Sean Szymkowski, Contributor
Articles
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Are car buyers the biggest problem for electric cars? (Yes, of course they are, but it's price) Sean Szymkowski
While it's clear that the transition to plug-in electric cars is accelerating across the globe, in the short term electric cars still face numerous hurdles.
Charging infrastructure remains...
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Best deals on hybrid, electric, fuel-efficient cars for November 2017
This month's best deals for hybrid, electric, and fuel-efficient cars are in and buyers will find a handful of eco-friendly bargains. Most cars have held their spots from October 2017, but a few newcomers may surprise shoppers, including the brand-new 2018 Toyota Camry Hybrid. Read on to see where...
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How to recharge an electric car in the middle of nowhere: Amazon drone?
Amazon, once a humble bookseller, now dips its toes into numerous technology realms. Its next potential act? Perhaps it will be drones that can charge electric cars on the fly. The online retailer and technology company filed an application to patent a drone specifically built for electric-car...
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A Tesla Model S that runs on hydrogen fuel cells? Dutch firm claims it built one
Tesla has never built anything but battery-electric cars. Now a Dutch gasoline company believes it's improved upon the Silicon Valley automaker's design with a hydrogen fuel cell—so much so that it wants to sell its solution to the general public. The Holthausen Group, a Dutch gasoline...
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Syria to sign Paris Climate pact, leaving US alone; Trump disinvited from climate summit
Following President Donald Trump's decision to pull the United States from the Paris Climate Accord—a global pact to reduce carbon output and curb climate change—only two other nations had not signed the treaty. Now, the U.S. sits alone and isolated internationally on climate policy...
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BMW battery-sourcing ethics highlight cobalt-mining issue for electric cars
Electric cars provide a zero-emission driving experience, but one of the most important raw materials for their batteries—cobalt—has a supply chain that needs some work. About half of the world's cobalt supply comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a country with high rates...
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Both Hyundai and Kia planned to approach the electric and plug-in car market aggressively, but now the Korean siblings plan to boost production even over totals announced earlier this year.
This past...
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Porsche will thrive, remain profitable when sports car are electric: CFO
Luxury and sports car maker Porsche isn't concerned with the sweeping changes vehicle electrification will bring. In fact, the brand believes it will maintain its steady profit and 15-percent operating margin into the future, despite the major investments in electric and plug-in cars it plans to...
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Workhorse N-Gen electric parcel van comes with optional drone delivery
Workhorse, best known for its forthcoming W-15 range-extended electric pickup truck, today revealed its newest vehicle. The N-Gen electric van will tackle the important "last-mile" delivery segment, performed by vehicles that deliver parcels over relatively short distances. Not only makers like...
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GM, Nissan push to retain EV credit; tax bill also targets renewables, helps nuclear energy
The United States tax code hasn't seen a major overhaul in decades, and the current Congress—along with the Trump administration—may be learning, or re-learning, why. Numerous opponents have moved swiftly to condemn various aspects of the draft Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (HR1) proposed in...
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EVgo adds mobile app for electric-car charging network access
One way for electric-car charging networks to make the public charging experience more user-friendly is through the use of smartphone apps to replace the RFID cards that identify members and let them initiate charge sessions. Not only do they provide electric-car drivers a host of capabilities, but...
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BMW, Mercedes, Ford, VW, Audi launch Ionity high-power fast charging across Europe
A group of automakers in Europe announced on Friday they will launch "Ionity," a network of high-power fast-charging stations to build out the continent's infrastructure for electric-car travel. When it's finished in 2020, Ionity will include 400 charging stations across multiple countries...
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The huge annual SEMA show for builders and owners of highly customized cars brings out some truly bizarre creations.
Only at SEMA will you see vehicles like the one-of-a-kind PriuSRT8, a Toyota Prius...
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Workhorse CEO: $300 million in preorders for plug-in hybrid pickup trucks
Over seven years of plug-in electric cars and 20 years of hybrids, the pickup truck sector remains largely untouched. GM sold hybrid Chevrolet and GMC pickups for a few years, and Ford plans an F-150 hybrid in 2020. A startup company now called Workhorse (nee AMP) noticed that white space and made...
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NASA looking at geothermal energy from Yellowstone supervolcano
Although claims of imminent volcanic eruption are likely exaggerated, any eruption of what's known as the Yellowstone Supervolcano would cause global chaos. Through intense monitoring programs, scientists have a clear idea of the Yellowstone volcano's behavior. Now NASA scientists are exploring a...
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Tesla Model 3 owners' club video offers new details on electric car
First-hand details about the Tesla Model 3 remain almost as rare as the cars themselves; Tesla has built only a few hundred Model 3 electric cars since its launch in July Now a new video provides an incredibly in-depth look at Tesla's mass-production car, though we suspect it may have been approved...
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Nissan shares what future electric cars should sound like: the 'Canto' theme
Less than two years from now, barring action by the Trump administration, a National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration rule will require hybrid and electric cars to produce an audible noise under 19 mph. Alongside its Nissan IMx self-driving electric SUV concept it launched at the recent...
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Saving gas by lifting the pedal: engine braking vs coasting (video)
The way a driver operates a car can produce very different fuel-economy numbers, and when driving downhill, two notable techniques come into play. The first is leaving the car in gear and using so-called engine braking to provide at least some deceleration. But many believe putting a car in neutral...
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Although electric cars offer numerous benefits in engineering, design, and zero-emission operation, their overall weight remains a hurdle for automakers, especially as bigger batteries with longer...
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Those fuel-efficient diesels? Actually worse on lifetime CO2, study says
Diesel-powered cars have enjoyed a comfortable market share in Europe for decades, but their decline in popularity continues following numerous diesel-emission cheating scandals and regulatory crackdowns. As if diesel cars hadn't already had enough negative press, a new study says "fuel-efficient"...
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Could automotive subscription services boost electric-car use?
As automakers commit to more electric and electrified cars in the near future, many hurdles remain that can make owning an electric car more difficult than a conventional vehicle. Meanwhile, as electrified cars become more common, automakers and brands will also continue to introduce new models for...
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Mercedes parent Daimler launches E-Fuso electric truck sub-brand
Daimler, parent company of Mercedes-Benz and Smart, also owns the Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation—which it used last week to preview major shifts coming to its Daimler Trucks business. It all took place at the reveal of E-Fuso, a new sub-brand of Daimler's Fuso operation that will...
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New entry-level 2018 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid LE model starts at $28,100
Toyota's popular RAV4 crossover utility vehicle will gain a new entry-level hybrid trim for the 2018 model year, offering a remarkably good price against a gasoline-only RAV4 crossover. The 2018 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid LE trim lets buyers choose the greater fuel efficiency of a hybrid powertrain for...
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Energy Dept to award $15 million for very fast electric-car charging
The United States Department of Energy has announced a new funding initiative to accelerate the development of what it calls "Extreme Fast Charging" (XFC) systems. In total, the DoE will award $15 million for the development of electric-car charging systems as well as batteries capable of very fast...
Sean Szymkowski