John Voelcker, Contributing Editor
Articles
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Tesla timing, fossil-fuel billions, Chevy Bolt EV perils, Pacifica safety: Today's Car News John VoelckerToday, we listen to you on the Model 3, the Mirai makes a case for consistency, and a Chrysler that can crash (very well, might we add). All this and more on Green Car Reports.
The timing of the...
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2017 Chevy Bolt EV: here's what can go wrong for electric-car pioneerThe 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV will be on dealership floors within several weeks, cementing its position as the first affordable 200-mile electric car. It will beat planned 200-mile electric cars from BMW, Nissan, Tesla, Volkswagen, and other makers, and that's all to the good for plug-in car...
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When do you think the first Tesla Model 3 electric cars will be delivered? Poll resultsThe Tesla Model 3, a mass-priced electric car that's not yet on sale, has had a huge impact on the auto industry. The fact that Silicon Valley carmaker Tesla Motors could get more than 350,000 people to put down $1,000 each for a vehicle they wouldn't receive for 18 months or more was astounding...
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What is the maximum electric-car price for mass-market success? Poll resultsA few weeks ago, we asked our Twitter followers how low electric-car prices would have to go for them to succeed in the market. The answers were revealing, because the sweet spot seemed to be around $25,000, the price chosen by half the respondents. Another quarter of the survey participants chose...
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2017 Chevy Bolt EV price: electric car starts at $37,495 before incentives (as promised)The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car will carry a price of $37,495 for the base LT trim level, including the mandatory destination charge, before incentives. The Bolt EV Premier model starts at $41,780 before incentives. The Premier trim includes front and rear heated and leather-appointed...
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Bolt EV drive, 238-mile rating, Tesla 100D battery, VW diesel buyback structure: The Week in ReverseWhat bombshell EPA rating arrived this past Monday? And why is a new Tesla battery option more important than it may seem? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending on Friday, September 16, 2016. First, don't forget that National...
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Teslas hold value, Honda Civic hatchback, Bolt EV electric-car secret: Today's Car News John VoelckerA secret the world doesn't seem to know about the Chevy Bolt EV electric car, teaser photos of a Paris Motor Show debut, and good news for Tesla owners. All this and more on Green Car Reports.
Tesla...
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Chevy Bolt EV not on shared architecture, but platform name secret, GM saysThe 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV had a fast and unusual development process. General Motors partnered closely with Korean electronics firm LG, whose LG Chem subsidiary provided its lithium-ion battery cells. Other LG units contributed both electric and electronic components and now act as contract...
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You know cars, trucks, and motorcycles, but what's an autocycle? (It's an Elio)To say three-wheeled vehicles are rare in the North American car market would be an understatement. Traditionally, motorcycles have two wheels, and passenger cars and light trucks have four. But Elio Motors wants to change that with its three-wheeled car, which it says will be offered for $7,300...
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Chevy Bolt EV electric car shows GM can do Silicon Valley, exec saysOver the last five years, much has been written about autonomous-car efforts from Apple and Google. Could these two massively successful Silicon Valley startups overturn the established order in the global auto industry? The answer remains to be seen, but this month brought news that both companies...
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2017 Nissan Rogue Hybrid: better prospects than Pathfinder, Murano for small hybrid SUV?As predicted several years ago by a now-departed member of the Nissan product team, the third of three hybrid SUVs has rolled out. The 2017 Nissan Rogue Hybrid is the smallest of the three, and the company seems to be somewhat more optimistic about its prospects. Last year's 2016 Murano Hybrid...
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2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV first drive: 240 miles in an electric carWe drove a 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car 240 miles on a single charge last week. And that was the lowest range achieved among four journalists driving four Bolt EVs along the California coast. One driver covered essentially the same trip with fully 32 miles remaining, according to the...
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Bolt EV electric range, innovative transmission, VW diesel buyback tactics: Today's Car News John VoelckerA startling 238 miles, a few concessions in the Big Easy, and men not wanting to appear feminine. All this and more on Green Car Reports.
BREAKING: We've driven the 2017 Chevy Bolt EV, and our first...
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Why VW diesel buyback pays owners to keep their cars for two more yearsIf all goes according to plan, more than 450,000 owners of Volkswagen and Audi sedans, wagons, and hatchbacks with 2.0-liter TDI diesel vehicles from the 2009 through 2015 model years will start to receive buyback offers from VW late this year. Many owners have already indicated that they plan to...
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2017 Chevy Bolt EV electric car: 238-mile EPA range rating, 119 MPGe combinedThere will be a lot riding on the tall, square shoulders of the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV when it reaches the first Chevy dealers late this year. It will be the first mass-priced electric car with a range of 200 miles or more, and it will go on sale a year before the much-vaunted Tesla Model 3. Now...
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Tesla battery secrets, electric-car prices, 2017 BMW i3 REx range: Today's Car NewsElectric car prices need to fall (but how much?), Tesla upgrades both its battery architecture and its Autopilot software, and how about that ice driving? All this and more on Green Car Reports. Sure, you know Nissan and Tesla, but which European maker just delivered its 100,00th electric car last...
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Why new Tesla 100D battery may be crucial for the Tesla Model 3Last month, when Tesla Motors announced new, even larger battery packs for its Model S sedan and Model X crossover utility vehicle, reaction was less than ecstatic. While even faster, even longer-range electric cars are nice and all, commentators said, shouldn't Tesla be sticking to its knitting?...
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How low do prices for 200-mile electric cars have to go for success? Poll resultsOne of the challenges of making and selling electric cars is that their batteries are still expensive. And despite some makers' absorbing losses on the earliest cars, that means they sell for prices higher than those of similarly sized vehicles with combustion engines. Sure, owners will save money...
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Karma redux, Woz luvs Bolt EV, death of diesel, guilty VW engineer: The Week in Reverse John VoelckerWhy did someone who works daily with car dealers call them clueless?
And which Silicon Valley luminary unexpectedly said he'd prefer a Chevy over ... a Tesla?
This is our look back at the Week In...
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2017 Karma Revero (nee Fisker) launch: updates, new infotainmentThe 2017 Karma Revero (nee Fisker Karma) was formally unveiled to the public and to Fisker owners tonight at an event in the canyons of Laguna Beach, south of Los Angeles. Executives of the company formed from the bankrupt wreckage of Fisker Automotive pledged that they've fixed the car's 2012...
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Plug-in electric car sales for August: Volt sells at twice Leaf rate (updated)While U.S. vehicle sales last month are expected to fall overall as data rolls in, August has traditionally been a very good month for sales of plug-in electric cars. The Chevrolet Volt, for one, kept up its pace this year, with August sales of 2,081, for an eight-month total of 14,295 Volts...
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What's the minimum electric-car range for mass acceptance? Poll resultsThe handful of mass-priced electric cars offered 200 miles or more of range scheduled to launch over the next two years will clearly bring one question to the forefront. How much rated electric range is "enough" in a mass-market car to make North American buyers consider it sufficient for safe and...
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Does the Chevy Bolt EV make the Chevrolet Volt irrelevant? Is that a problem?Sometime during the last three months of this year, the first 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV will be delivered to its buyer in a blaze of flash photography and publicity. The 200-mile electric car, base-priced at $37,500 before incentives, will be the first car in the world with those specifications. And...
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BMW i3 REx wrangle, Volt buyer's story, green cars in Paris, Tesla charging charges: The Week in ReverseWhy did one man have to visit so many dealerships to buy a plug-in electric car? And when do our Twitter followers think hydrogen fuel will be available everywhere in the U.S.? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending on Friday...
John Voelcker