Eric C. Evarts, Contributor
Articles
-
Want to get in on the ground floor of a new electric-car startup? Crowdfunding seems to be the latest rage for automotive startups in Europe.
The latest is an Estonian startup called Nobe, which...
-
California utilities commission passes record incentives for chargersThe California Public Utilities commission on Thursday approved the largest public electric vehicle charging package in U.S. history, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. NRDC senior attorney Max Baumhefner, who lobbied for the program, says it is designed to set electricity up as a...
Eric C. Evarts -
Camera mirrors could add range to Audi e-tron electric SUVAudi is pulling out all the efficiency stops on its upcoming electric e-tron SUV. It's currently slated to be the first production car to offer cameras in place of exterior rearview mirrors. Exterior mirrors have always been a bane to automotive engineers trying to improve efficiency (not to...
Eric C. Evarts -
International Energy Agency forecasts 125 million electric cars on road by 2030The International Energy Agency, an advisory council to energy-consuming countries, released a new report forecasting that by 2030, the world will have 125 million electric cars on the road. That would amount to 10 to 12 percent of the world's cars running on electricity in a little over a decade...
Eric C. Evarts -
Tesla Model 3 earns Consumer Reports recommendation after software brake upgradeA week after Consumer Reports announced that it could not recommend the Tesla Model 3 because of poor braking performance, a software update improved its performance sufficiently to earn the magazine's recommendation. Consumer Reports announced the update to the Model 3's ratings Wednesday. In the...
Eric C. Evarts -
Problems dog Tesla Model 3 in Edmunds testsHundreds of thousands of people waiting to order their Tesla Model 3s are also anxiously waiting for word of the car's reliability and build quality. Now Edmunds.com has released its second update on the early car that it bought, and the news isn't good. DON'T MISS: Some Tesla Model 3 cars haunted...
Eric C. Evarts -
Bragging rights don't rank high on the priority lists of Green Car Reports readers.
At least, they don't if you consider the number of our Twitter respondents who hope to buy a Performance version...
-
EPA overturning of fuel economy increases requires review, agency watchdog saysThe EPA's Science Advisory Board, tasked with agency oversight, is taking issue with at least three of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's signature decisions. First, according to a Bloomberg report, is Pruitt's decision to freeze fuel economy standards and eliminate increases that had been approved...
Eric C. Evarts -
BMW 530e will be first "plug-in" car with wireless charging this summerWhen will charging your electric car be as convenient as charging your phone? This summer, if BMW has its way. The company says it will be the first to lease a wireless inductive charging system in the U.S. for its 530e plug-in hybrid. Customers can order the system now, and BMW says it will be...
Eric C. Evarts -
Where do you charge your electric car? Take our Twitter pollAs Tesla expands its Supercharging network and Volkswagen spends $2 billion on their network over the next seven years, we're reminded that one of the biggest conveniences of electric cars is the ability to charge them at home. That led us to ask, how many electric car owners are dependent on...
Eric C. Evarts -
Tesla brakes and tax credits, Sono solar car, Twitter poll on charging: Today's Car News
After Consumer Reports refused to recommend the Tesla Model 3 over its poor performance in emergency braking tests, Tesla announced it would send an over-the-air update to improve the car's braking ability. Based on Tesla's own delivery reports, the company is reaching the end of its allotment of...
Eric C. Evarts -
Tesla nearing limit of $7,500 federal tax credits, which will boost effective prices this fallAdding to Elon Musk's headaches this month, Tesla is about to hit the limit on federal tax credits for electric cars. This could effectively raise prices for buyers of the company's critical Model 3. The tax credits, passed in 2008 as part of the Energy Improvement and Extension Act and signed by...
Eric C. Evarts -
In a tweet on Friday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the company had started rolling out an over-the-air software update for its Model 3 electric cars to address a problem with their braking performance, a...
-
Sono Sion solar electric car promises 18 miles of range from solar panelsSolar cells have gotten cheap enough to make solar cars practical. At least that's the business model of one electric-car startup in Europe. Sono Motors plans to build a $25,000 electric car covered in solar cells that can provide up to 18 miles of range a day. The company plans to introduce it at...
Eric C. Evarts -
That's wacky! The most bizarre green cars ever proposed, Part IOften the growth of green cars comes in fits and starts, and new ideas are rushed to market regularly before they're ready. Visionaries with dreams of changing the world may have little real-world experience and find themselves in over their heads after they jump in too quickly. Even pure...
Eric C. Evarts -
Dodge promotes electric cars–in ad for DemonElectric cars are not only the cleanest cars in the world, they're some of the fastest, as quite a few Tesla Model S owners have demonstrated racing against various gas cars on drag strips. Even manufacturers of internal-combustion cars apparently know this. In a recent Twitter ad for the...
Eric C. Evarts -
Tesla Model 3 braking problems, new electric SUVs, 2-cylinder pickup: The Week in ReverseWhich new car won't Consumer Reports recommend? What new company is getting ready to build electric SUVs in Illinois? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending May 25, 2018. Friday, we shared a report from Bloomberg New Energy...
Eric C. Evarts -
Tesla airlifts factory machinery from Europe to speed Model 3 production: ReutersTesla airlifted six plane loads of factory machinery from Europe to California to speed up battery production for its Model 3 electric car, according to a Reuters report. Reuters cited two people familiar with the arrangement, who were not authorized to speak on the record. Transporting factory...
Eric C. Evarts -
Nissan is famous for zigging when everyone else zags—especially when it comes to making convertibles.
Years after its soft-top Murano CrossCabriolet crossover was laughed out of showrooms (and...
-
So nice, why not twice? Two hybrids planned for next-generation Porsche 911Taking a page from its successful Cayenne and Panamera E-Hybrids, which have seen the biggest sales jumps of any plug-in cars in recent monthly sales reports, Porsche is planning to build two new hybrid versions of its defining 911 sports car. The 911 is being redesigned for 2019, code named 992...
Eric C. Evarts -
Electric cars will exceed half the market and displace 7 percent of gasoline consumption by 2040: reportElectric car sales are poised to increase tenfold by 2025 and reach 55 percent of car sales worldwide by 2040, according to the latest report on electric cars from Bloomberg New Energy Finance. While electric cars' share of the market is still small—less than 2 percent in most...
Eric C. Evarts -
Apple car, electric-car dealers, new batteries, and Tesla Model 3 timeline: Today's Car NewsAfter going practically dark for years, the first Apple self-driving car has finally broken out into the light, and it's not what Apple fans may have expected. Dealers turning buyers away from electric cars isn't an American problem, it turns out. It's a worldwide problem, according to several...
Eric C. Evarts -
Tesla adds Model 3 build complexity: too early, or on time?
When Tesla opened up orders this week for the all-wheel drive Dual Motor and Performance versions of its Model 3, some reports suggested it was early and might complicate the company's ability to ramp up to 5,000 units a week. Tesla emphatically says the move only represents the company sticking to...
Eric C. Evarts -
Car dealers push buyers away from electric cars worldwide, not just U.S., studies findCar dealers may be the same all over the world, at least when it comes to electric cars. In 2014, Consumer Reports did a study that showed 50 out of 85 dealerships visited nationwide either outright discouraged its secret shoppers from buying electric cars or tried to talk them into buying a gas or...
Eric C. Evarts