John Voelcker, Contributing Editor
Articles
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All-wheel drive is an increasingly popular option among buyers in virtually all segments of the automotive market, partly driven by surging sales of small crossover utility vehicles.
But is Chevrolet...
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Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche Electric Cars To Target Tesla Model S (Plug-In Hybrids Too)This was the year when it became obvious that upstart electric-car maker Tesla Motors has startled and worried all of the German luxury-car companies. And now that they're taking the Tesla Model S electric luxury sedan seriously--as well as the expected arrival next year of the much-delayed Model X...
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Fuel-Economy Rules Likely To Stay Put Through Midterm Review: ConsensusGas prices have fallen 40 percent in a year. Sales of SUVs and crossover utility vehicles are up, while hybrid sales are flat or falling. And a midterm review is coming up, giving auto companies a chance to argue that the corporate average fuel economy rules that stretch out to 2025 need to be...
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Gas Guzzler Tax Deduction Restored To $500K For 2014 By Budget BillIf politics is the art of successful compromise--defined as outcomes that make all parties equally unhappy--then the recent budget extension bill offers something for everyone. It extended the tax credits for electric-car charging stations and natural-gas-vehicle refueling stations, which should...
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Tesla Roadster 3.0: 70-kWh Battery, Aero Kit, New Tires, For 400-Mile RangeTesla Motors announced today that it has prototyped a "Roadster 3.0" package, which Roadster owners will be able to purchase in the future to update the battery pack, aerodynamics, and tires of their 2008-2012 Tesla Roadster electric sports cars. Taken together, the updates are expected to boost...
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Gas Cars Parked In One Electric-Car Spot Earn Raleigh $27,000 A YearThe problem of gasoline cars parking in spaces reserved for plug-in electric cars to recharge at is nothing new. It's known as "ICE-ing," referring to cars with internal combustion engines parking where they shouldn't. But the problem has proved to be lucrative for Raleigh, North Carolina. DON'T...
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Say what you will about Tesla Motors chief executive Elon Musk, he's one of the very few global automaker CEOs who personally responds to owner questions via Twitter.
And he's at it again, promising...
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Lead Batteries Likely To Be With Us A Long, Long Time: European StudyLead is terrible stuff: damaging to humans in even small quantities, and persistent if it's improperly disposed of. Nonetheless, it's a central element of technology that has enabled a century of automobiles to be started via ignition keys rather than hand cranks--which occasionally broke the arms...
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EPA Power Plant Carbon Regulations Late, Hostile Congress Likely To Fight ThemThe EPA regulations limiting the amount of carbon that can be emitted by existing powerplants may be the most crucial step forward in environmental policy made by the eight-year Obama Administration. But those regulations will apparently be late in arriving for public comment--and they face a...
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How To Boost Efficiency: Lighter Cars That Carry More PeopleEfficiency is a many-splendored thing, and cutting vehicle weight has multiple beneficial effects. A lighter car requires less energy to move, meaning engine output can be lower. This, in turn, requires smaller, lighter powertrain components--which require less-beefy suspensions, further reducing...
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2016 Chevrolet Volt: Another Video Teaser, This One On Snow And IceCan the upcoming 2016 Chevrolet Volt manage to propel itself on what looks like an inch or two of snow? Why, yes, actually, it can. In fact, the new Volt appears to behave just as any other front-wheel-drive car would on a similar surface. DON'T MISS: UPDATED: 2016 Chevrolet Volt To Launch In...
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Toyota Mirai Test Drive, Tesla Drag Race, Cleaner Electric Cars: The Week In Reverse (Video)Which promise made by electric-car maker Tesla Motors took 18 months to come to fruition? And what's the 2016 Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle really like to drive? This is our video look back at the Week In Reverse--right here at Green Car Reports--for the week ending on Friday, December...
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Tesla Motors will shortly announce that it is launching a pilot program next week to test the long-promised battery-pack swapping technology for its Model S electric sedan.
The swapping site will be...
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2016 Toyota Mirai: First Drive Of Hydrogen Fuel-Cell SedanThe 2016 Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell car will get a huge amount of promotion and attention from its maker, despite the very low numbers that will be built in its first years. In that respect, it's very similar to the first Toyota Prius hybrid back in 1997--a first sketch of what a future...
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Tax Breaks Back For Electric-Car Charging Stations, Natural-Gas Cars, Through End Of YearIt's the end of another Congressional session, which means that a budget extension bill has now been rushed through and is likely to be signed. Called The Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014 (H.R. 5771), it contains special provisions, rule tweaks, and concessions for many, many, many different...
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California Urged To Stay The Course On Electric Cars, Help Owners Charge CheaperGas prices are falling: Michigan has signs advertising regular at $1.99 per gallon. It's now below $3 a gallon even in California, which continues to be the focal point for electric-car adoption. Now an electric utility CEO has joined with an environmental advocate to urge that Californians stay...
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2015 Audi A3 TDI Diesel: Fuel Economy ReviewThe 2015 Audi A3 is the first all-new version of the compact luxury car since it was launched in the U.S. as a 2006 model. And there are a lot of changes. Most noticeable is its evolution from a five-door hatchback to a four-door sedan, facing it off neatly against the Mercedes-Benz CLA (also a...
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2016 Chevrolet Volt To Add On-Demand Regenerative BrakingWith little morethan three weeks to go until the 2016 Chevrolet Volt is revealed, its maker is dribbling out more tantalizing details on the all-new car. The latest is a YouTube video published yesterday that shows two members of the development team--familiar faces to Volt fans--demonstrating a...
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Electric cars have no tailpipe emissions, but their overall impact on the environment includes the electricity generated to recharge their batteries.
The carbon emissions associated with that power...
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Are Republicans Really Behind Tesla Sales Bans? Data Offers CluesIt seems to be a common assumption among Tesla Motors supporters: State auto-dealer lobbyists work with Republican legislators to enact laws banning direct sales of Tesla's electric cars to retail buyers. But is it true? An article last month in The New York Times offers a few data points that may...
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New Study Doesn't Say 'Electric Cars Aren't Green' (Headlines To The Contrary)Brace yourself, electric-car fans and advocates. It may be a bumpy ride for the next few days. Yesterday afternoon, the Associated Press covered a new study put out by the University of Minnesota that calculates the environmental impact of manufacturing and refueling vehicles with various...
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Milan Pays Drivers To Leave Cars At Home, Take Public TransitTraffic often finds its own balance: Cars will flow onto less-crowded roads, while drivers will avoid congested routes or--to some degree--change their driving habits and times. But there's a limit to this flexibility, given how many people now drive to their jobs or other commitments. That means...
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Hybrids A Better, More Cost-Effective Way To Cut Carbon Today, Study SaysThe hydrogen fuel-cell cars being promoted as the future of zero-emission transport--aggressively by Toyota, slightly less so by Honda and Hyundai--generate quite a lot of controversy. Now a new analysis by the Union of Concerned Scientists suggests that the wells-to-wheels carbon emissions of a...
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Electric-Car Charging Station Blocked? Get An Extension Cord!
It's called "ICE-ing," and sooner or later, every electric-car driver experiences it. The term refers to a non-electric car with an internal combustion engine (or ICE) occupying a parking space where a public charging station is located. The car is thereby blocking electric cars from recharging at...
John Voelcker