John Voelcker, Contributing Editor
Articles
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While the auto industry at large waited to see if January sales continued as strong as last year's record-breaking total, electric-car fans waited for a different number.
That was the number of...
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How important is fast-charging to sell electric cars? Poll resultsThose unfamiliar with electric cars often don't know that several different types of battery charging exist. Overnight recharging at home can be done either with 120-volt household current or, for longer-range cars, with a 240-volt charging station installed by the car owner. Then there's DC fast...
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U.S. to pull out of Paris climate-change agreement under TrumpAs seemed likely from the day Donald Trump was elected president of the United States, the country will pull out of the global Paris Climate Agreement to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. The move had been signaled even before the election by the new president's choice of noted climate-science...
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GM, Honda set up joint fuel-cell manufacturing plant, 2020 production goalBattery-electric cars are being delivered in volume today, but planned hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles from major automakers are on a more gradual timeframe. This morning, General Motors and Honda jointly announced that the two companies would establish a joint venture to produce hydrogen fuel-cell...
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Starship electric sidewalk-delivery robot a hit at DC Auto ShowWhat would you do if a small, knee-high box on wheels with a flag topping its tall antenna whirred toward you electrically on a sidewalk at 4 miles per hour? It turns out three-quarters of the pedestrians in several cities who've seen one didn't stop or even stare as it avoided them and continued...
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How many Tesla Model 3 electric cars can company build this year?It's one of the most fascinating sets of questions in the auto industry. How quickly can Tesla Motors put its Model 3 electric car into production? And when? How many cars can it build this year? How many can it deliver to paying customers? At a promised starting price of $35,000, the Model 3 is...
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Comparing electric cars, fast charging grows, Tesla Autopilot, home hydrogen: The Week in Reverse John VoelckerWhen will Tesla's Autopilot restore its previous capabilities and add new features that take it closer to self-driving?
And how is Hyundai suggesting electric-car buyers should assess models that...
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Trump EPA: climate science still live, gag order remains, grants unfrozen (updated)Following the removal of all mentions of climate change from the White House website, the new administration has apparently trained its sights on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA and a handful of other government agencies are now reportedly under gag orders: employees are forbidden...
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Electric-car MPGe as important as range, Hyundai Ioniq maker suggestsAlong with price, the top-line statistic cited for any battery-electric car is its rated range. Until last month, the only electric cars that exceeded 200 miles in that metric were made by Tesla Motors. Now, the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV has a 238-mile EPA rating for range—and that's usually the...
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BMW expands electric-car ChargeNow by EVgo program to 33 statesTwo days ago, BMW and Nissan announced the latest expansion of their jointly funded DC fast-charging sites for electric cars, which is operated by the EVgo charging network. Those sites now cover more than 50 metropolitan areas in 33 states. This morning, BMW announced that its ChargeNow by EVgo...
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Electric-car fast charging, diesel emission cost, small luxury cars, Trump and CEOs: Today's Car NewsToday, we look at how far electric-car fast charging has expanded, look at the cost of controlling diesel emissions, and learn more about the schedule for Tesla cars to move further toward self-driving. All this and more on Green Car Reports. What's it like to charge a Nissan Leaf wirelessly? We...
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BMW, Nissan fund EVgo fast-charging network expansion: 670 dual-standard sites openAt the end of 2015, BMW and Nissan announced that the two companies had partnered to fund the installation of 120 DC fast-charging stations for electric cars across 19 states. All the sites had one or more 50-kilowatt stations with a pair of charging cables: one with the CHAdeMO connector that...
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Yesterday, analyses of the air in several parts of France showed it contained high levels of ultrafine particles emitted by road vehicles.
Among the guiltiest culprits were older diesel vehicles with...
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$1 billion for electric cars, Mini changes, climate science views, Tesla acceleration: Today's Car NewsToday, we talk about a very controversial Tesla, consider the idea of $1 billion in electric-car infrastructure and incentives, and look at the percentage of Americans who accept climate science (it's high). All this and more on Green Car Reports. Germany's minister for the environment is facing...
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Renault adds new Master ZE larger electric delivery vanFrench carmaker Renault sells no passenger cars in North America, and hasn't for almost 30 years now. But in Europe, its all-electric Zoe subcompact hatchback has been the best-selling plug-in electric car for months on end. The Zoe is one of three "ZE" (zero emission) vehicles sold by Renault, and...
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California utilities submit $1 billion of electric-car projects to regulatorsCalifornia continues to lead the United States, and in some ways the world, in efforts to reduce and eliminate harmful emissions from road vehicles. Following the lead of Governor Jerry Brown, the state legislature and regulatory agencies have set aggressive goals to reduce emission of...
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More than two-thirds of Americans accept climate science, regardless of TrumpThe new U.S. administration has made it clear that it does not accept the scientific consensus on climate change. From President Donald Trump down through his nominees for key roles—Scott Pruitt for EPA adminstrator, Rick Perry for Department of Energy head, and others—key elected and...
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Hybrid sales, coal in China, Panasonic loves Tesla: Today's Car NewsToday, we cover coal plants in China, plug-in hybrid tests in London, and hybrid sales right here in the U.S. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Tesla Motors has bought battery cells from Panasonic for 10 years; now the Japanese company wants to tighten the partnership. Despite critics'...
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What's a "green car"? Is it a hybrid? A zero-emission vehicle? One that plugs in? Or just one that uses less fuel than other cars in its segment?
It's a perpetual conundrum, for Green Car Reports...
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SimpleFuel home hydrogen fuel dispenser wins $1 million DoE prizeLast week, the U.S. Department of Energy awarded a $1 million prize to a little-known team for what you might call a new garage appliance. The SimpleFuel team—actually a collaboration of three separate companies—won the prize, first offered in November 2014, for its hydrogen...
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China axes 103 coal-fired power plants, citing smog, overcapacityDuring negotiations for the Paris Climate Treaty signed last fall, a major concern among critics was whether the carbon emissions of China's sprawling and inefficient energy sector could be reined in. With China, the U.S., and dozens of other countries signing the agreement, the world's most...
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New Tesla Model S 100D version rated at 335 miles of electric rangeIf anything, the pace of new Tesla model changes seem to have increased of late. Over the last year, a 60-kilowatt-hour battery option has reappeared, a new 100-kwh battery was launched, followed by a sequence of software updates to make it faster, and all Autopilot sensors were replaced with new...
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Action on climate change 'harmful, unnecessary': Trump White House
If there were any doubt that U.S. policy on climate change would change drastically under President Donald Trump, it should have been laid to rest shortly after noon yesterday. Following inauguration ceremonies for the 45th president of the United States, the Obama White House website was replaced...
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Bolt EV availability, Rogue Hybrid, next Leaf, VW diesel crimes: The Week in ReverseWhen can you buy a 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car from your local Chevy dealer? And what carmaker pleaded guilty to four felony charges and will pay more than $4 billion in fines for its criminal actions? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car...
John Voelcker