John Voelcker, Contributing Editor
Articles
-
Electric-car range, Audi A5 g-tron, Chevy Equinox Diesel, Bolt EV battery failure: The Week in Reverse John VoelckerHow many miles of electric-car range turns out to attract many more buyers than a number slightly lower?
Which German sport sedan did we test-drive, using a fuel that's all but irrelevant in North...
-
2017 Chevy Bolt EV battery may fail due to faulty cell; new pack needed for a few GM electric cars (updated)General Motors has informed "a few hundred" owners of 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric cars that their cars could suffer from a problem with the lithium-ion battery pack that could cause it to fail without warning. The cars were among the very earliest Bolt EVs produced for public sale, so are...
John Voelcker -
Bolt EV battery failure, natural-gas Audi, Tesla semi range, Royal Mail goes electric: Today's Car NewsToday, we've got news on the future Tesla semi tractor, we drove a natural-gas-powered Audi, a few Bolt EV batteries will be replaced, and the Royal Mail launched its all-electric delivery vans. All this and more on Green Car Reports. The Tesla semi tractor will reportedly have 200 to 300 miles of...
John Voelcker -
Tesla beats supercar, Equinox Diesel drive, 300-mile electric cars, bad news for coal: Today's Car NewsToday, we've got a report from our very, very brief drive in the Chevy Equinox Diesel compact crossover, some interesting survey data on how much electric-car range is "enough," another Tesla-trashes-supercar dragstrip video, and musings on a new Detroit factory and why it's where it is. All this...
John Voelcker -
New LG Michigan plant could boost GM electric-car domestic contentThe question of where consumer goods are made has become more prominent in our political discourse of late, cars among them. Every automobile sold in the U.S. carries a listing of content sources, specifying what percentage by value of its overall content comes from which countries or regions...
John Voelcker -
2018 Chevrolet Equinox Diesel (very brief) first driveWe spent a few days with a gasoline-powered 2018 Chevy Equinox back in May, but now we've driven a much rarer version. The 2018 Chevrolet Equinox Diesel will start to arrive at U.S. Chevy dealers within two weeks, the company says. On Wednesday, as part of a comprehensive presentation on the five...
John Voelcker -
Electric-car drivers know that range anxiety abates quickly once you start using an electric car and get confident with its abilities.
Although a range of 60 to 90 miles covers the majority of daily...
-
Elio to sell $100 million in stock; 3-wheeler price raised, production delayed, again (updated)Entrepreneur Paul Elio's concept for a simple three-wheeled car that would cost only $6,800 has now been with us for eight years. During that time, he has shown the car hundreds of times to diverse groups of people, taken tens of thousands of reservations, sold stock in the company, and suggested...
John Voelcker -
Teslas vs Bolt EV, surviving the eclipse, Elio plans IPO, 2018 Leaf taillight unveiled: Today's Car NewsToday, Elio delayed, California survived, Nissan used adjectives, and we looked at a couple of electric-car videos comparing Teslas to the Bolt EV. All this and more on Green Car Reports. There's a new 2018 Nissan Leaf teaser video, plus a photo of the taillight—but not a lot of new...
John Voelcker -
2018 Nissan Leaf teaser: electric car will 'amaze your senses'With the 2018 Nissan Leaf electric car due to be unveiled to the world in Japan on September 6, the company continues to release bits and pieces of teaser information. Yesterday, Nissan issued a video promoting a list of the new model's features. It also provided a photo of the electric hatchback's...
John Voelcker -
Ford EVs in China, California electric-car sales, polls new and old, yesterday's futures: Today's Car NewsToday, we've got Tesla Model 3 poll results and a new poll too, news on Ford's electric-car plans, California's encouraging sales results, and some stunning images of yesterday's dream cars. All this and more on Green Car Reports. When we asked what car is the closest competitor to the Tesla Model...
John Voelcker -
Who will be biggest electric-car maker in 2020? Take our Twitter poll!Every week or so, Green Car Reports posts a poll on Twitter to survey our followers on their opinions on a variety of topics related to the news we cover. In general, we get 100 or so responses to our polls: more on electric cars, fewer on other subjects. In the many comments on a previous week's...
