Building a fueling network turns out to be more of a challenge than many advocates, regulators, and drivers may have anticipated. The attempt to boost passenger vehicles fueled by cheap, abundant U.S. natural gas is now essentially over, with a mere 942 public natural-gas fueling stations throughout the 50 states. E85 ethanol, the biofuel that's... Which alternative fuels will survive long-term? Twitter poll results
Building a fueling network turns out to be more of a challenge than many advocates, regulators, and drivers may have anticipated. The attempt to boost passenger vehicles fueled by cheap, abundant U.S. natural gas is now essentially over, with a mere 942 public natural-gas fueling stations throughout the 50 states. E85 ethanol, the biofuel that's...
This has been something of a plug-in hybrid month. Last week we got our first drive in the 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid, which we felt was the first affordable car with a range similar to that of the Chevrolet Volt. This week we're driving the 2018 Kia Niro Plug-In Hybrid. DON'T MISS: 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid first drive That car and...
What a difference a few months makes. In June, one month before the delivery of the first 30 Tesla Model 3, we polled our Twitter followers on how many of the lower-priced electric cars Tesla would deliver by the end of this year. The view then was pretty rosy, with more than half the respondents saying the company would have sold more than 10,000...
How, where, when, and to what degree electric cars will increase their share of the world's billion-plus vehicle fleet is a topic of much debate these days. Combined with autonomy, connectivity, and sharing, the growing electrification of personal vehicles is a major transition for carmakers old and new. Now, with governments increasingly focused...
More than five months ago, before the 2017 Tesla Model 3 officially launched, we published the results of a poll asking how many of the lower-priced electric cars would be delivered by the end of this year. Survey respondents on Twitter were optimistic, with more than half suggesting Tesla would deliver more than 10,000 by December 31. Suffice it...
By now it's clear that the Trump Administration is doing everything it can to end U.S. government efforts to address climate change. Climate-science deniers sit in powerful government positions, language on climate change has been eradicated from websites, and the U.S. is now the sole nation in the world that plans to withdraw from the Paris...
Of our eight Green Car Reports Best Car To Buy award winners since 2011, five have been compact five-door hatchbacks. It's a good, sensible format, by far the most popular segment in Europe and stronger even in Canada than in the U.S. Sadly, U.S. car buyers are not only ignoring small hatchbacks but passenger sedans as well—and moving...
As we do every year at this time, our editors have gotten together, analyzed and discussed and argued, and come up with what we think is the Green Car Reports Best Car To Buy 2018. We covered our process in a series of articles, including one that lays out the qualifications and rules. To be eligible, a car must be fully or substantially new for...
Utility vehicles are hot. There's no denying it. The best-selling passenger cars in the U.S. have been mid-size sedans like the Toyota Camry for a couple of decades, but now they're likely to be eclipsed by compact crossover utility models like the Toyota RAV4. Of course, the Ford F-Series line of full-size pickup trucks—with a profuse array...
In early October, when we announced our three finalists for the Green Car Reports Best Car To Buy 2018 award, they represented a diverse set of approaches to making cars greener. They included a plug-in hybrid minivan (the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid), a range of powertrains—hybrid, battery-electric, and soon plug-in hybrid—in a single...
Presuming China sticks to its statement that it will ban sales of new vehicles with combustion engines in some future year, the auto industry is facing a very different future than it was a year ago. Similar bans from Norway, The Netherlands, France, and the U.K. all represented smaller markets, but China is by far the world's largest single...
To many, many drivers and car owners, the idea that the internal-combustion engine could go away is almost beyond comprehension. It's been with us for a century, it's vastly expanded both freedom and economic opportunity for hundreds of millions of people worldwide, and it's wrapped into our daily lives. And yet, we're starting to see discussion...
If ever a car were in "production hell"—to use Tesla CEO Elon Musk's memorable phrase—the Tesla Model 3 is, right around now. From the first hand-built Model 3s delivered in late July through the end of September, fewer than 300 cars have gone to buyers—far short of the 1,500 predicted by Musk in early July. That now makes it...
The announcements by BMW and Mercedes-Benz that they would offer wireless charging as an option next year raise a question for electric-car advocates. How important is the ability to recharge a vehicle without plugging in a cord? On the pro side, wireless charging may be easier for owners and drivers, who don't have to remember to plug in the...
Ask an electric-car owner how long it takes to charge the car, and you may get an answer you didn't expect. "Oh, five or 10 seconds," is a common response from experienced drivers of plug-in vehicles—meaning the time it takes to plug in. Statistically, that happens most often at night, so the car is fully charged and offers maximum range by...