2017

  • 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV Premier and 2017 BMW i3 electric car, Aug 2017        [photo: Tom Moloughney]

    Owners of specific electric cars sometimes tend to become boosters and fans for their particular EV as well as plugging in to drive in general. So it was with Tom Moloughney, whose purchase of the very first 2014 BMW i3 REx range-extended electric car in the U.S. he wrote about for us three years ago. That car was regrettably totaled in an accident this year, and i3 enthusiast Moloughney is temporarily without a car that plugs in. DON'T MISS: BMW i3 REx: owner's 3 years with range-extended electric car He's relatively well-known among electric-car advocates, however, and someone within GM had...

  • 2018 BMW 3-Series
    Does Tesla Model 3 compete with Bolt EV and Leaf, or BMW 3-Series?

    There's a new generation of the BMW 3-Series sport sedan coming next year, and rumors suggest there will be an all-electric version in 2019 or 2020. If so, there's only one car that it would be targeting: the Tesla Model 3, the 220-mile or 310-mile electric sedan from the Silicon Valley carmaker...

  • 2017 Tesla Model 3 and 2011 Nissan Leaf, Half Moon Bay, California, Aug 2017  [photo: Scott Forrest]
    Is the Tesla Model 3 really 'Car 2.0'? Maybe not: here's why

    Like the company's three previous electric cars, the Tesla Model 3 launched into production with a splashy media event during which owners received the keys to their new cars and the company's fans applauded. Like the Model S and Model X, production is starting at very low rates, with the rate of...

  • Tour of Tesla battery gigafactory for invited owners, Reno, Nevada, July 2016
    Tesla Model 3 battery cells will turn a profit for Panasonic by next year

    Relatively few people focus on it, but the huge Japanese electronics company Panasonic is a minority shareholder in electric-car maker Tesla. The deal dates all the way back to November 2010, the same year that Tesla completed its initial public offering after Toyota took a stake in the company and...

  • 2017 Chevrolet Cruze Diesel (with 6-speed automatic transmission), Catskill Mountains, NY, May 2017
    2017 Chevrolet Cruze Diesel: fuel economy review for automatic, manual versions

    Times are tough for sedans in general, as buyers swarm into crossover utility vehicles and ignore the passenger cars sitting next to them on the showroom floor. Also, gasoline remains cheap. All of which may add up to tough times for the current Chevrolet Cruze Diesel, the compact sedan to be...

  • 2017 Tesla Model 3, in photo tweeted by Elon Musk on July 9, 2017
    Tesla Model 3 Performance version coming, after 'production hell' ends

    Now that the Tesla Model 3 has officially entered production, the electric-car maker's main goal will be to ensure the manufacturing process ramps up smoothly. With 1,800 new reservations reportedly placed each day for the affordable electric sedan, Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter to confirm...

  • 2017 Tesla Model 3 "first production" car, in photo tweeted by Elon Musk on July 9, 2017

    With the Tesla Model 3 electric car now in early production and an aggressive ramp rate targeted, it's getting lots of media attention. Part of that is due to the allure of the Tesla brand and fascination with company CEO Elon Musk. Some more may be due to the widespread misapprehension that the Model 3 is the first long-range electric car for sale at a mass-market price. (It's not.) DON'T MISS: Tesla Model 3 rated at 126 MPGe, third-best after Ioniq Electric, Prius Prime One of the Model 3's strongest advantages—the Tesla Supercharger network of DC fast-charging stations—often...

  • 2017 Tesla Model 3
    Tesla Model 3 rated at 126 MPGe, third-best after Ioniq Electric and Prius Prime

    Ten days ago, when the first 30 Tesla Model 3 electric cars were delivered to their owners at a much-publicized Handover Party, we didn't get full information on the latest Tesla model. The company didn't discuss battery capacity in kilowatt-hours, for instance, giving range in miles instead, nor...

  • Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk at Tesla Store opening in Westfield Mall, London, Oct 2013
    Tesla Model 3 net reservations clarified after 16 months: 455,000

    Sometimes, if you ask a question often enough for long enough, an answer will eventually be forthcoming. In the case of the net number of $1,000 reservations for the Tesla Model 3 electric car, it took 16 months for the company to cough up the latest data. It came, not surprisingly, from CEO Elon...

  • 2017 Tesla Model 3, in photo tweeted by Elon Musk on July 9, 2017
    Tesla won't discuss net Model 3 reservations number; why?

    One year ago today, a communications staffer (since departed) wrote that Tesla had received 373,000 reservations for its future Model 3—a number first issued in April 2016. In a splashy event for owners, fans, and media, a few dozen early-production Model 3 electric cars were delivered last...

  • Tesla Model 3 Easter eggs screen
    Tesla Model 3 Easter eggs, discovered by board member Steve Jurvetson

    The few dozen 2017 Tesla Model 3 owners who've already taken delivery of their electric cars will find a few surprises inside if they look closely enough. The Silicon Valley automaker handed over the first examples of its new Model 3 to customers, one of whom happens to be Steve Jurvetson...

