John Voelcker, Contributing Editor
Articles
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All sorts of vehicles have been pressed into service to carry Popes, from simple Fiats to giant Mercedes-Benz luxury landaulets.
Francis, the current Pope, has a preference for small, simple,...
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U.S. out of Paris pact, so Elon Musk off Trump business councilsFulfilling a campaign pledge, President Donald Trump said yesterday that he will set in motion plans to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Pact that it joined last fall. In turn, Tesla CEO Elon Musk responded that he will have to pull out of Trump's business advisory councils of CEOs and...
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Leaf batteries, Bolt EV sales, former Saabs, Tesla Model X sales: Today's Car NewsToday, we look at what may have happened to the once-touted Tesla Model X sales, cover a report on the future of Nissan Leaf battery cells, describe the electric cars based on the former Saab 9-3 that are now being built in China, and report on last month's plug-in electric car sales. All this and...
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So what happened to Tesla Model X electric SUV sales, anyway?A few years ago, before the Tesla Model X electric SUV went into production, company CEO Elon Musk said he thought it could outsell the older Model S hatchback luxury sedan. That hasn't happened. In the first three months of this year, Tesla said it delivered 11,550 Model Xes—but 13,450 Model...
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Tesla vs VW poll, cleaner electric cars, CAFE-related jobs, electric work truck: Today's Car NewsToday, our readers weigh in on Volkswagen's claim that it will outdo Tesla, we look at jobs created by fuel-economy rules, the EU gets serious about emission testing, and BMW says that in a few years, you can sleep behind the wheel. All this and more on Green Car Reports. A top VW Group executive...
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Electric cars are cleaner than hybrids in most places: mapped once again for your convenienceThe question is a reasonable one: electric cars may be zero-emission, but what about the electricity to recharge them? While renewable energy is growing globally, burning fossil fuels is still the source of most electric power today. The good news is that in most areas of the U.S., the "wells to...
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Looking back from the 2020s or 2030s, it's entirely likely that the unexpected arrival of Tesla Motors was a major force—along with legislation, perhaps the major force—in getting legacy...
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A123 expands, BMW electric plans, fuel-economy battle, Kia Niro chatbot: Today's Car NewsToday, BMW's electric-car plans may have changed, Tesla solar roof tiles can be preordered, A123 is bigger than you think, and VW plans even greater reductions in the environmental impact of carmaking. All this and more on Green Car Reports. We ran down our top news stories from the previous week...
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Bill to give more CAFE credits to light-truck makers introduced in CongressUnder the new administration of President Donald Trump, the EPA has reopened comments on its decision to finalize emission rules for 2022 through 2025 vehicles. Meanwhile, the NHTSA—which sets fuel-economy rules that have to correspond to EPA limits on carbon-dioxide emissions—hasn't...
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If BMW i5 is canceled, what does that mean for its electric cars?When it launched in 2013, the BMW i3 electric car was arguably the most futuristic automobile in mass production anywhere in the world. Its all-electric powertrain could be ordered with an optional range-extending engine, and it rode on an aluminum chassis topped with a strong but lightweight body...
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Battery maker A123 quietly became a half-billion-dollar companyTen years ago, lithium-ion cell maker A123 Systems was a hot startup and a much-publicized company. This author, in fact, profiled the company for IEEE Spectrum in the technology magazine's September 2007 issue. The six years that followed proved enormously painful for the Massachusetts company...
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BMW i3 over 3 years, Bolt EV for 6 months, Tesla happy days, electric-car sales soar: The Week in ReverseWhat does an owner think after six full months of driving a Chevy Bolt EV electric car? Why can't the Trump Administration say two little words that mean a lot? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending on Friday, May 26, 2017...
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Tesla drag racing, 6 months of Bolt EV, solar power soars, GM diesel suit: Today's Car News John VoelckerToday, a newly happy Tesla owner, some unhappy good ol' boy drag racers, soaring growth for solar power generation, and a Bolt EV after six months. All this and more on Green Car Reports.
Our...
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2017 Chevy Bolt EV electric car at 6 months: owner's likes, recommendationsThe 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV is the first mass-priced electric car with a range of more than 200 miles, and it's already had a big impact on the California market. While it continues to trickle into dealerships in other states, a few lucky Californians now have six months in the 238-mile electric...
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Toyota, Honda, Nissan, other Japan firms to fund hydrogen fuelingEarlier this year in Europe, 13 companies joined forces to create the Hydrogen Council, a global initiative to discuss and promote the use of hydrogen as a renewable source of energy. In the United States, GM and Honda have partnered up to build a production plant in Michigan that will roll out...
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CA electric-car sales, rebates rise; Tesla safety ratings; Model 3 info; what Trump won't say: Today's Car NewsToday, two words Trump won't say, soaring electric-car sales in California, some perspective on hydrogen fuel cells, and a couple of details on the Tesla Model 3. All this and more on Green Car Reports. We still don't know most of the specifications for the Tesla Model 3 that the company says will...
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California trend: hybrid sales sink, plug-in electric cars soarCalifornia has always been a bellwether for automotive trends, and it leads every other state by far in the volumes of plug-in electric cars sold. It also led in national sales of hybrid cars for many years. In fact, for several years running, the Toyota Prius was the single most popular passenger...
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Two words the Trump Administration can't say: climate changeDuring President Donald J. Trump's half-hour meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican yesterday, the pope gave the president a copy of his 2015 encyclical calling for urgent, drastic cuts in fossil-fuel emissions. It is unclear whether the U.S. president will peruse the document. Back at home...
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Electric-car maker Tesla doesn't announce models in the usual fashion.
It trickles out bits and pieces of information, often in the form of tweets from CEO Elon Musk, punctuated by occasional large...
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BMW i3 over 3 years, Chrysler sued over diesels, electric-car costs hybrid VW GTI: Today's Car NewsToday, another diesel lawsuit, Tesla backpedals on Supercharging fees, how heat pumps work, and three years and 70,000 miles in a BMW i3 electric car. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Yesterday, the U.S. Justice Department sued Fiat Chrysler over emission-related software used in the...
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UBS study predicts electric-car cost parity in Europe could arrive by 2018With the prospect of multiple long-range electric cars hitting the market over the next few years, the prediction market is in full swing. Battery costs have fallen faster than predicted eight years ago, and virtually every carmaker plans to introduce at least one battery-electric vehicle with 200...
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Electric SUVs, cities push, DC fast charging, self-driving Audi: Today's Car NewsToday, we've got news on the Jaguar I-Pace and a future all-electric Nissan crossover utility concept, we look at how DC fast charging will evolve, and the role of cities in pushing for green cars proves to be important. All this and more on Green Car Reports. The 2017 Smart ForTwo Electric Drive...
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Video shoot shows Jaguar I-Pace electric SUV in production formThe British luxury brand Jaguar, far smaller than any of its three German competitors, may be looking to steal a march on all of them. While Audi revealed a concept version of its forthcoming e-tron all-electric SUV 18 months ago, and Mercedes-Benz followed with its EQ Concept last September, the...
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Cities lead global push for cleaner, zero-emission carsCarlos Ghosn, the man behind the Nissan Leaf electric car and now the chairman of the Renault Nissan Alliance, isn't the first to say it. But his recent comment that cities are driving the push for electric cars is an important one, because it indicates a prime market for their advantages. The...
John Voelcker