Electric Cars

With widespread expectations that we'll see a redesigned second-generation model unveiled early next year, the 2015 Chevy Volt was expected to be a carryover model with few changes. And so it is, with one important exception: Without any fanfare, its battery capacity rose to 17.1 kilowatt-hours for...

It's probably fair to say that model names aren't that important in the world of Tesla Motors. That's a good thing of course--the product itself is much more important. But a roadster called Roadster, a sedan called the Model S and a crossover called Model X are not the stuff of naming legend. Any...

Every so often, an auto executive will say something that raises an eyebrow or two. In this case, a Hyundai executive suggested that while his company had received no money for its hydrogen vehicles from the U.S. government, the Tesla Motors network of Supercharger DC fast-charging stations for...

BMW has announced that it's open to sharing the battery technology it uses in its i3 and i8 plug-in vehicles with other automakers. The company hopes that by sharing the technology, which it co-developed with Samsung SDI, it will benefit from improved economies of scale. According to Automotive...

A Chinese businessman pays for 16 electric-car charging stations between Beijing and Guangzhou.

General Motors is still hard at work behind the scenes on the next-generation Chevrolet Volt. We won't know full details of the car for some time, but one upgrade it's likely to feature is a new, more efficient and less expensive power inverter. According to Charged EVs, GM is currently developing...

Tesla Motors is making a concerted effort to hire veterans.

Tesla is such a hot topic in the electric car world at the moment, the name itself has almost lost meaning. Luckily, Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk still appreciates the value of the Tesla name. To prove it, he's donating $1 million, and a Tesla Supercharger, to a museum dedicated to the company's...

After a slow start, electric cars could take another step forward in China as the country decides to waive its 10 percent purchase tax on the vehicles. It's the latest effort by the country's policymakers to address China's pollution and energy independence issues. Electric car sales have been...

The word "hack" is a little over-used in today's lexicon, but in the general sense it refers to the process of cracking the software system of a computer, a smartphone--or a car. Many electric cars roll those three categories into one, and now the organizers of a computer security conference have...

We're starting to hear a lot about hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles from Hyundai, Toyota, and Honda--and we're going to hear a great deal more about them in the years to come. The first 2015 Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell was leased last month, and Toyota will bring its own hydrogen-powered vehicle into...

Ask anyone interested in the Cadillac ELR to name their biggest bone of contention and they'll say one thing: The price. At a shade under $75,000, it's a good $40,000 more expensive than the car it's heavily based on--the Chevrolet Volt. But if you walk into a dealer today and play hard ball, you...

The 2014 Mercedes-Benz B-Class electric car hasn't quite reached dealerships yet--several are telling customers it could be next week--and its EPA ratings for range and efficiency have been something of a mystery too. Now, courtesy of an alert electric-car fan, we know the ratings for the first...

Tesla is once again facing copyright issues over its name in China, up against a trend the industry knows as "trademark trolls". When Tesla first made plans to sell cars in China, it came up against a businessman called Zhan Baosheng. Zhan had trademarked the Tesla name for automotive back in 2006...

As you drive your shiny new Nissan Leaf out of the dealership in silence and zero-emissions cleanliness, it's easy to forget all the resources and energy that have gone into building it. Those are a necessary evil as far as car production goes, but companies like Nissan are doing their best to...

There is a popular internet meme that suggests Mazda's Miata is the answer to every automotive question. You want something fun? Something inexpensive to run? Reliable? Easy to wrench on? Want to improve your car control skills? Cheap to buy? The answer is always Miata. So, in the spirit of that...

If it's worth saying once, it bears repeating a hundred times: The best way to get people to buy electric cars is to put them behind the wheel. One German journalist has done just that, buying a BMW i3 electric car despite protestations from colleagues that the price, short range and lack of...

Tesla Motors is assisting Los Angeles police and fire departments in their investigation following the high-speed crash of a stolen Tesla Model S early Friday morning. Officers reported chasing the Model S at speeds of up to 100 mph before the stolen vehicle hit another car on North La Brea Avenue...

Owners of the Tesla Model S tend to be very satisfied with their cars. You might already know that; but so far, that's largely been anecdotal, based on reports in various ownership profiles, comments, and forums. Now all this owner 'love'—and the lack of problems—is starting to be...

A stolen Tesla Model S was destroyed in a crash Thursday night following a police chase that hit speeds of 100 mph through West Hollywood. Several other vehicles were also destroyed in the high-speed accident and at least four people were hospitalized, in a crash that left the Model S split in two...