Consumer Reports' enthusiasm for Tesla electric cars has fluctuated, but owners' enthusiasm has apparently remained steady. The magazine that once declared the Tesla Model S to be the best car it ever tested, but more recently it has raised concerns over reliability, and criticized the automaker's Autopilot driver-assist system. Nonetheless, Tesla... Tesla tops Consumer Reports’ customer satisfaction index
Consumer Reports' enthusiasm for Tesla electric cars has fluctuated, but owners' enthusiasm has apparently remained steady. The magazine that once declared the Tesla Model S to be the best car it ever tested, but more recently it has raised concerns over reliability, and criticized the automaker's Autopilot driver-assist system. Nonetheless, Tesla...
It takes people to make cars: to lift and install parts, check quality, test-drive them after assembly, and so forth. Automation has eliminated many of the jobs performed by humans a century ago on the Ford Model T line, and made the rest much less physically punishing for line workers. But electric cars pose a new threat: they will require even...
Over the past few years, both national and state Chinese governments have heavily subsidized electric cars in an aggressive attempt to promote mass adoption. Electric cars are seen as an important way to combat the country's notorious air pollution, and develop the domestic auto industry. So far, the various subsidies and purchase incentives have...
Much of the U.S. innovation in electric-car incentives and infrastructure has come not from the federal government but from one or more states, especially California. With the decision years ago to let states either comply with national emission standards or adopt the stiffer California rules, both individual states and regional groups are...
The Volkswagen Group has reached a preliminary agreement with U.S. regulators to address 83,000 3.0-liter V-6 diesel vehicles with illegal "defeat device" software. The agreement—which covers a variety of SUVs and sedans sold by Audi, Porsche, and Volkswagen—must still be finalized and approved by a federal judge. Affected cars will...
Group-buying programs have proven to be a very effective tool to get more people to purchase and drive electric cars. These programs—typically partnerships between local governments and dealers, but sometimes undertaken by private groups—leverage collective buying power to lower vehicle prices for individual consumers. Similar to...
Today, Michigan socks hybrid owners with new fees, Volkswagen teases a new electric concept car ahead of the 2017 Detroit Auto Show, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration delays an increase in penalties for automakers that fall short of fuel-economy standards. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Volkswagen will debut an...
Current Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards require automakers to achieve a fleet average of roughly 54.5 mpg by 2025. That's actually closer to 40 mpg in the real world, as presented on new-car window stickers, but it still represents a major increase over the next few years. The auto industry has argued that it is too large an...
As Volkswagen aims to resolve numerous lawsuits related to its use of illegal "defeat device" software in diesel cars, federal agencies are continuing their criminal investigations of the company's actions. As part of its investigation, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is now seeking more information on whether Volkswagen destroyed cell phones...
Anyone who watches even a little television knows that automakers take advertising seriously—and do a lot of it. The seemingly-never-ending stream of commercials keeps their brands in the public eye, and helps them sell cars to the subset of views in the market. But if you think that electric cars are generally not represented in that stream...