The 2021 Jeep Wrangler 4xe plug-in hybrid combines limited zero-emission driving with rugged off-road capability. But there aren't many places to plug in out in the wilderness. It appears Jeep has thought of that. The automaker plans to build solar-powered charging stations on off-road trails in California and Utah, Jeep North American boss Jim...
Which two automakers announced a possible alliance? Which automaker has decided to hide away the exhaust pipes on its vehicles? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending September 5, 2020. Lucid says that the upcoming Air electric car will be the world’s quickest production...
Tesla CEO Elon Musk test drove the Volkswagen ID.3 electric car and inspected the related ID.4 during a recent visit to Germany, Bloomberg reported Friday. Musk met VW CEO Herbert Diess at a small airport in Braunschweig for about two hours Thursday evening, according to the report, which cited anonymous sources familiar with the matter. A VW...
The new FIA World Rallycross Project E race series has run it's first support race in Sweden,
Ken Block's Ford Fiesta ERX won this breakthrough event at the famous Holjes rallycross circuit in front of two identical Fords.
Built by Austrian firm STARD, the cars boast three electric motors, producing 600 horsepower and 1,000 Nm of torque combined. It can go from zero to 100km/h in 1.8 seconds, according to the race team, with a top speed of 240km/h. Each axle gets its own 2-speed transmission, although only one gear is used in races. Brake and torque bias is adjustable front to rear but the STARD powertrain does not have AWD torque vectoring.
Another charger design, being tested in the UK, stows neatly in the sidewalk when it’s not in use. Volvo is hiding its tailpipe exhaust tips, as it ramps up for a big push toward plug-in vehicles. And a solid-state battery company from Silicon Valley is going public. This and more, here at Green Car Reports. QuantumScape, the California...
In the past we’ve asked how far off in the future tailpipes might be seen as socially inferior and morally wrong—or at the very least, uncouth. That time might have already arrived. Volvo announced Monday, within a series of styling and feature updates to its model lineup, that it’s hiding its exhaust tips within the rear bumper...
United Kingdom startup Trojan Energy will test charging stations that pop up from the sidewalk when needed. The Subsurface Technology for Electric Pathways (STEP) will pilot program will see 200 curbside charging stations installed in the London boroughs of Brent and Camden. The project will receive 3 million pounds ($3.9 million at current...
QuantumScape, the decade-old solid-state battery startup backed by Volkswagen, is going public. This will be accomplished through a reverse merger with Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp., with an enterprise value of approximately $3.3 billion, the startup said in a press release Thursday. Kensington is a special-purpose acquisition...
The Jeep Wrangler plug-in hybrid has been revealed. Groups are petitioning GM, Toyota, and FCA. A study aims to correct the errors in many other studies assessing lifetime carbon emissions. And GM and Honda are moving toward an alliance. This and more, here at Green Car Reports. Details have been released for the 2021 Jeep Wrangler 4xe plug-in...
Honda and GM are considering a partnership on development and supply-chain costs for much more than fuel cells and battery tech. The two companies announced on Thursday in a joint press release that they have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding to form a North American auto alliance. If adopted, the companies will combine efforts in a...
Lifetime carbon emissions of electric cars are much lower than previously suggested, according to a new study from the Eindhoven University of Technology. First reported by Der Spiegel, the study also takes aim at previous studies claiming electric cars have higher overall emissions than internal-combustion vehicles. Factoring in emissions from...
Jeep on Thursday gave us our first official look at its first plug-in hybrid destined for the U.S., part of an electrification onslaught that the company has committed $10 billion for the future. The 2021 Jeep Wrangler 4xe will arrive in the U.S. in early 2021. It follows the Compass 4xe and Renegade 4xe sold in Europe only, although the Wrangler...
A coalition of consumer, science, environmental, and religious groups is asking General Motors, Toyota, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to end their support of the Trump administration's moves to lower emissions standards. On Tuesday, the coalition of nine groups, including Consumer Reports, the Sierra Club, and others, delivered an open letter with...
Autos worth $500 or less have competed for 15 years in a circuslike race called 24 Hours of Lemons. Now electric vehicles have been invited, with no limit on spending.
Electric vehicles could remain expensive to build even after batteries become much cheaper. Ford sent signals it doesn’t plan to accelerate EV volume past Tesla in the near future. And the Lucid Air can do very, very well at the dragstrip. This and more, here at Green Car Reports. Lucid has claimed that the Air, which will be fully revealed...
Several automakers are planning their own battery factories to support increased electric-car production, but Ford isn't one of them. The automaker sees "insufficient scale" for its own battery factory to make financial sense, and will continue sourcing batteries solely from suppliers, according to an Automotive News Europe report. The report...
After years of dragstrip victories over gasoline vehicles, the Tesla Model S might have at last met its match: in the form of the Lucid Air electric sedan. Lucid Motors revealed Wednesday—ahead of a full reveal of the production Air on September 9—that the Air will be able to perform a traditional American performance metric, the...
Even with falling battery costs, electric cars will remain "significantly more expensive" for European automakers to build than internal-combustion models for at least a decade, according to a Financial Times study. While the total manufacturing cost of a compact electric car will fall by more than a fifth by 2030, to 16,000 euros ($19,000), that...
Toyota is aiming for the moon with a fuel-cell Land Cruiser cousin. The federal government gives automakers a little more time to sort out pedestrian sounds. And several pieces of new hardware can help you get more charging from the 240V circuit you have. This and more, here at Green Car Reports. Automakers will get another six months, at the...