John Voelcker, Contributing Editor
Articles
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Electric BMW, Tesla insurance, new Leaf battery, better hybrid systems: The Week in Reverse John VoelckerWhy are President Trump's pro-fossil-fuel, anti-renewable energy policies facing fierce pushback—and from where?
What makes us say two-motor hybrid systems are superior to those that use only a...
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Electric-car lessons, better hybrids, Tesla crash data, rigging renewable energy: Today's Car NewsToday, we've got a video on some sleazy politics, information on Tesla insurance claims, an opinion on which kinds of hybrids are best, and some lessons learned on electric cars. All this and more on Green Car Reports. The influential Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says Tesla Model S cars...
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Montana solar-power law rigging caught on live video, regrettablyThe U.S. is coming up to its Independence Day holiday, in which we celebrate the Declaration of Independence from England and reflect on our history and traditions as a nation. This is an interesting time to do that, and there's a cynical argument to be made that backroom politics is as American as...
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Why two-motor hybrid systems are better than those with just oneSix years ago, we wrote that a number of single-motor hybrid systems were about to enter the market. They represented a new approach to a technology pioneered in 1997, when the first-generation Toyota Prius was launched in Japan. Through 2010, all the full-hybrid vehicles introduced by Ford and...
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BMW 3-Series vs Tesla Model 3, Honda Fit update, Buick wagon, ChargePoint cash: Today's Car NewsToday, reports say BMW will reveal its Tesla Model 3-fighter this fall, PG&E concludes electric cars can be kinder to the grid, ChargePoint raises more money, and the 2018 Honda Fit gets Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. All this and more on Green Car Reports. It's been a busy week for...
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Fall debut for electric BMW 3-Series to fight Tesla Model 3: reportIn August 2016, when the first U.S. ads for the BMW 330e plug-in hybrid sport sedan hit the airwaves, they carried an interesting promise. "You will wait, and wait, and wait some more," the voiceover intoned, "all before that electric-car company's new model ever even arrives." That would be the...
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ChargePoint gets $125 million funding, will manage GE's electric-car charging network (update) John VoelckerIt's been a big week for the ChargePoint electric-car charging network.
On June 27, it announced it would take over management and operation of General Electric's charging network of 1,800 commercial...
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New Leaf battery, Tesla Autopilot, BMW electric-car strategy, Pacific Hybrid recall: Today's Car NewsToday, we've got some auto-industry analysis on BMW's electric cars, two updates on recent stories, a look at Tesla's latest Autopilot, and a takedown of a bizarre Swedish study of the environmental impact of electric cars. All this and more on Green Car Reports. With the BMW i5 dedicated electric...
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New life for old Nissan Leaf electric car: battery replacement and what it tookThe 2018 Nissan Leaf will likely be revealed within the next three months, but more than 100,000 older Leaf electric cars are still silently in use on U.S. roads. Some of them, especially the lowest-range cars from the two earliest model years (2011 and 2012), have started to see significant...
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2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid plug-in minivan recalled for faulty diode (updated)The 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid is, for the moment, a unique vehicle. It's the sole plug-in hybrid minivan for sale anywhere in North America, and its combination of seven seats and 33 miles of EPA-rated electric range have attracted huge interest. Deliveries of the partially electric minivan...
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Electric BMW iX3 to come in 2020, but BMW i5 defunct: what happened, and why?Over the last two years, Audi and Mercedes-Benz have released several all-electric concept cars that are thinly disguised production models to arrive in 2018 and beyond. But electric-car pioneer BMW's plans are less clear. Its sole recent electric concept car was the iNext luxury sedan shown more...
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Streetlamp charging, electric-car demand, more VW diesel pain, ChargePoint deal: Today's Car NewsToday, we look at predictions of electric-car demand, offer a video showing curb-side electric-car charging from a streetlamp, report on a charging-network deal, and consider how VW could be in for more diesel pain. All this and more on Green Car Reports. The U.S. charging network ChargePoint will...
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With modern electric cars about to enter their eighth year on sale, they remain a tiny fraction of the North American and global markets.
While plug-in models now make up almost 1 of every 20...
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313 miles in Bolt EV, Tesla in China, electric-car rules, Uber vs Waymo: Today's Car NewsToday, a road trip in a Chevy Bolt EV that covered more than 300 miles on a single battery charge, Tesla may have found a home in China, work on "quiet car" rules for electric cars may be axed, and Audi confirms its 2019 production for its second all-electric luxury car. All this and more on Green...
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Drive a Chevy Bolt EV electric car 313 miles on a charge: here's howElectric-car range is a funny thing. It is rated by the EPA, and most people focus on that combined figure, though an individual's use may greatly affect the car's actual range. Gentle drivers who drive mostly at lower speeds can greatly outdo that combined range, while steady driving at maximum...
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Electric-car noise rules to be canceled under Trump deregulation plan?Modern electric cars have been on U.S. roads for seven years or so, and owners love their smooth, quiet, close to noise-free operation. That silence has been a bone of contention for even longer, however, since hybrids operating purely on battery power are similarly quiet. For years, the U.S...
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Bolt EV safety, 2018 Camry Hybrid driven, EPA vs California, Tesla Autopilot video: The Week in ReverseWhy did one Tesla electric-car owner post a video of his car running under the Autopilot driver-assistance software? What crucial step has EPA chief (and climate-science denier) Scott Pruitt backed away from taking? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car...
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Tesla music, 2018 Leaf self-driving, renewable battle, Chargeway electric-car signs: Today's Car NewsToday, one of the better electric-car ideas we've seen in years, a Tesla question about music, a scientific controversy turned bitter, and a bit more information on the upcoming 2018 Nissan Leaf. All this and more on Green Car Reports. We've been on the road attending the EV Roadmap 10 conference...
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Pretty much everyone knows how to put fuel into a conventional car.
You pull up to the pump, open the vehicle's fuel door, put a credit card into the pump, select diesel or one of three grades of...
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Scientists debate: could renewable energy entirely replace fossil fuels in U.S. by 2050?Scientists generally debate their studies and projections in relatively civil language, but perhaps the currently adversarial tenor of U.S. politics has spilled over into science. A 2015 study on the potential for renewable energy use in the U.S. has now produced not only a stringent attack, but a...
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Hydrogen Hyundai, Tesla changes, states vs Trump, Mercedes electric plans: Today's Car NewsToday, we've got news about an important change at Tesla, a future hydrogen Hyundai, another electric-car concept from Mercedes-Benz, and how states may battle Trump efforts to weaken emissions and fuel-economy rules. All this and more on Green Car Reports. There's a new head of the Tesla Autopilot...
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Video explains how electric cars work, battery and motor technology includedWhile many drivers generally understand the concept of an electric car, understanding generally stops there. It's a car, and you plug it in to get power to run it. That's fine as far as it goes. Beyond that, things get hazy pretty quickly, we've found. DON'T MISS: Plug-in hybrid problem: buyers...
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States have battle plan if Trump rolls back fuel-economy, emission rulesThe Trump Administration has had a challenging start on numerous fronts, but its work to slash emission rules and eliminate regulations continues. The EPA administrator, climate-science denier Scott Pruitt, has said he isn't "currently" planning to target California's ability to set its own...
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Mercedes to show all-electric hatchback concept this fall, countering Audi: reportGerman luxury carmakers often follow each other's product plans in something close to lockstep. Let one maker—BMW, say—introduce a new category of vehicle—sport utility "coupes," say—and soon Mercedes-Benz and Audi will have their own too. And the premium brands appear to be...
John Voelcker