John Voelcker, Contributing Editor
Articles
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It's a litany you hear often from the most ardent electric-car owners and advocates.
"Old car companies don't get it; they won't offer electric-car battery upgrades with higher capacity, so I'll...
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Tesla lifesaver, 'urban' Chevy Bolt, BMW vs Tesla, VW buyback amounts: The Week in ReverseWhy would an electric car be as bad as a refrigerator? Or as coffee? And what did the FTC specifically warn Volkswagen dealers not to do? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending on Friday, August 12, 2016. Friday, we covered a...
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Tesla now 'driving force' behind San Francisco area manufacturingElectric-car maker Tesla Motors has had many interesting and unexpected effects in its decade of existence. It's launched a series of electric cars with 200 miles or more of range, which remain—eight years after its first Roadster—the only such cars sold today that can make that claim...
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FTC warns VW dealers not to mislead owners about buybacksVolkswagen diesel owners are still waiting for final approval of the proposed settlement that will allow VW to buy back their cars. But on Tuesday, the Federal Trade Commission took the unusual step of warning VW dealers not to mislead owners about the buyback terms. It also issued an informational...
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In 2025, what percent of new cars in the U.S. will have plugs? Our poll resultsRegarding the prospects for electric cars in future years, our readers are nothing if not an optimistic bunch. We recently polled our Twitter followers on their views of how much and how fast cars with plugs would move into the sales mainstream. Last year, plug-in cars represented slightly less...
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Chevy Bolt EV electric car for 'urban' sales: what does that mean?Almost no U.S. car buyers sit down at their kitchen table and kick off a chat by saying, "Honey, we need to buy a city car." The only exceptions are those in a handful of crowded cities like New York and San Francisco, for whom a very short car that is easy to park may take priority. But as sales...
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As the 2017 Karma Revero gets closer to its official launch later this year, its maker has released the first official photo of the luxury plug-in hybrid sedan.
The rebooted Karma is a modified and...
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Tesla Model X drives semi-conscious owner to hospital on Autopilot (updated)
Three months later, the May 7 death of a Model S driver in Florida continues to generate headlines and spark debate on the merits of electronic driver-assistance technologies. But a recent story points out at least one of the potential future advantages to self-driving cars: their ability to...
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Ending $4 billion U.S. oil, gas drilling subsidies would have low impact: studyU.S. subsidies to the oil and gas industries are often a flashpoint among electric-car advocates and environmentalists. They see a conflict in the government providing billions of dollars in incentives for drilling while simultaneously attempting to lower consumption of carbon-emitting energy...
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2016 Nissan Leaf group buy in Montreal signs up 2,800 for low price on electric carGroup purchases of cars and other goods, as a way of driving down the price, are common in other countries—think China—but rare in North America. But over the last two years, they've emerged as a way for electric-car advocates to accomplish several goals at once. Buyers both get better...
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Which electric car excites you the most? Our poll resultsThis site covers all manner of vehicles, mostly for personal transport, with a focus on energy efficiency, reducing environmental impact, and advanced technologies to do so. When we started daily publication in 2009, our most popular articles were about hybrid cars. Now, our readers' highest...
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Plug-in hybrid problem: buyers don't understand them at allWhat's an electric car? It's a car powered by a battery, like your cellphone. Doesn't use gasoline. What's a hybrid car? It's a car that runs on gasoline, but gets better fuel economy (whether or not you understand how). OK, so what's a plug-in hybrid? DON'T MISS: BMW 330e plug-in hybrid ads: no...
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The Tesla Model 3 electric car, which its maker says will launch late next year with 200 miles of range and a $35,000 price, has caused a few shock waves across the car industry.
All the German...
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Nissan seeks to sell AESC electric-car battery venture: reportNissan, alone among high-volume electric car makers, owns half of the company that makes the battery cells for its cars. Tesla Motors doesn't own any of Panasonic, which has supplied all cells to date for its three vehicles (though Panasonic owns a small part of Tesla). GM doesn't own any of LG...
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Electric car emissions, 100,000 Chevy Volts, Tesla throwdown, VW diesel tests: The Week in ReverseWho said existing automakers really aren't trying to sell electric cars? And what news cheered owners of Volkswagen and Audi diesel vehicles affected by the VW emission scandal? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending on Friday...
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Huge Chinese road-straddling elevated bus carries first passengers (video)You may have seen the renderings floating around the web, showing designs for a huge Chinese bus riding on rails over a multi-lane road. What a wild and wacky idea. Except that it's real, and it has already been built. And it just carried its first passengers this week on a shakedown run. DON'T...
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Plug-in electric car sales in July: Volt passes 100,000 with strong numbers (more updates)Last month marked a major milestone for U.S. sales of plug-in electric cars: the 100,000th Chevrolet Volt was delivered. It's the first car with a plug in any segment to reach 100,000 units, and Chevy's justified in celebrating the occasion with a press release and a bit of fanfare. Both the Volt...
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BMW ChargeNow by EVgo electric-car charging rolls out in 25 cities, for a feeCharging cards offered by electric-car makers to potential buyers act as a combination of sales tool and spur to regional and national charging networks. They get new drivers over the hump of worrying about what happens if their car runs low on battery charge. And they make the process of charging...
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The 2017 Honda Accord Hybrid mid-size sedan was unveiled in April 2016—ending a one-year hiatus for a model that now offers the highest EPA gas-mileage ratings in the Honda lineup.
The new...
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Tesla Gigafactory tour photo gallery: one engineer's reportLast Friday, Tesla Motors opened the doors of its battery "gigafactory" outside Reno, Nevada, to an invited group of Tesla owners. They toured the plant and heard presentations from CEO Elon Musk, among others. It was a celebratory occasion, marked by many photos and lots of deep Tesla gossip and...
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Nikola One electric-truck running prototype to be unveiled Dec 2It's long been assumed that while passenger vehicles may well start to transition to electric drive over the next decade or two, heavy commercial trucks won't. The energy density of liquid hydrocarbon fuel is particularly well suited to moving vehicles that can weigh 10 times the 2-ton weight of a...
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Electric-drive cars should fuel, charging is 'dead end,' says NanoFlowcellWell, here's a novel idea for electric-car fans to kick off the week with. Zero-emission cars powered by electric motors shouldn't use batteries that can be recharged, because a public charging network is "a dead end." Instead, they should use flow-cell batteries that can be "refueled" in minutes...
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Cheaper leases on Tesla electric cars to run through Sept 30Tesla Motors has made an indelible mark on the global auto industry, launching the first volume electric cars with few if any compromises in design, performance, or features. Both the Model S in 2012 and the Model X in 2015 remain the sole such cars with more than 200 miles of range. But they're...
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Faster Tesla Supercharging, VW diesel delay, Bolt EV dates, Autopilot do's and don'ts: The Week in ReverseWho will actually be able to buy the first Chevy Bolt EV 200-mile electric cars late this year? And, why won't VW diesel owners receive their official buyback offers until the fall? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending on...
John Voelcker