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American EV battery plants are under scrutiny ahead of the 2024 election and UAW negotiations. Smart adapters could help Ford tackle fleets’ bidirectional charging needs. And electric convertibles may still arrive, but we run through all the hurdles of why they’re not here yet. This and more, here at Green Car Reports. Why can’t you find convertible EVs or electric sports cars in the U.S.? Green Car Reports looked at a few of the reasons why you won’t find a single fully electric drop-top passenger vehicle on the market—and few if any hybrids of any kind offering up an open-air…
A recent Ford patent filing examines using bidirectional charging and an adapter to charge multiple vehicles from the same power source—with potential fleet applications. A Ford patent application published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) July 27, 2023, and originally filed January 26, 2022, details the charging of multiple vehicles by plugging a first vehicle into a charging station conventionally, and using adapters that could connect a vehicle’s charge port to a charging cable to loop in other vehicles. Ford bidirectional charging adapter patent image A coupling and microcontroller in the adapter would allow a vehicle equipped…
With the imminent start of deliveries for the long-awaited Tesla Cybertruck inching closer and closer, it looks like the Austin-based EV maker is ramping up its promotional efforts. A recent video posted by @carlosRdeA on X (formerly known as Twitter) shows a shiny new Cybertruck going through the icy puddles of a glacier in Iceland all while reportedly being filmed from a black Land Rover Discovery that was driving in front with its upper tailgate open. It’s worth noting that while Tesla has an ice-cold relationship with traditional media, giving it the cold shoulder, it has visibly increased its promotional…
Electric vehicles (EVs) promise emissions-free driving wrapped in a veneer of environmental friendliness, but EV detractors are quick to point out their shortcomings — not the least of which being the massive carbon cost of mining the battery metals (lithium, nickel, cobalt, and manganese) that make up the core of modern li-ion car batteries. This is a sunk cost that companies like Volvo estimate will take tens of thousands of miles driven to get ahead of. But those detractors are missing a critical bit of information: battery recycling. Once those elements are pulled from the ground, they can theoretically be…
A Tesla Cybertruck was spotted on a glacier in Iceland for what appears to be the filming of a promo reel ahead of the vehicle’s launch. The start of Cybertruck deliveries is so close I feel like I can smell it. If Tesla sticks to its latest production timeline for the Cybertruck, we are just weeks away from the start of production and the first deliveries to employees. We have been following closely to determine if that’s possible, and we have had a bunch of good signs lately, including Tesla Cybertrucks coming out of Giga Texas in numbers. Tesla also…
Where are the electric convertibles? It’s once again time for summer cruises and drive-in movies, segueing into the time when crisp autumn air and colorful leafy backroads beckon, when family members enviously ply the auto market, pondering the possibility of a convertible. And to get with the times, that often includes a look at whether that open-air delight might be an EV. Once again there isn’t a single factory-made electric convertible offered in the U.S., and the best option for those who must have one now is likely a specialty conversion shop. Nor is there a single hybrid convertible or…
Why Buy An Expensive Folding Phone/Tablet? To keep expenses down in a six-person household, we do what hermit crabs do with their shells: swap every so often. Instead of doing what’s normally thrifty for one adult, and keep a paid-off phone for years, I upgrade as often as possible and hand the last phone down to the kids. This keeps me from having six device payments while not letting anybody’s phone get too old and crappy to work properly, and I do it with one device payment (plus protection plans on all lines to cover premature failures). As if on…
We used to produce a lot of total cost of ownership analyses for the Tesla Model 3 and other electric vehicles, but especially the Tesla Model 3. Something I learned from that is that one of the biggest cost of ownership factors — or the biggest — is depreciation. Or on the flip side, you could say resale value when you eventually sell your car. You subtract that figure from your original purchase price to come up with that large ownership cost. (You also have to add things like interest if you financed the vehicle, fuel/electricity, maintenance costs, insurance, etc.)…
I admit it: I’ve been spoiled by owning a Tesla. If I travel around Florida to visit friends, attend a conference, or explore a cultural attraction, I can always count on being able to charge at one of the numerous Supercharger stations up and down I-95. As a general rule, they’re well-maintained charging stations, located in brightly lit areas where I can buy a snack or shop retail. As I vacation in New England, however, I’ve found my charging experience to be entirely different whenever I venture away from my Level 1 home charging. A used 2017 Chevy Bolt is…
Jackery has established itself as a quality provider of portable power stations and ready-to-go solar generators. The company has continued to increase the functionality offered in its units and the capacity they can store over the years. On the heels of the rollout of the Jackery Solar Generator 3000 Pro, Jackery is introducing a new product category that allows customers to extend the utility and capacity of the system after purchase. Jackery reached out to us to see if we wanted to run the new Jackery Solar Generator 2000 Plus through the paces, and we gladly obliged. The kit is…