Could future VW Beetle return to rear (electric) powertrain?

2016 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible 2-door DSG 2.0T R-Line S GrilleAs any experienced journalist knows, you hear lots of good stuff in the corridors and private conversations of any large industry event where media are present. That applies to auto shows too. Which is how we came to hear an intriguing rumor about the possible production direction of the next-generation Volkswagen Beetle. DON'T MISS: VW ID: more...

Which green cars didn’t make the cut for Best Car To Buy award?

2017 Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid, Ioniq Electric, and Ioniq Plug-In We have a slim field of only three new green cars this year competing for the Green Car Reports 2017 Best Car To Buy award. They are the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, the 2016 Tesla Model X, and the 2017 Toyota Prius Prime. There's a much longer list of new vehicles that didn't make the cut this year; this is where we explain what they are, and why...

Which green cars didn’t make the cut for Best Car To Buy award?

2017 Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid, Ioniq Electric, and Ioniq Plug-In We have a slim field of only three new green cars this year competing for the Green Car Reports 2017 Best Car To Buy award. They are the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, the 2016 Tesla Model X, and the 2017 Toyota Prius Prime. There's a much longer list of new vehicles that didn't make the cut this year; this is where we explain what they are, and why...

Fisker is coming back, he says, with 400-mile electric car

Henrik FiskerHenrik Fisker has designed some remarkable cars, among them Aston Martins, the BMW Z8, and of course the striking Fisker Karma range-extended electric luxury sedan. That vehicle, launched in 2012 by his namesake company, saw production of less than 3,000 units before the company collapsed in bankruptcy. The same vehicle will relaunch next year as...

One of these 3 cars will be Green Car Reports’ Best Car To Buy 2017

Green Car Reports Best Car To BuyThe past year has been one of anticipation among green-car advocates, who've spent many months waiting for certain vehicles to emerge into production. At the start of the year, it was the Tesla Model X luxury electric utility vehicle, built in very low numbers for several months at the end of 2015. These days, it's the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV...

Was Paris a tipping point for electric cars? We mull it over

Longer-range Renault Zoe electric car, introduced at 2016 Paris Motor ShowAuto shows are sometimes hot, sometimes not. A lot of it has to do with what cars are shown, whether they're pure design studies, concepts pointing toward future vehicles, or actual production cars. And whether a show has "buzz" largely depends on the cadence of when automakers choose to release those different types of vehicles. DON'T MISS: 2017...

When will plug-in electric car sales exceed hybrid sales? Poll results

Jen Smith with her new 2016 Toyota Prius FourThe questions of whether and when sales of plug-in electric cars will resume their climb after a static 2015 are much on the minds of green-car advocates these days. It's taken as an article of faith that cars with plugs will grow as a proportion of the global market, ultimately supplanting large parts of the current gasoline fleet in decades to...

Smart Electric Drive has a little Renault-Nissan underneath

2017 Smart ForTwo Electric DriveOne of several new electric cars and concepts at last week's Paris Motor Show was the electric version of the second-generation Smart minicar. As Smart pointed out, it's the only maker that offers the option of gasoline or electric powertrains in every model it makes. Those are the ForTwo two-seat coupe, the ForTwo cabriolet with its roll-back...