It has long been official Chinese government industrial policy to dominate the world's production of lithium-ion battery cells and to establish a commanding electric-car industry. This would not only position the country in crucial industries of the future but give it a way to start attacking the choking smog in its cities that affects public...
China is now the world's largest new-car market, but no native Chinese manufacturers sell passenger cars in the U.S. At least one of those manufacturers is at least considering having a go at the U.S. market. GAC appeared this week at the 2017 Detroit Auto Show with three vehicles, including an electric car and a concept plug-in hybrid. DON'T...
As well as software updates to add back Autopilot functionality in its latest cars, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has hinted on Twitter at an update to improve performance even further. Musk recently teased a software update that would allow the latest Model S P100D to do 0 to 60 mph in 2.4 seconds—shaving 0.1 second off the time previously...
Today, a report claims the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will accuse Fiat Chrysler Automobiles of using an illegal "defeat device" to cheat on emissions tests, plug-in electric car sales were strong in December 2016, and the Ford GT supercar returns low fuel economy, despite its EcoBoost engine. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Four...
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles may have used illegal software emissions controls to pass more than 100,000 trucks and SUVs through emissions testing, the EPA said Thursday. The agency hasn't yet called the software controls "defeat devices," but has asked FCA to explain up to eight auxiliary emissions controls devices on those cars they say help the...
While electric cars received a disproportionate amount of media attention over the last five years, the focus is now turning. At the recent Consumer Electronics Show and Detroit Auto Show earlier this month, cynical journalists were moved to propose a drinking game. Participants would have to take a drink every time an automaker used the words...
While still just shy of the 30,000 vehicle milestone, cumulative Canadian plug-in electric vehicle sales likely finished 2016 high enough to scale Mount Everest (elevation in feet: 29,029). While the full 2016 milestone is unlikely to be reached by January 11—birthday of Sir John A. MacDonald, the country's first Prime Minister—it may...
Since Ford launched its line of downsized EcoBoost engines in 2009, the "eco" part of that name has often required an asterisk. That's because some owners have found that real-world fuel economy results don't always live up to the vehicles' official EPA ratings. The phrase "you can have Eco, or you can have Boost, but you can't have both at the...
When it comes to policy efforts aimed at promoting electric cars, the focus is usually on private passenger vehicles. But to cut carbon emissions in a meaningful way, policymakers will have to look at other types of vehicles as well. That includes the thousands of cars and light trucks in the municipal fleets of large cities. DON'T MISS: BYD...
Today, Toyota Prius Prime buyers complain of uncooperative dealers, Honda announces a new dedicated hybrid model for 2018, and California utility Pacific Gas & Electric offers rebates for electric-car use. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Find out why Faraday Future's luxury electric car is called the FF 91. China plans to invest $360...
In certain states, electric utilities are getting into the business of installing and operating electric-car charging infrastructure. They may build public charging stations, or work with other entities that operate them, but that's usually as far as their efforts to promote electric cars go. But one California utility is now taking direct action...
In recent years, Honda has announced that it planned to release advanced-technology green cars in the future—without mentioning even their names, let alone any details or specifications. That's what happened two years ago with a pair of unnamed battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles that later proved to be two new variants of the Honda...
The Toyota Prius Prime is a far better car than its plug-in hybrid predecessor, and it seems likely to become one of the higher-volume plug-in electric cars on the U.S. market. If, that is, Toyota's own dealers prove willing to sell it—or even find out that it exists. After three separate complaints by readers in different areas of the U.S...
It's a new year, and that means a new crop of buyer deals on green cars. The 2017 model year is now well underway, but older 2016 versions of certain vehicles still sit on dealer lots. As dealers get more anxious to clear this older stock, look for more aggressive incentives on these models. DON'T MISS: Plug-in electric car sales in Dec: Bolt EV...
Despite a recent downturn, the Chinese government is moving full-speed ahead to invest heavily in renewable energy. The country's national regulators have already promoted renewable energy as a possible cure for the country's notoriously-bad air pollution. But China has placed more emphasis on renewable power in its latest five-year economic plan...
Faraday Future unveiled its FF 91 electric car at a special event held during the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week. It's a crossover-utility vehicle with a claimed 1,050 horsepower and 378-mile range, the latter courtesy of a 130-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack. Aside from those ambitious performance claims, the FF 91...
Gasoline-powered carts have improved garbage collection in Central Park, but they are noisy and smelly. A squadron of electric vehicles is coming to the rescue.
More proof that plugging in cuts carbon emissions, news on the batteries of the new 2018 Toyota Camry Hybrid, and discouraging news on the calculated fuel economy of new vehicles sold last year: all this and more in today's car news on Green Car Reports. Samsung says a new lithium-ion cell will recharge to 80 percent capacity in just 20...
Cars that run entirely or partly on electricity from a battery pack have no tailpipe emissions, but to judge their overall impact, you have to look at lifetime wells-to-wheels emissions. That includes emissions associated with extracting, refining, and burning the fuel used to make the electricity that recharges them, as well as the same for any...
Masato Katsumoto is Toyota's chief engineer for the global Camry sedan program—so when he speaks, it's worth listening. Following yesterday's Detroit Auto Show launch of an entirely new 2018 Toyota Camry mid-size sedan, he was one of several Toyota executives who answered media questions in a morning panel. And during that session, Katsumoto...
