By [email protected] (Eric C. Evarts) Americans driving more miles could cancel out emissions progress. Airbus looks to build hybrid airplanes. China puts restrictions on who can build electric cars in the world’s largest EV market. And Jaguar plans to launch its new flagship XJ sedan as an electric. All this and more on Green Car…
By [email protected] (Eric C. Evarts) Jaguar Land Rover plans to launch its new flagship with a jolt. At a recent investor day, the company said its new flagship XJ sedan will launch first as an electric model, likely in 2020. Models with gas engines are expected to follow. The automaker previously announced it will offer…
By [email protected] (Bengt Halvorson) Hybrid technology isn’t just for cars or trucks. Anywhere there’s waste heat or kinetic energy that can be recaptured—which means virtually every mode of transportation—there’s an opportunity for hybrid tech to make the entire mission more fuel-efficient. Such is also the case for big passenger jets. According to the… Read Full…
By [email protected] (Bengt Halvorson) Policymakers have long pointed to two straightforward paths for cutting carbon emissions: cleaning up the vehicle fleet itself, by making it more efficient (and electrified), and reducing the total number of vehicle miles traveled (VMT). While the new-vehicle front is affecting serious progress—likely soon slowed by pending changes to… Read Full…
By [email protected] (Bengt Halvorson) Tesla’s home solar business is sliding. It’s a war of words in Washington over emissions and fuel economy standards. And yes, the trucks picking up the trash can go electric, too. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Tensions boiled over this week after EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler sent a…
By [email protected] (Eric C. Evarts) A lot of ink, pixels, and synapses get spent trying to figure out how to make heavy duty electric trucks that can travel 500 to 1,000 miles in a day and get a fast enough recharge before heading back to work. Recent studies have shown a far more effective way…
By [email protected] (Bengt Halvorson) If you’ve seen the light with electric cars, chances are you’re at least curious about home solar. Solar can help contribute to vehicle charging, and it can reduce the load from the electrical grid during peak charging times. That, in turn, means even fewer carbon emissions from your public utility. And…
By [email protected] (Bengt Halvorson) Electric buses are going double-decker. We look at the key points that allow Ford’s new modular hybrid system to scale for a wide range of vehicles—including plug-in hybrids. And could hydrogen fuel cells get a new push in China? All this and more on Green Car Reports. The 2020 Ford Explorer…
By [email protected] (Bengt Halvorson) Ford has a lot of catching-up to do with respect to hybrids and plug-in hybrids. It’s a puzzling place, as the company had a healthy lead early this decade. The Ford Escape Hybrid held onto what was a strong hybrid niche for Ford, and the introduction of hybrid and Energi (PHEV)…
By [email protected] (Eric C. Evarts) If converting city buses to electric power is one of the most effective ways to reduce harmful pollution from particulate matter and nitrogen oxides in cities an even more effective way is to double the number of people they can carry. London has begun converting its iconic double-decker buses to…
By [email protected] (Bengt Halvorson) You vote for plug-in hybrids as a good solution for embracing electric driving. Fiat’s going electric with its commercial vans in Europe. And we bring you a first drive of the Ford Explorer Hybrid. All this and more on Green Car Reports. We drove the 2020 Ford Explorer Hybrid and found…
By [email protected] (Bengt Halvorson) Hybrid systems aren’t all tuned for the highest possible fuel efficiency. You can use the boost of an electric motor system to actually increase the capability of a vehicle without using more fuel—which in turn saves fuel as you don’t have to opt for a bigger vehicle or bigger engine. Such…
By [email protected] (Bengt Halvorson) Are we at the point in time when electric cars will work for everyone? When we brought you an account, earlier this month, of how an electric car wouldn’t work in the rural Midwest—in the winter, for a medical emergency—our comment system went into thermal runaway. In short, there were a…
By [email protected] (Bengt Halvorson) Nissan Leaf batteries are lasting a long time. Porsche lays out its vision for going electric. And we ask you if Hummer should come back electric. All this and more on Green Car Reports Porsche’s U.S. CEO used an Op-Ed in Monday’s USA Today to lay out a pragmatic position—that the…
By [email protected] (Bengt Halvorson) Since even before the first market deliveries of its Leaf electric car in late 2010, Nissan has made frequent mention about the need to create second-use demand for the Leaf’s battery packs. It turns out, they may need to see many of those ideas put into place. According to comments made…