Honda CR-V Hybrid displayed in Frankfurt; US likely next, but when?

Honda CR-V Hybrid prototype, 2017 Frankfurt auto showFive months ago, Honda showed a hybrid version of its CR-V compact crossover utility vehicle at the Shanghai auto show. Now, a European version of the Honda CR-V Hybrid is being shown at this week's Frankfurt auto show. Having teased it twice around the world, will the hybrid crossover come to North America too? DON'T MISS: 2018 (?) Honda CR-V...

2017 Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid: review of plug-in hybrid SUV

2017 Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid, Catskill Mountains, NY, Aug 2017The Porsche Cayenne is the second best-selling vehicle in the German sports-car maker's North American lineup, as SUV sales swamp those of passenger cars at luxury brands. A considerable number of the pricey SUV models sold here have been the Cayenne S E-Hybrid plug-in hybrid variant: 1,316 out of 8,802 through August, for example. We put 300...

2017 Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid: review of plug-in hybrid SUV

2017 Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid, Catskill Mountains, NY, Aug 2017The Porsche Cayenne is the second best-selling vehicle in the German sports-car maker's North American lineup, as SUV sales swamp those of passenger cars at luxury brands. A considerable number of the pricey SUV models sold here have been the Cayenne S E-Hybrid plug-in hybrid variant: 1,316 out of 8,802 through August, for example. We put 300...

CEO Barra attacks China gas-car ban, suggests buyers should decide

One of 130 second-generation self-driving Chevrolet Bolt EV electric cars, with GM CEO Mary BarraGeneral Motors CEO Mary Barra met with reporters in Shanghai on Friday, discussing the company's vision of the future: "a world with zero crashes, zero emissions, and zero congestion." The company doesn't think, however, that China should be quite so hasty in pushing to ban cars that actually do have tailpipe emissions, however. Barra argued...

2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid sales have resumed after recall

2018 Chrysler PacificaThe Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid is the sole plug-in hybrid minivan for sale anywhere in North America, but it hasn't had a particularly smooth rollout. Its seven seats and 33 miles of EPA-rated electric range make it appealing to families who want a plug-in vehicle with more than five seats and more than 20 miles of range. But while sales began in...

Nissan, Mitsubishi, Renault to launch 12 new electric cars by 2022

2018 Nissan LeafSome car companies release their business plans and goals publicly, others don't. This morning, the Renault Nissan Alliance (now including Mitsubishi as well) released a new six-year plan laying out its business goal through 2022. Among the most significant: The group said it will launch 12 separate battery-electric vehicles globally by 2022...

Toyota Prius owners: Hyundai will give you $1,000 to buy an Ioniq Hybrid

2017 Hyundai Ioniq HybridThe Toyota Prius is undoubtedly the world's best-known hybrid car, and it's now been in production over four generations for more than 20 years. There have been more than 6 million Priuses built so far, and the U.S. represents the car's largest single market. That means lots of current Prius drivers exist on U.S. roads. DON'T MISS: 2017 Hyundai...

2020 Mazda electric car to share Toyota underpinnings, technology

2017 Mazda Mazda3 4-Door Sport Auto GrilleMazda is a tiny carmaker on a global scale, producing just 1.6 million vehicles a year. It competes with four companies (GM, Nissan-Renault, Toyota, and VW Group) that each sell around 10 million a year, as well as numerous other smaller makers still larger than Mazda. In a world where reducing the carbon emissions from road vehicles is...

India actually beat China to all-electric new-car pledge, targets 2030

Mahindra e2o electric carChina made headlines around the world on Sunday when state media reported that the country is developing a timetable to end production and sales of new vehicles with gasoline engines. While Norway, The Netherlands, France, and the U.K. have adopted various timetables for various versions of such a ban, China is both the world's most populous...

Fatal Tesla Autopilot crash: ‘system safeguards lacking,’ says NTSB

Tesla Enhanced AutopilotThe Florida crash that killed the driver of a Tesla Model S while that car was operating under Autopilot software reverberated far and wide in global media. While human drivers are imperfect, with reaction times limited by millions of years of evolution, they at least provide a focus for blame if they crash their cars. So the results of a National...

Honda Urban EV Concept to go on sale in 2019, but not for North America

Honda Urban EV ConceptIf there were a favorite car among journalists and car fans at this week's Frankfurt motor show, it may have been a small, all-electric hatchback city car. Which is pretty remarkable, given the practical, unexciting, utilitarian, slightly nerdy image every non-Tesla electric car seems to carry among that group even today. The car in question is...

What will happen to US fuel-economy rules to 2025? Take our Twitter poll

Gas pumpEven the automaker lobbying group didn't go this far in their complaints about emission and fuel-economy rules for vehicles in the 2022 through 2025 model years. When the Obama Administration approved final EPA emission rules for those years, the automakers complained that the comment period had been cut short. They didn't seriously suggest that...