Radically new powertrains are widely assumed to lose money for the companies that launch them. Toyota's hybrid-electric system, launched in Japan in 1997, likely didn't break even until sometime after the 2004 launch of the second-generation Prius. Long-range battery-electric vehicles are the same, according to analysts and insiders: the question... GM promises it can make money on all-electric cars by 2021
Radically new powertrains are widely assumed to lose money for the companies that launch them. Toyota's hybrid-electric system, launched in Japan in 1997, likely didn't break even until sometime after the 2004 launch of the second-generation Prius. Long-range battery-electric vehicles are the same, according to analysts and insiders: the question...
The big new debuts at the 2018 Detroit auto show are largely pickup trucks, one of them being the new mid-size 2019 Ford Ranger. Ford also introduced a new Bullitt Mustang, honoring the 51st anniversary of the legendary 1968 movie, and a high-performance ST version of the Edge crossover. (Is it the Edgest Edge?) But as for new hybrids or plug-in...
The highest-volume vehicle GM sells in North America is a full-size pickup truck—one that likely also contributes outsize profits from each of its hundreds of thousands of units. So the launch of the 2019 Chevrolet Silverado Saturday night before the Detroit auto show was a big deal for the company. Like every other new vehicle for a new...
Why do a majority of auto executives believe that hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles will dominate plug-in electric cars in the future? What do individual Tesla Model 3 parts tell us about that crucial but currently challenged electric car? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending on...
Today, TKTKTKTKTK. All this and more on Green Car Reports. The next wave of long-distance electric cars will arrive from European luxury makers, with the Audi e-tron electric SUV due this fall in at least some countries' driveways. Every wondered what a Chevy Bolt EV would look like sans steering wheel? That is called the Chevrolet Cruise AV...
Electric cars still cost significantly more to buy than gasoline-powered vehicles of the same size and capabilities. But cars that plug in are almost always cheaper to run per mile, often by a significant multiple. A study released Thursday has quantified those differences, comparing the cost-per-mile of gasoline versus electricity in different...
How comfortable would you be in a taxi or car-service vehicle that had no steering wheel, accelerator or brake pedals? That's the question prompted by a photo that has already prompted some subconscious anxiety among at least auto writers. How the public will react remains to be seen, but they'll get their chance next year if GM's Chevrolet Cruise...
Today, we've got more details on the 2019 Honda Insight hybrid, some deep research into where Tesla Model 3 parts come from, an amusing troll by one head of state on another, and a very fast, very pricey all-electric Chevy Corvette. All this and more on Green Car Reports. The two-seat Smart minicar has been on sale in the U.S. for 10 years now, so...
On Thursday, a concept version of what will be the 2019 Honda Insight hybrid sedan was unveiled before its public debut at next week's Detroit auto show. Any new hybrid car from one of the pioneers of hybrid-electric vehicles is notable, and that's what Honda has delivered. Honda released photos and some details of what's called the "Insight...
Today, we've got some tantalizing performance specs on the future Porsche Mission E, electric-car lessons from California, our monthly green-car deals roundup, and a ringing decision in favor of renewable energy. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Mazda has essentially confirmed that it's providing rotary range extenders for Toyota electric...
For much of last year, U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry pursued a plan that, in essence, would prop up the financially challenged U.S. coal and nuclear industries. His proposal, submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last fall, provided financial subsidies to electric-generation plants that kept 90 days of fuel onsite. Natural-gas...
It remains entirely unclear if the world as a whole will be able to cut its emissions of carbon dioxide fast enough to keep the global temperature rise below 2 degrees C over the next few decades. That's the level at which scientists say the most dire effects of climate change may be lessened or averted. Recent news has been both positive and...
Today, we've got news from the huge Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas, including a surprise electric-car concept from Kia, a hydrogen fuel-cell SUV from Hyundai, and the debut of the Fisker EMotion luxury electric car. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Yesterday afternoon at the massive CES show in Las Vegas, the production version of the...
Updates to conventional cars come in a predictable pattern. Once a new model is launched, it gets only minor tweaks to features, prices, and paint colors for two or three years. Then in the third or fourth year, it gets what the industry calls a "mid-cycle refresh": some updated sheetmetal, perhaps a redesigned dashboard, and other more visible...
Seven years after the first mass-priced modern electric car was sold in the U.S., more car buyers than ever are at least dimly aware that such vehicles exist. Sales of cars that plug in have risen every year, with one slight dip in 2015, but they were still just 1 percent of the U.S. market of 17.5 million light vehicles last year. One reason for...
It's well known that a battery-electric version of the Kia Niro will join the lineup soon, completing a range that now comprises the Niro Hybrid and the recently launched plug-in hybrid. Most observers had assumed the Niro EV would use the same underpinnings as its corporate sibling the Hyundai Ioniq Electric, just as the pair of hybrids does. But...
The world of cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells is still small and low-volume, but Korean maker Hyundai unveiled its production entry into that group on Monday. The sprawling Consumer Electronics Show is increasingly a showcase for advanced-technology and zero-emission vehicles, and the Korean maker used it to show its production-ready hydrogen...
Today, news from Norway about electric cars (and streetlights), gas mileage stuck in a rut, a new wrinkle on ethanol, and a new diesel for the Ford F-150 pickup truck promises higher fuel efficiency. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Over the weekend, as we do every seven days, we ran down last week's most important green-car stories. How...
Norway was one of the earliest nations to set a coherent and broad-based national plan to cut its carbon emissions, and then stick to it. For road transport, it plans to phase out sales of cars with internal-combustion engines by 2025 using a variety of carrots (financial incentives and special privileges) and sticks (very high taxes on...