New safety scores are in for the Tesla Model 3—from Europe. Volkswagen shows how it could help make EVs lighter. More states sign on to oppose the EPA's planned fuel-economy freeze. And readers weigh in on whether Arnold Schwarzenegger can sell more electric cars. All this and more on Green Car Reports. The European New Car Assessment...
The number of states that oppose President Trump's efforts to freeze emissions and fuel economy standards is growing. In June last year, 16 states and Washington, DC, sued the federal government over the proposal before it was even released. On Tuesday, governors of 23 states plus Puerto Rico released a joint statement urging the Trump...
Ads for electric cars have included very few hits and many cringeworthy misses. Among the most successful we've seen is a new ad by non-profit EV group Veloz, with actor and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as an undercover car salesman. Here's the ad, in case you missed it: Although there have been a couple of other effective ads...
European tests have demonstrated safety levels in the Tesla Model 3 beyond those yet tested in the U.S. The European New Car Assessment Program announced results last week from its full round of testing on a 2019 Model 3, and it gave the Model 3 its highest overall score in 2019 for the full collection of tests—in crash protection for its...
Electric vehicle makers face a weight dilemma. Shoppers want more range, and each extra kilowatt-hour of lithium-ion battery-pack capacity adds as much weight as carrying 2 or 3 gallons of extra gasoline around all the time. Yet the more a vehicle weighs, the more energy it takes to move it and its occupants from place to place. Without the extra...
The fully electric 2020 Mini Cooper SE has been revealed. The Tesla Model S and Model X won't get a rumored refresh. Hyundai embraces new engine tech in the 2020 Hyundai Sonata. And our latest Twitter poll asks whether buyers would really pay twice as much—or more—for a self-driving car. All this and more on Green Car Reports. The new...
The Tesla Model S and Model X might never get the floating, center-mounted, horizontal instrument cluster from the newer Model 3, as had been widely reported based on patent and trademark drawings and insider reports. On Monday night, Tesla CEO Elon Musk quashed the rumors on Twitter, his usual venue, in response to a question from a follower...
The fully electric 2020 Mini Cooper SE will bring back everything early Mini pioneers loved about the company's first electric effort, the 2009 Mini E, in a more conventional, practical package. It will still be the sportiest Mini, with quicker powertrain responses, and a lower center of gravity, than the gas-powered Mini Cooper S. The biggest...
![Tesla Model 3 dashboard in Autopilot testing with IIHS [CREDIT: IIHS]](https://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/tesla-model-s-dashboard-in-autopilot-testing-with-iihs-credit-iihs_100665437_t.gif)
In a Twitter storm Sunday night, Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed that the company's grand strategy to avoid selling cars for small profits (or less), is to boost prices for fully self-driving cars—at least once such systems are more reliable. In response to a Tweet by Disruption Research (@DistruptResearch), postulating that self-driving cars...
Hyundai last week announced that it has developed what it claims is the world’s first mass-production continuously variable valve duration (CVVD) technology. The company asserted the new valve tech, headed into versions of the 2020 Hyundai Sonata, will produce significant improvements in emissions, fuel efficiency, and performance. The...
Toyota tests a solar-powered Prius in Japan. The Connecticut Supreme Court will decide the future of Tesla stores. Cost estimates get real for renewable power plans. And General Motors cleans up not just its cars, but its factories and tires. Hybrids aren't just for cars and trains anymore. All this and more on Green Car Reports. In Japan, Toyota...
The two giant states have set some of the world's most ambitious climate targets, aiming to slash emissions close to zero in just decades.
While Toyota has been skeptical of electric cars, the carmaker is expressing optimism about technology that can supplement plugging in: solar. Along with its battery partners NIDO and Sharp, Toyota is experimenting with a new Prius Prime in Japan (called the Prius PHV there), equipped with 860 watts of solar panels on the roof, hood, and rear...
Combating global warming and air pollution is about more than electric cars, as General Motors has made clear in its annual sustainability report issued at the end of June. GM CEO Mary Barra has repeatedly proclaimed the company’s goal of “zero accidents, zero emissions, and zero congestion.” To that end, late last year, the...
![Mulan wind farm [CREDIT: Global Climate Budget 2018]](https://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/mulan-wind-farm-credit-global-climate-budget-2018_100682097_t.gif)
Democratic presidential candidates talked hardly at all in the debates late last month about the Green New Deal, a proposal in Congress, to, among other things convert America's electric power completely to renewable sources. Americans have shown broad support for such a transition. What's been left unaddressed—and which many candidates...
![Tesla Store Los Angeles [photo: Misha Bruk / MBH Architects]](https://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/tesla-store-los-angeles-photo-misha-bruk-mbh-architects_100449434_t.gif)
The Connecticut Supreme Court is scheduled to take up the case of whether Tesla should have been allowed to operate stores in the state. It's a case that could help shape a brewing national debate about how consumers buy electric cars, whether current dealers are equipped to sell them, and whether new startup automakers should be subject to laws...
The Roald Amundsen, an expedition cruise ship that can carry 500 passengers and is designed for rough waters, set out last Monday on its maiden voyage silently, on electric power. It can plug in to charge its batteries when it's in port, but with a schedule reaching to the far poles of the world, the ship cruises mainly like a conventional hybrid...
Where might the timeline be stepped up for new vehicles going nearly all plug-in? Which company recalled its vehicles over fire concerns? What did VW use for teasing some new ideas that might be headed into its upcoming Microbus revival? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending...
An agreement to be formalized next week is the latest example of how rivals in the auto industry are sharing the enormous cost of new technologies.
Today in a holiday edition of Green Car Reports we’re bringing you two driving impressions of the 2019 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid. Can the same seven-seat minivan be both a very fuel-efficient gasoline vehicle for a long road trip through the American West and an all-electric vehicle for the commute and errands every other day? The Lotus...
