Chevy Blazer EV sales have been halted. Porsche and Audi are issuing recall letters for most of their plug-in vehicles, but it’s not for the vehicles themselves. Hydrogen rules aim to reel in the dirtier side of the hydrogen economy. And we look at the Prius Prime as one of the year’s best. This and more, here at Green Car Reports.
Today we took a look at the last of our Green Car Reports Best Car To Buy 2024 finalists up close. As the only plug-in hybrid we pondered in our final round in looking at the year’s best new models, the Toyota Prius Prime enables a daily commute free of tailpipe emissions, then 52-mpg gasoline fuel efficiency after running through the charge. But with a slow onboard charger, no significant boost in performance over the hybrid, and signs that Toyota sees this as a niche model, is the Prius Prime prime enough?
The Biden administration has set a high bar for the generous tax credits created by the Inflation Recovery Act (IRA) to help spur large-scale production of hydrogen, starting with regional hydrogen hubs. To qualify for clean hydrogen handouts under the rules, these facilities will need to use new sources of clean energy, and looking farther ahead, to run only at the times of day when clean energy is available.
Audi and Porsche are playing it safe with a better mobile charging cable for EV and PHEV models. Although officially a recall, the campaign has nothing directly to do with the cars themselves, rather with an accessory mobile charging cord included with the vehicles—which now, in its revamped form, includes a temperature sensor to help safeguard home wiring that can’t fully support the 240-volt cord.
And in case you missed it earlier this past holiday weekend, GM paused deliveries of the Chavy Blazer EV over software woes—after a series of incidents and trouble codes experienced by owners and reviewers alike. GM emphasizes that these are not safety-related issues and not related to its Ultium EV propulsion suite or Google built-in.
_______________________________________