Audi tells its dealers to get with the (electric-car) program

Audi of America president Scot Keogh with Audi e-tron quattro concept, 2015 Los Angeles auto showAs many electric-car buyers will tell you, franchised auto dealers can pose a large and tedious impediment to actually buying the plug-in car you want. From salespeople with no knowledge of the cars to test vehicles that haven't been recharged and have little battery range left, the hurdles are numerous and frustrating. Now Audi has told its...

Bosch to pay VW diesel owners $330 million in emission scandal too

2015 Volkswagen Golf TDI SEWith a judge set to weigh in on the settlement VW Group negotiated with its 3.0-liter V-6 diesel owners, Volkswagen seems to have settled most of the U.S. legal claims stemming from its diesel-emission cheating scandal. Total costs in the U.S. alone are now more than $20 billion, and among other penalties, VW has pleaded guilty to three felony...

Settlement for Audi, Porsche, VW 3.0-liter diesel TDI owners announced

2014 Audi Q5 TDI, Catskill Mountains, Oct 2013Volkswagen today announced that it had reached a settlement with owners of Audi, Porsche, and VW vehicles fitted with its 3.0-liter V-6 diesel engine. Different remedies apply depending on the vehicle's model year: 2009 through 2012 cars will be bought back, while 2013 through 2016 vehicles will be modified to comply with emission limits. The...

Plug-in electric car sales for Jan: Bolt EV over 1,100 in second month

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, road test, California coastline, Sep 2016While the auto industry at large waited to see if January sales continued as strong as last year's record-breaking total, electric-car fans waited for a different number. That was the number of Chevrolet Bolt EVs sold last month, the car's first full month on sale, albeit in a small number of states. Those states, most prominently California, have...

How important is fast-charging to sell electric cars? Poll results

Chevrolet Spark EV at CCS fast charging station in San Diego.Those unfamiliar with electric cars often don't know that several different types of battery charging exist. Overnight recharging at home can be done either with 120-volt household current or, for longer-range cars, with a 240-volt charging station installed by the car owner. Then there's DC fast charging, which generally provides an 80-percent...

U.S. to pull out of Paris climate-change agreement under Trump

Donald TrumpAs seemed likely from the day Donald Trump was elected president of the United States, the country will pull out of the global Paris Climate Agreement to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. The move had been signaled even before the election by the new president's choice of noted climate-science denier Myron Ebell as head of his EPA transition team...

Starship electric sidewalk-delivery robot a hit at DC Auto Show

Electric sidewalk delivery robot from Starship Technologies at 2017 Washington DC Auto ShowWhat would you do if a small, knee-high box on wheels with a flag topping its tall antenna whirred toward you electrically on a sidewalk at 4 miles per hour? It turns out three-quarters of the pedestrians in several cities who've seen one didn't stop or even stare as it avoided them and continued on its way. That box is an electric sidewalk...