John Voelcker -
Ford was the first U.S. maker to build hybrid cars, starting in 2004, and it launched its Focus Electric hatchback in December 2011, just a year after the arrival of the Nissan Leaf.
It also...
-
What car is closest Tesla Model 3 competitor? Poll resultsMuch of the electric-car world is waiting to see how quickly production of the Tesla Model 3 will ramp up over the balance of this year. Will it reach the remarkable level of 5,000 cars per week by December 31 that CEO Elon Musk has set as a goal? Analysts and industry commentators are skeptical...
John Voelcker -
Electric VW Microbus driven, Bolt EV challenges, how HCCI works: Today's Car NewsToday, we've got details on the super-efficient Mazda SkyActiv-X engine, a Bolt EV cop car, the future Fisker EMotion unveiling, and lots on the Volkswagen ID Buzz electric Microbus. All this and more on Green Car Reports. This weekend was all about the Volkswagen ID Buzz, the reincarnated VW...
John Voelcker -
Chevy Bolt EV: looking at electric car's long-term challengesThe electric car that became the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV reset industry norms overnight when it was unveiled as a concept car at the 2015 Detroit auto show. The most important parts wasn't the car's shape, or its interior space, or hatchback configuration: it was the combination of price (below...
John Voelcker -
Volkswagen ID Buzz drive: electric VW bus offers unique EV conceptWhen you see a concept car drive onto the stage at an auto show, don't be fooled into thinking it's what you'll drive out of the dealer a couple of years later. We got to drive the Volkswagen ID Buzz all-electric Microbus concept car Saturday for a couple of miles along the oceanside road outside...
John Voelcker -
Volkswagen to build ID Buzz electric Microbus, cargo vans too, on sale in 2022The Volkswagen ID Buzz concept, an all-electric reinterpretation of the iconic VW Microbus, generated huge enthusiasm and public crowds when it debuted in January at the Detroit auto show. Today, the company announced its board had officially approved production of the vehicle, a distinctive entry...
John Voelcker -
Bolt EV vs BMW i3, Karma driven, RIP natural-gas cars, Tesla Model 3 secrets: The Week in Reverse John VoelckerWhich very noticeable plug-in car has been resurrected after five years—and what did we think of it on the road?
What secrets does the Tesla Model 3 hold, and do those make it "Car 2.0" as some...
-
BMW i3 vs Chevy Bolt EV, hydrogen Hyundai concept, Tesla Model 3 secrets: Today's Car NewsToday, Tesla is hugely expanding its Fremont assembly plant, but its real future may be concealed inside the Model 3 electric car, while Hyundai shows a hydrogen SUV concept and a BMW i3 owner tries out a Chevy Bolt EV. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Our occasional author and BMW i3 REx...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model 3: do design features point to self-driving car-sharing service?The Tesla Model 3 continues to generate an inordinate amount of interest from electric-car advocates and the general public, as pretty much any Tesla model has in the past. But unlike the Model S in 2012, which broke new ground on multiple fronts, the lower-priced Model 3 appears to be less...
John Voelcker -
Chevy Bolt EV reviewed by BMW i3 driver: electric cars compared
Owners of specific electric cars sometimes tend to become boosters and fans for their particular EV as well as plugging in to drive in general. So it was with Tom Moloughney, whose purchase of the very first 2014 BMW i3 REx range-extended electric car in the U.S. he wrote about for us three years...
John Voelcker -
More Hyundai electrics, RIP NGVs, European plug-in sales, advertising poll: Today's Car NewsToday, we've got the latest on Hyundai-Kia's aggressive electric-car plans, a eulogy for natural-gas cars, plug-in sales in Europe, and a poll about the future of ads for cars with engines. All this and more on Green Car Reports. We polled our Twitter followers on when ads for cars with tailpipes...
John Voelcker -
Hyundai-Kia: eight electric cars by 2022, dedicated EV platformIt's long been said in the auto industry that Hyundai-Kia is the only competitor that truly scares industry colossus Toyota. Thirty years ago, the Korean company was a bit player, producing designs adapted from obsolete Mitsubishi technology. Today it's a major global player, reacting fast to...
John Voelcker