John Voelcker, Contributing Editor
Articles
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Just 30 years ago, people could smoke anywhere, including offices, malls, and restaurants.
The 1987 opening of a New York City restaurant called "Nosmo King" (read it again) was considered a...
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Karma redux, gas stations vs charging, electric cars for Rallycross, CAFE changes: Today's Car NewsToday, the least efficient plug-in car, why rallycross should go electric, possible CAFE changes, and where electric cars should charge. All this and more on Green Car Reports. We drove the Fisker Karma in 2012; now we've driven the 2017 Karma Revero, the reborn version of the sleek, low...
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Trump NHTSA might reduce fuel-economy rules for two-thirds of U.S. vehiclesConsumers all over the world, but especially in North America, are buying more crossover utility vehicles and fewer passenger sedans and hatchbacks. The U.S. auto industry makes the bulk of its profits on light trucks, which include crossovers, pickup trucks, and even minivans. The Trump...
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2018 Karma Revero: first drive of reborn luxury plug-in hybrid sedanThe 2018 Karma Revero remains as much of a head-turner today as the low, sleek four-door sedan was when it debuted a decade ago under another name. It also happens to be a range-extended electric luxury sedan, though we tend to think that the Karma would sell just as well if it ran on coal dust and...
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BMW vs Tesla; Merkel vs electric cars; $10K off Leaf, i3; Germany's iPhone moment: Today's Car NewsToday, Tesla and its impact on the German auto industry crop up in two very different reports, you can get $10,000 off an electric car (if you live in San Diego), and we honor Dull and Boring drivers. All this and more on Green Car Reports. With continued attention on Tesla's latest product, we...
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Do German makers face 'iPhone moment,' after dodging diesel bullet?The Volkswagen diesel scandal has largely fallen out of the public eye in the U.S., as VW and Audi buy back and modify roughly half a million noncompliant vehicles sold from 2009 through 2016. In Germany, meanwhile, the major sellers of diesel vehicles—not only VW Group but also Mercedes...
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There's a new generation of the BMW 3-Series sport sedan coming next year, and rumors suggest there will be an all-electric version in 2019 or 2020.
If so, there's only one car that it would be...
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Is the Tesla Model 3 really 'Car 2.0'? Maybe not: here's whyLike the company's three previous electric cars, the Tesla Model 3 launched into production with a splashy media event during which owners received the keys to their new cars and the company's fans applauded. Like the Model S and Model X, production is starting at very low rates, with the rate of...
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Mini E next month, Lunar Rover at 46, Ford Hub visit, Model 3 assessed: Today's Car NewsToday, a baffling visit in NYC, a tiny two-seat electric car for China, whether the Tesla Model 3 should really be dubbed "Car 2.0," and how does the Lunar Rover compare to a modern electric car? All this and more on Green Car Reports. As always, we ran down last week's top green-car news stories...
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We visited NYC's Ford Hub; we still don't know what it wasThose who've lived in New York City since 2001 sometimes choose to avoid the World Trade Center site when possible. The area has largely been rebuilt into a combination of offices, shopping, and the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, with construction on some very tall towers still ongoing. A lunch date...
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Cruze Diesel driven, Model 3 mania, emission rules revisited, electric-car lessons: The Week in ReverseWhat lessons have visitors, car shoppers, and advocates taught an EV showroom about how people really view electric cars? Which settled emissions regulations were reopened by the Trump Administration this week—and how do auto-industry lobbyists want them changed? This is our look back at the...
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Scrapping dirty diesels, Model 3 Michigan woes, Oz electric highway, EPA backtracks: Today's Car NewsToday, Europe's dirtiest diesels may start to vanish, Formula E has an audacious goal to live up to, another electric highway is underway, and Tesla Model 3 fans are out of luck if they live in Michigan. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Michigan may be home to the domestic auto industry, but...
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Almost two years ago, the Volkswagen diesel emission scandal burst into public view, and nothing has been quite the same since then.
The news that VW Group engineers had deliberately cheated on eight...
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Will Formula E racing boost electric-car sales by 77 million? Erm...Three years ago, an all-new motor racing series began. Called Formula E, the series pits battery-electric race cars from teams around the world in competition on circuits in the heart of some of the world's most iconic cities. The third season has just wound up, and the list of carmakers fielding...
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Tesla self-driving semi, Cruze Diesels driven, EV education, Panasonic profits: Today's Car NewsToday, Panasonic loves Tesla profits, while Tesla loves self-driving semis; we drive both Chevy Cruze diesels and weigh in on fuel efficiency; and, could alkaline batteries change enough for electric cars? All this and more on Green Car Reports. That Tesla electric semi that the company plans to...
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Tesla Model 3 battery cells will turn a profit for Panasonic by next yearRelatively few people focus on it, but the huge Japanese electronics company Panasonic is a minority shareholder in electric-car maker Tesla. The deal dates all the way back to November 2010, the same year that Tesla completed its initial public offering after Toyota took a stake in the company and...
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2017 Chevrolet Cruze Diesel: fuel economy review for automatic, manual versionsTimes are tough for sedans in general, as buyers swarm into crossover utility vehicles and ignore the passenger cars sitting next to them on the showroom floor. Also, gasoline remains cheap. All of which may add up to tough times for the current Chevrolet Cruze Diesel, the compact sedan to be...
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Tesla semi truck to test self-driving, capable of 'platooning': reportWith Tesla, there's always something new coming up to keep owners, buyers, and fans excited. The company's main task over the next year is to get its lower-priced Model 3 electric car into volume assembly at high quality, a process CEO Elon Musk has called "production hell." But there's more to...
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Pickup-truck politics, green-car deals, faster Model 3, grim climate-change report: Today's Car News John VoelckerToday, we've got an intriguing analysis of which makers would win big from rolling back fuel-economy rules, news on the future Tesla Model 3 "P" performance version of the electric car, a grim...
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Climate change worse, faster than projected, scientists tell Trump in leaked reportIt is abundantly clear that the Trump Administration does not believe in science. In its six months to date, it chose a climate-science denier to lead the Environmental Protection agency; rolled back two dozen regulations limiting air, water, and land pollution; and announced a U.S. withdrawal from...
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Electric-car showroom, Mazda's HCCI engine, Tesla Model 3 outlook, the end of engines: Today's Car NewsToday, Mazda will launch a new and far more fuel-efficient engine even as a supplier says engine development will end in a decade; our readers weigh in on the Tesla Model 3; and we look at lessons learned from educating the public on electric cars. All this and more on Green Car Reports. We kicked...
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Go Forth Electric Vehicle Showcase in Portland: lessons learned
One of the challenges in getting car shoppers to consider plug-in electric vehicles is the education required. Tesla attacked this problem head on, opening its stores in malls and other sites where potential future buyers could dip their toes in and start to learn about electric cars without being...
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2019 Mazda 3 to feature world-first HCCI engine for efficiency: reportIt's a technology that's been a sort of Holy Grail in the auto industry for at least a couple of decades. Now Mazda, one of the smallest global automakers, plans to introduce it in a radical new engine to be used in a future Mazda vehicle in 2019. It's called homogeneous charge compression...
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Tesla Model 3 electric car: what's your take? Poll results
With the Tesla Model 3 electric car now in early production and an aggressive ramp rate targeted, it's getting lots of media attention. Part of that is due to the allure of the Tesla brand and fascination with company CEO Elon Musk. Some more may be due to the widespread misapprehension that the...
John Voelcker