Pininfarina’s Italian design may be good Karma for plug-in carmaker

2017 Karma ReveroFisker, the luxury plug-in hybrid car company that went bankrupt in 2013, was founded by a car designer. Henrik Fisker, the brand's namesake was a designer at BMW before forming his own company. Now that venture, renamed Karma after is primary product, following the company's revival at the hands of Chinese investors, has hired a new design firm...

EV Drive coalition begins lobbying effort to save tax credit

First 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car    [photo: Patrick Reid]Members of the lame-duck Congress all got letters on their desks Tuesday stating why the electric-car tax credit should be revised and extended. Along with a five-point fact sheet made public Tuesday, the effort is the first salvo in a battle by the newly-formed EV Drive Coalition to extend the plug-in vehicle tax credit, which is expiring for two...

Trump vows retaliation against GM for layoffs

Mother-daughter team installs battery packs in Chevrolet Volt electric carsAfter General Motors announced on Monday that it will kill the Chevy Volt as part of an effort to streamline its lineup, close five factories, and lay off 15 percent of its workers, President Trump took to Twitter to vow retaliation for the damage the layoffs could do to the U.S. economy. "The U.S. saved General Motors, and this is the THANKS we...

Commentary: How the media may have punctured plug-in hybrids’ balloon

2014 Chevrolet VoltPlug-in hybrids can offer most of the environmental benefits of long-range electric cars with less cost for giant batteries or range worries. So why don't they sell better? As our esteemed former editor John Voelcker regularly noted, consumers just don't get them. As he concluded in his post wrapping up nine years of editing Green Car Reports...

GM to kill Chevy Volt production in 2019 (Updated)

2019 Chevrolet VoltGeneral Motors confirmed Monday morning that it plans to cease production of the Chevrolet Volt in March, as part of an effort to streamline production and pivot its business more toward zero-emissions and personal-mobility efforts. The Volt was the first production plug-in car sold in the U.S. when it went on sale in 2010, but has struggled with...

Look for new gridlock-busting purple California Clean Air stickers

Carpool lanes I-5, Seattle, Washington [Credit: SounderBruce-Wikimedia Commons]California electric-car drivers have a new color to keep track of. Starting New Year's Day 2019, the state will issue updated Clean Air stickers that allow electric cars purchased after January 1 to access the state's carpool lanes, even without a carpool inside. The new purple decals will remain valid through Jan. 1, 2023, a year longer than the...

Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid recalled for stalling, fire risk

2018 Chrysler Pacifica HybridFiat Chrysler Automobiles is recalling 10,021 Chrysler plug-in hybrid vans for an issue that could result in a stall, or possibly the increased risk of a vehicle fire. In the vehicles affected—2017 and 2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid models with production dates of August 16, 2016 through August 7, 2018—the gasoline engine might not...

Best deals on green cars for October 2018

2019 Chevrolet VoltOne of the best ways to get people to buy green cars is the same way automakers get consumers to buy any car—by making deals. Looking at October sales, among plug in cars other than Teslas, the bestsellers were those that offer the best deals from month to month. This month, many of the same models offer the best deals. The list is compiled...