John Voelcker, Contributing Editor
Articles
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Like any startup company, Tesla Motors has had crises where the electric-car maker came very close to financial collapse.
One was in 2008, when its Roadster model was late in delivery and its...
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Cadillac CT6 Plug-In Hybrid: Big Battery, More Electric RangeAs predicted, the plug-in hybrid version of the 2016 Cadillac CT6 large luxury sedan was released today at the Shanghai Motor Show, using an adaptation of GM's second-generation Voltec hybrid system. What wasn't predicted was the startling size of its battery pack: 18.4 kilowatt-hours, identical to...
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Next BMW 7-Series To Use 'Carbon Core' Based on i3 Electric Car BodyThe BMW i3 electric car and i8 plug-in hybrid sport coupe are audacious examples of advanced technology in many ways. Not the least of it are body shells made of carbon-fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) mounted atop an aluminum rolling platform carrying the powertrains and crash structures. BMW has...
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New Tesla, Bolt EV Name, Eco Marathon: The Week In Reverse (Video)Why did General Motors pick a name for its upcoming electric car that could perplex Spanish speakers? And what do a lot of people fail to realize about BMW's next-generation Power eDrive plug-in hybrid system? This is our video look back at the Week In Reverse--right here at Green Car Reports--for...
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Electric Cop Cars, Tesla Body Kit, Renewable Diesel: Today's Car NewsWe look at what an edgy body kit might do to your Tesla Model S, cops who drive electric cars, and why "renewable diesel" isn't what you probably think of as "biodiesel." All this and more today on Green Car Reports. Body kits are a common way to jazz up your car, but would such a kit for the Tesla...
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Shell Eco Marathon: Why Odd Cars Built By Students Matter
Many of the cars are more like enclosed bicycles, and virtually none of them could operate on public roads or highways. But the Shell Eco-Marathon offers some useful lessons for the more than 100 high-school and college teams that compete in it--many of them having little to do with the cars...
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Fuels produced using plant-based materials can offer a promising way to reduce the carbon emitted by road vehicles.
That's because their plant feedstocks absorb carbon dioxide from the air, bringing...
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Tesla Model S Body Kit: Definitely Different, Range-Robbing Too?Body kits--add-on components and replacements for a car's front and rear fascias and door sills--are often a good way for owners to make their vehicle stand out from the crowd. Often used on luxury brands and tuner cars, the updated looks are usually edgier and more aggressive than the factory...
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Bolt EV Name Confirmed, Tesla Triumph, Camaro Coral Reef: Today's Car NewsWe look at California's ambitious plans for zero-emission vehicles, name the small state with big electric-car news, and learn about how aluminum bodies keep pickup passengers safe. All this and more today on Green Car Reports. Aerodynamic drag is bad for fuel economy. So are roof boxes and ski...
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Scenarios For 2030 Zero-Emissions Cars In CA: Hydrogen Or Not?With epic smog in the Los Angeles Basin, the state of California has led the nation's charge to reduce emissions from road vehicles for more than half a century. And it is now state policy to reduce emissions of climate-change gases, primarily carbon dioxide, from its 30 million-plus road vehicles...
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Tesla Sales Now Legal As Little Maryland Goes Big On Electric CarsWell, add one more to the list of states where Tesla Motors can legally sell its electric cars--and do so without having to use franchised dealers. The Maryland General Assembly has reversed a ban on direct sales by Tesla, which displays its cars in Tesla Store and "gallery" facilities it operates...
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Aluminum-Body 2015 Ford F-150 Gets 5-Star NHTSA Rating For Crash SafetyCutting weight can be one of the most effective tactics to increase fuel economy, but it doesn't necessarily come cheap. The 2015 Ford F-150 pickup, with its aluminum body and bed mounted on a conventional steel frame, represents a huge gamble by Ford on its highest-volume vehicle line. The company...
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Well, they did it.
General Motors confirmed yesterday that its upcoming 200-mile battery-electric car will be named the Chevrolet Bolt EV.
That's Bolt-with-a-B, not Volt-with-a-V.
The Volt-with-a-V...
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A123 Says Start-Stop Batteries A Better Business Than Electric CarsTen years ago, startup lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems was the darling of business media, poised to enter the big leagues of electric cars after successfully selling its cells to power-tool makers. Then came the Fisker Karma, U.S. government grants, a factory in Michigan, the economic...
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New Tesla 70D Driven, Plug-In Price Cuts, Unpopular Insight: Today's Car NewsWe've now driven the newest Tesla, and reported on a pair of price cuts on plug-in cars from General Motors. And then we tell you about the least popular car on sale in the U.S. All this and more today on Green Car Reports. Our biggest story is a drive report by our Tesla-owning reporter David...
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Honda Insight Hybrid: The Least-Wanted Car In America?Automakers and their dealers know that when a vehicle is updated, redesigned, or discontinued, the last lagging examples of the old model may sit on lots for months, perhaps even years. So it appears to be with the Honda Insight, the subcompact mild hybrid hatchback that the company discontinued...
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2016 Cadillac ELR: More Performance, More Range, Lower PriceThe specifications of the updated 2016 Cadillac ELR range-extended electric car were released this morning, and one big question has been answered. The luxury coupe will not use the revised Voltec powertrain that propels the new second-generation 2016 Chevrolet Volt on sale later this year. But it...
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2015 Chevrolet Spark EV Price Cut To $25,995; $139 Lease, No Money DownThe suggested retail price of the 2015 Chevrolet Spark EV electric car will be cut by $1,650, to $25,995, GM announced today. Chevrolet's chief global marketing officer, Tim Mahoney, announced the price cut today in a luncheon speech at the Washington Automotive Press Association. Mahoney also said...
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We look at sales figures for a surprisingly popular fuel-efficient small car, analyze cost declines in electric-car batteries, and suggest why the European and Asian idea of "city cars" doesn't make...
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Ford Patent For 11-Speed Automatic: Transmission Wars EscalateTime was that the most gears you could get in an automatic transmission was three or four. Then came five- and six-speed automatics, which are now pretty much the standard (along with increasingly prevalent continuously variable transmissions, or CVTs). But the transmission wars have continued to...
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Electric Cars Are City Cars? Not In U.S.: They're Suburb Cars HereAutomotive journalists who write about electric cars hear the phrase "city car" a lot. As in, "Battery-electric cars are perfect city cars, but [fill in different powertrain] is required for other uses." There's just one problem: No one in the U.S. has ever turned to their better half and said...
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Electric-Car Battery Costs Fell 8 Percent A Year For Market Leaders: StudyFive years into the era of modern electric cars, the biggest cost remains the battery pack. Now there's data to confirm that not only are the costs of the battery cells falling, but that they are falling at rates pretty much in line with historical declines. A study published last month not only...
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BMW i5 Report, Accord Hybrid Relocates, More Efficient Camaros: Today's Car NewsWelcome back to another week of Green Car Reports. Today we dive into why an upcoming BMW plug-in hybrid may be more important than people appreciate. Also, we look at a third recall for a California compliance car, and report on expanded sales regions for another electric minicar. All this and...
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How A Chevy Camaro Gets Greener: Student Competition In EcoCar 3All cars are getting more fuel-efficient under the rising requirements for corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) from now through 2025. Still, if you thought about the category of cars with good gas mileage, the Chevrolet Camaro muscle car likely wouldn't be high on your list. DON'T MISS: How Do...
John Voelcker