Cars with plugs may be the cleaner and greener future, but at the moment, they make up only about 1 percent of global sales approaching 100 million vehicles a year. That means that automakers continue to work ceaselessly on more efficient gasoline engines and lighter vehicles to put them in. Last week, Toyota summarized its plans in that arena and... Toyota details next-generation hybrids, more efficient gasoline engines
Cars with plugs may be the cleaner and greener future, but at the moment, they make up only about 1 percent of global sales approaching 100 million vehicles a year. That means that automakers continue to work ceaselessly on more efficient gasoline engines and lighter vehicles to put them in. Last week, Toyota summarized its plans in that arena and...
The 2019 Jaguar I-Pace SUV that debuted Thursday beat all the German luxury makes to the punch in launching a viable competitor to the looks and capabilities of electric cars offered by Tesla. The 14-year-old Silicon Valley startup has attracted huge attention for the stunning acceleration of its cars, particularly the "P" performance versions...
Which new electric luxury crossover utility beat Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz to the punch in targeting Tesla? What institution disavowed its own study, cited by the EPA, that claimed older diesels emitted no more pollutants than newer ones with sophisticated exhaust emssion-treatment systems? This is our look back at the Week In...
Today, we've got Priuses with plugs, more electric-car sales, some grim thoughts on renewable energy and climate change, and the production debut of the stunning 2019 Jaguar I-Pace electric SUV. All this and more on Green Car Reports. First, our apologies for being late with this update and light on stories today. Chalk it up to widespread power...
The most recent detailed studies on the likely warming of Planet Earth are grim indeed, suggesting that we are collectively at "very high risk" for the most extreme effects of climate change. To stem that, mankind collectively will have to reduce its ongoing emissions of carbon dioxide radically and immediately. Now, one longtime advocate of...
A funny thing happened to Toyota Prius hybrid sales last month. Almost one in three Prius hybrids sold in the U.S. were the Prius Prime model—the one with a plug. Toyota may be the large automaker least friendly to cars that plug in, so what's that all about? DON'T MISS: Toyota Prius hybrid sales have tanked: here are 4 reasons why In the...
Total sales by Jaguar Land Rover are a fraction of those by its rivals Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz. Arguably, that has required the British luxury maker to be more agile and more creative to compete. While Audi has discussed its plans for an all-electric crossover utility version for more than two years now, Jaguar's electric-car plans only broke...
The idea of adding noise-makers to vehicles that are "too quiet" didn't exist until the first hybrid-electric cars hit the market in 2000. Within a few years, however, organizations representing the blind began to raise alarms that cars operating at low speeds solely on electric power couldn't be heard by pedestrians who also couldn't see them...
Today, we've got cheaper fast-charging for longer, last month's plug-in vehicle sales numbers, a few hints of Dyson's future electric cars, and no news at all on a hybrid crossover utility vehicle for the U.S. All this and more on Green Car Reports. You may know Dyson for its high-tech vacuum cleaners or hand-washing driers, but it has plans for...
Sales of plug-in electric cars tend to be lower during the winter months, unlike the rest of the market, and February was little exception to that rule. After a whiz-bang December that took 2017 sales to their highest-ever number—just under 200,000 battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles sold in the U.S.—January numbers fell back...
The Honda CR-V Hybrid, a more fuel-efficient version of the company's best-selling compact crossover, has been around for almost a year now. It's on sale in China, announced for Japan, and now, as of Tuesday, it's slated to arrive in European markets early in 2019. As for North America? The company offers radio silence, saying only it will offer...
Over the next three years, numerous long-range electric cars will come to market at prices below $40,000. That will expand the pool of potential buyers to those interested in plug-in vehicles but unwilling to consider one rated at less than 200 miles. Those new owners will learn the DC fast charging along highways to enable longer road trips...
While Dyson may be best known worldwide for high-tech vacuum cleaners, the company has a strong affinity for what the British call "boffins," which roughly translates to "eccentric genius inventors." With a slight resemblance to Doc Brown of "Back to the Future" (as played by Christopher Lloyd), company founder James Dyson epitomizes the type. Now...
Today, we've got full details on the long-range electric version of the Hyundai Kona, a few more details on the Lexus UX small crossover, a Bolt EV battery-pack teardown on video, and a poll on Trump's climate-science denial. All this and more on Green Car Reports. After teasing it a week ago, full details on the Hyundai Kona Electric have been...
The battery packs of most modern electric cars are far different than those in your mobile phone or other portable devices. In most cases, they include hundreds or thousands of cells, arranged into modules, and usually surrounded by channels containing liquid coolant to keep the battery in its desired temperature range. Now a new video shows...
Using electric cars as police vehicles has some distinct advantages. Among them are near-silent operation, maximum acceleration from 0 rpm, and a novelty factor that can lead to friendly, beneficial interactions between officers and citizens. Now, the small Maryland city of Hyattsville, a suburb of Washington, D.C., has a 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV...
It is now abundantly clear that the Trump administration in the U.S. is staffed with climate-science denialists and committed promoters for the greater extraction, sale, and combustion of fossil fuels. That includes coal, the dirtiest major fossil fuel of them all, with the highest emissions of carbon dioxide per kilowatt-hour when used to...
Today, we ended up with a slew of diesel stories, from fake science at a university to a court decision letting German cities ban the oldest and dirtiest diesel vehicles. Also, hybrid and plug-in hybrid Ford F-Series pickup trucks and a Twitter poll on electric-car charging. All this and more on Green Car Reports. If you have an electric car, we’d…
That huge intake of breath you may have heard from across the Atlantic Ocean was the sound of German carmakers gasping at a court decision handed down on Tuesday. After a week's delay in issuing its ruling, a German court decided that individual cities in the country may ban vehicles with diesel engines to reduce air pollution. The decision could...
Last November, the Environmental Protection Agency said it would rescind a rule that banned companies from fitting outdated, older, and dirtier diesel engines into brand-new "glider" chassis-cab trucks. Among the many regulations to limit emissions and other forms of pollution that EPA administrator Scott Pruitt has axed, this one was particularly...