Why VW diesel owners should get full price in buyback: opinion

Paul Hayes with his Volkswagen Jetta TDIIf Judge Charles Breyer signs the final settlement among Volkswagen, the EPA, and a California agency tomorrow, buyback offers will start to go out sometime next month to owners of almost half a million VW and Audi diesel cars. However, not every owner plans to participate in the settlement. The opinion piece below, from our reader Paul Hayes...

2017 Honda Clarity Fuel Cell rated at 366 miles of range by EPA

2017 Honda Clarity Fuel CellThe Toyota Mirai has taken the lead in U.S. sales of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, though it was beaten to market early last year by the Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell. Through September, Toyota has sold 710 of its four-person Mirai sedan—though up to half of those sales came in August to employees and others connected to Toyota. We're close to...

Faraday Future to unveil production electric car at CES in January

Teaser for Faraday Future's first modelAt the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), startup Faraday Future said it would put an electric car into production within two years. But one of those two years has almost elapsed without any hint of what that production car will be like. Faraday Future now says it will unveil its first production model at CES 2017 in January, though. DON'T...

Toyota to launch fuel-cell buses next year for Olympics

Toyota FC Bus hydrogen fuel-cell busIt appears that Toyota's hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles plans encompass more than just passenger cars. The Japanese automaker plans to begin selling fuel-cell buses in its home country next year, with an eye toward deploying them at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. In a press release announcing the buses, Toyota said the Tokyo Metropolitan Government already...

2019 BMW i5 crossover utility vehicle rendered from patent drawings

Rendering of BMW i5 electric crossover utility vehicle, from patent drawings [Indian Autos Blog]With BMW having decided to offer not only plug-in hybrids across its range but also fully electric versions of its core models, its 'i' sub-brand is in a curious position. Is there a future for the high-tech vehicles designed for maximum efficiency when battery-electric powertrains are rolling into conventional cars as well? The answer to that...

Judge ‘inclined’ to sign VW diesel settlement, decision by Oct 25

2014 Volkswagen Beetle TDIMore than a year after Volkswagen's use of illegal "defeat device" software in diesel cars came to light, the company is close to achieving a settlement with regulators and customers for the majority of affected cars. A settlement for the 482,000 affected VW TDI cars equipped with 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engines received preliminary approval at the...

Tesla Network ride-sharing service details to come next year?

Tesla Enhanced AutopilotIn the updated "master plan" for Tesla Motors he released in July, CEO Elon Musk said that Tesla plans to continue pursuing self-driving cars, as well as a company-managed sharing service. Musk described a scheme in which owners could rent out their autonomous Teslas as part of a ride-sharing service, then summon them back when needed. Tesla took...

So how about all-electric supersonic aircraft, then?

Concorde (photo by Eduard Marmet, via Wikimedia Commons)Supersonic airliners haven't flown since 2003, when the last Concorde was retired. But could supersonic planes carrying large number of passengers make a comeback—and with electric power no less? That's the vision of Luke Workman, a designer of lithium-ion battery packs who believes all-electric supersonic aircraft are attainable. DON'T...

So how about all-electric supersonic aircraft, then?

Concorde (photo by Eduard Marmet, via Wikimedia Commons)Supersonic airliners haven't flown since 2003, when the last Concorde was retired. But could supersonic planes carrying large number of passengers make a comeback—and with electric power no less? That's the vision of Luke Workman, a designer of lithium-ion battery packs who believes all-electric supersonic aircraft are attainable. DON'T...

Tesla upgrades, Chevy Bolt EV sales, Kia green cars: Today’s Car News

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, road test, California coastline, Sep 2016Today, Tesla upgrades sensors and hardware in an effort to equip its electric cars for autonomous driving, LG Chem makes a claim about Chevrolet Bolt EV sales, and a Kia executive says the automaker will launch its first hydrogen fuel-cell car around 2020. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Tesla claims upgrades to sensors and hardware in its...

Scotland shows path toward boosting renewable energy in a big way

Nissan Leaf in ScotlandScotland isn't known for having the most pleasant weather. But its persistent winds make the country a great place for renewable energy. Over the past few years, officials have overseen the construction of numerous wind turbines, in hopes of turning Scotland's weather into a useful resource. CHECK OUT: What Country Powered Itself Entirely On...

LG Chem: GM to sell ‘more than 30,000’ Chevy Bolt EVs next year

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, road test, California coastline, Sep 2016A very brief article on a single sentence uttered on Tuesday by an executive at Korean battery maker LG Chem has reverberated around electric-car circles for most of this week. The executive was vice president Kang Chang-beom, and he spoke on a conference call for financial analysts on the topic of LG Chem's third-quarter earnings. His comment has...

Kia to boost hybrid, electric offerings, add fuel cell in 2020

DC fast charging 2015 Kia Soul EVKia is continuing with plans to significantly increase the number of green cars in its future lineup. The Korean automaker and its parent, Hyundai, together hope to become the second-biggest seller of green cars worldwide, after Toyota. That means more hybrids, plug-in hybrids, battery-electric cars, and even some hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles...

Green Car Reports’ 2017 Best Car To Buy nominee: Tesla Model X

2016 Tesla Model XPretty much any Tesla electric car is bound to start a conversation. The low, tiny 2008 Roadster, the sleek and Jaguar-esque 2012 Model S sedan, or the company's latest car, the 2016 Model X crossover utility vehicle. But as we experienced first-hand, the Model X has the most attention-getting device of any Tesla ever sold. DON'T MISS: 2016 Tesla...

Disqus now allows user blocking for individual commenters

Angry Driver with Road RageComments are a major part of Green Car Reports, and we think they're one of the reasons we've attained a surprisingly large and diverse audience of readers. But to stay useful, all comments have to be moderated—which is something our tiny staff spends a great deal of time on. We respond to all comments flagged as inappropriate, and inspect...

Mercedes-Benz S550e wireless charging comes into focus

Mercedes-Benz wireless inductive charging systemThe Mercedes-Benz S550e plug-in hybrid luxury sedan will likely be the first production car to offer wireless charging as a factory option. The availability of wireless charging was announced earlier this year by Mercedes as part of a significant update of the current-generation car. We now know that the S550e will use a version of the Qualcomm...

Oil company pays $26 million for half-billion-dollar ethanol plant

Big square baler harvesting wheat straw for production of cellulosic ethanolThe failure of cellulosic ethanol may prove beneficial to oil giant Royal Dutch Shell. Cellulosic ethanol was seen as an important component of mass ethanol adoption because it is made from non-edible plants. But despite the hopes of ethanol advocates and policymakers, cellulosic sources never materialized in significant quantities. DON'T MISS...