John Voelcker, Contributing Editor
Articles
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Tesla Model X safety, Fisker battery news, fuel economy rules, Mercedes electric cars: Today's Car News John VoelckerToday, another award for the Tesla Model X, a BMW investment in electric buses, Mercedes will build luxury electric models in China, and our readers really, really care about fuel-economy rules. All...
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BMW venture arm invests in U.S. electric-bus maker ProterraYou can't buy one at your local car dealer, but electric transit buses have a significant role to play in reducing vehicular emissions and expanding the spread of electric-vehicle technology. Two companies have a majority of the U.S. market for electric buses, which is growing quickly if perhaps...
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Mercedes to make electric cars at its China factory with BAICIt's not only electric cars: China is also now the world's largest market for luxury cars. Audi got an early foothold among party officials and high-ranking government officials, but the allure of global brands has ensured that Mercedes-Benz and BMW sell lots of cars there as well. Now, Mercedes...
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California joins Germany in climate coalition to support Paris pactThe 50 states that make up the U.S. don't get to set their own foreign policies (neither do Canadian provinces). But that doesn't necessarily prevent them from working with other countries on matters of mutual interest. And that's just what California is doing in an agreement announced this weekend...
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How much would relaxing U.S. fuel-economy rules matter? Poll resultsOne of the earliest acts of the Trump Administration was to announce that it would re-examine emission rules finalized by the EPA in the waning days of the Obama Administration. Making good on that promise, EPA administrator (and climate-science denier) Scott Pruitt reopened the commenting period...
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Plug-in hybrid Fusion, 2018 Honda Fit, Clarity Electric price, Tesla vs dealers in NY: Today's Car NewsToday, rumors about an all-new electric car, why trucks can be cars even if their owners don't know what they are, a frustrating Ford experience (but not because of the car), and lease pricing on the all-electric Honda Clarity. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Over the weekend, we ran down...
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What would you pay to lease a smooth, quiet, comfortable, relatively luxurious mid-size electric sedan with only about 90 miles of range?
Honda hopes the answer is $269 a month with $1,730 down, on a...
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Some crossover SUVs get easier fuel-economy rules, others don'tWhat's a truck? If you tell your average suburban family that they're hauling their kids to school and sports practices in a truck, many will push back. "It's an SUV," you'll likely hear, or perhaps, "it's called a crossover"—short for crossover utility vehicle, or a car-based SUV. DON'T...
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2018 Nissan Leaf: rumored timing, steps for U.S. rolloutWith the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV on the market since December and Tesla Model 3 deliveries said to start within a few months, the upcoming 2018 Nissan Leaf is in danger of getting lost in the noise level. The second generation of Nissan's pioneering electric car will likely be unveiled within the...
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Chevy Bolt EV: nationwide sales moved up to August for electric carA slow Chevrolet Bolt EV rollout across the U.S. has frustrated electric-car advocates in many states toward the end of the list. While the first Bolt EVs were delivered in California last December, the last group wasn't scheduled to receive their cars until September. Now GM has moved that up by a...
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Tesla's next cars; Clarity, CT6 plug-ins driven; $10K Leaf discounts; states vs Trump: The Week in ReverseWhat upcoming electric car was teased by Tesla CEO Elon Musk this week? How much would it cost to replace the 60-kwh battery pack in a new Chevy Bolt EV? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending on Friday, June 9, 2017. Friday, we...
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Tesla Model Y teaser, Bolt EV battery cost, electric-car energy storage, Apple vs texting: Today's Car NewsToday, we've got future model details from Tesla's important stockholders meeting, a renewable-energy second life for Renault Zoe battery packs, the cost of a Bolt EV battery, and photos of former Saabs reborn as electric cars. All this and more on Green Car Reports. What happens to old...
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Musk shows Tesla Model Y teaser, confirms Model 3 deliveries next month, at annual meeting John VoelckerTesla held its shareholder meeting Wednesday night, and lots of news emerged in bits and pieces from CEO Elon Musk and the rest of the event.
We now know a little more about the Tesla Model Y, the...
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How much is a replacement Chevy Bolt EV electric-car battery?It's one of the most common questions among electric-car buyers: what happens if the battery fails? The answer is that all electric-car batteries are warranted against failure for either 8 years/100,000 miles or 10 years/150,000 miles, depending on which state you live in. The followup is often...
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Green-car deals, plug-in Clarity drives, Toyota exits Tesla, electric-car shoppers: Today's Car NewsToday, we've got our monthly green-car deals rundown, first drives of the two electric Honda Clarity sedan models, a look back at Toyota investing in Tesla, and a problem for electric-car shoppers. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Yesterday, we reported that Toyota had sold all its Tesla...
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China will have lots of electric cars, but no maker knows what market wantsChina is not only the world's largest single car market, but the market in which the greatest number of plug-in electric cars are sold. But the country's government has plans to increase the number of electric cars on its roads dramatically, to curtail noxious exhaust emissions and move China to...
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Honda Clarity Electric, Plug-In Hybrid: first drives, impressionsIn March, we spent most of a day with the Honda Clarity Fuel Cell, the first of three variants of the Clarity mid-size sedan to go on sale in the U.S. Leases of the hydrogen-powered Clarity will be limited for the foreseeable future to residents of those areas of California near to hydrogen fueling...
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Tesla insurance, $10K Leaf discounts, cleaner electric cars, CT6 Plug-In drive: Today's Car NewsToday, we've got a first drive of the Cadillac CT6 Plug-In hybrid luxury sedan, $10,000 discounts on Nissan Leaf electric cars, higher Tesla insurance rates, and Trump misstating a climate study that was deeply flawed to start with. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Over the weekend, we...
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Electric cars have no tailpipe emissions when running.
But unless they're charged entirely on renewable energy—still statistically unlikely today—there are emissions associated with...
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2017 Cadillac CT6 Plug-In: first drive of hybrid luxury sedanThe 2017 Cadillac CT6 Plug-In will be a rare beast in the U.S.; fewer than 1,000 are likely to be sold each year. In many ways, that's a shame. This version of the CT6 large sedan is a worthy competitor among plug-in hybrid luxury cars, the rest of which will come from BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and...
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Study Trump cited in Paris pullout speech can't be taken seriouslyIn his speech on Thursday announcing that the U.S. would pull out of the Paris climate treaty it signed last fall, President Donald Trump cited a number of statistics of the dire effects that treaty would supposedly have on the U.S. economy. In general, data, statistics, and analysis are...
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Plug-in electric car sales for May: best Bolt EV, Prime months yet; Leaf, Volt rise too (final update)Sales of four high-volume plug-in electric cars rose last month, with new monthly record for the Chevy Bolt EV and the Toyota Prius Prime. The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV 238-mile battery-electric hatchback logged its highest monthly total since sales began in December. Chevrolet delivered 1,566 Bolt...
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Tesla Model X sales, electric cars vs hybrids, Hyundai Ioniq battery, Paris pact pullout: The Week in ReverseWhy didn't the Tesla Model X sell as well as Elon Musk suggested it could? What happens when a Hyundai Ioniq Electric battery uses up the last of its energy capacity? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending on Friday, June 2...
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Electric Popemobile, Musk vs Trump, coal to wind, plug-in sales: Today's Car NewsToday, we update U.S. plug-in electric car sales data for May, look at a program to help coal miners get wind-farm jobs, explain Musk's view of Trump's Paris pullout, and highlight the unlikely place the newest Popemobile is actually made. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Donald Trump pulled...
John Voelcker