Report: EPA backs off plans to freeze fuel economy rules–slightly

EPA Acting Administrator Andrew WheelerEPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced Thursday that the agency will delay and revise its plan to freeze emissions and fuel-economy rules, which was expected to be released early this month. The proposed rule, the Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient Vehicles Rule, would freeze fuel-economy standards at 2020 levels through 2026 and reverse...

2019 Audi E-tron ads take aim at electric myths

Audi e-tron quattro ad: One reason that electric-car adoption hasn't taken off faster is that, while automakers market the heck out of the benefits of SUVs and crossover vehicles, they launch EVs with nary a peep. Now Audi is on the cusp of launching its first all-electric model and is taking direct aim at many of the concerns that potential buyers have about electric...

Tesla Model 3 updates: Leasing, Autopilot standard, base model limited

Tesla Model 3 bought [Photo by reader AH]Tesla announced major changes to its model lineup Thursday, especially the Model 3, in an effort to shore up sales. After the federal tax credit available on its cars halved Jan. 1, Tesla has dropped prices, added features, streamlined its model lineup, and introduced new lower-priced options for the Model 3, including the long-promised $35,000...

EV batteries give new jolt to old lithium mining in North Carolina

Fisker flexible solid-state battery materialOne of the biggest challenges for building electric-car batteries has been sourcing enough lithium, which is mostly mined overseas. Though the world has no shortage of lithium, mining and processing operations haven't yet met growing demand for lithium batteries for cars and electronics. Now, a new lithium mine is working to get permits to open...

EV tax credit extension gets bipartisan juice in Senate

2018 Tesla Model 3 Long-Range RWDDespite President Trump's efforts to torpedo electric-car tax credits, extending them has become a bipartisan effort in the Senate. In the face of the tax credits winding down first for automakers who've sold hundreds of thousands of electric cars, several Democrats and Republicans proposed a bipartisan bill Wednesday that would extend tax credits...

Karma gets hit with Fisker recall over airbags

2012 Fisker Karma from the Rogers' Classic Car Museum collectionThe Takata air-bag inflator recall is the largest recall in automotive history and it's affected automakers from every corner of market. The latest is Karma, the maker of the Revero, continuation of the former Fisker Karma exotic plug-in hybrid. Last month, the NHTSA released a recall notice announcing that Karma is recalling 472 2012 Fisker...

Pay to pollute: Emissions charges take effect in London

Ubitricity electric-car charging cordOn Monday, drivers of older gas and diesel cars in Britain were hit with new fees if they want to drive those cars into the city center in London. The new emissions charge of 12.5 British pounds ($16.30), follows similar charges on older vehicles in Paris, although it so far applies only to the same 8-square-mile area as London's central...

Fiat Chrysler to pay Tesla hundreds of millions for emissions credits

Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit in EuropeChrysler and Tesla aren't known for having much in common. Tesla builds nothing but pure electric cars, with no tailpipes. Chrysler was the first among American car companies to abandon its car lineup and focus on building big, heavy, thirsty SUVs and pickups. That has put Fiat Chrysler in a bind with emissions regulators around the world, where...

Karma Revero gets more power, BMW 3-cylinder

Redesigned Karma Revero teaserThe Karma Revero is getting a long-needed update later this year, and the company has just revealed a few details. You'll recall that the Revero is the continuation of the original Fisker Karma, which went on sale in 2011. The company and its manufacturing facilities for the Karma were bought out by a Chinese company. Now the company is named...

Ford Explorer Plug-In Hybrid released for Europe

2019 Ford Explorer Plug-In HybridFord made big news with its new Escape Hybrid and plug-in hybrid last Tuesday, but they weren't the only new plug-in SUVs the company announced. In the same announcement in Europe, the company revealed a new plug-in hybrid Explorer that will go on sale there later this year. DON'T MISS: 2020 Ford Explorer Hybrid signals the start of a big...

German prosecutors find collusion between automakers over diesel emissions

Exhaust emissions from tailpipe [photo: Simone Ramella, 2005, used under Creative Commons 2.0]The Mueller report may not show collusion between Russia and President Trump's campaign, but European anti-trust regulators say they have found collusion among German automakers to avoid cleaning up tailpipe emissions. On Friday, anti-trust regulators for the European Union charged BMW, Daimler, and Volkswagen with colluding to block the...

Towing a camper with a Tesla Model X: Thank Elon for Superchargers!

Fred and Jenny Hooper's 2018 Tesla Model X camping with R-Pod trailer in Sanford, FloridaTowing a camper with an electric SUV may be the ultimate test of any fast-charger network. And, for one couple at least, Tesla has passed. “We were like pioneers in a Conestoga wagon,” says Fred Hooper a Pennsylvanian veterinarian, who, with his wife Jenny, just returned from a 7,700 mile, 45-day trip around the southeastern U.S. in a...