John Voelcker, Contributing Editor
Articles
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The very first 2015 Kia Soul EV electric cars are now being sold in California, adding a 19th plug-in vehicle to that state's market.
And its final EPA range and efficiency ratings may drive buyers...
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Changes To CA Rules May Cut Zero-Emission Vehicle RequirementCalifornia's rules requiring six automakers to sell specified numbers of zero-emission vehicles starting in 2012 have had a substantial impact. But a meeting to be held one week from today may determine whether required volumes of emission-free cars--likely battery-electric vehicles--are cut for a...
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Achates Closer To Production Of Radically Efficient Two-Stroke Truck DieselSuppose you could take an old engine concept discarded in the 1970s, add modern fuel metering and injection control hardware and software, and offer a compact powerplant that cuts the fuel consumption of today's diesel truck engines by a third.. That's the promise of Achates Power, which has been...
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Volkswagen: Plug-In Hybrids A 'Bridge' To Pure Electric Cars In FutureIt's often said that plug-in hybrids are the "gateway drug" to pure battery-electric vehicles, exposing drivers to the electric-car experience without looming range anxiety. Now it appears that a member of the powerful board of global automaker Volkswagen Group agrees. DON'T MISS: 2015 Volkswagen...
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Toyota Racks Up 7 Million Hybrids Sold Since 1997: UPDATEDToyota not only invented the modern hybrid-electric vehicle, but it has sold more hybrid cars than any other automaker. Now the Japanese company has crossed a new milestone: It has delivered more than 7 million hybrid cars since its first Prius was bought by a Japanese driver in 1997. The news came...
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FedEx Tests Wrightspeed Electric Trucks With Diesel Turbine Range ExtenderWhile electric passenger vehicles get the lion's share of public attention, commercial trucks are often as good or better for electric drive. With a huge global fleet and a constant drive to reduce emissions and fuel costs while improving efficiency and delivery speed, FedEx has long tested...
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A few more details on the upcoming 2017 Chevrolet Sonic EV electric car are starting to come into focus, including its production date and a second version to be sold in Europe.
Based on information...
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Fewer Gas Stations, But More Diesel Pumps, As Diesel Sales RiseFueling infrastructure isn't something automakers traditionally had to think about much. For more than a century, oil refiners and distributors have built and run a network of gasoline stations to fuel the world's billion-plus vehicles. Many of those stations in the U.S. carry diesel fuel, though...
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Cadillac To Offer All-Electric Car As Well As Plug-In Hybrid, ELR SuccessorWhile General Motors' plug-in electric cars are in a bit of a sales lull this fall, the company has an expanding number of plug-in products planned for years to come. The latest to be uncovered--at least in the planning stages--is an all-electric Cadillac sedan. DON'T MISS: 2016 Cadillac CT6 Large...
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Tesla 'D', Honda Fit & Subaru Legacy Drives, Electric Motorcycles: The Week In Reverse (Video)How fuel-efficient is the new 2015 Honda Fit? And what did Tesla's 'D' actually stand for? This is our video look back at the Week In Reverse--right here at Green Car Reports--for the five days ending on Friday, October 10, 2014. Yesterday, our Friday story covered what Tesla finally revealed at...
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DoE Program That Funded Tesla, Fisker To Restart; Alcoa In Line For Loan?It's baaaaaaaaack. The U.S. Department of Energy's $25 billion low-interest loan program may be about to start awarding new loans. The DoE's Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) program endured intense political criticism for funding not only electric-car maker Tesla Motors but also...
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Ford Compact Pickup Truck: Coming Back After All, Sized Like Ranger?What a difference a year makes. Throughout the long lead-up to the launch of its aluminum-bodied 2015 Ford F-150 full-size pickup, Ford has maintained that it sees no market for smaller pickup trucks. But now, the company may be changing its tune. DON'T MISS: Will Smaller Pickups Be More Popular...
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Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, has never been a fan of plug-in electric cars.
So when he revealed at the Paris Motor Show that a plug-in hybrid version of the next Chrysler Town...
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Tesla Reveals 'D' All-Wheel-Drive Model S, 'Autopilot' FeatureIn the end, the online rumors proved to be largely accurate. Last night, Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk revealed an all-wheel-drive version of the Tesla Model S electric luxury car--known as 'D'--whose most powerful P85D version will accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.2 seconds. DON'T MISS: Tesla...
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Start-Stop In U.S.: 7% Now, 57% In 2020, But Drivers 'Resist': AnalystStart-stop systems have finally started to arrive on U.S. new cars in noticeable numbers. The systems, which simply turn off a car's engine when it's sitting stationary and then switch it back on as the driver's foot starts to lift off the brake, are now fitted to 7 percent of new cars sold in the...
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Tesla Sets Up Shop In Japan, Sells First Electric CarsWhile Tesla Motors now sells electric cars in North America, parts of Europe, and--perhaps most importantly--China, it continues to expand its sales footprint. The most recent addition is Japan, a notoriously closed market where only one of the three largest makers has any interest at all in...
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Mysterious Tesla 'D,' VW XL Sport, 2015 Honda CR-V Gas Mileage: Last Week In Reverse (Video)How good were September's electric-car sales? And, what did Elon Musk mean by the letter "D"? This is our (slightly belated) video look back at the Week In Reverse--right here at Green Car Reports--for the seven days ending on Sunday, October 5, 2014. Sunday, we learned that the upcoming 2016...
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2015 Subaru Legacy Gas Mileage: We Test Both 2.5i And 3.6RSubaru sales have surged over the last decade, taking the quirky Japanese brand from its Snow Belt niche into more and broader markets. This year, the redesigned 2015 Subaru Legacy is a viable contender to go head to head with the most mainstream mid-size sedans: Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Ford...
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Last week's media days at the Paris Motor Show were the usual mix of cars and marketing.
They brought together stunning concept cars, more prosaic production models under pin spots, and speeches...
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BMW i3 Electric-Car Incentives: Highest On The Battery-Only ModelIn just five months, more than 3,100 BMW i3 electric cars have been delivered to U.S. buyers. That's a fast pace out of the box, and it indicates that BMW is serious about plug-in electric cars in a way that many other major automakers aren't. But to keep that pace going may require what car...
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Used Tesla Electric Cars: Certified Previously Owned (CPO) Program Coming, Company ConfirmsHistorically, auto dealerships have made as much or more money selling used cars as new ones. Since electric-car maker Tesla Motors doesn't have dealerships, but sells cars online directly to buyers, that has left the supply of used Teslas solely to individual owners who may want to sell. Now...
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2015 Honda Fit Gas Mileage: True 40-MPG Subcompact, Or Not?The 2015 Honda Fit subcompact is an entirely new model, and for North America, it's built in a new plant in Mexico. That means that its launch was necessarily slow and cautious--in fact, it was delayed two months--and then a bumper upgrade to reinforce crash-safety welds hardly sped up the...
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2016 Cadillac CT6 Large Luxury Car To Offer Plug-In Hybrid OptionCadillac continues on its decade-long quest to build and sell cars that will be viewed as equivalent to the best of the German prestige brands. To that end, it will introduce a new and larger rear-wheel-drive sedan next year, to be called the CT6. Now the company has confirmed that the CT6 range...
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Plug-In Electric Car Sales In Sept: Leaf Up Again, Volt Down: FINAL UPDATEWith U.S. sales of plug-in electric cars now averaging more than 10,000 vehicles each month, September sales achieved that mark but fell short of the sizzling pace of the last two months. Sales of the Nissan Leaf totaled 2,881 last month, bringing year-to-date deliveries to 21,882. That's almost a...
John Voelcker