synd-vehicle-history
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These are not good times for the makers or owners of diesel cars, particularly in their European stronghold, where on average half of all new vehicles had been sold with diesel engines. Strict new real-world emission tests have proven hard to meet, consumers are starting to shy away from buying new diesels, and the values of used cars with diesel engines have fallen. Now, more pain for German automakers may be on the way as authorities walk the tightrope between reducing smog-causing emissions and preserving tens of thousands of jobs. DON'T MISS: Audi, Mercedes now updating European diesels...
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When will Tesla Model 3 all-wheel-drive, lower-range models be available?Musk says the problem is that adding additional configurations with all-wheel drive would make production so much more complicated that it would jeopardize the company's ability to build up Model 3 production to levels that would bring in the revenue the company needs to stay afloat.
Eric C. Evarts -
Audi, BMW, Mercedes large electric luxury sedans to aim above Tesla Model S?The Tesla Model S occupies an interesting position among "luxury" sedans and hatchbacks. It's far from the best-equipped vehicle compared to mid-size and full-size competitors from Audi, BMW, Jaguar, and Mercedes-Benz, but that doesn't seem to matter to its 200,000 or so buyers to date. The good...
John Voelcker -
Energy Dept stops tracking green energy, electric-car progress; NRDC picks up slackThere's a lot of good data to be found in public reports from national labs and other government research papers, but it's not always easy to find or easy to parse. For years, federal Department of Energy collected and published that information—but it has eliminated that effort under the...
Eric C. Evarts -
GM, EVgo to build Chevy Bolt EV fast-charging network, for Maven drivers onlyGeneral Motors has consistently declined to fund public charging stations that increase the utility and long-distance potential of the electric cars it sells. The company said firmly two years ago it had no intention of spending money on a charging network, a stance that distinguished GM from BMW...
John Voelcker -
Deal between EPA, California on auto emissions may still be possibleOver the many months EPA administrator Scott Pruitt signaled his intention to revisit the Obama administration's emission limits for 2022 through 2025 vehicles, California warned that it would not go along with any reductions. The state has been allowed to set its own emission standards for...
John Voelcker -
Amidst nine months of "production hell" for the Tesla Model 3 electric car, the company's next vehicle has somewhat fallen off the radar. According to a report Wednesday by Reuters, Tesla has now put out requests to suppliers for initial bids on parts for the Tesla Model Y, its high-volume crossover utility intended to be more affordable than the $80,000-and-up Model X. Two sources familiar with Tesla's supply chains told Reuters those documents set a target of November 2019 for the start of Model Y production. CHECK OUT: Tesla Model Y to be based on Model 3 after all; Musk 'reeled back' from...
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More sedan, smaller, entry models bite the dust in DetroitTwo years ago this month, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles essentially threw in the towel on the "automobiles" part of its name. Canceling the compact Dodge Dart and the mid-size Chrysler 200 sedans, the company doubled down on the pickup trucks and utility vehicles that had long been its profit centers...
John Voelcker -
Buick to launch new electric, plug-in hybrid models in China; what about US?For 15 years now, Buick has been a far more important brand in China than it is in North America: four out of five Buicks sold globally are purchased by Chinese buyers. The brand has a wider range and variety of vehicles in that country, along with numerous models U.S. buyers never lay eyes on. So...
John Voelcker -
Best deals on hybrid, electric, fuel-efficient cars for April 2018Often, to sell electric cars, supporters and salespeople argue that buyers will save money in the long run from lower fuel (or power) bills. With deals up to $15,700 off and payments as low as $179 a month, several hybrid, electric, and fuel-efficient cars will cost less this month right up front...
Eric C. Evarts -
2019 Toyota Prius will be restyled to look more like Prime: reportGlobal sales of compact hatchbacks are hardly surging, and fuel economy for all types of vehicles is steadily improving. Even given those factors, though, the fourth-generation Toyota Prius hybrid has had an especially rough road since its launch as a 2016 model. At just 108,661 deliveries across...
