Syndicate

Public-health advocates have known for years that living around freight yards is hazardous to your cardiopulmonary health. In smog-susceptible Los Angeles, the Port of LA was a huge hotspot of toxic emissions. And seven years ago, the Port embarked on an ambitious program to eliminate the bulk of...

Not everyone can afford a new hybrid, plug-in hybrid or electric car, but those who still wish to drive such a vehicle can still take the conversion route. Electric car conversions have been around for many years, and many people have converted their regular hybrids to plug-ins too, but a team at...

Tesla Motors’ decision to purchase the former NUMMI automotive manufacturing facility in Fremont, California might have been one of its shrewdest business decisions to date. Not only did Tesla Motors [NASAQ:TSLA] obtain a pre-built facility --complete with the essential machinery it needed to...

To those who remember "three on the tree" or "four on the floor", today's seven and eight-speed automatic transmissions seem to offer a bewildering amount of gears to choose from. Chrysler will go one better in 2013 with a nine-speed automatic transmission, as the maker looks towards improving...

A few months after going on sale, the 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in hybrid has been given an official crash-test rating by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Unlike the 5-star rated, five-door Prius liftback it is based on however, the 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid only...

How much do you spend on gasoline each year? If you happen to live in the average U.S. household, the total is more than $2,850 every year--roughly $240 a month, or $60 each week. So when the Consumer Federation of America surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults in May on their attitudes toward fuel efficiency...

There are many reasons plug-in electric car sales are still just a tiny fraction of the market. The biggest hurdle may be high price, compared to gasoline cars of the same size, right now (along with range limitations). Despite a cost-per-mile that's just a fraction of what a gasoline car costs...

Colin Chapman is remembered for many things in the automotive world, but if there's one thing auto journalists have to thank him for, it's an endless stream of column inches dedicated to the weight of cars. All the calls for lighter vehicles aren't based solely on theory, but a back-catalog of...

Political opponents of President Barack Obama used to sneer, "So how's that hopey-changey stuff workin' for ya, huh?" You don't hear that so much any more, but 18 months after the first plug-in cars went on sale in the U.S., it's worth looking at a different question. Will the Obama...

When the 2011 Nissan Leaf launched at the end of 2010, many environmentally-conscious drivers took the plunge and decided to buy one, hoping to leave gasoline behind for good. For the majority of Leaf owners, Leaf ownership does just that. For some others, however, a lack of reliable public...

If your workplace is anything like ours, it seems that while you're at work, most of the rest of the United States has taken the entire week off to celebrate Independence Day. For our own celebration, and with a friendly nod to our defeated British colleagues, we thought it would be appropriate to...

The 2013 Honda Fit EV is a fun and well-executed little all-electric hatchback. It's quick, handles decently, gets the highest EPA efficiency rating of any vehicle on the market (118 MPGe), and its rated range of 82 miles is longer than that of the somewhat larger Nissan Leaf. Too bad you have very...

If you're in the market for a brand new hybrid but want to save a few pennies on purchase price, you're really limited to two vehicles. One is the 2012 Honda Insight, familiar not just for its Prius-like profile but also having been on sale for several years now. The other is the 2012 Toyota Prius...

The 2012 Tesla Model S has launched, short drive reviews are coming in, and new owners are taking delivery every day. So what's next for Tesla? We know what the company plans to launch for its future vehicles--the 2014 Model X crossover, a Roadster replacement, and down the road, a smaller, less...

Buick has placed a major bet on its eAssist mild hybrid system, offering it as standard equipment on base versions of the 2012 Lacrosse and, more recently, the 2013 Regal as well. Now Chevrolet is planning to spread that same system--which the Bowtie Brand uses on the 2013 Chevy Malibu Eco on sale...

They said it couldn't be done, but it looks like Tesla Motors has indeed pulled it off. If all goes to plan, at 3:30 pm Pacific today, CEO Elon Musk and other Tesla executives will hand over the keys of a new 2012 Tesla Model S to the first retail buyer to take delivery of the all-electric luxury...

The numbers came in this morning, and gas prices took a sharp drop, with the national average now at just $3.50 per gallon. And they're expected to stay relatively flat through the summer, barring any surprises and geopolitical actions. That $3.50 average is s a drop of 7 cents in the last week...

Mitsubishi is only the second global volume carmaker to sell a plug-in electric car in the U.S., but battery electric minicars like its 2012 'i' won't be a high-volume segment any time soon--if ever. The company sells far more Outlander crossover utilities than 'i' electric cars, so the launch of...

Industrial manufacturer Eaton Corporation, whose automotive business makes superchargers and many other parts, also supplies electric-car charging stations. Under a recent Federal contract, Eaton will provide those charging stations to various Federal locations--and the company is also working to...

Diesel cars might get great gas mileage when compared to their gasoline counterparts, but now the World Health Organization has warned that diesel fumes are now known to prove lung cancer. In fact, the W.H.O. says, diesel fumes are more carcinogenic than secondhand cigarette smoke. So dangerous, it...