Kreisel brothers: Austria’s secret electric-car weapon?

Kreisel Electric Porsche PanameraThere's no shortage of companies trying to replicate the success of Tesla Motors. Startups such as Faraday Future, Lucid Motors, and NextEV have all announced plans to build long-range electric cars aimed pretty much directly at the Silicon Valley automaker's electric cars. But rather than take on Tesla itself, a small Austrian firm plans to equip...

Tesla falls even further as Consumer Reports ranks reliability

2016 Tesla Model XThe Tesla Model S was once the darling of Consumer Reports, garnering high ratings in the magazine's initial tests. But more recently, Consumer Reports has found fault with the initial build quality of the Model X crossover, and criticized Tesla's Autopilot system. That build-quality problems meant Tesla's first appearance as a brand in the...

Hyundai targets VW diesel buyback owners with special prices

2017 Hyundai Sonata Now that a final settlement has been approved by U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer, Volkswagen can begin sending out buyback offers to hundreds of thousands of 2.0-liter TDI diesel owners. The majority of affected owners are expected to take the buybacks, rather than wait for any approved modifications that may allow their cars to comply...

Buybacks coming for Audi Q7 TDI diesel SUVs: German report

2013 Audi Q7 TDI S LineThe Volkswagen diesel settlement approved by a federal judge earlier this week does not address all of the company's cars fitted with illegal "defeat device" software. It covers only VW and Audi TDI models with 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engines, sold in the U.S. from model years 2009 through 2015. It's good news for the 475,000 owners of those...

Atieva now Lucid Motors; plans 300-mile, 900-hp electric car

Teaser for Lucid electric carChinese-backed startup Atieva has changed its name to Lucid Motors, and revealed more details about its planned electric car. From what we know so far, that car will be a fast luxury sedan with a range of around 300 miles, putting it in competition with the Tesla Model S. The company now known as Lucid is one of several startups aiming to repeat...

Faraday Future imperils electric-car factory, misses payment to contractor

At the groundbreaking for Faraday Future's production facility in North Las Vegas (April 13, 2016)The Faraday Future company has said it aims to put its first electric car into production within two years. To achieve that goal, the company is building a new factory in North Las Vegas, Nevada, at a stated cost of $1 billion. Faraday broke ground on the factory in April, although significant work did not begin until July. Now, it may have halted...

Is Infiniti now ready to launch an electric car, after all?

2012 Infiniti LE ConceptNissan's strong commitment to electric cars has not, so far, extended to its Infiniti luxury brand. While the six-year-old Nissan Leaf is the bestselling electric car in history, the company has repeatedly postponed plans for an all-electric Infiniti model. But Infiniti's on-again, off-again electric car may now be back on again. RELATED: Infiniti...

Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell car wins Monte Carlo e-Rally

Toyota Mirai wins 2016 e-Rally Monte CarloThe Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell car can now add a motorsport victory—of sorts—to its resume of accomplishments. A Mirai sedan won the 2016 e-Rally Monte Carlo, a rally exclusively for zero-emission vehicles held earlier this month in Monaco. The winning Mirai was one of three in the event, which required competitors to cover more...

Apple Car always faced insanely great odds, now apparently dead

Liviu Tudoran's For the past couple of years, rumors about a potential Apple Car have garnered as much attention as any new product from an established automaker. Which is impressive, because Apple never confirmed the existence of the car—often called "Project Titan" and thought to be an autonomous vehicle with an all-electric powertrain. Whatever plans...