Ford recalls Focus Electric, Fusion Energi, and C-Max Energi charge cords

charging cord for 2012 Ford Focus ElectricFord announced a recall on Wednesday of the 120-volt charge cords supplied with nearly all of the plug-in hybrid and electric cars it built through 2015. The cars affected include the 2012 to 2015 Focus Electric, the 2013 to 2015 Ford C-Max Energi, and the 2013 to 2015 Ford Fusion Energi. Ford says that if the included charge cords are plugged...

Best deals on hybrid, plug-in and electric cars for August 2018

2019 Chevrolet EquinoxThis month, green-car buyers can find some screaming deals. These aren't just local programs or restricted to California buyers, either. As always, our list of deals comes from our partners at CarsDirect. This month, they have focused on deals available nationwide and on cars that are more shoppers can find (unlike, for example, the VW e-Golf, of...

2019 Land Rover Range Rover plug-in hybrid pricing starts at $96,145

2019 Land Rover Range Rover P400eBy 2024, Land Rover will have a whole new lineup of hybrid and electric luxury SUVs. As we learned yesterday, that lineup will include plug-in hybrid and electric versions of its small Evoque crossover SUV. Now the company has released pricing for its largest, most luxurious plug-in hybrid, the Range Rover P400e. Both will join the Range Rover...

The 7 best plug-in cars for students going back to school

2018 Kia Niro Plug-In Hybrid, Six Flags Magic Mountain, California, Dec 2017Today's environmentally conscious students are thinking more about the environment in the choices they make. They still need to get around, but they may be less likely to accept the price of doing so in a car with a tailpipe spewing pollution and greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. Many may need to make long trips back and forth to school that...

The first Volt from GM was also a plug-in hybrid, but it was built in 1980

GM Silver Volt converted by Electric Auto Corporation [Credit: AutoHistorianChevrolet's Volt wasn't the original, or even the first Volt from GM. Electric Auto Corporation receives that distinction for their car built in 1980, at the height of America's second gas crisis. It built the Silver Volt, a plug-in hybrid based on a contemporary Buick station wagon—16 years before the GM EV1. CHECK OUT: Modern electric cars...

2018 Kia Niro PHEV gas mileage review: outrunning expectations

2018 Kia Niro Plug-in Hybrid Competition improves the breed. And that’s exactly what the Kia Niro brings to hybrids like the Toyota Prius and Prius Prime. Compared with the Prius, the Niro is taller and roomier. Likely to its benefit, it looks like a small crossover SUV, though with only front-wheel drive, it's no kind of SUV. It does offer the crossover advantages of...

2018 Hyundai Sonata Plug-in Hybrid price drops by $1,350

2018 Hyundai Sonata HybridThe 2018 Hyundai Sonata Plug-in Hybrid may cost car shoppers less, the company announced last week. The price drop on base models will save buyers $1,350 on 2018 models, which should help the car attract more customers. It comes in the same two trim levels as before. Base models will start at $33,350, including destination. The Sonata Plug-in...

Volvo’s electrification push expanding to every corner of the market

2019 Volvo S60When it launches its 2019 Volvo S60 T8 Polestar Engineered next year, the Swedish automaker will nearly complete a startling turn toward electrification in less than a decade that began with a small-volume wagon in 2011 and will soon incorporate a full battery electric vehicle and every model in showrooms. Later in 2019, for buyers in the U.S...

2018 Kia Niro hybrid nets top Safety Pick+ award, when properly equipped

2018 Kia Niro Plug-In HybridTick all the right boxes and the 2018 Kia Niro earns a Top Safety Pick+ award from the IIHS, the crash-testing agency said last week. To get to the highest-rated Niro, buyers need to opt for LED headlights and automatic emergency braking, features that can be paired together only on the Niro EX trim level with the optional Premium Package or the...

2019 Hyundai Ioniq preview

2019 Hyundai IoniqThe 2019 Hyundai Ioniq returns this year as an inexpensive alternative for green car shoppers on a budget. Its lineup has fully matured now; the Ioniq is available as an affordable hybrid, a slightly more expensive plug-in hybrid, or a fully electric model available in limited areas. We say: green, greener, or greenest—no bad pick. The most...

So nice, why not twice? Two hybrids planned for next-generation Porsche 911

2018 Porsche 911 Carrera T first driveTaking a page from its successful Cayenne and Panamera E-Hybrids, which have seen the biggest sales jumps of any plug-in cars in recent monthly sales reports, Porsche is planning to build two new hybrid versions of its defining 911 sports car. The 911 is being redesigned for 2019, code named 992, and experts expected that it would offer a...

Volvo ditches diesel, but will half its cars be electric by 2024?

2017 Volvo S60 and V60 PolestarVolvo says it is going all-in on electric cars in an effort to turn the company into something of a Tesla alternative. To that end, the company has announced that half its cars will be battery electric models by 2024, according to a report in Road & Track earlier this year. It has also dedicated its high-performance Polestar brand to selling...

7 things we learned in 9 years, and where green cars are headed

Chevrolet Bolt EV being charged outside Go Forth electric-car showroom, Portland   [photo: Forth]More than four years ago, this site looked back at its first five years of coverage to assess what had changed—and what we'd learned. Now, we're repeating the exercise. In February 2014, Green Car Reports had published about 9,800 news articles. The number is now up to more than 16,800. Much has changed since then, however. We've broken down...

2019 Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid: the subtly earthy type

2019 Porsche Cayenne E-HybridThe 2019 Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid doesn't boast about its plug-in hybrid, eco-friendly credentials. Instead of a big charge port conspicuously placed on one front fender, the Cayenne has matching covers for fuel or electricity on either side of the vehicle. They're part of its dual-nature: one part a high-performance crossover SUV that's just a...

2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid: weekend drive review

2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid, Hudson Valley, NY, Apr 2018For several years, the Chevrolet Volt was the sole plug-in hybrid with electric range notably above 20 miles—though it became clear Chevy never figured out how to market its virtues to the public at large. Now it has a strong competitor in the form of the 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid, a mid-size sedan with five seats and a rated 48...