MIT

VW diesel cheating produced 1,200 premature deaths: MIT study
Stephen Edelstein March 8, 2017

In September 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency revealed Volkswagen's use of illegal "defeat device" software in its diesel cars. The software routines allowed cars to pass emissions tests while still producing up to 35 times the legal limits of nitrogen oxides in real-world driving, setting off a scandal that is still being dealt with. Volkswagen is proceeding with buybacks and modifications of affected cars, both in North America and Europe, but the excess pollution may have already had a significant public-health effect. DON'T MISS: Volkswagen diesel buyback: some buyers still...
Electric-car range anxiety exists, but it's overblown, says MIT study
An MIT study finds that electric cars are already capable of replacing the majority of internal-combustion cars.
Stephen Edelstein August 29, 2016
Hardly A Vehicle, MIT's Electric Cheetah Is Still Impressive
MIT replaces gasoline with electricity with its latest robot.
Stephen Edelstein September 16, 2014

Car Emissions Hurt You More Than Electricity Generating: Here's Why
As an electric car owner, you're probably used to the accusatory look people give you when they inquire as to where your electricity comes from. The answer they're looking for is power stations, of course--before launching into a tirade about plug-in vehicles being just as dirty as regular...
Antony Ingram February 12, 2014
Hiriko Electric Car: Clean, Green, Out-Parks Smarts
When Smart launched its ForTwo over a decade ago in Europe, the company heavily played the car's ability to park nose-on to a curb, thanks to its short length. Parking a Smart is hardly difficult anyway, but in crowded cities like Paris, Rome or Madrid, every inch helps. Still, that perpendicular...
Antony Ingram January 26, 2012
Better Fuel Efficiency Eaten By Fatter Cars, MIT Study Says
There's a popular comparison going around the internet that conveniently links the gas mileage of a car made nearly 30 years ago with one made today. That comparison involves the 1980s Honda CR-X HF, and the modern 2011 Honda CR-Z. At 41 mpg city and 50 mpg highway under current EPA ratings, the...
Antony Ingram January 4, 2012
'Flow Cells' May Let Electric Cars Recharge With Liquid Refills
John Voelcker June 7, 2011

Just two months ago, we published an April Fool's piece about a fictional new BP cell research project that would allow battery packs to be refilled at fuel station pumps. Truth is stranger than fiction, truly. Yesterday, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology described a nascent research project--a real one--involving a battery that could recharge fully in mere minutes, by pumping out and refilling tanks that contain thick liquids that serve as the cell's electrodes. Liquid electrodes The idea is that the cell's cathode and anode are not solid metallic compounds, as in current battery...