  • 2018 Tesla Model 3
    Tesla Model 3 drive reports, reviews: raves for sporty electric car

    The first, earliest production versions of the Tesla Model 3 electric car were delivered to their owners in a splashy "Handover Party" late last week. A few journalists got short drives at the event, but only one outlet was granted a Model 3 before the party to enable a more comprehensive review...

  • 2017 Tesla Model 3

    Thirty of the earliest Tesla Model 3 buyers took delivery of their electric cars last night in a gala event for owners, investors, and friends the company had dubbed the Handover Party. The highly anticipated Model 3, the vehicle Tesla hopes will boost its production to hundreds of thousands of electric cars a year, will initially come in two versions. The first cars delivered were the Long Range version, with a projected EPA range rating of 310 miles. Production of Standard versions with a 220-mile estimated range will be added this fall. DON'T MISS: 2017 Tesla Model 3 in pilot production...

  • 2017 Tesla Model S
    Tesla Model S climbs back to top of Consumer Reports safety ratings

    The Tesla Model S has retaken its spot as the luxury sedan that gets the highest ratings from Consumer Reports after the electric car gained back automatic emergency braking that works at all legal road speeds. Some may remember Tesla restored the automatic braking during an update to vehicles...

  • 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric cars outside dealership    [photo: Patrick Reid]
    Chevy Bolt EV plant shutdown extended, due to slow Sonic sales (updated)

    One of the biggest tests of an automaker's discipline is what it does when sales start to ebb and inventories of unsold cars swell. Does it keep the production lines churning, and dial up its incentives to keep new-vehicle deliveries flowing? Or does it prioritize profitability and suspend...

  • 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car, June 2017 road trip from VA to KY and back  [Jay Lucas]
    Electric-car road trip: lessons learned in Chevy Bolt EV over 1,300 miles

    Launched in December, the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV is the first mass-priced electric car to go on sale with a rated range of more than 200 miles: 238 miles combined, according to the EPA. Most owners use their Bolt EVs for daily commuting and trips, just like any other car. But road trips are an...

  • 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, road test, California coastline, Sep 2016
    Bolt EV electric car sales after 6 months: how do they compare?

    Last month, 1,642 Chevrolet Bolt EV 238-mile battery-electric hatchbacks found buyers, enough to take the Bolt's six-month aggregate to 7,592 deliveries all told. It was the latest and highest in a string of rising monthly delivery totals for the 238-mile battery electric hatchback, and it marked...

  • 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car on Coquilhalla Highway, BC, Canada, May 2017 [Boyd/Hetherington]
    Driving a Chevy Bolt EV electric car across Canada, all the way

    To celebrate Canada's 150th birthday, Barb Hetherington and Buddy Boyd embarked on their maiden voyage to prove electric car travel is feasible in a very large country with some very sparsely populated areas. With a 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV as their chariot, and their dog Piper for company, the...

  • 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV autocrossing, Photo: Terry Krebs

    The idea of performance and electric cars normally don't go hand in hand, unless the topic is a Tesla Model S P90 D. Outside of that one high-performance electric vehicle, casual electric cars are hardly the racer's choice, but one owner felt otherwise. Brian Ro, the owner of a 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, recently decided his electric car was in need of a track day. DON'T MISS: South's good ol' boy drag racers whupped by Tesla, not happy about it So, he brought the Bolt EV to an autocross event to see what the electric car was made of. Autocross takes place in an empty space made up of winding...

  • Tesla Model 3 Driving on a Public Road
    Tesla Model 3 production to start Friday, deliveries July 28

    As he had promised he would late one evening last week, Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk has tweeted out some updates on the upcoming Model 3. He expects first production Model 3 electric car, with serial number 001 ("SN1"), to be completed this Friday, July 7. The first 30 customers to buy Model 3s...

  • 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid
    2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid plug-in minivan recalled for faulty diode (updated)

    The 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid is, for the moment, a unique vehicle. It's the sole plug-in hybrid minivan for sale anywhere in North America, and its combination of seven seats and 33 miles of EPA-rated electric range have attracted huge interest. Deliveries of the partially electric minivan...

  • Chevy Bolt EV fast-charging at EVgo station before trip across Maryland    [image: Brian Ro]
    Drive a Chevy Bolt EV electric car 313 miles on a charge: here's how

    Electric-car range is a funny thing. It is rated by the EPA, and most people focus on that combined figure, though an individual's use may greatly affect the car's actual range. Gentle drivers who drive mostly at lower speeds can greatly outdo that combined range, while steady driving at maximum...

  • 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV crash
    2017 Chevy Bolt EV rated a Top Safety Pick by IIHS

    The Chevrolet Bolt EV has just been awarded a Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). This makes it the first electric car from the 2017 model year to receive an IIHS award. In order to qualify as an IIHS Top Safety Pick, a vehicle must earn the highest score of...

  • 2014 BMW 328d xDrive Sport Wagon, New York City, Jun 2014
    What AWD vehicle has the highest fuel economy?

    "I want a fuel-efficient car, but I live in a snowy area, and won't buy one without all-wheel drive; what's the best?" It's a question we hear often. Whether or not you agree that AWD is a must-have in wintry climes, the selection of cars with high fuel economy and AWD is limited. DON'T MISS: 2014...

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