Car Tech

When the world at large thinks of fuel-cell vehicles—to the extent it does, at least today—they are associated with hydrogen as the fuel to power them. But a fuel cell, more broadly speaking, is any device that produces electricity from a variety of input fuels or energy carriers. This...

Electric cars may have an advantage over gasoline cars in energy density when powertrain efficiency is considered.

University of California, Irvine, researchers believe a nanowire-based battery cell could last much longer than current cells.

Increasingly stiff limits on carbon emission and minimum fuel economy in most of the world's car markets mean that more plug-in electric cars must be sold. With battery costs steadily falling and the pricetag rising for the new technologies that make cars more efficient, some now envision a world...

BMW is now a century old. To celebrate, the brand has unveiled a concept car that emits nothing from its tailpipe and can drive itself. The automaker hasn't said just how the Vision Next 100 concept manages to go emission-free, but it did talk a lot about the car's exotic materials and...

Diesel may be a dirty word for some but for the major automakers, especially those with a significant presence in fuel-conscious Europe, it commands a lot of importance. One such automaker is Mercedes-Benz, which this week announced it is investing close to $3 billion over the coming years in...

Bosch claims its "active gas pedal" can yield fuel-economy savings of up to seven percent.

Like many automakers, Volkswagen Group has had a research facility in Silicon Valley for many years. In 2011, Its Electronics Research Laboratory--first launched in 1998--tripled its size and moved northward from Palo Alto to Belmont. It now has almost 100 people. But new VW Group CEO Matthias...

The Volkswagen Budd-e Concept that was revealed at CES this week marks several firsts. While there are some radically different design and interface approaches (like expanded gesture controls), several of the most important firsts in the Budd-e concern what’s claimed underneath: an all-new...

BMW showed a second i8 convertible concept at CES.

With the IDS Concept that Nissan showed at the recent Tokyo Motor Show, the automaker hinted that Nissan may be readying a suite of autonomous technologies—and a language through which the car will communicate with the driver and with its surroundings. And while it might be tempting to see...

While we don't yet know the model name, we do know Hyundai is expected to launch its first dedicated hybrid vehicle at the Detroit Auto Show in January. That car--codenamed 'AE' for now--will go on sale within a year of the fourth-generation Toyota Prius, the car that has defined hybrid efficiency...

Mazda's new rotary engine will not debut as part of an electrified powertrain, the company's R&D chief says.

While it has unveiled the all-new 2016 Prius hybrid twice--once at a glitzy event in Las Vegas, once at the Frankfurt Motor Show--Toyota has been very stingy with technical information about the powertrain that will let the car earn promised EPA combined ratings of 55 mpg or better. At an event in...

Carmakers in Europe, Asia, and North America have met exhaust emission limits for decades, as measured by strict standardized vehicle tests on dynamometers, or "rolling roads." With the Volkswagen diesel scandal now entering its third week, U.S. and European regulators plan to test more cars under...

Peugeot's Frankfurt Motor Show concept highlights audio technology and 3D printing.

Cooper Tire says it can already make rubber components from a desert shrub called guayule.

The BMW M4 GTS will mark the carmaker's first production application of water injection.

When it comes to advanced automotive technology, most global carmakers are placing their bets with care. Toyota is all-in for hydrogen fuel cells, while Nissan is betting on battery-electric vehicles for its future. GM too is on the plug-in side of the ledger, while other makers hang back more...

Tesla built a prototype charging station that automatically plugs into an electric car.