After going practically dark for years, the first Apple self-driving car has finally broken out into the light, and it's not what Apple fans may have expected. Dealers turning buyers away from electric cars isn't an American problem, it turns out. It's a worldwide problem, according to several studies. Electric cars are the cleanest way to drive, but what about all the rest? A new silicon-wafer version of the lead-acid battery may enable new higher-voltage systems to clean up gas cars and expand hybrid technology to a wider range of models. All this and more on Green Car Reports.

Apple has been working on a self-driving car since at least 2014, and then seemed to abandon the project. Now a report by The New York Times revealed the first Apple self-driving car that will be tested on public roads in California—and it will be a Volkswagen bus.

Several studies show that most car dealers are not eager to sell electric cars, and many turn buyers away, or at least try to talk them into an old-fashioned gas-burner. Now two new studies show it's not just an American problem. Even in electric-car-loving Norway, secret shoppers found dealers reluctant to sell them electric cars.

Automotive analysts predicted for years that all kinds of gas-powered cars would get hybrid systems to help them meet rising fuel-economy standards around the world. All those hybrids have been slow to come, however, in part because of high prices for lithium-ion batteries. Now a new type of advanced lead-acid battery could make them more capable and affordable.

Tweets from Tesla CEO Elon Musk indicates the company needs cash from expensive all-wheel-drive and Performance Model 3s to stay afloat, and Tesla insists the models' delivery schedule hasn't shifted due to production delays. Green Car Reports looks into whether the release of these models represents a key change or business as usual.

An Audi spokesman revealed the possibility of a new electric supercar from the company that might use solid-state lithium batteries.

Finally, a new report by the National Transportation Safety Board reveals that an Uber self-driving Volvo that killed a woman in Arizona spotted her in the street in enough time that it could have stopped. Both the car's automatic braking systems from Uber and Volvo, however, were disabled at the time.