Future Cars
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If the U.S. is serious about reducing carbon emissions from road vehicles—under the current administration, the jury remains out—pickup trucks are key. More than half of the reduction in fuel consumption in pickup trucks projected under corporate average fuel economy rules comes from improvements in the 2022 to 2025 model years. That means trucks now being introduced will carry the brunt of that burden. DON'T MISS: 2019 Chevy Silverado: how a big, thirsty pickup gets more fuel-efficient The Detroit auto show earlier this month saw the debuts of new generations of full-size pickup...
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Porsche Mission E electric sedan buyers want, expect fast "Turbo Charging"
Possibly no German carmaker was more shocked by the emergence of the Tesla Model S in 2012 than Porsche. Each of Porsche's models was a top performer in its segment for power, handling, and features, and sold at highly profitable prices. Then came the Tesla Model S, a five-seat hatchback sedan that...
John Voelcker -
BMW says it can build electric cars and regular ones on same platforms: interview
As the auto industry plans more electric cars in higher volumes for the 2020s, one of the great debates is whether they will need to be designed from the ground up solely for battery power. Doing so allows designers to offer larger cabins due to the more compact drive motors and electronics. One of...
John Voelcker -
2020 Jaguar XJ luxury sedan to be reborn as all-electric Tesla Model S competitor
Almost since the two legendary British brands were brought together in 1998, Jaguar has played second fiddle to its sibling Land Rover. The maker of traditional, sporty British sedans was left in search of a mission as increasingly upscale Land Rovers and even pricier Range Rovers proliferated...
Mark Stevenson -
Volkwagen ID electric cars need names, but do these two work?
Volkswagen continues to invest heavily in a future of plug-in electric vehicles as it attempts to clean the diesel soot from its face following its emissions-cheating scandal. Part of that initiative is coming up with new names for upcoming all-electric models to be sold under its ID electric...
Mark Stevenson -
How many billions are going into electric cars, globally? Guess the number...
Countries around the world—especially China, France, the U.K., and Norway—are aiming to phase out the sale of new fossil-fuel vehicles entirely between 2025 and 2040. So it's in automakers' best interests to begin planning and investing now in vehicle lineups that will comply with that...
Mark Stevenson -
Model naming conventions that are clear, consistent, and easy to understand across decades are a crucial part of explaining a vehicle lineup to buyers. By and large, German makers are good at arraying their lineups of sedans (and now SUVs) in "series" or "classes" that run from smallest to largest. The 2014 BMW i3 was something of an anomaly in BMW's lineup, because it didn't really correspond to the BMW 3-Series sedan known worldwide. DON'T MISS: BMW will have 25 electric cars, plug-in hybrid models by 2025 Now, after a thorough 2016 reshuffle of its product plans for plug-in electric...
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BMW will have 25 electric cars, plug-in hybrid models by 2025
The last 12 to 18 months have seen a slew of global automakers promising rafts of new plug-in electric vehicles on sale by deadlines set several years into the future. Working to move past its worldwide diesel-emission scandal, for instance, VW Group has promised 30 battery-electric models on sale...
John Voelcker -
What percent of US full-size pickup trucks will plug in by 2025? Take our Twitter poll
The big announcements at this year's Detroit auto show, now open to the public, were pickup trucks, one from each of the three U.S. automakers. The 2019 Chevrolet Silverado and 2019 Ram 1500 full-size pickups made their debut, each its company's highest-volume single nameplate. So did the 2019 Ford...
John Voelcker -
Ford 300-mile all-electric SUV may be named Mach 1; due 2020
The big new debuts at the 2018 Detroit auto show are largely pickup trucks, one of them being the new mid-size 2019 Ford Ranger. Ford also introduced a new Bullitt Mustang, honoring the 51st anniversary of the legendary 1968 movie, and a high-performance ST version of the Edge crossover. (Is it the...
John Voelcker -
2019 Audi e-tron electric SUV deliveries start in Europe this fall
The first member of Audi's forthcoming wave of electric cars is expected to start landing in European driveways this fall, possibly neck and neck with the Jaguar I-Pace. The all-electric Audi e-tron SUV will have dimensions similar to the Audi Q5 SUV and should offer enough charge from its...
Mark Stevenson -
Batteries in autonomous electric cars must be more durable: lithium-ion pioneer
We tend to take batteries for granted. Day after day, we recharge batteries and expect them to work without giving a thought to how they work or to their state of health. But Akira Yoshino is different. He's one of the pioneers of lithium-ion battery technology. DON'T MISS: Lithium-ion battery...
