John Voelcker, Contributing Editor
Articles
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There are just nine days to go before the much-hyped Tesla Model 3 is unveiled to the world.
But it appears that the makers of a different affordable 200-mile electric car wanted to point out that...
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Electrification, sure, but gasoline engines will endure: supplierIncreasingly stiff limits on carbon emission and minimum fuel economy in most of the world's car markets mean that more plug-in electric cars must be sold. With battery costs steadily falling and the pricetag rising for the new technologies that make cars more efficient, some now envision a world...
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Green cars at the 2016 New York Auto Show: preview (updated)One week from tomorrow, the 2016 New York Auto Show will open its doors to reporters from around the world for two media-preview days. We know already that there will be a new version of the Toyota Prius unveiled there, but a few other concepts and production models will make their debuts as well...
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Tesla Model S fire in Norway caused by short circuit in carThe topic of electric cars and fires is a fraught one, not helped by the recent spate of videos of cheap Chinese hoverboards in flames. Any fire in an electric car tends to make headlines, regardless of whether the facts have been established. Now we have the results of an investigation into the...
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Renault Twizy low-speed electric car comes to CanadaThe Renault Twizy has always been an unusual vehicle, the sole low-speed electric vehicle to carry the brand of a major global automaker. Sold in a number of European countries, it's been tested here and there in North America. To date, the only way to experience a Twizy has been to rent one from...
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2017 Hyundai Ioniq Electric to offer 110 miles of range: companyAs electric-car range moves above the 100-mile mark in EPA ratings, one of the more interesting models to watch will be the 2017 Hyundai Ioniq Electric. That car uses essentially the same 28-kilowatt-hour battery pack as the low-volume Kia Soul EV, a blocky tall wagon that's rated at 93 miles. Can...
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Which new version of the Toyota Prius do we think will be launched at next week's New York Auto Show?
And, what upcoming diesel car won't make it to the U.S. after all?
This is our look back at the...
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VA auto dealers sue Tesla, DMV over hearing to 'hide' proposed storeThe state-by-state battles between electric-car maker Tesla Motors and lobbyists for state auto-dealer interests often take unusual twists and turns. But the situation in the state of Virginia may be among the odder episodes in Tesla's eight years of selling cars online directly to buyers. In the...
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VW diesel emissions scandal: what you need to know in 10 questions (updated)Friday, March 18th, will mark six months since the news that Volkswagen deliberately circumvented U.S. EPA emissions laws on so-called "clean diesel" models sold from 2009 through 2015. That news hit the automotive world like a bombshell, and led to consequences for VW Group that are still...
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Volvo throws its weight behind CCS quick-charging standard for electric carsEvery electric car sold in the U.S. except Tesla uses the same 240-Volt charging socket for overnight or public charging that takes a few hours. But three different and incompatible standards exist for DC fast charging, making the installation of pricier high-powered charging stations more...
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2017 Audi A4 won't offer 2.0-liter TDI diesel in U.S. after allWhile the 2017 Audi A4 is an entirely new vehicle, its shape isn't strikingly different from the car it replaces. The innovations come largely in a broad suite of comfort and electronic assistance features that will take the car into the 2020s. Now, however, Audi has decided that the A4 won't be...
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Tesla Model 3 mania starts with tweet, owner contest (1 day only)Two weeks from tomorrow, Tesla Motors will unveil a prototype for the Model 3 electric car at its design studio in Hawthorne, California. Yesterday evening, the company kicked off the countdown to the presentation with a single tweet showing a Model S, a Model X, and a dark silhouette clearly...
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Taillight shapes are a big deal for Toyota these days, as the ornate styling of the 2016 Prius hybrid has demonstrated.
Now the company has released a teaser photo of illuminated taillights on what...
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Volkswagen dedicated hybrid Prius fighter to be called XL3?Gasoline may cost $2 a gallon or less in many parts of the U.S., but new competitors to the Toyota Prius seem to be popping up all over the place. The 2017 Hyundai Ioniq range of hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and electric models just made its global debut at the Geneva Motor Show, only a few weeks after...
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BMW i5 to have range extender, use carbon-fiber body: product chiefAmong the three German luxury brands, BMW was first out of the gate to build and sell a battery-electric car in volume. Its unusual and technically advanced i3 small hatchback, offered with an optional two-cylinder range-extending engine, makes up the bulk of its "i" sub-brand sales, joined by the...
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Tesla racing, $8,500 Leaf, 300K-mile Volt, Prius-ized Firebird: The Week In ReverseWhich luxury plug-in vehicle will soon have a plug-in version using parts from a minivan? And, why is an unusual Toyota electric-car concept made of wood? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse--right here at Green Car Reports--for the week ending on Friday, March 11, 2016. Friday, we wrote...
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Toyota Setsuna electric car concept: wood body, 28-mph speedToyota's reluctance to entertain the notion that battery-electric cars have any place in the future of zero-emission vehicles is well documented by now. So it was a surprise when the company announced that it would show an all-electric concept car, the Setsuna, in its first appearance at the Milan...
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EPA could hurt U.S. jobs with diesel scandal fines, VW labor chief warnsThe ongoing Volkswagen diesel cheating scandal was newly roiled by this week's news that the company's U.S. CEO Michael Horn was leaving the company, effective immediately. But owners and regulators can't move forward until the other shoe drops: the EPA and California's regulators must approve a...
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Another shoe dropped yesterday in the continuing Volkswagen diesel-emission cheating scandal, as VW Group of America announced the immediate departure of its president and CEO Michael Horn.
With the...
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Tesla Model S electric-car racing series to launch next yearSome car fans don't connect with racing series because their purpose-built, open-wheel race cars bear no resemblance to anything they see on the street. And perhaps the same could be said of today's Formula E circuit of electric-car races across the globe. But how about a race series exclusively...
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Daimler to spend $500 million on electric-car battery factoryAs global automakers gear up to produce higher volumes of plug-in electric cars, their battery strategies vary. Some buy in both lithium-ion cells and complete battery packs, some purchase cells but design and assemble them into packs in-house, and some own part of the cell maker. Now Daimler has...
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Leaf for $8,500, tax on Tesla, 300K miles on Volt: Today's Car NewsWe've got lots of stories on infrastructure today.
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Durable 2012 Chevrolet Volt: 300,000 miles, no battery lossOne of the biggest worries about electric cars--and hybrids for that matter--is whether their expensive high-voltage battery packs will last the life of the car. If not, potential buyers worry, they may be saddled with thousands of dollars of cost in years to come. The evidence on hybrids is...
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Singapore levies carbon tax on used Tesla for electricity to recharge itA businessman and electric-car fan who imported a Tesla Model S into Singapore has had to pay an additional emission tax on the zero-emission luxury car. While the Tesla runs solely on batteries and has no tailpipe from which to emit anything, the island state levied the tax to reflect the annual...
John Voelcker