Today, we have first impressions from a 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV owner, an explanation of which Volkswagen diesel cars can be modified to meet emissions standards, and a look at which oil companies are investing in renewable energy and electric-car services. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Read about Bill Nye's Bolt EV, the Volkswagen... Bolt EV owner impressions, VW diesel modifications, oil companies & electric cars: Today’s Car News
Today, we have first impressions from a 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV owner, an explanation of which Volkswagen diesel cars can be modified to meet emissions standards, and a look at which oil companies are investing in renewable energy and electric-car services. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Read about Bill Nye's Bolt EV, the Volkswagen...
The Chevrolet Volt continued its reign on top of the Canadian electric-vehicle sales charts for the tenth consecutive month in January. The plug-in hybrid Volt's 256 sales obliterated the prior January record of 99 Tesla Model Ses from two years ago this month. Chevy Bolt EV sales began at the end of last month as well, contributing another 6...
More than 16 months after Volkswagen's use of illegal "defeat device" software in diesel vehicles was announced by the Environmental Protection Agency, some progress is finally being made in addressing the affected cars. Settlements are now in place for almost half a million VW and Audi models with 2.0-liter TDI 4-cylinder engines, as well as...
As the first mass-priced electric car with more than 200 miles of range to hit the market, the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV has attracted a great deal of attention. It's won numerous awards, including the Green Car Reports 2017 Best Car To Buy title, and received rave reviews from a wide variety of media outlets. But what do actual owners think? DON'T...
Two Canadian provinces are now offering more generous incentives to electric-car buyers. Ontario is eliminating certain price caps in its electric-car incentive program, while a British Columbia not-for-profit is boosting its "cash-for-clunkers"-style program. Ontario announced its updated incentives February 1, but they apply retroactively to...
If electric cars are adopted by mass-market buyers in years to come, that will lead over time to notably lower oil consumption. So what are oil companies doing to prepare for that possible outcome? Some continue to doubt whether electric cars will constitute a serious threat to their business in the coming decades—but others are branching...
Just as the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car is launching in North America, its European cousin is beginning deliveries across the Atlantic. In Europe, General Motors markets the U.S.-built Bolt EV as virtually identical Opel Ampera-e under its German Opel brand. An example of what is known in the industry as "badge engineering," the Ampera-e...
Electric cars are often touted as a way to avoid gas stations. But electric-car drivers in certain European countries will soon be going to them to charge. That's because a pair of European oil companies plan to add electric-car charging at certain fuel stations. CHECK OUT: Electric-Car Charging Station At Gas Station In Tar-Sands Land (Nov 2014)...
What will happen to more than 80,000 Audi, Porsche, and Volkswagen vehicles powered by 3.0-liter V-6 diesels that were sold from 2009 through 2016? And just how far off base was Ford CEO Mark Fields in claiming that up to 1 million jobs could be lost under the fuel-economy standards now in place? This is our look back at the Week In...
Today, a much-loved TV scientist gets a Bolt EV, we drive a pricey luxury plug-in hybrid performance sedan, and we explain why cars don't burn wood any longer. Plus an excuse not to exercise! All this and more on Green Car Reports. One of the last acts of the now-departed Obama Administration was to convene a forum looking at how big data could...
Bill Nye, better known as "The Science Guy" on the popular PBS children's series that bears his name, loves electric cars. He drove one of only a few hundred original GM EV1 two-seat electric cars almost 20 years ago. Three weeks ago, he took delivery of a brand-new "Kinetic Blue" 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV—and he says he couldn't be happier...
In the plug-in hybrid game, you move forward or get left behind. When the hybrid maker is Porsche, that applies to power as well as efficiency. The 2018 Porsche Panamera 4 E-Hybrid is the replacement for the previous Panamera S E-Hybrid, and it gets more power, performance, and efficiency in a brand-new vehicle. Everything about this car is new...
Electric cars are simply nicer and calmer to drive than conventional cars, and as their prices fall, that may be what will lure mass-market buyers over time. But they have undeniable benefit of lowering wells-to-wheels carbon emissions per mile driven, and they can also be powered entirely on renewable energy. Which makes them good for drivers and...
When it comes to alternative fuels, the discussion usually centers around compressed natural gas, or biofuels like ethanol or biodiesel. But before the concept of low-carbon or carbon-neutral fuels even existed, a few early makers and desperate drivers tried something completely different. They powered their vehicles with wood, the same fuel used...
"Big data" is often discussed as a useful tool for everyone from policymakers to corporate marketing departments. But could it also be used to help increase electric-car adoption? Last November, the Obama administration held the first-ever "Electric Vehicle Datathon" with that very goal in mind. CHECK OUT: Electric-car 'datathon' to be hosted by...
Today, spy shots of another electric luxury SUV under development, what Tesla's logo means, and why VW diesel owners will get cash from another company too. All this and more on Green Car Reports. We updated our piece, again, on Ford CEO Mark Fields' claim of 1 million jobs at risk from fuel-economy regulations with an even pithier takedown of his...
As many electric-car buyers will tell you, franchised auto dealers can pose a large and tedious impediment to actually buying the plug-in car you want. From salespeople with no knowledge of the cars to test vehicles that haven't been recharged and have little battery range left, the hurdles are numerous and frustrating. Now Audi has told its...
With a judge set to weigh in on the settlement VW Group negotiated with its 3.0-liter V-6 diesel owners, Volkswagen seems to have settled most of the U.S. legal claims stemming from its diesel-emission cheating scandal. Total costs in the U.S. alone are now more than $20 billion, and among other penalties, VW has pleaded guilty to three felony...
The evolving electric motorcycle industry continues to expand and impress, including the latest addition to the Energica lineup, the company's Eva model. The Italian company first impressed me with a test ride on the Energica Ego, and now I've had a chance to sling a leg over the Eva and see how they compare. My test ride of the Ego involved a...