synd-vehicle-history

  • 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV

    The world has changed since last month's report on U.S. sales of plug-in electric cars. China has officially said it is considering dates for ending sales of new vehicles with gasoline or diesel engines. Even if that date proves to be 15 or 20 years in the future, the country's government has spoken—and the world's carmakers will have to play along or lose access to the world's largest vehicle market by far. DON'T MISS: GM to launch two new electric vehicles within 18 months, 20 by 2023 On Monday, General Motors said it would release two new electric cars within 18 months—and that...

  • FlexFuel badge on E85-capable 2009 Chevrolet HHR
    EPA to study cutting amount of ethanol in U.S. gasoline

    Since 2007, the Renewable Fuel Standard has required increasing levels of ethanol in gasoline blends sold in the U.S. Most fuel stations across the United States no longer offer pure gasoline, with E10—a blend of 10 percent ethanol and 90 percent gasoline—prevailing. After years of...

  • 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV
    Costco members now get GM Supplier Pricing on Chevy Bolt EV, Volt

    Costco members in the market for a new vehicle now have a new round of incentives to consider as they head into the final car-buying months of 2017. Specifically, shoppers interested in a General Motors vehicle will discover Supplier Pricing on nearly every car—including the Chevrolet Bolt EV...

  • 2017 Tesla Model S 100D   [photo: David Noland, owner]
    Tesla Q3-2017 deliveries: Model S, Model X strong; Model 3 misses goal

    The quarterly delivery and production figures from Silicon Valley electric-car maker Tesla are eagerly followed when they emerge a few days after the end of a quarter. On Monday, Tesla said it had delivered 26,150 electric cars, its best quarterly total yet and 4.5 percent higher than the third...

  • Electric power plant outside Ithaca, New York
    Coming this week: Trump EPA's plan to neuter Clean Power Plan

    Donald Trump's White House appears to be readying another of its next big climate change overhauls, and like many of the administration's plans, it will weaken or eliminate regulations on industry. Specifically, President Trump touted the undoing of the Clean Power Plan at a rally in Huntsville...

  • Volkswagen ID Crozz II concept, 2017 Frankfurt auto show
    World's 3rd largest battery firm may ally with VW for electric cars in China

    Many automakers have announced they will electrify entire vehicle portfolios in the years to come. With more electrified cars on the road, battery production will become increasingly more important. Adding to the positive outlook for lithium-ion cell makers is Volkswagen's potential partnership...

  • Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car with future GM electric and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, Oct 2017

    General Motors said on Monday it will unveil two new battery-electric vehicles within the next 18 months, and will offer 20 electric and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles globally by 2023. The news came in a conference call for reporters with Mark Reuss, GM's executive vice president of global product development. GM's announcement follows similar commitments by other large global automakers, VW Group included, and the news that China is evaluating an end date for sales of new vehicles with combustion engines. DON'T MISS: All-electric Buick small SUV to be based on Bolt EV: report "it all starts...

  • Tesla Kauai solar-energy generation and storage project  [photo: Tesla]
    Tesla's solar and battery project in Hawaii: we do the math

    Tesla’s summer announcement of the world’s biggest battery-storage system in South Australia characteristically kept key details confidential. Fortunately, while mystery and mystique still shroud that project, more can be unearthed or inferred for Tesla's solar panel and battery...

  • Consumer Reports tests 2015 Volkswagen Jetta TDI diesel in 'cheat mode,' October 2015 [video frame]
    VW to spend $3 billion more on rising cost of diesel buyback

    The Volkswagen diesel scandal no longer gets much U.S. media coverage. Engineer James Liang has been sentenced to 40 months in jail for his role, while executive Oliver Schmidt will be sentenced December 6. Buybacks and modifications are underway for more than half a million TDI diesel vehicles...

  • 2014 BMW i3 and 2014 Tesla Model S   [photo: Tom Moloughney]
    Will Tesla steamroller German luxury makers? Perhaps not

    It has become an article of faith among some Tesla fans and owners that the company will inevitably rise to compete with and ultimately defeat the titans of the global auto industry. This belief is especially prevalent for the luxury sector, where three German carmakers dominate the global market...

  • Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid Sesame Street advertisement
    Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid gets ad support from Sesame Street characters

    The 2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid is a one-of-a-kind vehicle, the sole plug-in hybrid minivan offered for sale in North America. Its early months were plagued by a powertrain recall for a potentially faulty diode within the power inverter module. Now, the Pacifica Hybrid is back on sale in its...

  • 2018 Hyundai Accent
    2018 Hyundai Accent small sedan debuts at minor auto show

    Hyundai decided to skip the major auto-show circuit and debut its redesigned Accent subcompact sedan at a relatively minor auto show. The Korean automaker revealed the 2018 Hyundai Accent at the Orange County Auto Show in California, which boasts a new design, more interior space, and an updated...

