One of the many tactics used by carmakers to boost efficiency in their vehicles is fitting low-rolling-resistance tires. Specially designed to reduce the energy wasted as heat from the friction between the tire and the road, these tires can boost efficiency by a few percentage points in an electric car. The increase often isn't as noticeable in...
Today, Ford gets slammed by the Sierra Club, the next BMW i3 electric car will likely be very different, the Jaguar XJ will reportedly go head-to-head with the Tesla Model S, and we're not big fans of some possible Volkswagen ID electric-car model names. All this and more on Green Car Reports. We asked our Twitter followers what green powertrain...
The production values are high and the message is clear in a video released Tuesday by The Sierra Club. The environmental advocacy group 's goal is simple: highlight the contrast between Ford Motor Company's claims of sustainability goals and its behind-the-scenes efforts to roll back U.S. corporate fuel-economy rules. A proposal to modify...
Almost since the two legendary British brands were brought together in 1998, Jaguar has played second fiddle to its sibling Land Rover. The maker of traditional, sporty British sedans was left in search of a mission as increasingly upscale Land Rovers and even pricier Range Rovers proliferated, essentially saving the company. Recently, Jaguar has...
Volkswagen continues to invest heavily in a future of plug-in electric vehicles as it attempts to clean the diesel soot from its face following its emissions-cheating scandal. Part of that initiative is coming up with new names for upcoming all-electric models to be sold under its ID electric sub-brand. If Volkswagen's latest trademark filings in...
Countries around the world—especially China, France, the U.K., and Norway—are aiming to phase out the sale of new fossil-fuel vehicles entirely between 2025 and 2040. So it's in automakers' best interests to begin planning and investing now in vehicle lineups that will comply with that regulatory environment when it comes. But the...
![2017 BMW i3 REx range-extended electric car [photo: Chris Neff]](https://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/2017-bmw-i3-rex-range-extended-electric-car-photo-chris-neff_100622577_t.gif)
Model naming conventions that are clear, consistent, and easy to understand across decades are a crucial part of explaining a vehicle lineup to buyers. By and large, German makers are good at arraying their lineups of sedans (and now SUVs) in "series" or "classes" that run from smallest to largest. The 2014 BMW i3 was something of an anomaly in...
U.S. car buyers have increasingly ignored passenger sedans and hatchbacks and replaced them with utility vehicles of various sorts, and that's a trend that shows no sign of abating. One reason is that crossovers and SUVs now get better fuel economy than they did 10 years ago, when owning one imposed a significant hit in gasoline costs every week...
The revenue and market capitalization targets for 2028 may seem off the charts, but one example to follow might be Jeff Bezos and Amazon.
Today, we've got an update on Tesla's next 10 years, some thoughts on why far more fuel-efficient engines are more important than electric-car advocates may think, 25 plug-in cars from BMW, and a silent semi seen on the street. All this and more on Green Car Reports. What percentage of full-size pickup trucks will come with a plug just six model...
As nations, automakers, and utilities contemplate how to tackle climate change in real terms, a perfect storm of competition is brewing that will—ideally—produce positive change for the rest of us. Automakers and electric utilities have been incentivized to build electric vehicles and install vast numbers of public charging stations to...
At this point, a majority of the global auto industry agrees that Tesla and its electric cars have had a remarkable impact in less than 10 years. Founded 15 years ago by two Silicon Valley engineers, Tesla won funding from venture capital, private investment, and government loans that totaled billions of dollars. In that time, short by...
The last 12 to 18 months have seen a slew of global automakers promising rafts of new plug-in electric vehicles on sale by deadlines set several years into the future. Working to move past its worldwide diesel-emission scandal, for instance, VW Group has promised 30 battery-electric models on sale by 2025—the majority of them likely in...
The forthcoming diesel-powered 2019 Chevrolet Silverado will, without a doubt, thump with the Heartbeat of America. During the new truck's launch at the 2018 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, GM product chief Mark Reuss hinted at a future announcement regarding the next-generation truck and the Michigan city of Flint, where it...
While Tesla may be the automaker most known for marketing home-solar equipment, it's actually not the only player on the block. Japanese automaker Nissan previously offered home-energy storage solutions in Europe, dubbed Nissan xStorage, that utilitzed cells recycled from Nissan Leaf batteries. That's as far as Nissan has gone—until now...
The big announcements at this year's Detroit auto show, now open to the public, were pickup trucks, one from each of the three U.S. automakers. The 2019 Chevrolet Silverado and 2019 Ram 1500 full-size pickups made their debut, each its company's highest-volume single nameplate. So did the 2019 Ford Ranger, a mid-size pickup to compete with the...
Mr. Musk agreed to stay as chief executive for 10 years, with compensation tied to $50 billion leaps in Tesla’s valuation. Otherwise, he makes zero.
Today, we've got a startling proposal from Blink, more concerns over China trouncing the U.S. in electric cars, info from India on its future ban on new cars with engines, and a video showing what a 49-inch display in a car looks like. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Over the weekend, as we do every seven days, we ran down last week's most...
It's rare that automakers let journalists or potential buyers drive or even ride in development prototypes. It's not unknown: Chevrolet did it with development versions of both its 2011 Volt range-extended electric car and the more recent 2017 Bolt EV battery-electric model. But it's a good way for a relatively unknown startup company to attract...
Finding a charging station will soon get a lot easier—at least in California. America's largest electric-vehicle market will see a significant boost in the number of available charging stations in the state following an investment by its largest electricity producer. Electricity provider Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), based in San...
