Electric Cars
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A preliminary report released by the National Transportation Safety Board on Thursday said that a Tesla Model X traveling on Autopilot increased the vehicle's speed before it crashed into a highway barrier and killed its driver. The report of the March 23 crash that killed 38-year-old Walter Huang details the minutes and seconds before impact, and echo other accounts of Tesla's Autopilot self-driving software failing to avoid or brake for objects. Investigators said that Huang was traveling southbound on U.S. Highway 101 near Mountain View, California, near State Highway 85 when the Model X...
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Tesla Mode X crash report, Honda-GM pair up, plug-in deals, more electric trucks: Today's Car NewsA report from the National Transportation Safety Board reveals details of a fatal Tesla Model X crash in California. Is Autopilot to blame? Honda and GM are expanding their partnership to share batteries for electric cars. Freightliner and Volvo are building electric trucks to compete with the...
Eric C. Evarts -
GM, Honda partner on next-generation electric-car batteriesGeneral Motors and Honda have announced a partnership to develop smaller, lighter batteries to be used in the next generation of electric cars from both companies. The battery agreement specifies that the companies will collaborate using GM's next-generation battery technology. Honda will buy...
Eric C. Evarts -
Electric trucks coming from Daimler, Freightliner, Volvo, and othersIt's not even on the road yet and the Tesla Semi is getting some new competition. German Automaker Daimler, which owns Freightliner, Fuso, and other truck brands, announced that it would deliver its first 30 electric trucks to customers in North America for testing later this year. Last month...
Eric C. Evarts -
Plug-in electric-car sales for May: Nissan Leaf, Toyota Prius Prime leadAfter a slow month in April, sales of the Nissan Leaf came roaring back in May. Nissan sold 1,576 Leafs in May, up from 1,171 the month before. The Leaf also had a record month in Canada, selling 906 units north of the border. It is worth noting that this achievement was accomplished with the...
Eric C. Evarts -
Tesla Model Y coming in 2020; Roadster and Semi still on the way, says MuskTesla CEO Elon Musk told shareholders Tuesday that the last few months have been "hellacious" for building the Tesla Model 3, but that the automaker expects by the end of this month to build 5,000 of the mid-size luxury sedan each week and beyond. "It's insanely hard to stay alive," Musk added. The...
Aaron Cole -
Charging has been a key obstacle to electric carbuyers, and it may not just be the number of public stations available. With three different "levels" of charging, and multiple charging speeds and connector types within each of those, it can be confusing for the average driver to know what type of chargers their car can use and what will give them the fastest charge their car can handle. Now Chargeway, a Portland, Oregon, company, is planning to put up roadmaps with each charger along the city's two main highway corridors to help guide electric-car drivers through charging. The company has...
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Plug-in Electric Car Sales in Canada, May 2018: Rewriting recordsLast month, the Mitsubishi Outlander plug-in hybrid set a new single-month sales record for plug-in electric vehicles in Canada and sold 589 units. One month later, that sales pace—plus one car—is only good enough for fourth place. Nissan shattered Mitsubishi’s record in May with...
Matthew Klippenstein -
Panasonic works to develop cobalt-free electric-car batteriesOne of the most widespread concerns about electric cars centers around the availability and cost of cobalt. Cobalt is an element used in lithium-ion batteries to build stability and increase safety. While the signature element in modern electric-car batteries, lithium, is mined in only a few...
Eric C. Evarts -
Twitter poll results: More electric cars get charged at work than at public chargersElectric-car charging is going through a growth spurt. Volkswagen is spending big money through Electrify America to set up high-speed charging stations, as a result of the settlement terms of the Dieselgate emissions cheating scandal. Northeastern states are banding together to coordinate a...
Eric C. Evarts -
After Tesla's federal tax credits expire, which electric car would you buy?Last week, we reported that Tesla is close to reaching the end of its allocation of federal tax credits for those who buy its cars. The credits amount to a $7,500 discount for most buyers. The credits were passed after the 2007 federal Energy Independence and Security Act to promote the sale of...
Eric C. Evarts -
Study shows 23 percent cancellations on Tesla Model 3 depositsTesla has staked a lot on the number of reservation deposits it has received for the Model 3. When the company first opened reservations for the car two years ago, it said that more than 400,000 people had put down a $1,000 deposit for what Tesla billed as a $35,000 car. That number eventually rose...
