For years, green-car buyers in California have enjoyed a special perk: access to high-occupancy vehicle lanes that can whiz past gridlock, even with just a single occupant. Now, updates to the rules signed into law in October by Governor Jerry Brown will likely change the way owners and shoppers view the coveted carpool-lane stickers and how they... Here’s how California’s carpool (HOV-lane) stickers work now
For years, green-car buyers in California have enjoyed a special perk: access to high-occupancy vehicle lanes that can whiz past gridlock, even with just a single occupant. Now, updates to the rules signed into law in October by Governor Jerry Brown will likely change the way owners and shoppers view the coveted carpool-lane stickers and how they... 
A majority of the photovoltaic solar panels used in the U.S. are imported from such countries as China, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam. Now, environmentalists and energy analysts worry that the new 30-percent tariff on solar-panel imports announced last Monday by President Donald Trump may stymie the rapidly growing clean-energy... 
Possibly no German carmaker was more shocked by the emergence of the Tesla Model S in 2012 than Porsche. Each of Porsche's models was a top performer in its segment for power, handling, and features, and sold at highly profitable prices. Then came the Tesla Model S, a five-seat hatchback sedan that offered striking looks and stunning performance... 
Last month, U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry signed an agreement with Saudi Arabian officials to research "carbon capture" technology for fossil fuels, the Department of Energy announced. Perry and Khalid Al Falih, the Saudi Minister of Energy, Industry, and Mineral Resources, signed a memorandum of understanding to "establish a framework for... 
Several years ago, Georgia offered a generous state-tax credit for purchase of a zero-emission vehicle, and its sales of electric cars boomed. When state politics interceded to kill that credit in 2015—and add a new tax specifically on those same vehicles—the state became a case study on what happens when such incentives are suddenly... 
This past Tuesday, the 2018 Nissan Leaf—an entirely redesigned second generation of the pioneering electric car—officially went on sale in the U.S. It's quicker and has more features than its predecessors, not to mention a significantly longer range: 151 miles combined, according to the EPA, versus 107 miles from last year's Leaf. With... 
When the 2018 Nissan Leaf electric car was unveiled last fall, the company said it would have a range of "140 miles or more." That had risen to "150 miles or more" by the end of last year, and now we have the final confirmed figure. The EPA combined range rating for the second-generation Leaf is officially 151 miles. DON'T MISS: 2018 Nissan Leaf... 
Which legendary British luxury sedan intends to tackle the Tesla Model S head-on? How much of a role is there for radically more-efficient combustion engines in making future vehicles greener? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending on Friday, January 26, 2018. Friday, we covered... 
Today, we've got the old and the new, from Ford Model T gas mileage to advanced electric cars that the LAPD isn't using. Also, why plug-in vehicle owners usually lease rather than buy, and another Tesla Model S crash with Autopilot involved. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Despite a sensational headline, a recent article underscored why... 
Investigators from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are scheduled to examine the crash of a Tesla Model S that hit a fire truck parked on a California freeway. The driver claimed the Model S was operating with Tesla's AutoPilot functionality turned on, according to a tweet sent by a firefighters union that had members at the... ![ExxonMobil oil refinery, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, by WClarke [CC BY-SA 4.0]](https://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/exxonmobil-oil-refinery-baton-rouge-louisiana-by-wclarke-cc-by-sa-4-0_100641388_t.gif)
One of the world's largest oil producers is about to enter a tit-for-tat battle over climate change with government officials from multiple states. New York, Massachusetts, New York City, and a slew of cities in California have brought multiple lawsuits against oil producers for a lack of disclosure of potential liabilities they may face. Those... ![Footage from June 2016 LAPD announcement of lease for 100 BMW i3 electric cars [CBS Channel 2, LA]](https://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/footage-from-june-2016-lapd-announcement-of-lease-for-100-bmw-i3-electric-cars-cbs-channel-2-la_100641385_t.gif)
Anyone who remembers the epic, metallic-tasting, technicolor smog in the Los Angeles Basin found into the 1990s understands why air quality matters there. While the worst of the uncontrolled tailpipe emissions have now been greatly reduced, and the air is cleaner, the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide is now the major concern. So it sounded like good... 
In a recent video posted to YouTube, environmental advocacy group The Sierra Club dialed up production values to call out Ford's lobbying efforts to roll back fuel-economy standards. The video showed a man getting into a modern-day Ford, starting the engine, then noting the shift lever had an array of reverse gears but no forward drive. When the... 
Leases are a minority of overall car sales in the U.S., though the numbers soar for pricier luxury vehicles versus the less expensive, plain-Jane vehicles that serve as daily transport for most drivers. That rule flips for electric cars: Most pricey Teslas appear to be purchased outright, while smaller and less expensive electric cars are largely... 
Today, we interviewed BMW's electric-car powertrain head, looked at tire swaps for Chevy Bolt EVs, covered some state news on emission limits and charging stations, and offered a PSA on climate change. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Low-rolling-resistance tires boost electric-car range, but don't do much for handling. One Chevy Bolt EV... 
As the auto industry plans more electric cars in higher volumes for the 2020s, one of the great debates is whether they will need to be designed from the ground up solely for battery power. Doing so allows designers to offer larger cabins due to the more compact drive motors and electronics. One of the best examples of that idea is the upcoming... 
Electric vehicles still make up just a tiny slice of the vehicles on the road across the United States. Still, with impending regulations and more longer-range electric vehicles soon to arrive, governments far and wide recognize the need to encourage the installation and growth of public charging stations. Just how many charging stations is enough... ![2015 Nissan Leaf, Denver, Colorado, Mar 2016 [photo: owner Andrew Ganz]](https://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/2015-nissan-leaf-s_100548744_t.gif)
A state at the forefront of U.S. electric-vehicle adoption has set an ambitious goal of nearly 1 million plug-in electric cars on its roads by 2030. Colorado, which counted 13,000 electric vehicles on the road at the end of 2017, rolled out an aggressive plan this week to achieve that goal. Its largest efforts go toward enhancing the current... 
As automakers await the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's new fuel-economy rules for 2022 through 2025, due March 30, regulators from California and Washington are still hammering out the specifics. A meeting between state and federal regulators on fuel-economy and emissions targets took place on Monday as both sides attempt to... 
Mother Nature doesn't pay attention to politics. As a pair of articles in The Washington Post last week highlighted, climate change proceeds apace regardless of the daily news cycle. In other words, unless the U.S. and the world ramp up the pace of reducing carbon-dioxide emissions from all sources, the effects of a warming planet will continue...