Uber
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Although flying cars aren’t looking that much closer to reality, your Uber could take to the air in just a few years and be electric. Well, mostly electric, eventually. Hybrid electric-powered vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) vehicles could come into service specifically as air taxis. In January, at CES, Bell Helicopter presented one such example, the Nexus. Six tilting fans provide both thrust and lift, while wings also help provide the lift for forward flight. Its series-hybrid system also includes an internal combustion engine that drives a generator and acts as an electric...
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Faster Rivian charging, Tesla Autopilot chip, new Honda battery tech: Today's Car News
Samsung might be supplying Tesla's promised new Autopilot chips in the spring. Honda reveals a new battery that could have 10 times the range of today's lithium-ion cells. And the U.S. hit a milestone for electric car sales last month, reaching 1 million plug-ins across the country. All this and...
Eric C. Evarts -
Uber to bank London surcharge toward electric vehicles for its drivers
Uber announced Tuesday that it will levy a surcharge for its ride-hailing passengers in London. The goal: to get 20,000 drivers to go all-electric by the end of 2021, on the way to make every car using its ride-hailing app an electric vehicle in the smog- and congestion-prone city by 2025. The...
Bengt Halvorson -
Uber starts paying drivers to buy electric
Electric cars and fleets go hand-in-hand. That's the message Uber is trying to send to its drivers with a new program it calls EV Champions, which will pay some drivers higher rates if they drive an electric car. The pilot program starts this week and will run for a year in seven cities: Austin...
Eric C. Evarts -
Oil-rich Dubai adds a fleet of Uber Tesla electric cars
Dubai, the second largest sheikdom in the United Arab Emirates, rose to riches thanks to abundant oil. With some of the lowest fuel prices in the world, SUVs and inefficient vehicles roam the flashy Emirati city en masse. However, ride-sharing service Uber is now bucking tradition by letting users...
Sean Szymkowski -
Uber to go all electric or hybrid in London by 2020, ban diesels, add clean-air fee to rides
Uber has announced it will require its 40,000 drivers in London to switch to hybrid or fully electric cars, and ban diesel vehicles from its fleet, by the end of 2019. By the end of 2021, it will extend that policy throughout the United Kingdom, where it presently operates in 40 cities. Uber said...
John Voelcker -
In the wake of numerous recent PR setbacks, Uber may be able to help clean up its image with the launch of the Uber EV initiative in Portland, which supports the city’s green vision for the future. When you think of electric mobility, California might be the first state to come to mind—but Oregon is not far behind. It's one of 13 states that have adopted California’s Clean Car Standards, and Oregon is also one of the first states in which automakers release plug-in electric vehicles (and compliance cars). DON'T MISS: Oregon’s Pitch To Electric-Car Industry: Come Test...
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk named to Trump's business-leader forum
Elon Musk was named to an advisory group of business leaders.
Stephen Edelstein -
Uber logs another mass-transit win, this time in New Jersey
A New Jersey town will subsidize Uber rides to free up parking spaces.
Stephen Edelstein -
Could Uber be the best form of mass transit: disruption or dysfunction?
A Florida city has become the nation's—and presumably the world's—first to subsidize Uber rides beginning or ending within its borders. Altamonte Springs, a suburb of Orlando, will cover 20 percent of any ride that starts or finishes within its city limits. Call Uber for a ride to...
Andrew Ganz -
NYC Mandates Non-Hybrid Nissan 'Taxi Of Tomorrow': Good Thing Or Bad?
After a series of court challenges, New York City finally has a new standard yellow taxi cab. It's not a hybrid, and it's not electric. It's also not particularly fast. But it is by far the best and nicest cab most riders will have seen in decades. DON'T MISS: Nissan NYC 'Taxi Of Tomorrow': Not...
John Voelcker -
Could Tesla Add Autonomous Electric Car-Sharing As New Business?
The quarterly earnings conference calls held by Tesla Motors are always intriguing, and so it was with last week's second-quarter update. Financial analysts focused on the company's numbers--it's still losing money as it invests, and a fresh capital raise seems inevitable--but another topic raised...
John Voelcker -
Uber is reportedly interested in Tesla autonomous-car development.
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UberX Drivers To Test BYD e6 Chinese Electric Cars In Chicago
The BYD e6 wagon is the battery-electric car that never quite made it onto the U.S. market. Despite various plans and announcements over the last five years, the e6 was never offered for retail sale in North America. Very quietly, that's now changing; the company hopes to lease around 200 BYD e6...
John Voelcker -
UberPool, Lyft Line Carpool Apps: More People, Same Number Of Cars?
Lyft and Uber both plan to put multiple customers in the same car.
Stephen Edelstein