John Voelcker, Contributing Editor
Articles
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Bolt EV impressions, Kia Niro mileage, small-car bargains, what Trump told EPA: The Week in Reverse John VoelckerWhat did President Trump actually say he'd tell the EPA to do when he spoke to automakers in Detroit on Wednesday?
Why did one longtime reader decide to cancel his order for a 238-mile Chevrolet Bolt...
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2017 Kia Niro: gas mileage reviewHowever you choose to view the 2017 Kia Niro hybrid—Kia says it's a crossover utility, we call it a wagon—it's a good-looking and relatively capacious small car. The debate over segments comes because the Niro has neither the ground clearance of a utility vehicle nor available all-wheel...
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What Trump did and didn't say in Detroit on EPA emission rulesOne of the challenges of today's uber-polarized political environment is that fear and alarmism increasingly overtake the factual realities of an issue. This appears to be the case with President Donald Trump's Wednesday appearance in Detroit to announce the reopening of the comment period for EPA...
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Porsche Mission E electric car to cost less than Panamera sedan
Porsche's most ardent fans no longer complain about the expansion of the German sports-car maker's lineup into sedans and, even worse, sport-utility vehicles. The large Panamera sedan and the Cayenne and Macan SUVs are not only some of Porsche's more popular models, but fund its development of the...
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After Audi e-tron, next electric car to be compact BMW i3 competitorNext year, the Audi e-tron luxury electric crossover is expected to arrive at U.S. dealers, bringing Audi into direct competition with the Tesla Model X roughly three years after the world's first all-electric utility vehicle went into production. But with a pledge to sell 25 percent of its cars...
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Which luxury brand will do best in electric cars? Poll resultsWithin the next two years we will see new all-electric luxury cars from Audi, BMW, Jaguar, and Mercedes-Benz appear in actual showrooms. All four of those makes have shown concepts for their pricey, 200-mile-plus electric cars, and most of them are expected to go on sale in the second half of next...
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Tomorrow is expected to be the day when President Donald Trump announces the EPA will reopen the comment period for the vehicle emissions standards it finalized in the waning days of the Obama...
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Why I canceled my Chevy Bolt EV electric-car order: a reader explainsThe advent of affordable 200-mile electric cars promises to increase public acceptance of cars with plugs—or at least that's the hope of both carmakers and advocates. The first of those, the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, is now entering the market, state by state, to great acclaim. But not every...
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2018 Nissan Leaf, Ioniq drive videos, Bolt EV road trip, EPA turmoil: The Week in ReverseWhat date did we finally get for the unveiling of a very popular electric car's next generation? Why are we increasingly nervous about the fate of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under its climate-science-denying head? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green...
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Chevy Bolt EV, Hyundai Ioniq show slow, confusing state of 'fast' charging todayWhen you drive into a U.S. gas station to pump gas, every pump works exactly the same way. The only choice to make is which grade of gasoline you want. If you want diesel fuel, of course, you may have to find one of the six out of 10 stations that offer it. DC fast charging for electric cars isn't...
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Five electric-car questions to worry about this yearIt seems fair to say that the new presidential administration may have increased the generalized level of worry among many Americans, not to mention the rest of the world. Among the things to worry about are the future of incentives, infrastructure, and legislation encouraging the adoption of...
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Nissan Leaf leases can extend until all-new 2018 electric car late this year: updatedMore Nissan Leaf electric cars were sold in 2014 than in any model year before or since, fully 30,000 of them. That means a whole lot of three-year leases are coming due this year. Now Nissan is offering to extend those leases—and in the process, it's given us a little more information on the...
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More than a year ago, we spent a weekend with a 2016 BMW X5 xDrive 40e luxury plug-in hybrid SUV.
Rated at 14 miles of range, it never achieved anything near that number in winter weather.
Now our...
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2017 Hyundai Ioniq Electric: first drive review of 124-mile electric carFor the first six years of electric cars, from 2011 to 2016, we've had a variety of mass-priced cars with ranges of 62 to 107 miles. This year, in 2017, we got the Chevy Bolt EV, at 238 miles. But there's a new competitor as well. This is the 2017 Hyundai Ioniq Electric. DON'T MISS: 2017 Hyundai...
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Chevy Bolt EV: 800-mile trip in 238-mile electric car shows challenges remain
With about twice the range of any non-Tesla electric car, the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV has generated a great deal of excitement and won numerous awards over the last year. In combination with a nascent DC fast-charging infrastructure, it offers the possibility of much longer road trips powered solely...
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Hyundai FE Fuel Cell Concept previews hydrogen-powered SUV coming in 2018The Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell was actually the first hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle offered to U.S. drivers in recent years. The 2016 Toyota Mirai that followed it has now outsold Hyundai's hydrogen-powered SUV, but it's been known for a couple of years that the Korean maker will replace that model. At...
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Trump's EPA deletes 'science' from Science Office mission statementThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is emerging as one of the government entities most targeted by the new Trump Administration for change. In this case, if reports of the administration's draft budget proposal are accurate, change means wholesale elimination of staff, funding, and programs...
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Renault Zoe e-Sport Concept at Geneva highlights electric-car performance (live photos)The Renault Zoe, a subcompact hatchback, has little in common with the Tesla Model S besides a battery-electric powertrain and five doors. But the maker of Europe's best-selling electric car seeks to underscore the idea that "electric cars can be fun and fast," perhaps hoping that some of Tesla's...
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Imagine appointing a lifelong pacifist, who believes it is never justifiable to take up arms against any man, to run the U.S. armed forces.
The appointment of Scott Pruitt as the administrator of the...
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Electric-car winds in China shift again: goals to be cut after sales fall?Eight weeks ago, China seemed to be preparing to loosen its famously strict car-manufacturing rules for foreign makers. The government leaders who direct economic policy had seemingly concluded that Chinese makers could not succeed in selling cars in Europe and North America. So the country...
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EPA to reopen 2022-2025 auto-emission rule decision: reportIt looks like lobbying pays off, at least in the case of EPA emission rules. According to numerous recent reports, the EPA is expected to reopen the commenting period for vehicle-emission rules it finalized in January, more than a year ahead of schedule. Automaker CEOs and the Alliance of...
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2017 Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid video drive reviewIt's been said that the only global carmaker Toyota is really worried about is Hyundai. This year, the legendary Prius hybrid—which celebrates its 20th anniversary—has some new competition. This is the 2017 Hyundai Ioniq. It's a hybrid, but there are actually three models of the Ioniq...
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Plug-in electric car sales for Feb: Volt outsells Prius Prime, Bolt EV, Leaf (final update)Once again, it's the first day of the month following a weekday sales close, when the auto industry turns its eyes to the sales charts emerging from all automakers (except Tesla). For plug-in electric cars, the question this month remains the same as last month: how many Chevrolet Bolt EVs did GM...
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Future electric cars, GM diesel hopes, 80-mile Honda EV, Tesla Model 3 prices (maybe): The Week in ReverseWhat innovation did a 94-year-old battery legend discuss last week? Why should green-car buyers even consider purchasing a new diesel vehicle? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending on Friday, March 3, 2017. Friday, recent...
John Voelcker