Electric Cars

  • Tesla factory, Fremont, California

    Tesla's position is clear: the California electric-car maker doesn't feel a union is needed to protect its factory workers from what it claims are only anecdotal stories about worker safety and wage levels. Last weekend, Tesla continued to punch back at United Auto Workers organizating efforts at its assembly plant in Fremont, California, according to The Silicon Valley Business Journal. Tesla says that reports surrounding the safety of its workers have not been "data driven," but rather based solely on anecdotes—and that credulous journalists are being suckered. DON'T MISS: Musk...

  • Gas pump
    Could California climate-change rules raise gas price enough to backfire?

    California has by far the most aggressive climate-change policies in the nation, and the state is a global leader in plans to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions. It's also the world's eighth-largest economy, with a growing population, soaring economic output, and a resolutely progressive legislature...

  • Teaser for 2018 Nissan Leaf debuting in 2017
    2018 Nissan Leaf electric car: first teaser photo (headlights!) emerges

    Sometime within the next few months, the 2018 Nissan Leaf electric car will be unveiled to the world's media. The second generation of a pioneering plug-in vehicle that launched affordable all-electric cars on the global market. It's been a long time coming. DON'T MISS: 2018 Nissan Leaf: more spy...

  • Elon Musk plugs a Tesla Model S into a Supercharger (Image: deanslavnich on Twitter)
    Musk fires head of automation firm key to Tesla Model 3 factory

    Tesla and Klaus Grohmann have parted ways. Reuters reports Tesla CEO Elon Musk ousted Grohmann over the executives concerns over how his company's legacy clients, including Tesla rivals like Daimler and BMW, would be served in the future. Grohmann's company, Grohmann Engineering, specializes in...

  • Toyota Motor Corporation president Akio Toyoda, at Tesla stand, 2011 Detroit Auto Show
    Shift to electric cars will cost money, may lack excitement: Toyota CEO

    Every automaker is now working on one or many electric cars, but some are at the head of the pack and others lag behind. General Motors already sells the 238-mile Chevrolet Bolt EV, and Volkswagen has firm plans for multiple electric cars by 2020 and as many as 30 by 2025. That leaves Toyota, the...

  • Mercedes-Benz EQ electric car concept  [photo: Axel Harries]
    British magazine gets ride in all-electric Mercedes EQ Concept

    Mercedes-Benz has big plans for electric vehicles in the future, but its main nod to what those plans will bring thus far is the EQ Concept. Shown at the Paris Motor Show last year, the vehicle represents a conceptual version of the first of many electric vehicles to come from the Germany luxury...

  • Chargie chargepoint service

    The internet has transformed how many perceive property, allowing the rental of other peoples' personal vehicles, apartments, and other spaces when owners are not using them. Now, the idea is being applied to charging stations across the United Kingdom with the introduction of the Chargie smartphone app. Chargie aims to redefine how electric-car owners plan their travels by allowing access to individual's own charging stations (which the British call "chargepoints"). DON'T MISS: Electric-car charging networks spin out, merge, and go global In the spirit of AirBnB, which rents out apartments...

  • StoreDot shows fast-charging battery cell, Cube Tech Fair, Berlin [via Periscope: Gruendermetropole]
    Israeli firm StoreDot claims battery with 5-minute charging time

    It's one of the Holy Grails for battery researchers and electric-car advocates alike: a battery that could recharge in the same amount of time as it takes to stop for gasoline. Some of that can be provided by charging at higher rates, as Porsche's proposed 800-volt system for 15-minute fast...

  • 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV pre-production vehicles at Orion Township Assembly Plant, March 2016
    GM goal: profitable, affordable electric cars built in big numbers

    Automotive innovation rolls out over many years, usually decades, and usually only a few companies lead. Others hang back, waiting to see if buyers will accept new features, new powertrains, and new types of vehicles. More than six years after modern electric cars hit the market in volume, many...

  • Cash for Clunkers banner with Mercury Sable, Albany, New York
    Romania doubles electric-car subsidies, adds 'cash for clunkers' program

    In recent years, governments have increasingly worked to encourage the sales of plug-in electric vehicles. Incentive programs for the purchase of a low-emission vehicle have been adopted across the world. The amounts granted and the mechanisms vary according to the individual program, but the goal...

  • Golden Gate Bridge, connecting San Francisco and Marin County, California
    Will Trump EPA target CA electric-car, emissions rules? Not yet, maybe; here's why

    California began regulating vehicle emissions within its boundaries before the Environmental Protection Agency was even a gleam in President Richard Nixon's eye. Since that agency was founded in 1971 with an executive order by Nixon, the state has retained the right to set its own—more...

  • Honda Clarity lineup: Electric, Plug-In Hybrid, Fuel Cell, at 2017 New York auto show
    Assessing the Honda Clarity range: how electric cars fit in, and why

    The 2017 Honda Clarity Fuel Cell is the only model of Honda's newest sedan presently on sale, though an all-electric version will arrive later this year. The hydrogen-powered mid-size sedan with a rated 366 miles of range is the one that's gotten by far the most publicity from Honda, as its...

