John Voelcker, Contributing Editor
Articles
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2017 electric-car sales (and insurance), auto-industry moaning, grid holds up just fine: Today's Car News John VoelckerToday, sales reports are coming in for last year—electric cars did well—and we explain why auto-company whining is nothing new. Also, fossil fuels aren't the only source of climate...
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Fossil fuels only part of human carbon emissions; land use, deforestation matter tooIn discussions of climate change, much of the focus has been on the combustion of fossil fuels: coal, oil and its gasoline and diesel-fuel derivatives, and natural gas. Collectively, the trillions of tons of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere by man since the start of the industrial...
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BMW i3s, 2018 Nissan Leaf, Mercedes 350e plug-in hybrid, German fast charging: Today's Car NewsToday, we've got drive reports on the 2018 Nissan Leaf electric car and a plug-in hybrid luxury sedan, plus fast charging in Germany, a startling move on new cars by China, and BMW i3s ratings from the EPA. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Over the weekend, as we do every seven days, we ran...
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2018 Mercedes-Benz C350e: plug-in hybrid luxury sedan drivenIt's been two and a half years since we drove the plug-in hybrid version of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan at its San Francisco launch event. It took a while for the car to go on sale in the U.S., which it did in January 2017. Now we've had a chance to spend a weekend with the Mercedes-Benz C350e...
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2018 Nissan Leaf: an early Leaf driver's impressions (he has a Tesla too)First sales of the 2018 Nissan Leaf, the second generation of the pioneering electric car, should come this month. But Nissan has quietly been showing the 2018 Leaf to electric-car shoppers for several months now, hosting drives at dealerships and other venues. Several of our readers and...
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2018 BMW i3s: range, efficiency lower for sportier model of electric carAs a given generation of any vehicle ages, German companies in particular often spice up the allure of the aging car with new and sportier versions. Porsche is a master at rolling out new versions of its models across the entire life of a generation, but BMW has learned the trick too. Thus in the...
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The most important green-car story of 2017 came on September 10, in a report by the Associated Press that covered articles in two Chinese state media outlets on a statement by a deputy industry...
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Electric-car road-trip charging, Volvo EVs, Ford's future, Smart ED Cabrio drive: The Week in ReverseWhich startup luxury electric-car maker is now in even more perilous straits? What did we conclude about electric-car charging during road trips? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the holiday week ending on Friday, December 29, 2017...
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Electric truck costs, Faraday Future fiasco, electric cars in Canada, Trump and climate: Today's Car NewsToday, we've got news roundups from Canada and covering Faraday Future, an assessment of the Trump Administration's (regrettable) record on climate change, and a look at why electric heavy trucks could trounce their diesel competitors. All this and more on Green Car Reports. A year ago, few people...
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Electric Volvos coming, future Fords, renewables vs diesel, 2017's key green-car stories: Today's Car NewsToday, we've got speculation on future Fords, details on upcoming electric Volvos, a battle between diesel power and renewable energy, and poll results on 2017's most important green-car news story. All this and more on Green Car Reports. We've learned some details about Volvo's plans for electric...
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What was our most important story of 2017? Twitter poll resultsYear-end roundups are an unavoidable necessity of the media business. They let editors and writers opine, and they fill space when there may be little real news. They also serve the more valuable function of forcing a longer-term perspective on the hundreds of news items a month that flow through...
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Ford: China will lead our electric-car effort, 300-mile electric SUV to be built in MexicoAs we start to look toward the 2019 model year, it's worth noting that Ford hasn't introduced a single new hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or electric vehicle since 2013. In fact, the company is now clearing the decks and killing off old models. The C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid tall hatchback went out of...
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Electric-car road trip, Tesla updates, VW Moia ridesharing, renewable energy: Today's Car News John VoelckerYesterday and today, we've got thoughts on electric-car charging during road trips, more impact from renewable micro-grids, some Tesla updates, and a poll on what we should spend less time covering....
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What topic should we have covered less in 2017? Take our Twitter pollNo single definition exists for the idea of "green car," and very few shoppers set out to go buy a green car. Instead, car buyers look for vehicles that meet their needs—with fuel economy or energy efficiency somewhere in that list of needs, whether higher or lower. Certainly the definition...
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In Germany, neighborhood solar starts to eat away at utility revenueFive years ago, an electric-utility think tank issued a dire warning to its members: Your century-old business model is ending. The continually falling costs of renewable energy generation, especially solar panels, would begin to erode utilities' business from its most profitable customers, the...
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Electric car charging on the road has to be way, way better than it is todayA couple of weeks ago, we charged a 2018 Kia Niro Plug-In Hybrid 15 times within two days. It was part of a contest during a two-day press drive for the car—though we were beaten by the team that charged their Niro a stunning 31 times in little more than 30 hours. But our experience...
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Kia Niro Plug-In; new Honda Insight; Model 3, Clarity driven; Tesla Semi competitors: The Week in ReverseWhich two new green cars have readers driven and reported on for us? Why weren't 15 separate charging stops enough during our first drive of the plug-in hybrid version of the 2018 Kia Niro? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending...
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Niro Plug-In and Jaguar I-Pace prices, popular plug-in hybrids, Lexus UX, electric trucks: Today's Car NewsToday, we've got pricing for the 2018 Kia Niro Plug-In Hybrid and some thoughts on next year's Jaguar I-Pace prices too; an aggressive climate-change plan; an update on the Lexus UX concept; and a comprehensive look at the electric commercial-truck world. All this and more on Green Car Reports. The...
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Some plug-in hybrid models are easily distinguishable from the rest of the cars their maker sells.
Others, like the 2018 Kia Niro Plug-In Hybrid, are all but invisible. It takes a sharp eye to see...
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Lexus UX small crossover utility still being studied for U.S. (update)The Lexus UX concept previews a possible smaller crossover from the Toyota luxury brand.
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Which plug-in hybrid would you buy today if you had to? Twitter poll resultsThe Chevrolet Volt, now in its second generation, has long been the king of mass-market plug-in hybrids. With 53 miles of battery range, its electric performance is exceeded only by the BMW i3 REx range-extended electric hatchback. But the BMW's starting price is close to $50,000, taking it well...
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Honda Clarity Plug-In, Tesla Model 3, condo charging stations, used electric cars: Today's Car NewsToday, we've got first impressions of two plug-in electric cars (one is the Tesla Model 3); advice for condo residents on charging stations; used electric-car confusion; and a poll on 2017's most important green-car news story. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Our BMW i3 driver and...
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2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid: early owner's first impressionsWe only published our first-drive report on the 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid last week, and the car is just now showing up at Honda dealers across the country. But that means the first examples are already been bought and driven. A couple of readers indicated that they were among the buyers...
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What was the most important green-car story of 2017? Take our Twitter pollLists, news roundups, and general reflections are the usual order of business as a calendar year comes to a close. We've published more than 1,600 green-car news stories so far during 2017, and it's proven to be quite a year. In the car market at large, the most notable trend was a continued move...
John Voelcker