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Even though the Tesla Model S has retained its same basic shape since it went on sale in 2012, what's going on under the hood has been anything but stagnant. The automaker's over-the-air updates for the electric car have put the old guard on notice: People expect their cars to act like the computers and phones sitting on their desks and in their pockets. That means updates and new features—constantly. Mostly, Tesla has done that. With the major exception of a hardware changeover in early 2017, Tesla owners have had new features unlocked or refined, new interfaces implemented, and safety...
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An Earth Day question: When will we see 'tailpipes' on cars as morally wrong?With increasing availability of zero-emission cars over the coming years, when will citizens at large start to question the idea that every vehicle has an "exhaust pipe" that just belches harmful substances into our shared air?
John Voelcker -
Earth Day: 10 Questions On Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Cars To Ask Toyota, Honda & HyundaiHydrogen fuel-cell vehicles are rolling out to California buyers in small numbers with two models on the market, and hydrogen stations slowly expanding outside a narrow slice of Los Angeles. The Honda Clarity Fuel Cell vehicle first went on sale in California at the end of 2016, and 2018 models...
John Voelcker -
When do electric-car tax credits expire? (updated for 2018)In less than three months, personal income-tax returns or 2017 will be due for most U.S. adults. Some of those taxpayers will have bought a plug-in electric car last year, knowing that the Federal government offers an income-tax credit to help reduce the effective cost. But as more and more...
John Voelcker -
Don't be fooled: only some electric cars are sold nationwide, even nowAlmost seven years after modern electric cars entered the mass market, there are now more than two dozen battery-electric and plug-in hybrid models on sale in the U.S. But that impressive number shouldn't disguise a fundamental truth about those vehicles: only about half of them are widely...
John Voelcker -
Electric car charging: the basics you need to know (updated)The number of plug-in electric cars on North American roads grows every year, and with them come new buyers. Each new electric-car driver will have a few things to learn, so we've rounded up some tips on how, where, and when how to charge up that new plug-in vehicle. Whether you're already an...
John Voelcker -
The Nissan Leaf is by far the highest-volume electric car ever sold, with total sales now having passed 250,000 units. First launched in 2011, the Leaf got some updates for the 2013 model when production for North American sales moved from Oppama, Japan, to Smyrna, Tennessee. It got a battery capacity upgrade for 2016, boosting its rated range from 84 to 107 miles. That aside, the Leaf has pretty much stayed the same for seven years. DON'T MISS: New 2018 Nissan Leaf: More Details On New Styling, Range (May 2014) We know an all-new, second-generation Leaf model is coming sometime soon. At...
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2017 Honda Accord Hybrid preview (updated)The 2017 Honda Accord Hybrid mid-size sedan was unveiled in April 2016—ending a one-year hiatus for a model that now offers the highest EPA gas-mileage ratings in the Honda lineup. The new model uses an updated version of the two-motor hybrid powertrain fitted to earlier hybrid Accords, which...
John Voelcker -
Tesla deadlines aren't meant to be met, Musk says: they just pressure employeesTesla Motors has a history of delays in bringing its cars from the design and prototype stage all the way to normal production. Its Roadster was delayed about nine months from its original anticipated launch, while the Model S was delayed more than six months. And then the Model X was delayed by...
Bengt Halvorson -
2017 Chevy Bolt EV sales could go as high as 80,000, says analystThe question of how many electric cars can be sold in a single year remains a topic of hot debate as the U.S. market awaits the launch of the 200-mile Chevy Bolt EV at the end of this year. The world's best-selling electric car, the Nissan Leaf, had its highest-sales year in the U.S. in 2014, when...
John Voelcker -
Tesla says it will build 500K cars a year by end of 2018; can it?When Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk said two years ago that the electric-car maker planned to be building half a million cars a year by the end of 2020, it seemed an ambitious stretch goal. When he said on last week's quarterly earnings call that the company was pulling that goal two years ahead to...
John Voelcker -
Tesla projects total 2016 sales of 80,000 to 90,000 electric carsTesla says it will nearly double deliveries in 2016.
Stephen Edelstein -
The Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-In Hybrid is the fourth plug-in car to reach 100,000 sales globally.
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Plug-in electric car sales for April 2016: Volt romps, Leaf stagnates (update)After the usual winter doldrums at the start of the year, April proved to be a good month for plug-in electric car sales in the U.S. March was a record-breaking month, and as April results come in today and tomorrow, last month's pace seems to be robust as well. As usual, the two highest-volume...
John Voelcker -
Updated 2016 Tesla Model S also gets new 75-kWh battery optionThe Tesla Model S will get the 75-kWh battery option introduced on the Model X.
Stephen Edelstein -
VW diesel buyback: what other automakers paid for used vehiclesA main aspect of the agreement between VW and the EPA to settle its diesel-emission cheating scandal is an offer by Volkswagen to buy back all 482,000 2.0-liter TDI diesel vehicles sold from 2009 through 2015. The details of that agreement won't be made public until June 21, and won't be finalized...
John Voelcker -
2017 BMW i3: up to 114 miles of range from 50-percent battery increaseFor its fourth year on the market, the 2017 BMW i3 electric car gets a huge boost in battery capacity and hence its EPA-rated range. The battery capacity rises 50 percent, from 22 to 33 kilowatt-hours, and the company says the rated range for the battery-electric version will be up to 114 miles...
John Voelcker -
Electric-car battery costs: Tesla $190 per kwh for pack, GM $145 for cellsLithium-ion cells and the battery packs that hold them are the single most costly part of modern electric cars. And how fast their costs will fall remains the defining factor in making those cars affordable for the mass market. GM made waves last fall when product chief Mark Reuss said the company...
John Voelcker -
University of California, Irvine, researchers believe a nanowire-based battery cell could last much longer than current cells.
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Now, finally, the Germans are getting scared of Tesla?German luxury carmakers may now view Tesla as a threat.
Stephen Edelstein -
Carmakers continue to meet rising CAFE goals, just as expectedCarmakers are on track to meet the CAFE standard of 54.5 mpg, a CFA study says.
Stephen Edelstein -
Updated 2016 Tesla Model S 90D now rated at 303 miles highway rangeIf 200-mile electric cars are the new black, then what does that make 300-mile electric cars? With the launch of the Chevy Bolt EV less than a year away, and 400,000 reservations for Tesla Model 3 cars to be delivered sometime in 2018 or later, clearly 200 miles is the new benchmark for range below...
John Voelcker -
2016 Chevy Cruze gas mileage beats even previous Eco modelThe 2016 Chevrolet Cruze achieves a best of 30 mpg city, 42 mpg highway, 40 mpg combined.
Stephen Edelstein -
2016 Tesla Model S gets styling update, 48-amp charger, new interior options, $1,500 price increase (updated)The Tesla Model S electric car, which went into production in June 2012, is getting its first styling updates in almost four years. The Silicon Valley carmaker said that Model S luxury sedans produced starting today in its Fremont, California, assembly plant will have a new front-end design...
John Voelcker