Mark Stevenson -
We've long known that the Kia Niro wagon would get an all-electric version to accompany the 2017 Niro Hybrid and the just-launched 2018 Niro Plug-In Hybrid. The battery-electric Niro will fill out the suite of six cars sharing the same underpinnings, with the others being the same three versions of the Hyundai Ioniq hatchback, the Niro's sibling-under-the-skin. On Thursday, Kia announced it would show a "new all-electric concept car" at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on January 8. DON'T MISS: 2018 Kia Niro Plug-In Hybrid first drive review (pricing from $28,840) While the Niro...
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Ford: China will lead our electric-car effort, 300-mile electric SUV to be built in Mexico
As we start to look toward the 2019 model year, it's worth noting that Ford hasn't introduced a single new hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or electric vehicle since 2013. In fact, the company is now clearing the decks and killing off old models. The C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid tall hatchback went out of...
John Voelcker -
Volvo to offer multiple electric cars, battery-size options, starting in 2020
Volvo has confirmed its second electric car for the brand will be a version of the V40 compact hatchback it plans to unveil within the year. Much like the all-electric Volkswagen e-Golf version of the standard Golf, Volvo will roll out a conventional version of its V40 hatchback on the new compact...
Mark Stevenson -
Wal-Mart, Anheuser-Busch, DHL to test Tesla Semi; now UPS, Pepsi too (more updates)
An Instagram post by an "outdoor living design and construction firm serving the Chicago Southland" seems to confirm at least several hundred reservations for Tesla's new all-electric truck. Elemental Landscapes of Illinois posted a screenshot of its reservation for three Tesla Semi trucks, showing...
Mark Stevenson -
Toyota plans 1 million zero-emission vehicles a year by 2030: our analysis
Sales of plug-in electric cars are rising steadily in North America, Europe, and Asia, with roughly 2 million now on the world's roads. China is debating when it will ban sales of new vehicles with combustion engines. Meanwhile, Toyota—one of the four largest global automakers—is only...
John Voelcker -
An electric Thing? VW Thing could return as EV, chairman says (or electric Beetle)
As it gears up for volume production of battery-electric cars starting in 2019, Volkswagen Group spends a lot of time talking to the press about its future plans for the vehicles. We already know its first electric car that year will be the compact hatchback Volkswagen ID, and the first to be sold...
John Voelcker -
Since the Dieselgate scandal broke more than two years ago, Volkswagen has spent a great deal of time talking about its plans for electric cars. It has rolled out three concept vehicles within the new Volkswagen ID family, and discussed its dedicated electric-car architecture that will underpin all of them. Now, the company has committed to a date for producing its first high-volume dedicated battery-electric car. DON'T MISS: Volkswagen ID Crozz electric SUV to launch in US in 2020 In a release last Friday, Volkswagen said it is 100 weeks away from the first production of the Volkswagen ID...
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Jaguar I-Pace electric car testing: 200 cars, 1.5 million miles, and counting
Jaguar’s upcoming first entry into electric vehicles is undergoing final validation in Los Angeles, a year after the British brand revealed the I-Pace Concept at the 2016 Los Angeles Auto Show. Jaguar wrapped the new I-Pace in a pseudo-mule livery and plastered a hashtag on its side as...
Mark Stevenson -
Jeep Wrangler Plug-In Hybrid to go into production in 2020
Looking back at last week's Los Angeles auto show media days, one new vehicle sucked up a disproportionate amount of attention and airtime. That would be the new 2018 Jeep Wrangler, a once-in-a-decade redesign of the iconic off-roader that's the linchpin of the Jeep brand image worldwide. While the...
John Voelcker -
BMW 'i' electric-car sub-brand to expand into SUVs: iX3 crossover, other 'iX' models
Before the 2013 launch of its 'i' sub-brand, BMW had secured the names of potential i-branded vehicles by applying for i1 through i9 monikers in 2010. Now the brand has secured another batch of names for electrified crossovers—iX1 through iX9—and it plans to use at least one of them by...
Mark Stevenson -
Life with Tesla Model S: musings on new Tesla Roadster
Like almost everyone else, I was blown away by Tesla’s surprise introduction of a second-generation Roadster at the recent semi-truck reveal event. Zero to sixty in 1.9 seconds, a 620-mile range, gorgeous sleek lines, and a price of $200,000. Mind-blowing indeed. But a few of the new...
David Noland -
Even supercar maker Lamborghini may go electric, and it's a very cool concept
Lamborghini, the Italian purveyor of V10- and V12-powered supercars, has teased a fully electric performance machine for the first time in its 54-year history. Unveiled at Lamborghini's home base in Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy, the Lamborghini Terzo Millennio Concept is the product of a...
Mark Stevenson