  • 2018 BMW 530e iPerformance wireless charging

    Every one of the modern electric cars on the market for almost seven years requires plugging in a cord to recharge the battery using grid electricity. Inserting the cord into the socket takes just a few seconds, and most cars today are charged overnight. But soon there will be another option: wireless charging, in which the car is positioned over a pad on the floor or ground, with no need to plug in anything. DON'T MISS: Using Plugless Power's wireless charging with Nissan Leaf: video Inductive charging, as it's known technically, transfers power through coils in the pad and corresponding...

  • 2012 Toyota RAV4 EV Prototype
    Toyota electric-car tech to come from venture with Mazda, Denso

    Very little is known for sure about the long-range electric car Toyota will launch around 2020. Over the last two years, the company—by far the industry's strongest proponent of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles—has concluded it must field a battery-electric vehicle to stay competitive...

  • Johnson Controls 48-volt lithium-ion micro-hybrid battery
    48-volt mild hybrids heading toward ubiquity in Europe as diesel declines

    Public concerns over diesel cars, and their ebbing sales, have become a well-documented phenomenon in Europe after decades of popularity. When the VW diesel scandal exposed deliberate cheating, and real-world testing revealed that virtually no diesels certified for sale actually met emission...

  • Mahindra e2o Plus
    Electric cars about to be profitable, says India's Mahindra

    The market for electric cars continues to grow, but vehicles powered by fossil fuels remain dominant across the globe. Many analysts believe electric cars will reach price parity with vehicles powered by internal-combustion engines sometime within the next decade. Indian maker Mahindra, however...

  • Jaguar I-Pace Concept, 2016 Los Angeles Auto Show
    Jaguar I-Pace electric SUV has already accumulated 25,000 orders: CEO

    In the rarified but still high-volume world of global luxury auto brands, Jaguar is still a tiny player. The British brand sold fewer than 150,000 cars globally last year, one-third of the number of Land Rover and Range Rover SUVs from its sister brands within Jaguar Land Rover. Audi sold 1.9...

  • 2019 Volvo XC40
    Car subscription services to take 1 of 5 sales by 2023, Volvo CEO says

    The 2019 Volvo XC40 not only represents the Swedish brand's first compact crossover to be sold in the U.S. but its first shot at a new model for drivers to obtain cars: a subscription service. During the XC40 launch, Volvo revealed it would introduce Care by Volvo, a subscription service giving...

  • Tesla Gigafactory battery plant in Nevada

    While the United States federal government threatens to backslide on renewable energy, California and China continue to move at an aggressive pace to lead the world in zero-emission vehicles. However, there's another piece to the electric-car puzzle that China seems poised to lead as well: battery production. As the global market for electric and plug-in car grows, battery production will need to increase dramatically to match demand. DON'T MISS: Chinese maker BYD plans U.S. expansion into other electric industrial vehicles It's expected that electric-vehicle batteries will become a $240...

  • 2017 Tesla Model S
    RWD Tesla Model S 75 gone after September 24, as electric-car range continues to change

    This year has seen a dizzying profusion of changes to the features, options, and available versions of the Tesla Model S luxury electric car, now in its sixth model year. Anyone who wants to buy a new Model S with rear-wheel drive, however, must act fast. The 2017 Tesla Model S 75, the sole variant...

  • 2019 Volvo XC40
    2019 Volvo XC40 small SUV to become brand's first electric car

    Two years ago, the Volvo XC90 large SUV launched to widespread acclaim and awards as the Sino-Swedish brand's first all-new vehicle in six years. It was followed by the S90 sedan and V90 wagon in 2017, filling out its large luxury lineup. The 2018 Volvo XC60 mid-size crossover utility is now...

  • Volkswagen ID Buzz Concept
    VW Group makes 300 models globally, will electrify them all by 2030

    Along with the gleaming concept cars and new production models unveiled at last week's Frankfurt auto show, auto-company executives also make news. Often a company's CEO or product chief will announce directions for the future, whether they're hints about upcoming vehicles or new powertrain plans...

  • U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry in 2008, when he was governor of Texas
    Energy Dept grid report downplayed renewables, stressed coal, fossil fuels

    The Trump administration hasn't been coy about trying to champion traditional fossil fuels while downplaying the importance and falling costs of renewable energy. Earlier this year, Department of Energy secretary Rick Perry, previously governor of fossil-fuel producer Texas, called for a 60-day...

  • Tesla Supercharger for city centers
    Tesla expands Supercharger fast-charging sites into cities for Model 3 owners

    With the mass-production Model 3 in mind, Tesla has begun to expand its Supercharger fast-charging stations into urban areas. Earlier this month, Tesla opened its first two Supercharger stations in Chicago, Illinois, and Boston, Massachusetts. The Chicago site features 10 charging stalls, while the...

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