John Voelcker, Contributing Editor
Articles
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Just days after the presidential election, an automaker lobbying group wrote Donald Trump asking him to change or delay an EPA decision that kept planned exhaust-emission standards through 2025.
Now...
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2018 Nissan Leaf spy shots: our question on electric car updateIt's the long-missing member of the trio, the last of three affordable electric cars with 200-plus miles of range expected to go into production this year. But until now, we've heard almost nothing about the 2018 Nissan Leaf. All we knew was that the second generation of the world's highest-volume...
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Model 3 start, VW diesel drama, Subaru first drive, Bolt EV owner impressions: The Week in ReverseWhat remarkable accusation did the Volkswagen board of directors make against its former CEO and scion of the family that founded the company? And what date does one rumor give for the start of pilot production of the eagerly awaited Tesla Model 3 electric car? This is our look back at the Week In...
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China's BYD built more plug-in cars than any other maker last yearTime for a quick quiz: which carmaker sold more plug-in electric vehicles last year—both battery electrics and plug-in hybrids—than any other? If you're a reader in North America or Europe who managed to miss our headline, odds are you may answer "Tesla" or "Nissan," based on media...
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What White House faces if it tries to roll back fuel-economy standardsDonald Trump won the U.S. Electoral College and swept into the White House on a varied platform that included significant promises to cut regulation and reduce government involvement in a wide variety of spheres. The day after his election, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers sent him a letter...
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2018 Hyundai Elantra GT hatchback unveiled at Chicago auto showOver the last 10 years, the Hyundai Elantra has emerged into the top tier of compact sedans, joining longstanding leaders like the Ford Focus, Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, and Volkswagen Jetta as well as more recent contenders like the Chevrolet Cruze and Subaru Impreza. The last-generation Elantra...
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A 40-year-old Fleetwood Mac song, floating childrens' heads, and hydrogen molecules all kick off the marketing campaign for the 2017 Honda Clarity Fuel Cell hydrogen-powered vehicle.
Like most...
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VW Board vs ex-CEO Piech: rancor erupts over diesel cheating liesStatements from the boards of directors of automakers are generally dry, dispassionate, and formal. So the language of a terse item issued yesterday by the board of Volkswagen Group was remarkable in its directness. Not to mention its inferences about the company's former CEO Ferdinand Piech, who...
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Pilot production of Tesla Model 3 to start Feb 20: reportTesla said yesterday it would shut down its production lines for one week this month to prepare for the launch of its upcoming Model 3 electric sedan. The Silicon Valley carmaker said the "brief, planned pause" was to add paint-shop capacity and do general maintenance at its assembly plant in...
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2017 Subaru Impreza: first drive of AWD compact sedan, hatchThe 2017 Subaru Impreza is one of the most fuel-efficient all-wheel-drive vehicles in the U.S. market, and has been for many years. The entirely redesigned 2017 Impreza rides on new underpinnings, but it's easily recognizable as an evolution of the company's popular compact sedan and hatchback. One...
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Why aren't there more hybrid crossover utilities and SUVs?It's one of the most frequent questions asked by shoppers interested in utility vehicles with better gas mileage: why aren't there more hybrid SUVs and crossovers? Following the 2012 demise of the much-loved Ford Escape Hybrid, it took four years for the 2016 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid to emerge. This...
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3 California battery storage sites come online, one from TeslaLong a leader in the push to reduce vehicle emissions and switch to renewable energy, California marks another milestone this week. The last of three battery energy-storage sites will come online in Southern California, providing storage and buffering for unpredictable renewable energy. Together...
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Now that the 238-mile Chevrolet Bolt EV is arriving in more dealers each month, anticipation fever has turned to the Tesla Model 3.
(There's a new generation of the Nissan Leaf coming too, but so far...
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2017 Chevy Bolt EV electric car: new owner's first impressions
As the first mass-priced electric car with more than 200 miles of range to hit the market, the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV has attracted a great deal of attention. It's won numerous awards, including the Green Car Reports 2017 Best Car To Buy title, and received rave reviews from a wide variety of media...
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Bill Nye Bolt EV, 3-liter VW diesel deal, Tesla Model 3 volume, sidewalk robots: The Week in ReverseWhat will happen to more than 80,000 Audi, Porsche, and Volkswagen vehicles powered by 3.0-liter V-6 diesels that were sold from 2009 through 2016? And just how far off base was Ford CEO Mark Fields in claiming that up to 1 million jobs could be lost under the fuel-economy standards now in place?...
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Porsche plug-in hybrid, 2018 Subaru Legacy, Bill Nye's Bolt EV, wood-burning cars: Today's Car NewsToday, a much-loved TV scientist gets a Bolt EV, we drive a pricey luxury plug-in hybrid performance sedan, and we explain why cars don't burn wood any longer. Plus an excuse not to exercise! All this and more on Green Car Reports. One of the last acts of the now-departed Obama Administration was...
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Science Guy Bill Nye buys Chevy Bolt EV, his seventh electric carBill Nye, better known as "The Science Guy" on the popular PBS children's series that bears his name, loves electric cars. He drove one of only a few hundred original GM EV1 two-seat electric cars almost 20 years ago. Three weeks ago, he took delivery of a brand-new "Kinetic Blue" 2017 Chevrolet...
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Electric cars vs bicycles: which has a higher carbon footprint?Electric cars are simply nicer and calmer to drive than conventional cars, and as their prices fall, that may be what will lure mass-market buyers over time. But they have undeniable benefit of lowering wells-to-wheels carbon emissions per mile driven, and they can also be powered entirely on...
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Audi dealers warned, Tesla logo, electric Mercedes, Bosch cash for VW diesels: Today's Car News John VoelckerToday, spy shots of another electric luxury SUV under development, what Tesla's logo means, and why VW diesel owners will get cash from another company too. All this and more on Green Car Reports.
We...
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Audi tells its dealers to get with the (electric-car) programAs many electric-car buyers will tell you, franchised auto dealers can pose a large and tedious impediment to actually buying the plug-in car you want. From salespeople with no knowledge of the cars to test vehicles that haven't been recharged and have little battery range left, the hurdles are...
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Bosch to pay VW diesel owners $330 million in emission scandal tooWith a judge set to weigh in on the settlement VW Group negotiated with its 3.0-liter V-6 diesel owners, Volkswagen seems to have settled most of the U.S. legal claims stemming from its diesel-emission cheating scandal. Total costs in the U.S. alone are now more than $20 billion, and among other...
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Emissions rules could cost 1 million jobs, Ford CEO tells Trump: what's behind that number? (further updated)Among his actions during a whirlwind first week in office, U.S. President Donald Trump met last week with the CEOs of U.S. automakers Fiat Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors. He met on two consecutive days with Mark Fields, CEO of Ford, in fact. Fields was part of a group of manufacturing...
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Electric-car sales; Tesla, BMW miss top safety tier; fuel economy popular: Today's Car NewsToday is the first day of the month, so we report on electric-car sales. We also look at the popularity of fast charging, learn what the IIHS said about the safety of the Tesla Model S and BMW i3, and cover VW's latest diesel-scandal settlement. All this and more on Green Car Reports. How important...
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Settlement for Audi, Porsche, VW 3.0-liter diesel TDI owners announcedVolkswagen today announced that it had reached a settlement with owners of Audi, Porsche, and VW vehicles fitted with its 3.0-liter V-6 diesel engine. Different remedies apply depending on the vehicle's model year: 2009 through 2012 cars will be bought back, while 2013 through 2016 vehicles will be...
John Voelcker