  • Longer-range Renault Zoe electric car, introduced at 2016 Paris Motor Show

    The first quarter of 2017 is now behind us, which means we get to take a peek at the European plug-in electric vehicle sale numbers. The year-to-date numbers show a significant growth in sales for most electric models, according to the recent European Alternative Fuels Observatory report. The Renault Zoe remains the top seller across the continent with 9,083 units sold, which represents 28.4 percent of total electric vehicle sales. DON’T MISS: Plug-in electric car sales in Canada, Apr 2017: plus ça change... After a slow start, the even older Nissan Leaf has caught up with the...

  • Image from 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric-car ad by Ourisman Chevrolet, Rockville, Maryland
    Low-budget Chevy Bolt EV dealer ad normalizes electric cars

    Ah, local car-dealer ads on television. You've likely seen them, usually during the local ad minute on national shows, often late at night or in the cheaper slots. They're mostly formulaic, but each one mixes several elements for its own unique blend of attention-grabbing pitch. DON'T MISS: This...

  • Senator Rob Portman drives Chevrolet Bolt EV
    Advocacy group takes electric cars to Capitol Hill to inform lawmakers

    The best way to change perceptions about electric cars is to put novices in the driver's seat—quite literally in this sense. The advocacy group Plug In America went to Capitol Hill recently, with a barrage of plug-in electric and pure battery electric vehicles, in an effort to educate...

  • Tesla Store Los Angeles [photo: Misha Bruk / MBH Architects]
    Tesla faces battle over direct sales to buyers in Connecticut

    Another month, another Tesla battle with auto-dealer lobbyists in another state—or so it seems in the company's ongoing battle to sell electric cars online directly to buyers. This time, the action is in Connecticut, where on Monday the legislature's finance committee approved a bill letting...

  • 2016 Nissan Leaf SL and 2016 Toyota Prius Three, Hudson Valley, NY, Dec 2015
    Buyers in Trump-voting states reject green cars, which surge in Western states

    If you're a journalist, it's almost impossible to ignore political news these days. So if readers can resolutely avoid national and local coverage of politics, consider yourselves lucky. That said, sometimes a new political angle can make a dry story on car-buyer data more interesting than...

  • 2017 Ford C-Max
    Best deals on hybrid, electric, fuel-efficient cars for May 2017

    It's time to take a look at the best deals on hybrid, electric, and fuel-efficient cars for the month of May, and as new-vehicle sales slow, there are plenty of deals to be had. As always, Cars Direct has compiled the best deals for the month, using deals available in Southern California unless...

  • 2017 BMW i3

    The sales growth of electric cars has made strides in recent years, and California's Zero-Emission Vehicle mandate has much to do with that. The program adopted by the California Air Resources Board 20 years ago, and much modified since, requires carmakers to earn a certain number of zero-emission credits for vehicles sold in California. What's less well known is that some automakers have already surpassed the expectations, according to David Reichmuth, senior engineer in the Union of Concerned Scientists' Clean Vehicles Program DON’T MISS: UPS electric van with fuel-cell range extender...

  • 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric cars outside dealership    [photo: Patrick Reid]
    This family has two Chevy Bolt EV electric cars, uses no gas at all

    The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV is the first mass-priced electric car to offer a range of more than 200 miles, something previously offered only by pricey Tesla luxury cars. Initially put on sale last December in California, the 238-mile Bolt EV is slowly rolling out across the country and will be on...

  • Kongsberg Maritime autonomous boat concept
    If autonomous electric cars are coming, why not ships too?

    Vehicle engineering and development focuses heavily on passenger cars and light trucks, but what about other forms of transportation? In an effort to cut congestion on its roads, the country of Norway is experimenting with the idea of autonomous, electric ships to replace large semi trucks, reports...

  • Electric Avenue charging stations in Portland, Oregon [photo: Portland General Electric]
    Oregon mulls bonuses for salespeople who sell electric cars

    The Beaver State, otherwise known as Oregon, may implement an intriguing solution to spur higher sales of electric vehicles. A new piece of legislation introduced in the state senate calls for a $1 million fund to provide $250 bonuses to salespeople each time they sell an electric vehicle...

  • 2011 Nissan Leaf does 520 Miles in 2 days
    CEO of failed 350Green charging network pleads guilty to fraud

    The former CEO of electric-car charging network 350 Green pleaded guilty last week to fraudulently obtaining federal grants intended to be used for installation of public charging stations, notably in the Chicago area. The original 2011 announcement of the grants came with large fan-fare, but the...

  • 2017 Chevrolet Volt
    Plug-in electric car sales in Canada, Apr 2017: plus ça change...

    The Volt remains the undisputed king of the Canadian plug-in electric vehicle market. In April, the Chevy Volt enjoyed its 13th consecutive month as Canada's best-selling plug in electric vehicle, and its 46th month overall. While overshadowed by other vehicles in its home U.S. market, the Volt's...

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