Eric C. Evarts -
Last week we listed seven of the most bizarre "green" cars (and some not-so-green) of the 20th century, most of which were rolled out in response to depression, war recovery, or out-of-control gas prices. This week, we'll look at seven more from the 21st century, which seems to have had a concentrated share of attempts at innovation in response to war in the Middle East, high gas prices, and deep recession. One notable difference is that this century's cars mostly run on electricity, or at least offer an electric option. They're hardly any more normal, though. Most are answers to a question...
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Jeep Grand Commander EV leads FCA electrification pushAn all-electric Jeep may clamber to life as soon as 2021—at least in China. The Jeep Grand Commander will arrive in 2021 with an all-electric powertrain, according to a sweeping presentation by Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne in Italy Friday. The company didn't reveal any more details...
Eric C. Evarts -
Crowdfunded Estonian Nobe electric has a plan to revive bubble carsWant to get in on the ground floor of a new electric-car startup? Crowdfunding seems to be the latest rage for automotive startups in Europe. The latest is an Estonian startup called Nobe, which hopes to raise funding to build a small, electric three-wheeler. The company officially launched the...
Eric C. Evarts -
California utilities commission passes record incentives for chargersThe California Public Utilities commission on Thursday approved the largest public electric vehicle charging package in U.S. history, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. NRDC senior attorney Max Baumhefner, who lobbied for the program, says it is designed to set electricity up as a...
Eric C. Evarts -
Camera mirrors could add range to Audi e-tron electric SUVAudi is pulling out all the efficiency stops on its upcoming electric e-tron SUV. It's currently slated to be the first production car to offer cameras in place of exterior rearview mirrors. Exterior mirrors have always been a bane to automotive engineers trying to improve efficiency (not to...
Eric C. Evarts -
International Energy Agency forecasts 125 million electric cars on road by 2030The International Energy Agency, an advisory council to energy-consuming countries, released a new report forecasting that by 2030, the world will have 125 million electric cars on the road. That would amount to 10 to 12 percent of the world's cars running on electricity in a little over a decade...
Eric C. Evarts -
A week after Consumer Reports announced that it could not recommend the Tesla Model 3 because of poor braking performance, a software update improved its performance sufficiently to earn the magazine's recommendation. Consumer Reports announced the update to the Model 3's ratings Wednesday. In the organization's updated emergency braking tests, the car stopped from 60 mph in 133 feet, on par with the BMW 3-Series, and earned the Tesla a good score. Prior tests measured the braking distance at 152 feet. READ THIS: Consumer Reports won't recommend Tesla Model 3 (Updated) Since braking is an...
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Problems dog Tesla Model 3 in Edmunds testsHundreds of thousands of people waiting to order their Tesla Model 3s are also anxiously waiting for word of the car's reliability and build quality. Now Edmunds.com has released its second update on the early car that it bought, and the news isn't good. DON'T MISS: Some Tesla Model 3 cars haunted...
Eric C. Evarts -
Which Tesla Model 3 would you order or have you ordered? Twitter poll resultsBragging rights don't rank high on the priority lists of Green Car Reports readers. At least, they don't if you consider the number of our Twitter respondents who hope to buy a Performance version of the Tesla Model 3. In the results of our latest Twitter poll, which asked the question: "Which...
Eric C. Evarts -
Tesla nearing limit of $7,500 federal tax credits, which will boost effective prices this fallAdding to Elon Musk's headaches this month, Tesla is about to hit the limit on federal tax credits for electric cars. This could effectively raise prices for buyers of the company's critical Model 3. The tax credits, passed in 2008 as part of the Energy Improvement and Extension Act and signed by...
Eric C. Evarts -
Sono Sion solar electric car promises 18 miles of range from solar panelsSolar cells have gotten cheap enough to make solar cars practical. At least that's the business model of one electric-car startup in Europe. Sono Motors plans to build a $25,000 electric car covered in solar cells that can provide up to 18 miles of range a day. The company plans to introduce it at...
Eric C. Evarts -
That's wacky! The most bizarre green cars ever proposed, Part IOften the growth of green cars comes in fits and starts, and new ideas are rushed to market regularly before they're ready. Visionaries with dreams of changing the world may have little real-world experience and find themselves in over their heads after they jump in too quickly. Even pure...
Eric C. Evarts