We don’t think about the environmental implications and carbon return-on-investment (CROI) of every battery cell produced, but Toyota’s chief scientist sure does. Is the best application an electric vehicle, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or fuel cell EV? Short answer: It depends.
A recent study in Europe takes plug-in hybrids to task, claiming they are “fake electric cars built for lab tests and tax breaks, not real driving.” Our tens of thousands of miles behind the wheel of many PHEVs contradict this.
Interest in ‘green’ cars of all types is growing. Automakers recognize this and now offer an increasing number of models that speak to greater efficiency, lower tailpipe and carbon emissions, and electrification. The Green Car Awards celebrate these laudable efforts.
The auto industry is in transition. This is evidenced by the high-profile move toward electrification by nearly all international automakers, motivated by increasingly tighter government regulation, concern about market share, and the need to craft long-term carbon mitigation strategies.
I’ve logged more than 100,000 miles driving a diverse array of electric cars since Green Car Journal’s launch in 1992, during the very early days of the modern electric vehicle. Here are five things you should know about driving electric.
Hundreds of thousands of fans have been waiting excitedly for Tesla’s Model 3, touted by the automaker as the ‘affordable’ EV for the masses. But is it? The backstory is a bit more complicated with plenty of food for thought.
There’s a lot of focus on electric vehicles with longer range. It may be that more affordable EVs with shorter range can meet the needs of many drivers.
Charging your electric vehicle used to be an easy thing, at least in many areas where electrification has long been promoted. Public chargers were installed in high-profile areas like shopping centers, parking garages, and at the workplace. For the longest time, it wasn’t unusual to see these chargers go unused for long periods of time. […]
Plug-in models with greater driving range are here and coming , countered by combustion vehicles that continue to achieve surprising efficiency gains.
Like most kids growing up in the 1960s, my first experience with an electric race car was at a slot car track as a teenager. They were fast…really fast if you used a hopped-up rewind motor capable of smoking competitors off the track. This was followed decades later with the full-scale, real-life electric cars I […]
There is a strong push for self-driving autonomous cars sweeping the auto industry. It’s an interesting mix of competing companies merging with both the traditional car brands and the tech industry. The overriding assumption is that taking the driver out of the transportation equation is better for safety and the environment than human involvement in […]
When it comes to chips, automakers are all-in. That is, the silicon variety and not those with which you can gamble away a fortune, something auto companies are loathe to do. Traditionally, the risks auto manufacturers undertake are carefully calculated and always rooted in the world of profit and market share. As they look to […]
Diesel haters seem to be overly anxious to pile-on and shout ‘death to diesels’ these days. It’s human nature to take offense at being fooled and the diesel market certainly is paying the price of the recent emissions scandal. Serious deception took place and it’s far from forgotten, even as corrections are underway or being […]
Some cars leave an impression that lasts a lifetime. The Ford Mustang is one of those cars for me. As a kid, I was blessed with a dad who always had something unique in the driveway, from a Morris Minor to a Triumph Herald. None were exotic or expensive, but they were fun and more […]
Connected car technologies are transforming the automotive industry much like smart phone apps revolutionized the mobile phone sector. A new generation of aftermarket products are helping tech-savvy drivers reduce accidents, lower insurance costs, save fuel, and plan routes more effectively. Cars and trucks have become mobile computing platforms and the tech transformation is accelerating. By […]
There are many outspoken and polarizing proponents of the various fuels and technologies at play today. This has been the case for several decades now and isn’t likely to disappear anytime soon. Many electric car enthusiasts do not see a future for internal combustion or even hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Hydrogen proponents point out that fuel […]
A steady stream of advanced powertrains, new fuel-efficient systems like stop/start, and more alternative fuels have helped raise fuel economy to new heights in recent years, but the latest breakthrough in energy-efficient cars may surprise you: safety technology. You got it. Safety equals green. New safety systems are fuel economy game-changers, because fewer crashes mean […]
Today, consumers in California can drive and lease the first wave of commercially available fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) in the U.S, and additional models are promised from several leading automakers in the next few months and years. Of equal importance, today’s FCEV drivers can fill-up at any of nine hydrogen fueling stations in the […]