who want to drive green.
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Infiniti M35h: Green Car Reports Best Car To Buy 2012 NomineeIt took awhile to arrive, after previews starting in the middle of 2010, but now the 2012 Infiniti M35h is on sale at dealers all over the country. It's Infiniti's first hybrid vehicle, the first car from the Nissan-Infiniti stable to use the company's own internally developed full hybrid system...
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2011 Audi Q7 TDI Clean-Diesel SUV: Quick DriveWe tend to prefer smaller cars here at Green Car Reports. Since far more than half of U.S. car journeys are made by a single occupant, smaller could often suffice--and cost less, and pollute less. But some buyers simply need larger vehicles--or at least want them--and seven-seat sport-utility...
John Voelcker