John Voelcker, Contributing Editor
Articles
-
Yesterday, U.S. president Donald J. Trump signed an executive order to begin the process of rolling back pretty much every vestige of U.S. efforts to address climate change.
In both his campaigning...
-
Modified European VW diesels 'undrivable,' say some ownersMost of the Volkswagen and Audi diesel cars sold in the U.S. from 2009 through 2015 are likely to be bought back from their owners, probably leaving fewer than 100,000 on U.S. roads. That's not the case in Europe, where the impacts of the Volkswagen diesel emission scandal are still playing out...
John Voelcker -
2018 Nissan Leaf: more spy shots of electric car's second generationThe more camouflaged spy shots that emerge of a car being tested on public roads, the closer it likely is to being introduced. After seven years of the first-generation Nissan Leaf electric car, a redesign is due—some might say overdue. Now we have a second set of spy shots of the 2018 Leaf...
John Voelcker -
Which electric car will sell best during 2018? Poll resultsNext year should be a record year for sales of plug-in electric cars. A new crop of affordable electric cars with 200 miles of range or more will be available, joining this year's Chevrolet Bolt EV, including the next-generation Nissan Leaf and the mass-market Tesla Model 3. So our thoughts...
John Voelcker -
Renault Zoe electric-car owners can double their range by upgrading leased batteriesWhen the updated 2017 Renault Zoe was unveiled last fall at the Paris auto show, it became one of the few electric cars whose range effectively doubled over its model life. Launched in 2012 with a 22-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery, the five-door subcompact hatchback had an effective range of 60...
John Voelcker -
Trump Administration goal: undo every climate-change effortIt was clear well before November's election that candidate Donald Trump did not believe in the accepted science of climate change. He referred to it using an excremental epithet, and also claimed that it was a Chinese hoax created to hurt the U.S. Scientists around the world and the majority of...
John Voelcker -
In the 20 years since General Motors and its Chinese partner SAIC reintroduced the Buick brand to China, more than 8 million Buicks have been sold in what is now the world's largest car market.
...
-
Bolt EV pros and cons, hybrid sedans, Model 3 video, oil industry ignores electric cars: The Week in ReverseWho posted a video of an important future electric car with more than 200 miles of range? What alarming bill is quietly advancing in the U.S. House of Representatives? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending on Friday, March 24...
John Voelcker -
Model 3 video, California electric cars, NY rebates, one-pedal driving: Today's Car NewsToday, we look at an update on the Tesla Model 3, explain what one-pedal driving is, and insert some reality over how much fuel-economy rules will actually cost. All this and more on Green Car Reports. New York state finally released details of its new electric-car incentive program, and turns out...
John Voelcker -
California conundrum: 2018 Leaf, Bolt EV, or Mirai fuel-cell car?California is very different from the rest of the United States. All by itself, it's the sixth largest economy in the world. One eighth of all Americans live there. It's home to Silicon Valley, as well as much of the global entertainment industry, and it produces a large proportion of the nation's...
John Voelcker -
First 'release candidate' Tesla Model 3 driven: video posted by Elon MuskThe news earlier this week that the Tesla Model 3 would skip its usual "beta" development phase came as a shock to the industry and even to Tesla fans. With no reported sitings to date of Model 3 development versions on the roads, that seemed a startling and risky thing for Tesla to do. Especially...
John Voelcker -
What IS 'one-pedal driving' in an electric car?One-pedal driving is rather like the experience of owning an electric car: it can be hard to appreciate until you've spend time doing it. The phrase "one-pedal driving" refers to the ability of some electric cars to be driven almost entirely with the accelerator pedal alone. It's a feature much...
John Voelcker -
The auto industry tends to oppose, viscerally and viciously, all attempts to regulate any aspect of its products or business operations for any reason.
With President Trump in the White House, the...
-
NY $2,000 electric-car rebate falls to $500 if it's over $60K; sorry, TeslaNew York State is known for a lack of transparency, backroom dealings, and little public input into the deliberations that lead to legislation produced by its state legislature. So it wasn't too surprising that after Governor Andrew Cuomo announced an electric-car incentive program in April 2016...
John Voelcker -
Electric cars in winter, Chrysler diesel woes, why Opel is gone, fast charging: Today's Car NewsToday, we look at winter driving in electric cars, why the oil industry doesn't care about plugs, and Fiat Chrysler is in more hot water over its diesel engines in Europe. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Faster charging for electric cars, modeled by Tesla in its Supercharger network, is...
John Voelcker -
Driving electric cars in winter: tips from experienced ownerOne of the challenges of electric cars is persuading potential buyers that they can do virtually everything that most other vehicles can. For those who live in wintry climates, that includes dealing with snow, slush, road salt, ice, and variable traction. Given the recent major snowstorms that hit...
John Voelcker -
The oil industry doesn't care about electric cars: here's whyIt crops up in comments from electric-car advocates and clean-energy users fairly regularly. And it goes something like this: "Big Oil and Gas are on the verge of collapse, as clean energy and electric cars make them obsolete." Occasionally the sentiment is followed by an approving emoji. DON'T...
John Voelcker -
Another Chevy Bolt EV electric-car owner weighs in on pros and consWe've had a 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car in our fleet for a handful of days, and have been thinking about our impressions of the car in everyday use. While a major snowstorm cut half the days out of our test run—with a 7-foot snowdrift blocking the road to my house—we've been...
John Voelcker -
World's largest electric-car charging site in parking facility: in Norway, of course (video) John VoelckerParking garages often aren't very well-lit, and a video tour of one may not sound like a particularly enjoyable way to spend time.
But if you're an electric-car driver or advocate in North America,...
-
What's the most important fuel-cell car so far? Poll resultsAbout 600,000 plug-in electric cars have been sold in the U.S. in the past 10 years. The number for hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles is lower: as of the end of last month, it's below 1,600. Nonetheless, Honda, Hyundai, and Toyota today offer zero-emission vehicles powered by hydrogen in limited areas of...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model 3: beta phase to be skipped, will go straight to production?Development of new vehicles, especially if they're on underpinnings that haven't been used in previous models, follows a very predictable schedule. First, a concept car is revealed. Often, it's a thinly disguised version of the future production car with some added design flourishes that won't make...
John Voelcker -
2018 Toyota C-HR first driveSport-utility vehicles started out as truck offshoots, essentially tall wagon bodies on truck underpinnings. Think of the first Chevy Suburban in 1935, which remained a specialty vehicle (mostly for Texans) for its first 40 years. Fast-forward another 40 years, and my, how things have changed...
John Voelcker -
Has GM really 'already lost' the electric-car race to Tesla?Lots of people like horse races, win-or-lose competitions, and rankings. They're easy to understand, and definitive. They may also lose the forest for the trees, which is what we're tempted to suggest about a new article that addresses the launch of the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car. GM's...
John Voelcker -
Electric cars only need 100 miles of range, some carmakers say; is it true?Hyundai first made the argument that energy efficiency in electric cars is just as important as their range, as part of its launch of the Ioniq Electric hatchback, EPA-rated at 124 miles. Now Honda is making that argument as well, based on a news report it confirmed saying that the Clarity EV...
John Voelcker