John Voelcker, Contributing Editor
Articles
-
Carmakers regularly tweak their powertrains to boost fuel efficiency or improve performance and drivability.
Changes to EPA test cycles for 2017 mean that the agency's fuel-economy ratings for many...
-
More details, photos of new Kia Rio to debut at Paris Motor ShowSubcompact hatchbacks and sedans may be a minor part of the U.S. market, but they're hugely important in the rest of the world. So the launch of a new generation of Kia Rio during next month's media days at the Paris Motor Show is worthy of note, even if some U.S. drivers and dealers yawn. The new...
John Voelcker -
What it took to buy an electric car in Texas: the good, the bad, and the uglyYour mission, should you decide to accept it, is to locate and purchase or lease a Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid somewhere in the heart of Texas oil country. Hoping to make Tom Cruise proud, I accepted the mission. But first, a bit of perspective: in 2005 I had set out to purchase a Mercury Mariner...
John Voelcker -
Federal funds to back Portland storefront for electric-car marketing, pop-up roadshowsThe U.S. Department of Energy announced Monday that it would award almost $1 million to Drive Oregon over three years, to fund a regional marketing campaign that will promote the benefits of electric cars to regional consumers. The advocacy group plans to set up a permanent storefront in downtown...
John Voelcker -
When will electric-car DC fast-charging be available everywhere in the U.S.? Poll resultsEnergy infrastructure is key to any serious effort to make zero-emission vehicles practical for mass-market car buyers. The world has spent more than a century building an efficient, global distribution and delivery system for gasoline and diesel fuel, and any new energy source requires the same...
John Voelcker -
China has a plan for all its electric-car startups; they may not like itIt has been an official goal of the Chinese government to encourage the development and sale of plug-in electric cars for several years now. They are intended not only to help fight the choking air pollution in many parts of the country, but also give China's auto industry an edge in future...
John Voelcker -
Texas is the land of pickups and SUVs, of oil wells and full-day drives from your Texas home to Grandma’s Texas home.
Your everyday driver had better be your highway car, because every drive...
-
It's all coming together for electric cars, says Wall Street Journal columnistA few years ago, a huge amount of media criticism poured down on the new category of electric cars, often on the basis of outright misinformation or—more charitably—confusion. Then, the General Motors bankruptcy was still fresh in memory, electric cars were failing to meet ambitious...
John Voelcker -
When will hydrogen fuel be available everywhere in the U.S.? Poll resultsWhile you might think that any zero-emission vehicle would be viewed as a good thing, hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles continue to generate opposition among some electric-car fans. Perhaps viewing them as competition for long-range battery electric vehicles of the sort now planned by virtually every...
John Voelcker -
How and why we moderate comments on Green Car Reports (updated)This site now gets several hundred comments a day on our accumulated total of more than 10,000 articles. The vast majority of them are thoughtful, from experienced owners and advocates who want to discuss a new item or vehicle test in more detail. And we're grateful to our many, many commenters...
John Voelcker -
BMW i3 REx range extender: owner assesses pros and cons of limited-power engineThe BMW i3 electric car may be the most ambitious small car of recent years, bristling with new technology and innovation. Its carbon-fiber reinforced plastic body shell rides on an aluminum platform, and its all-electric powertrain may include an optional small engine. The battery-electric i3 also...
John Voelcker -
Tesla 100D models, VW diesel owners, '1,000-MPG' BMW, CAFE denial: The Week in ReverseWhy did some analysts and commentators grumble about Tesla's new, even-faster, even-longer-range 100D models? And what horrible, awful, dreadful things do carmaker lobbyists say will happen if regulators dare to keep current fuel-economy standards in place? This is our look back at the Week In...
John Voelcker -
The 2017 Chevrolet Spark is both the smallest and the least expensive car sold by Chevy in North America.
The Korean-made hatchback minicar isn't among the brand's top sellers—those would be...
-
When will the last diesel truck be sold in the U.S.? Our poll resultsDiesel now has a dim future at best among U.S. passenger-car buyers, though its prospects continue to look strong for a minority of pickup truck buyers. Heavy-duty commercial vehicles, on the other hand, largely use diesel engines as a matter of course. We asked our Twitter followers when that...
John Voelcker -
How do you view Tesla's "beta" Autopilot system? Our poll resultsSo-called self-driving or autonomous cars still aren't on the market as of today, but you might not know that from a lot of the press coverage. One of the most prominent systems is what electric-car maker Tesla Motors calls Autopilot. In reality, it's a collection of electronic active-safety...
John Voelcker -
CA plug-in carpool-lane access bill up for vote; here's why some oppose itSeveral months ago, the allocated supply of "green stickers" that give buyers of new plug-in hybrid cars access to California carpool lanes expired. So you think that a pending bill in the California state legislature to expand that supply would get the support of plug-in electric car advocates...
John Voelcker -
Reactions to Tesla 100D versions less than ecstatic: here's whyGenerally, when Tesla Motors makes an announcement about a new product or a future plan, its fans and advocates cheer lustily. The rest of the industry grunts, takes quiet notice, and carries on. Yesterday's announcement that Tesla's two current models will be offered in new, longer-range 100D...
John Voelcker -
Carmakers asked to extend CAFE comment period; EPA said noIt's probably the battle that will do most to determine the carbon emission from new U.S. vehicles over the next decade. Automakers want to modify, delay, or extend the current corporate average fuel economy standards for 2022 through 2025 vehicles; regulators don't. The mid-July release of the...
John Voelcker -
In broad plan, Tesla Motors has stuck by the "secret master plan" it published 10 years ago.
It launched the low-volume all-electric Roadster, then the higher-volume Model S sedan and its Model X...
-
Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6 concept coupe: all-electric powertrain hints at future plansAs the famed Monterey Car Week moves into high gear today, Mercedes-Benz has unveiled a new concept car: the Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6. It's not too surprising that a large, elegant, uber-luxe streamlined coupe with gullwing doors might be shown to depict a future design direction for its...
John Voelcker -
What advice would you give a friend with a VW diesel? Our poll resultsIt's the question on hundreds of thousands of VW diesel owners' minds: what should I do? Should I simply sell the car back to Volkswagen, now that I know what amount I'm likely to be offered, or should I wait to find out what any modifications might entail? An article we did three weeks ago looking...
John Voelcker -
All-electric Subaru crossover utility vehicle coming in 2021: Japanese reportSubaru, to which auto writers often attach the adjective "quirky," has been a quiet success story in the U.S. market, which now provides almost half its global sales. The company's crossover utility vehicles handle more like cars than those from other makers, and its sedans and hatchbacks are set...
John Voelcker -
VW diesel acts were likely criminal, U.S. finds; settlement talks underwayThe proposed $15 billion settlement between Volkswagen and regulators over its emission-cheating diesel cars is winding toward final approval, but VW's miseries are far from over. U.S. attorneys have been investigating the company and its introduction of "defeat device" software to pass EPA...
John Voelcker -
Tesla P100D battery coming for Model S, Model X, EU site showsThe Tesla Model S electric luxury sedan has had a dizzying array of battery offerings over its four-year life, and the Model X has had quite a few over less than a year. Now it appears that we may be getting closer to the rumored 100-kilowatt-hour battery option for the top-of-the-line Teslas. If a...
John Voelcker