John Voelcker -
EPA does not set fuel-economy limits: get this right, journalists!Journalism as an industry is under great pressure these days. There are far more people writing "content" than in past decades, and in general they are having to produce more of it for less money than they did 10, 20, or 50 years ago. That's no excuse, however, for getting the basics wrong. DON'T...
John Voelcker -
SF Motors revealed its first two electric cars, to be produced next year at the Hummer factory in South Bend Indiana
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Britain's electric utility backs earlier ban on new cars with engines, in 2030Norway and The Netherlands started the trend a few years ago, though they're relatively tiny car markets. Then France and the U.K. joined in. China, the world's largest new-car market by far, is doing it—though the country hasn't decided when. All of those countries plan to ban, or work the...
John Voelcker -
Pruitt's EPA emission rollback reasoning may well fail in courtDespite the sturm und drang around the announcement by embattled EPA chief Scott Pruitt that he will relax emission limits for 2022 through 2025 vehicles, not much will happen immediately. His determination last week that the Obama administration was "incorrect" and that the limits on those...
John Voelcker -
Paris climate accords look more and more like fantasy; the reality could be far worseNew York Magazine article draws dire conclusion that catastrophic climate change is nearly inevitable, with or without Paris climate accord.
Eric C. Evarts -
Nikola suggests it's no Tesla, refunds deposits on fuel-cell, electric semi trucksTesla's most direct competitor announced it would refund all deposits it has taken.
Eric C. Evarts -
Pruitt's EPA decision: 38-page intention vs 1,217 pages of analysisWhile the name of EPA administrator Scott Pruitt is often preceded by "embattled" these days, his agency is now on record as rejecting its own recommendation of just 16 months ago. It concluded in July 2016 that the auto industry had handily met lower carbon-emission limits from 2012 through...
John Voelcker -
While global demand for the Hyundai Ioniq Electric appears to be strong, supplies have remained limited. The battery-electric compact hatchback, rated at 124 miles of range by the EPA, forgoes the "weird styling" of contenders like the previous Nissan Leaf. In the U.S., however, the all-electric Ioniq has been limited in sales to certain areas of Southern California—and also offered on an innovative "Unlimited+" subscription service. DON'T MISS: 2017 Hyundai Ioniq Electric: how 'Unlimited' subscription works (Mar 2017) Now, for 2018, the terms of the "Unlimited+" service—you can...
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Smart to go all-electric worldwide by 2020: Daimler CEOThe U.S. sales history of the Smart two-seat minicar started with a bang in 2008, when gasoline prices soared, and has waned since then. A complete redesign of the little ForTwo in the 2016 model year, with the Cabrio soft-top following for 2017, didn't do much for sales. That led parent company...
John Voelcker -
Electric I-Pace may lead Jaguar design, style into the futureIn January 2007, Jaguar dropped a bombshell, in the form of the C-XF concept sedan it unveiled at that year's Detroit auto show. The sleek, fastback shape, simple rectangular grille with recessed mesh, and swept-back cat's-eye headlights yanked Jaguar design out of its fusty retro-traditional...
John Voelcker -
McKinsey summarizes state of the art, latest trends in electric carsOver the seven years modern, mass-priced electric cars have been on sale, various bits of wisdom have emerged among their fans, advocates, and owners. One might be how much battery range is "enough" to prevent drivers from worrying constantly about whether they need to charge. Another might be...
John Voelcker -
Plug-in electric car sales in Canada, March 2018: Prius Prime rivals VoltThe Chevy Volt won its umpteenth monthly plug-in sales title in Canada last month, but soaring sales of other models were the big story in the Canuck electric vehicle market—which may have reached 1.75 percent of the market in March. The Volt tallied 555 March sales, Canada’s...
Matthew Klippenstein -
Why trucks aren't a CAFE problem for carmakers, despite their lobbying claimsThe automakers claimed that the standards were unrealistic given that consumers are flocking to crossovers and pickup trucks as gas prices remain low. According to a new report by the American Council for an Energy Efficient economy, and to our own analysis, trucks aren't the reason.
Eric C. Evarts