2020 Karma Revero GT breaks cover–with smaller mustache

2020 Karma Revero GTThe 2020 Karma Revero GT will trim back its signature handlebar mustache for a bushier walrus variety. And when it goes on sale late this summer, buyers will be able to order it at a new $100 million custom design center adjacent to the Karma factory in Moreno Valley, California. "Our [Karma Innovation and Customization Center] will offer every...

Want to charge up? EVgo builds chargers at Chevron gas stations

Chevrolet Bolt EV charging at EVgo fast chargers at Chevron station, Menlo Park, CaliforniaIf electric cars need more public places to charge, maybe they could just go to gas stations. That seems to be the approach behind the latest installations of EVgo stations in California. CHECK OUT: Gas stations OK, electric-car chargers too ugly? The company, which bills itself as the largest operator of DC fast charging stations in the U.S...

Electric-car startup Piëch sketches out future models, including SUV

Piech Mark Zero conceptSwiss startup Piëch wants to be more than a pretty face. The company showed a sleek new electric concept coupe at the Geneva auto show in March called the Mark Zero, which it plans to put into production in 2022, and recently released sketches of two models expected to follow the Mark Zero: a four-seat GT coupe, and a five-passenger SUV. As...

Rivian builds R1T Overland as cookout camping special

Rivian R1T Overlanding conceptRivian hasn't even launched any vehicles, and it's already building special editions and devising expensive accessories for its R1T electric pickup. The latest is a camping special, not sized for a giant slide-in camper, but outfitted with a bed-top tent and an integrated slide-out kitchen for camping or tailgating cookouts. MUST READ: Rivian R1T...

Report: Apple once attempted to buy Tesla

Tesla Model S Autopilot testing with IIHS [CREDIT: IIHS]Tesla has long been called the Apple of automakers for its alternative approach, its rampant fan base, and its Silicon Valley roots. But the interest could go deeper. Financial analyst Craig Irwin of Roth Capital Partners revealed Tuesday that Apple tried to buy Tesla in 2013, but was rebuffed. He said that the tech company bid $240 a share for...

“How should EV owners pay for road maintenance?” Twitter poll results

Canadian reader K's new Tesla Model 3Last week, after several states proposed new registration fees on electric cars, ostensibly to pay for road maintenance, we wondered what our readers thought would work best. We have nothing against electric-car drivers paying their fair share for road maintenance, but some state proposals seemed to go beyond mere fairness to actively discouraging...

2020 Audi Q5 plug-in hybrid arrives in Europe

2020 Audi Q5 55 TFSI eAudi released the 2020 Q5 55 TFSI e quattro—the first of its new range of plug-in hybrids—in Europe on Tuesday, with some impressive specs. The company says the crossover will have 25.9 miles (40 kilometers) of electric range on Europe's new WLTP driving cycle from its 14.1 kilowatt-hour battery, located under the floor. Using the...

Report: EPA model will count fewer deaths to help favor coal plants

Smog over Los Angeles, courtesy Flickr user steven-bussThe EPA is following through on plans to reduce the number of deaths it counts as attributable to air pollution, reportedly in an effort to support the Trump Administration's plans to shore up the coal industry. The plans were first discussed at a meeting of a key EPA air-quality standards board in the end of March. Now a report in the New York...

“What kinds of EV incentives are most effective?” Take our Twitter poll

Carpool lanes I-5, Seattle, Washington [Credit: SounderBruce-Wikimedia Commons]On Monday, we took a look at how electric cars have become the new norm in Norway. There, they've moved beyond early adopters and die-hards to the early mass market. In Norway, 31.2 percent of new-car buyers chose an electric car. It's like this not just because of new incentives for electric-car buyers, including as exemptions from sales...

Seawater could bring breakthrough for hydrogen cars

2015 Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell, 2016 Toyota Mirai at hydrogen fueling station, Fountain Valley, CAThe biggest problem for hydrogen fuel-cell cars has been where to get a plentiful, affordable supply of hydrogen that doesn't contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Now scientists may have come up with what some have called the holy grail of clean transportation: a way to create hydrogen affordably from seawater. READ THIS: 2019 Hyundai Nexo...

GM builds new electric architecture for EVs, self-driving cars

General Motors next-generation electrical platformAs future cars go electric, self-driving, and more connected with the outside world, they're going to faster connectivity inside the vehicle. To that end, General Motors just introduced a new electronic platform for its vehicles that it says can carry 4.5 terabytes of processing power per hour, five times what the current system can carry. It will...

Big investment not enough for long term at Tesla, Musk says: report

2017 Tesla Model 3, in photo tweeted by Elon Musk on July 9, 2017Tesla may have only enough money to survive another 10 months, CEO Elon Musk told employees in an email on Thursday. The email was first reported by Reuters, which was shown a copy. In response, Musk told employees he will review "all expenses of any kind anywhere in the word, including parts, salary, travel expenses, rent, literally every payment...

Renewable energy growth falters as carbon dioxide hits record levels

Offshore wind farmThe past couple of weeks have seen the convergence of two troubling trends. Perhaps most troubling, the Scripps Institute of Oceanography released data last week from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that concentrations of carbon in the atmosphere have reached record levels unseen not just in human history, but in the scientific...

Volkswagen says EV batteries to last “the life of the car”

Volkswagen ID Buzz ConceptIn an announcement last month, Volkswagen joined Nissan and Tesla as the only automakers to explicitly warranty not just the batteries in its cars but specifically how much life it expects them to retain. Frank Blome, the head of VW's Center of Excellence in Battery Cells, said in an outward facing internal marketing interview that the company...

Mercedes-Benz lays out plan for carbon-neutral future

2020 Mercedes-Benz EQC Edition 1886Mercedes-Benz's CEO-apparent Ola Källenius laid out a plan Monday, just after the Norway launch of its EQC electric SUV, that outlines the development of an entire "carbon-neutral" passenger-car fleet. Källenius, currently the head of product development at Mercedes, has been named future Chairman of the Board of management of Daimler...

Volvo announces battery suppliers for upcoming EV lineup, including Polestar

Polestar 2Volvo, one of the first automakers to announce it would add electric power to its whole lineup, on Wednesday took the unusual step of formally announcing who will supply the batteries for all those electric cars. The company stated that it will source $1 billion worth of lithium-ion batteries from two suppliers, LG Chem and Contemporary Amex...