Go Forth Electric Vehicle Showcase in Portland: lessons learned

Chevrolet Bolt EV being charged outside Go Forth electric-car showroom, Portland   [photo: Forth]One of the challenges in getting car shoppers to consider plug-in electric vehicles is the education required. Tesla attacked this problem head on, opening its stores in malls and other sites where potential future buyers could dip their toes in and start to learn about electric cars without being pressured to sign on the line. But at all other...

2019 Mazda 3 to feature world-first HCCI engine for efficiency: report

2017 Mazda MAZDA3It's a technology that's been a sort of Holy Grail in the auto industry for at least a couple of decades. Now Mazda, one of the smallest global automakers, plans to introduce it in a radical new engine to be used in a future Mazda vehicle in 2019. It's called homogeneous charge compression ignition, or HCCI: in essence it lets a gasoline engine...

Tesla Model 3 electric car: what’s your take? Poll results

2017 Tesla Model 3 With the Tesla Model 3 electric car now in early production and an aggressive ramp rate targeted, it's getting lots of media attention. Part of that is due to the allure of the Tesla brand and fascinating with company CEO Elon Musk. Some more may be due to the widespread misapprehension that the Model 3 is the first long-range electric car for...

Hawaii to get hydrogen fueling station; Toyota Mirai leases to follow

2016 Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell car, Newport Beach, CA, Nov 2014Tropical islands are some of the best places on earth to pioneer carbon-free energy and zero-emission vehicles. Within the United States, the eight islands of Hawaii are blessed with a temperate climate, abundant sunshine, few high-speed highways, and a statewide speed limit of 60 mph, achievable only on a few roads. This has led to a push for...