Eric C. Evarts, Contributor
Articles
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With summertime road trips in full swing across the U.S., we're sure our readers are joining in.
On those trips, many of our readers are driving electric. Americans are known for long road trips in...
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What type of public electric-car charger do you use most often? Take our Twitter pollPublic chargers for electric cars are expanding beyond Tesla's Supercharger network. Electrify America is rolling out a network of fast chargers to compete with Superchargers that will be available to all other brands of electric cars. States are directing public charging infrastructure and draw it...
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Tesla Model 3 gets new features via OTA updateBuyers of the Tesla Model 3 never thought they were getting all the luxury features of the Model S or Model X. Now, with the latest over the air update, Model 3 owners will get a few more that will bring them closer to the levels of luxury found in Tesla's more expensive cars. As part of the...
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Tesla sues saboteur who claims he is a whistleblowerOn Thursday, Tesla sued former employee Martin Tripp for stealing trade secrets and transferring several gigabytes of data to third parties, including pictures of the company's battery assembly line at the Gigafactory in Nevada, where he worked. The details of the suit point to a testy...
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Tesla Model 3 Performance awd built, 2019 Honda Insight, 2018 Kia Niro hybrid, another state joins California: The Week in ReverseWhich state added its name to the list of those following California's tighter emissions regulations? What hybrid car aced the battery of crash tests inflicted by the IIHS? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending June 22, 2018...
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GM recalls 2013 Chevrolet Volts for battery software (Updated)GM said Friday that it will recall 3,233 2013 model year Chevrolet Volts to remedy a problem with battery cell balancing that could cause the car to shut down in traffic. The recall mirrors two service campaigns for the 2017 and 2018 Chevrolet Bolt EVs for similar behavior. Some 2017 Bolt EVs got...
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Last week, Tesla announced it would lay off 9 percent of its workforce in an effort to keep its doors open as it tries to ramp up production of its critical Model 3 electric car.
Now internal emails ...
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Conservative poll says Americans resent electric-car tax creditsResults of a study released Tuesday by the American Energy Alliance found that most voters object to tax credits for electric cars. Tellingly, the poll also shows that the public generally supports electric cars themselves. Two-thirds said they are better for the environment than than gasoline...
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EPA loses 10 percent of enforcement staff under TrumpIf the EPA wants to reduce federal involvement in environmental protection, it may not need to roll back emissions requirements or cancel California's environmental waiver. It could just quit enforcing the law. That is already happening to a degree, according to new data from Public Employees for...
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Slovenian company makes drop-in in-wheel electric motorsSlovenian company Elaphe has created in-wheel electric motors that have been tested in the worst conditions winter could throw at them. One of the main reasons we don't see production electric cars with motors in the wheels has been that wheels take a lot of abuse, bumping over broken pavement...
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Uber starts paying drivers to buy electricElectric cars and fleets go hand-in-hand. That's the message Uber is trying to send to its drivers with a new program it calls EV Champions, which will pay some drivers higher rates if they drive an electric car. The pilot program starts this week and will run for a year in seven cities: Austin...
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Audi teams up with Hyundai to build fuel-cell vehiclesAutomakers are teaming up all over the world to prepare for the next big game in clean transportation, fuel cells. The latest partnership is between Audi and Hyundai, which announced yesterday that they will share resources to develop fuel-cell vehicles. The two said that the first fruit of this...
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Chalk up one more state in California's column.
Colorado has added its name to the list of 12 states that follow California's tighter emissions standards.
Governor John Hickenlooper directed...
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NHTSA orders Autopilot Buddy off market, calling it a danger to road usersThe National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Tuesday ordered the Autopilot Buddy's maker to pull it off the market in the U.S. Green Car Reports reported last week that the device tricked Tesla's Autopilot system into eliminating safety warnings. Roadshow originally reported on the device...
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Renewables to generate half of worldwide electricity by 2050: reportFalling prices for lithium-ion batteries will enable half the world's electricity to come from renewable solar and wind by 2050. That still won't be enough to meet global climate targets, however. Those are the conclusions of a new report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), released today...
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First Tesla Model 3 Performance AWD built; Musk claims company was "sabotaged"
After laying off 9 percent of its workforce last week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk sent a company-wide email in which he claimed an employee had committed "extensive and damaging sabotage" against the company. The news comes on the heels of another Musk tweet that congratulated employees for building the...
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What does a "green car" mean to you? Twitter poll resultsOur readers are nothing if not consistent. When we asked our Twitter followers last week to choose what they consider a "green car," a solid majority said nothing but a pure electric car qualifies. Under a picture of a gas-guzzling Dodge Challenger SRT8, literally painted green and parked in a spot...
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Audi arrest, Tesla Model S fire, charging labels, and our Twitter poll: Today's Car NewsGerman authorities arrested the head of Audi over diesel cheating scandal. A Tesla caught fire in L.A. Chargeway labels are coming to help make charging easier. And what's the longest trip you've taken in your electric car? All this and more on Green Car Reports. Audi CEO Rupert Stadler was...
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Long road trips consistently has been a concern for electric-car owners.
With barely 80 miles of range, and a sparse network of public charging stations—much less fast-charging...
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Audi CEO arrested in Germany over diesel scandalVW's diesel scandal is far from over. In the latest move on the political chessboard, German authorities arrested the head of VW's luxury division Audi at his home Monday morning according to a Reuters report. German authorities cited concerns that Stadler could obstruct their ongoing investigation...
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Director's Tesla Model S catches fire in L.A.A Tesla fire in Los Angeles last week is drawing attention again to the safety of the cars' lithium-ion batteries. British television and stage director Michael Morris drove his Tesla Model S on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood when a couple in another car flagged him down and told him to...
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When Tesla's tax credits expire, which electric car would you buy? Twitter poll resultsLast week, we reported that the federal tax credits for electric-car buyers are about to expire. Once any automaker sells 200,000 electric cars, the credits available to its buyers begin to wind down. Since Tesla has been selling electric cars longer than any other automaker (at least since the...
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Autopilot Buddy defeats Tesla's safety systems; it is not your friendTesla's Autopilot driver assistance system has had its share of controversy, but the latest Autopilot controversy stems from a third-party accessory. An add-on weight dubbed Autopilot Buddy can allow drivers to keep their hands off a Tesla Model S or Model X steering wheel for extended periods of...
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What does a green car mean to you? Take our Twitter pollWe get a lot of comments on Green Car Reports arguing (mostly in a friendly way) about what makes a green car. Or, put another way, what makes a car green. Some readers clearly think the only way to be green is to drive a pure electric car, the bigger the battery the better. Others think as long as...
Eric C. Evarts