Cleaner EVs, Aptera, cheap gas and ethanol: Today’s Car News

Design for new Aptera electric car, Aug 2019Electric cars are cleaner than gas cars almost everywhere. Ethanol faces more challenges at the pump. Battery-electric trains catch on in Europe. And will an activist strategy about oil stoke interest in Aptera? This and more, here at Green Car Reports. A study from the UK has found that electric cars are now cleaner than gasoline cars in 95% of...

Ethanol may be the loser amid cheap gas and an oil glut

2012 Chevrolt Volt Gas Station AdvertAs gas prices plummet toward the $2-per-gallon mark on a national level—with some regions already reporting $1 gas—forecasts are suggesting the bargain pump prices will last at least through the summer. The cheap gas, at a national-average $2.01 as of Monday morning, according to AAA, comes as a rare bit of positive financial news for...

Nissan Leaf as home energy device: Wallbox will soon enable it in the U.S.

Wallbox Quasar, for bi-directional DC chargingIn the wake of Japan’s 2011 earthquakes, Nissan was particularly proud of something its new Leaf electric car was designed to do from the start—like power an office building for a short time, or a home for a full day, or even traffic lights in a pinch. The Leaf’s capability to fill in as needed as a mobile backup power source, or...

Coronavirus shutdowns could be bringing best air quality in decades

New York City skylineThe unprecedented social distancing measures put in place by many countries to slow the spread of coronavirus have already produced a measurable effect in one important area--emissions. The slowdown of human activity in many of the world's most populous, most heavily industrialized countries has led to the best air quality in decades. Satellite...