California to pass half-million electric-car mark

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car in Maven car-sharing fleet, Los Angeles [photo: Dan MacMedan foBy the end of November, California will have more than 500,000 electric cars registered in the state, according to the latest report from Veloz, a consortium of state regulators, utilities, and other advocates for electric cars. California already has 491,000 electric cars on its roads, out of the 1.02 million sold in the United States since 2011...

Tesla, GM, Nissan band together to extend electric-car tax credits

Image from 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric-car ad by Ourisman Chevrolet, Rockville, MarylandAs tax credits for buyers of America's two most popular electric-car brands begin to sunset, automakers and advocates are banding together to restructure the tax-credit program and extend them. Tesla, General Motors, and Nissan—the top three sellers of electric cars in the U.S.—have banded together with the Center for Climate and...

Wind and solar cost less than coal for power

wind farmProducing renewable electricity is cheaper than running old coal plants, a new report from investment firm Lazard shows. Lazard reports that new wind farms in the U.S. can produce power for $29 to $56 per megawatt-hour, compared to $27 to $45 for existing coal-fired powerplants, according to a report last week in the British Financial Times...

Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid plug-in all-electric range revealed

2019 Subaru CrosstrekNew documents reveal that the upcoming 2019 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid will have about 25 miles of all-electric range, according to its EPA estimate. That puts it in the hunt with other plug-in hybrid small hatchbacks and crossover vehicles. The California documents, first obtained by Autoblog, show specific all-electric range ratings of 25.65 miles...

Track Mode released to make more of Tesla Model 3 Performance

2018 Tesla Model 3Tesla confirmed last Thursday that Track Mode has started rolling out for the Model 3 Performance, in an update for vehicles that have already received Version 9 of the automaker’s vehicle software. The company emphasized that Track Mode is intended specifically for closed circuits. It’s primarily a series of updates to the vehicle...

Faraday Future loses final founding executive

Artist’s impression of Faraday Future’s proposed plant in Hanford, CaliforniaFaraday Future is a startup electric carmaker founded by a Chinese investor and five executives with experience in building cars and electric cars. Now that the company seems to be in its final throes of its latest financial crisis, the last of those executives has reportedly left the company. READ THIS: Does Faraday have a Future? Latest...

VW is planning to build 50 million electric vehicles

Herbert DiessVolkswagen already had ambitious goals to ramp up electric-vehicle production to a rate of up to three million EVs annually by 2025, and potentially hit 10 million vehicles around 2027 if all goes right. But its plans look even more bullish on electric, considering the number of vehicles it's now supposedly signed up to build over a longer stretch...

Why haven’t you bought a Tesla Model 3 yet? Take our Twitter poll

2018 Tesla Model 3 Long Range electric car, road test in greater Atlanta area, Feb 2018We just named the Tesla Model 3 Green Car Reports Best Car To Buy for 2019 for its combination of innovation, functionality, and performance. Like other Teslas, the Model 3 is designed to be an electric car meant to ignite buyers' passion. It isn't just a car you buy to do good for the world by driving electrically; it's a car you buy because you...

Chevrolet adds hydrogen-powered Silverado concept to the mix

Chevrolet Silverado ZH2 conceptHydrogen fuel cells may have a place on the battlefield. That's the conclusion that Chevrolet drew when it introduced the fuel-cell powered Colorado ZH2 for military use in 2016. We even had a chance to ride in it. Now the company is doubling down on the strategy with a full-size fuel-cell pickup, the Silverado ZH2, which appeared on the brand's...

VW, Mercedes-Benz agree to fix diesels in Germany

Mercedes-Benz GLS350d spotted testing near DenverVolkswagen and Mercedes-Benz have each agreed to spend up to $3,430 in Germany to update their older diesel cars with new emissions systems that comply with regulations, Reuters reported Thursday. The agreement mirrors one in the U.S. in which Volkswagen paid owners between $5,000 and $10,000 in addition to the cost of repairing or buying back...

Green Car Reports Best Car To Buy 2019: Tesla Model 3

2018 Tesla Model 3The Tesla Model 3 is Green Car Reports' Best Car To Buy 2019. It’s the second time a Tesla product has won our annual award, which was captured by the Tesla Model S in 2013. Many have called the Model 3 Tesla’s “iPhone moment.” But that was the Model S—the shock to an auto industry that had dismissed its very premise...

Eight years of winners show how plug-in vehicles have evolved

2011 Nissan LeafAs we’re on the eve of naming our Green Car Reports Best Car To Buy 2019 award winner, a quick glance back at our previous winners offers several points of perspective. One of them is that the field has evolved tremendously since then, in such a relatively short time. Another is that the pace of environmentally-focused automotive technology...

Toyota teases all-wheel-drive Prius for LA auto show debut

All-wheel drive Toyota Prius teasedToyota has teased what is probably an all-wheel-drive Prius, slated for introduction at the Los Angeles auto show late this month. In studying the picture the company teased, with a Prius churning through the snow, it’s hard to come to another conclusion. The automaker says in a greeting-card-like teaser: “Fall is here, winter’s...

Tesla bumps price of Autopilot post-delivery

Tesla Model 3 dashboard in Autopilot testing with IIHS [CREDIT: IIHS]After removing its former Full Self-Driving Mode feature, Tesla is doubling down on selling Enhanced Autopilot. In a new software rollout, the company has temporarily enabled Enhanced Autopilot on all the cars that have the hardware to run it in a 14-day free trial that chief executive officer Elon Musk announced in April at the company's annual...