John Briggs, Contributor
Articles
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The Toyota Prius has already secured a spot as an icon of automotive history and one of the most influential products of this century. It’s also far surpassed Toyota’s initial...
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MA updates signs to allow electric-vehicle parking: reader success storyBureaucracies have some funny ways of saying they were wrong and you were right. Even if they can't tell you they made a mistake, it's nice to see them fix a problem they created. The latest bureaucracy to demonstrate this is Massport, which operates the parking garages at Boston's Logan...
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Zero emissions vs. "Hybrid": When is a Nissan Leaf not "green?"Dedicated reader John Briggs wrote in to Green Car Reports share his unfortunate experience with the airport police in Boston. We found his story so compelling, instructive—and dare we say entertaining?—that we felt it worthy of sharing. The following are his words, lightly edited for...
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Battery-electric vehicle versus plug-in hybrid: why having both makes senseNot long ago, green car fans had only one choice: a hybrid vehicle like the Prius that gets all its energy from gasoline. Now there is a choice of several pure battery-electric vehicles that get all their energy from grid electricity, several plug-in hybrid electric vehicles that get their energy...
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Follow-up: In the end, I bought a Toyota Prius Prime plug-in hybridIn an article last fall, I reached out to the GCR readers for a suggestion for what plug-in vehicle I should buy to complement my 84-mile range 2015 Nissan LEAF. The new vehicle, my wife’s car, had to handle a 16-mile daily commute, occasional 300-mile trips to Vermont (a place of few DC fast...
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Automakers play high-stakes CARB game to earn zero emissions vehicle creditsEditor's note: Green Car Reports covers a lot of electric cars—and there are a lot more to cover these days, thanks to California's complex requirements that major automakers produce zero emissions vehicles for sale. For fans of clean cars—as well as opponents—it's difficult to...
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Though it lacked the crowds and fanfare of a Tesla launch, an unveiling yesterday in Chicopee, Mass., may have at least as much impact on electric-car drivers going forward.
Electrify America...
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For pickup trucks, more than half all fuel savings come in 2022-2025 CAFE rulesSometimes, when science and technology issues have economic or political consequences, incorrect or misleading information and analyses can be propagated through the media, leading both decision makers and the public astray. A piece published in April by Forbes, covering the effects of the 2022...
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Should we buy a Toyota Prius Prime, Chevy Bolt EV, or Volt?It's now time to shop for a new car for my wife, as her wonderful 2006 Toyota Prius has 144,000 miles and we're ready for something new. So I thought I might throw the question out to Green Car Reports readers. What car should replace our 2006 Prius hybrid? DON'T MISS: 2017 Toyota Prius Prime: gas...
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Ruling that EPA must regulate carbon emissions: now 10 years oldAnniversaries often provide an opportunity to reflect on important past events, review what has happened since, and reflect upon the future. April 2 of this year marks the 10th anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling in Massachusetts vs EPA in which the EPA was forced to regulate carbon emissions...
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2015 Nissan Leaf: one year later, owner offers pros and consSometimes being a revolutionary requires a lot of personal sacrifice, and sometimes it doesn’t. After one year of driving of a 2015 Nissan Leaf electric car, I was surprised to find that daily driving with a gasoline car requires more sacrifice than with my electric. Like most people, before...
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How much do electric cars really pollute, even without tailpipes?Personal automobiles have given hundreds of millions of people the great luxury of a convenient and comfortable mode of transportation. But there's no escaping that manufacturing these vehicles, driving them for 10 years or more, and then disposing of them creates pollution that has a wide range of...
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When my son scored a coveted civil engineering summer internship in Silver Spring, Maryland, the chance for an electric-car road trip from our Boston-area home presented itself.
Sure, I could have...
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Nissan Leaf electric vs Toyota Prius hybrid: which is lower on cost, emissions?
Sometimes, when tucking in for the evening, you can't help but wonder: did I really make the right choice? Could I have done better? Even now, could I still do better? This is the question I ask myself, each evening, when I park my 2015 Nissan Leaf in the garage next to my wife’s 2006 Toyota...
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How to buy an electric-car charging station: buyer's guide to EVSEsElectric cars all come with a 120-volt charging cable that can charge the battery from a household socket if there are no other options. But sooner or later, most battery-electric car owners will want a 240-volt Level 2 charging station that can recharge the car as much as four times faster. Owners...
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How I got a new 2015 Nissan Leaf electric car for $16K net: indecisionSometimes my liberal environmentalist side fights with my fiscally conservative side, and my decision-making suffers as a result. I’ve wanted an electric car for the past 30 years. But in the 1980s, they were conversions with lead-acid batteries that were both expensive and impractical. Later...
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Ford Fusion Or Toyota Prius: Environmentalist's Vacation DilemmaCarbon guilt weighed heavily on my mind as I approached the car rental counter at the Salt Lake City Airport. The book I was reading on the plane (Sustainable Energy, by David JC Mackay) suggested that my portion of the energy for the round-trip plane ride from Boston and back would amount to...
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2014 Mitsubishi Mirage Six-Month Update: Great MPG, Great FunIt happens so quickly: They learn to crawl, and then walk, and before you know it, you're helping them do their first oil change in their first new car. A little more than six months ago, I contributed an article on my car shopping experiences with my daughter Priscilla. Those ended with her...
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Electric-car advocates often take it as an article of faith that electric propulsion will one day compete directly with vehicles powered by fossil fuels.
Many would go further, arguing that electric...
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Why One Young Woman Bought A 2014 Mitsubishi Mirage: Frugal Shopping
Many people approach car shopping in the U.S. looking for the largest, most luxurious vehicle they can afford, from the best brand possible. Still, at least a handful of shoppers are more focused on basic transportation--and a vehicle they know they can afford. My daughter Priscilla falls into the...
John Briggs