John Voelcker, Contributing Editor
Articles
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With more than a handful of plug-in hybrid models scheduled to hit dealers over the next three years, buyers are curious to find out how those cars will be priced.
One maker, Volvo, is positioning...
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Ultra-Efficient BMW Four-Seat Plug-In Hybrid For Research Only, Not Sales: ReportThe limited-production Volkswagen XL1 ultra-economy two-seater gets astounding fuel efficiency from its two-cylinder diesel plug-in hybrid powertrain. It's well over 100 miles per gallon if you use the European test cycle (which differs from U.S. tests). But at a six-figure price and a production...
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2016 Toyota Prius Hybrid: Clearer Spy Shot Of High-Tailed RearDetroit-area residents occasionally see camouflaged development prototypes from GM, Ford, and Chrysler testing on public roads. Similarly, Southern California residents often see Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai prototypes pass them clad in disguise. And so it was for a Cars Direct employee driving to...
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Chevy, Nissan Reveal Second-Life Uses For Electric-Car BatteriesIt's one of the most common questions about electric cars: What happens to the battery packs after the car is junked? Do they just get thrown away? Will any of them be recycled? What happens to their components? The answer is electric-car batteries will largely be recycled--but that they will have...
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Honda Civic Hybrid, Natural-Gas Models Eliminated After 2015Honda surprised the industry when it pulled the wraps off a brand-new tenth generation of its Civic compact at April's New York Auto Show. But two members of today's Civic lineup won't survive into the new generation: the Honda Civic Hybrid, and the Honda Civic Natural Gas. Honda executive...
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UPDATED: Should I Buy A Used Nissan Leaf (Or Another Electric Car)?About 15 million people buy a new vehicle in the U.S. each year, on average--but almost 40 million buy used cars in that same year. Modern electric cars have been sold in the U.S. since December 2010. Not surprisingly, they're started to show up on used-car lots. Should you buy one? The answer, of...
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California's Zero-Emission Vehicle sales rules have been a major reason the state's drivers can now choose among two dozen different plug-in electric vehicles on sale today.
Those rules will expand...
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2016 Toyota Prius 'Coming Soon': 55-MPG Hybrid To Be SportierWhile Toyota remains coy about the launch date of its fourth-generation Prius hybrid, a company executive has confirmed that the car is coming "soon." Jim Lentz, CEO of Toyota North America, didn't release any specifications on the car when he mentioned it during the groundbreaking for an expansion...
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Model X Due Date, Sonata Eco, Mercedes Plug-In Hybrid: The Week In Reverse (Video)Which zero-emission vehicle is so powerful it actually broke the dyno it was being tested on? And, what's the electric range of the latest plug-in hybrid from Mercedes-Benz? This is our video look back at the Week In Reverse--right here at Green Car Reports--for the week ending on Friday, June 12...
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2016 Mercedes-Benz C350e Plug-In Hybrid: First DriveWhile BMW leads the Germans with five different plug-in electric vehicles announced, Mercedes-Benz is close behind with three. A few months ago, we had the chance to drive the 2016 Mercedes-Benz C 350e, the upcoming plug-in hybrid version of the new generation of C-Class luxury sedan. The C 350e...
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2015 Ford Focus 1.0L EcoBoost: Gas Mileage ReviewA popular compact sedan fitted with a tiny 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine may sound like an Eighties econobox all over again. But in fact the 2015 Ford Focus 1.0L EcoBoost is on sale today, though we suspect its lack of an automatic transmission will discourage nine out of 10 potential buyers. And...
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Nissan To Continue Sponsoring National Drive Electric Week Through 2017National Drive Electric Week, the annual event devoted to advocating plug-in electric cars, will be sponsored by Nissan for the next three years, organizers announced today. The Nissan Leaf is by far the highest-production electric car in history, now closing in on 200,000 global sales since the...
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When General Motors CEO Mary Barra announced the Chevrolet Bolt Concept, it changed everything in the world of electric cars.
She said it would have a battery range of 200 miles, cost $37,500 before...
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Used Electric Cars: Which Hold Their Value Best? Which Is Worst?Used electric cars starting to enter the market in higher numbers, letting advocates suggest that if the purchase price of a new plug-in car is too high, buyers can look at used options. The usual metric of retained-value calculations can be tricky for plug-ins, though because most buyers take...
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Tesla Model X To Arrive In 'Three To Four Months,' Autopilot In Testing: CEO MuskWhenever Tesla Motors holds a conference call to discuss its financial results, its webcast is mobbed by journalists, financial analysts, and fans. So it was yesterday, when the electric-car maker broadcast its 2015 annual shareholders meeting. As always, a few pieces of news emerged--the most...
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Toyota 'Prius Prime' Trademark Registered; What New Hybrid Could It Be?Trademark filings for model names usually present a mystery. What a carmaker is planning when it registers a specific name can be hard to impossible to ascertain. And so it is with the case of "Prius Prime," a new model name that may expand Toyota's line of Prius hybrids at some point in the...
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2015 Hyundai Sonata Eco: Gas Mileage ReviewThe 2015 Hyundai Sonata Eco is the Korean maker's most fuel-efficient mid-size sedan that doesn't use a hybrid powertrain. And it highlights the two parallel paths that automakers are taking as they work to boost gas mileage ratings to meet steadily rising corporate average fuel economy rules. The...
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Incentive To Buy Used Electric Cars Added For Some California BuyersPlug-in electric cars can cut the per-mile cost of driving significantly for most U.S. households. But their purchase prices as new cars are still higher than gasoline cars of the same size and segment. That's why Federal, state, and local governments offer an elaborate--and often...
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The addition of ethanol to gasoline has now been a political hot potato in the U.S. for more than a decade.
Joined by cosponsors from both sides of the aisle, U.S. Representative Bob Goodlatte [R-VA]...
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2016 Mazda CX-3 Gas Mileage: Subcompact SUV Rated At 31 MPG CombinedMazda has taken its own road toward boosting the fuel economy of its vehicles, and its latest small SUV manages to break the critical 30-mpg combined rating barrier. The 2016 Mazda CX-3 subcompact crossover utility is rated at 31 mpg combined with front-wheel drive, and 29 mpg combined with...
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Tesla At 3 Years, Used Leaf Advice, Next Prius Spy Shots: The Week In Reverse (Video)Which important new car was caught in camouflage by an alert driver in Thailand? And, what do you need to know if you're thinking of buying a used Nissan Leaf electric car? This is our video look back at the Week In Reverse--right here at Green Car Reports--for the week ending on Friday, June 5...
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Electric Cars Will Take 10 Years To Hit 1 Million Annual Sales: AnalysisLast year, roughly 118,500 plug-in electric cars were sold in the U.S.--out of total vehicle sales of 16.5 million, the highest total since 2006. Since modern electric cars went on sale in December 2010, sales have increased every year. Any increase this year may not be as dramatic as in prior...
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2016 Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring: Gas Mileage Review Of Small SUVThe Mazda CX-5 has always been one of our favorite compact crossover utility vehicles, not only for its fuel efficiency but also for its capacious functionality and fun-to-drive nature. First launched as a 2013 model, the CX-5 has been lightly updated for 2016 with minor tweaks to styling...
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Minnesota Energy Coop Offers Renewable Power To Electric-Car Owners, At No Extra CostMany electric-car owners start to think more seriously about the source of their electricity when they plug their cars in to recharge. And at least in California, data show that owners of plug-in electric cars have far higher interest in photovoltaic solar panels than drivers at large. Now a...
John Voelcker