Best deals on green cars for October 2018

2019 Chevrolet VoltOne of the best ways to get people to buy green cars is the same way automakers get consumers to buy any car—by making deals. Looking at October sales, among plug in cars other than Teslas, the bestsellers were those that offer the best deals from month to month. This month, many of the same models offer the best deals. The list is compiled...

Israel plans to end internal combustion car sales by 2030

Better Place new car parking lot, showing multiple new Renault Fluence ZE electric cars, IsraelAdd Israel to the list of countries planning to ban sales of cars that run on gasoline and diesel fuel. The Jewish state, however, has put internal combustion engines on a shorter leash than most other countries that have announced such plans. By 2030, the Israeli Energy Ministry announced on Tuesday, cars and trucks that run on gasoline or diesel...

Does Faraday have a Future? Latest financing disrupted—again

Faraday Future completes first pre-production FF91 on August 28, 2018Faraday's Future has hit another snag, in a dispute with the company's latest investors. The development of the luxury electric Faraday Future FF91, has been a roller-coaster ride of winning financing, running into disputes, delaying the car, and finding new investors. DON'T MISS: Faraday Future gets a $2 billion lifeline to build expensive...

Mercedes-Benz plans to expand lineup of more capable plug-in hybrids

2019 Mercedes-Benz S560eMercedes-Benz announced plans Wednesday improve the range and capability of its plug-in hybrids and to bring the flexible powertrain to more models. It also introduced a new brand name to designate its plug-in hybrid models: EQ Power. The EQ Power designation will appear alongside the company's new EQ line of all-electric cars in Mercedes...

Bollinger Motors announces B2 electric pickup alongside SUV

Bollinger B2Bollinger Motors has already generated a lot of interest in its B1 electric SUV. And on Wednesday it released images and some details of its long awaited second model, a pickup. The American startup electric truckmaker is one of several to announce an electric pickup. Tesla has said it is developing a pickup; the company asked its fans to submit...

Mercedes breaks ground on U.S. battery factory

2020 Mercedes-Benz EQCMercedes-Benz has broken ground on a new battery factory in the U.S.—right next door to its SUV factory in Alabama. The move is an indication that the company plans to build its upcoming all-electric EQC electric SUV in Alabama. The EQC is expected to go on sale in the U.S. as a 2021 model. Mercedes exports many of the SUVs it produces in...

Tesla again claims higher safety rating than NTHSA gives

Tesla Model 3 NHTSA testTesla took a page out of its Model S playbook over the weekend and announced that its Model 3 is the safest car that NHTSA has tested. Only Tesla isn't NHTSA. In a blog post Sunday night, Tesla said it based its findings on NHTSA data, just as it did with the Model S in 2013. "The agency’s data shows that vehicle occupants are less likely to...

How fast is fast enough for fast charging? Twitter poll results

EVgo charging station in Union City, California with resused BMW i3 battery backupIn an effort to make electric-car charging as ubiquitous and easy as filling up with gas, fast chargers are coming to malls, gas stations, rest areas and more, and these upcoming chargers are getting a lot faster. Where original fast chargers could replenish less than 65 miles in a half-hour charging session, some new chargers today can do up to...

Nothing comes close to Tesla: 2018 Q3 plug-in sales

Chevrolet Bolt EV being charged outside Go Forth electric-car showroom, Portland   [photo: Forth]Even with solid increases, other electric-car sales paled in comparison with numbers from Tesla in September and for the third quarter of 2018. The next highest sellers, were the Chevrolet Bolt EV, with 3,949 sales from July to September, and the Nissan Leaf just behind with 3,767 for the quarter. By comparison, Tesla announced it sold 55,843...

FCA announces production Jeep Renegade plug-in hybrid in Italy

2019 Jeep RenegadeJeep said Monday that it laid the groundwork to begin production of a plug-in hybrid version of its small Renegade at the factory in southern Italy where it's produced alongside the Fiat 500X. The model is expected to go on sale in early 2020, though it's not clear whether it is intended for the U.S. Jeep did not immediately respond for comment on...

Catastrophic climate effects could hit by 2040, UN report says

Tesla Model S 'swimming' through flooded underpass, June 2016  [YouTube video by Sanzhar Altayev]Two decades. That's all the time world leaders have to reverse emissions of greenhouse gases to avoid inundating coastal cities, killing off coral reefs and their attendant marine wildlife, and potential food shortages, according to a new UN report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The report was the first commissioned by world...

Electric cars may end the automatic era this Olds began

1938 Oldsmobile Convertible Coupe with Autoamatic Safeaty Transmission [CREDIT: Hemmings Motor News]With only the possible exception of the electric starter, nothing has done more to expand the adoption of personal cars than the automatic transmission, as reflected by one of the first cars so-equipped, being sold this week in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The 1938 Oldsmobile L-38 convertible coupe used the first transmission to select gears...

Report: Volvo’s parent company in talks with Toyota over hybrid systems

2019 Volvo XC40Toyota revealed on Thursday that it is in talks with Chinese automaker Geely, which owns Volvo, about cooperation on hybrid vehicle technology, Reuters reported. As the company that has sold by far the most hybrids worldwide, the discussions could involve selling Toyota hybrid technology in Geely cars in China. Any agreement, however, could also...

Consumer Reports ranks Tesla Autopilot second among self-driving systems

Consumer Reports tests Tesla Model 3 braking [CREDIT: Consumer Reports]In the latest ranking of automaker self-driving systems, Tesla's popular Autopilot system ranked second to Cadillac's Super Cruise system. The ratings come from Consumer Reports, which tested the cars on its test track and on local highways, in both lead and following positions. The organization rated the systems on their capability and ease of...

New electric-car ads to hit the other half of California drivers

Chevrolet Bolt charging at Electrify America 350 kw charger at Home Depot in Chicopee, Mass.One problem with electric cars is that they may be invisible. Despite proliferating charging stations, multiplying car models, and extended range for many new electric cars, fewer than half of California drivers are even aware they exist, says Mary Nichols, head of the California Air Resources Board. For electric-car advocates and automakers, it's...