synd-vehicle-history

Ford announced a recall on Wednesday of the 120-volt charge cords supplied with nearly all of the plug-in hybrid and electric cars it built through 2015. The cars affected include the 2012 to 2015 Focus Electric, the 2013 to 2015 Ford C-Max Energi, and the 2013 to 2015 Ford Fusion Energi. Ford says...

Following news that the EPA dropped plans to keep boosting fuel-economy standards, it quietly dropped another bombshell: It's now fine to guzzle gas. Burn as much as you want. According to an AP report carried by the Detroit News, the Energy Department quietly released the news online in a memo in...

Watching Tesla—and Teslas—has become practically a spectator sport, especially for those who live near the factory. As production of the company's most popular car, the Model 3, has ramped up that sport has become easier—at least for people in the San Francisco Bay Area. It seems...

Sometimes building electric cars may be about more than building electric cars. At an event in New York City last weekend, Workhorse, which is known for converting delivery vans to plug-in hybrid power, aimed a little higher. It revealed a hybrid helicopter, according to an Ars Technica report. The...

After wiping out plans to continue boosting fuel economy standards earlier this month, the EPA on Tuesday proposed rolling back emissions standards on electric power plants. The new proposed rule, which the EPA calls the "Affordable Clean Energy" rule, would eliminate Obama-era standards that would...

A new independent report from inside Tesla's Fremont factory shows production of the Model 3 is becoming sustainable. The report, from automotive analysts Eversource ISI Research in London and first carried in FT Alphaville, shows Model 3 production improving, and that the new General Assembly line...

Ford is boosting the battery size and electric range of its Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid sedan for 2019. The new battery will store 9 kwh, up from 7 kwh, to give the 2019 Fusion Energi a range of 25 electric miles, up from 21 miles. The bigger battery should make the Fusion Energi more competitive...

Microlino, the maker of scooters and kickboards is ready to launch an electric microcar in Europe. Run by two Swiss brothers, the company unveiled its recreation of the tiny single-door BMW Isetta at the Geneva auto show two years ago, and has now partnered with with boutique Italian coachmaker...

On Thursday, The New York Times published an interview with Tesla CEO Elon Musk that revealed that the company's board may looking for a new operational leader for the company. In the wide-ranging interview, Musk acknowledged that his tweet last week about having "funding secured" to take Tesla...

A second employee at Tesla's Gigafactory in Nevada has filed for whistleblower protection, alleging that the company covered up an investigation into drug trafficking at the factory. The latest report was first carried by Jalopnik. The latest whistleblower, Karl Hansen, worked in the automaker's...

What's $132 billion between regulators? Such is the breadth of the discrepancy between the estimates of what the government's final proposal to roll back fuel-economy standards would save American drivers, and what EPA staffers said it would cost. A Reuters report on Tuesday revealed comments from...

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is facing mounting pressure from regulators and critics since his tweet last week to take the company private and the fallout that has followed. The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday (subscription required) that Tesla's board has received subpoenas from the Securities and...

This month, green-car buyers can find some screaming deals. These aren't just local programs or restricted to California buyers, either. As always, our list of deals comes from our partners at CarsDirect. This month, they have focused on deals available nationwide and on cars that are more shoppers...

At 5 o’clock in the morning, the only sound heard at the summit of Pikes Peak, 14,114 feet above sea level, is the ceaseless whipping of the wind. Inside the Audi e-tron electric crossover SUV prototype, I hear almost no sound at all. Silence, like the e-tron itself, is soothingly familiar...

Smaller, lighter cars always get the blame when politicians want to lower fuel-economy standards. They lobby that too many Americans will be driving lighter cars and that that will lead to more deaths on America's roadways. That's exactly the argument that the Trump administration made earlier this...

If regular automakers aren't advertising their electric cars well enough, maybe purveyors of electric-car infrastructure can fill in the gaps. Electrify America, VW's court-mandated effort to build a nationwide DC fast-charge network, is launching its first ad campaign Monday on behalf of all...

Mining operations get a lot of flack for creating environmental problems around the world. Yet they provide much of the basic material that keeps the global economy humming. Some mining companies are drilling down in their efforts to clean up their acts. As the world’s fourth-largest gold...

Competitors are coming for Tesla. Just as the young company begins to ramp up production of its bread-and-butter Model 3 to what CEO Elon Musk has called sustainable levels, Tesla's European rivals are beginning to roll out their own electric cars. That has some investors worried about whether the...

The most affordable hybrid on the market just got a little less so. The 2019 Toyota Prius C will cost $900 more, with a sticker of $22,450, including destination, based on a recent official price list released by Toyota and shared by our partners at CarsDirect. Toyota has replaced its traditional...

The king of all financial incentives for plug-in cars is, of course, the federal tax credit of up to $7,500. It’s not the only one, though. With Tesla’s federal tax credit already on its way to expiring and GM’s close behind, it’s worth knowing where to look for other...