Car Tech

The Ford F-150 uses ducting in its wheel wells to deal with aerodynamic drag from spinning wheels.

Two German companies plan to market carbon-aluminum hybrid wheels.

BMW demonstrates water injection as an efficiency-boosting measure on a 1-Series prototype.

A Boston-area startup claims it can drastically reduce the cost of battery manufacturing.

Ford Motor Company announced this morning that it would open its portfolio of patents related to electrified vehicles--meaning both hybrids and electric cars--to competitive automakers. The Dearborn, Michigan, company says its goal is to "accelerate industry-wide research and development of...

Electric-car maker Tesla sits in the heart of Silicon Valley, a place where software security is--or should be--a constant focus of attention. Still, corporate websites present a juicy and visible target for hackers worldwide. For a brief period Saturday afternoon, hackers appear to have taken over...

Researchers develop a hybrid supercapacitor that can charge quickly, but has the energy density of conventional batteries.

The BMW i3 electric car and i8 plug-in hybrid sport coupe are audacious examples of advanced technology in many ways. Not the least of it are body shells made of carbon-fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) mounted atop an aluminum rolling platform carrying the powertrains and crash structures. BMW has...

Time was that the most gears you could get in an automatic transmission was three or four. Then came five- and six-speed automatics, which are now pretty much the standard (along with increasingly prevalent continuously variable transmissions, or CVTs). But the transmission wars have continued to...

Researchers at Stanford University demonstrated a new type of aluminum-ion battery cell last week that is flexible enough to be bent without damaging it. The chemistry team claims its design charges faster, and is both safer and more durable, than today's lithium-ion cells. It could recharge a...

Volkswagen will decide whether to get more involved with battery startup QuantumScape.

Advanced battery technology startup Sakti3 has received a further round of investment capital to help bring its solid-state cells to market. A new investor, British vacuum-cleaner maker Dyson, invested a total of $15 million and signed a joint-development deal with the company. Existing funders...

The distinguishing feature of the Chevrolet Volt has always been that as long as it has charge left in its battery, it runs solely on electricity. The gasoline engine doesn't switch on even under maximum acceleration (except in certain cold-weather situations, to provide heat for the cabin and...

Goodyear unveiled two concept tires at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show.

Oh, Toyota ... really? It's not bad enough that your Lexus brand put out two ads that inaccurately slammed plug-in electric and diesel vehicles, respectively. Now your own agency has gone and made a foolish technical error in an ad meant to pave the way for your 2016 Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell...

Tata may launch an air-powered car in Hawaii.

Sometimes there are cars that just make you grin. So how can you not love a tiny Japanese kei car, their minier-than-minicar class, converted into a pickup truck with its own matched travel trailer behind it? DON'T MISS: Japan's Government Clamps Down On Tiny Kei Cars, Fearing Irrelevance Kei cars...

The 2016 Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell car hasn't yet gone on sale--it'll arrive in limited regions of California in the second half of this year--but already it's been the focus of a great deal of attention. As Toyota's first production hydrogen vehicle, and the cornerstone of its future plans...

It won't be available until the 2017 model year, its sleek body is largely made of aluminum, and it uses advanced new technology for remarkable efficiency gains over competitors. It's a sleek compact sport sedan that generated reams of coverage even before we knew anything about it, and its arrival...

Bosch eClucth substitutes a normal hydraulic clutch for an electric one.