Tesla Model 3: beta phase to be skipped, will go straight to production?

Tesla Model 3Development of new vehicles, especially if they're on underpinnings that haven't been used in previous models, follows a very predictable schedule. First, a concept car is revealed. Often, it's a thinly disguised version of the future production car with some added design flourishes that won't make it onto the assembly lines. Then spy shots of...

Has GM really ‘already lost’ the electric-car race to Tesla?

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car in Maven car-sharing fleet, Los Angeles [photo: Dan MacMedan foLots of people like horse races, win-or-lose competitions, and rankings. They're easy to understand, and definitive. They may also lose the forest for the trees, which is what we're tempted to suggest about a new article that addresses the launch of the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car. GM's 238-mile battery-electric hatchback is rolling out...

Electric cars only need 100 miles of range, some carmakers say; is it true?

Slide from 2017 Hyundai Ioniq presentation on electric cars at Washington Auto Show, Jan 2017Hyundai first made the argument that energy efficiency in electric cars is just as important as their range, as part of its launch of the Ioniq Electric hatchback, EPA-rated at 124 miles. Now Honda is making that argument as well, based on a news report it confirmed saying that the Clarity EV electric mid-size sedan will have a battery range of...

Porsche Mission E electric car to cost less than Panamera sedan

Porsche Mission E concept electric carPorsche's most ardent fans no longer complain about the expansion of the German sports-car maker's lineup into sedans and, even worse, sport-utility vehicles. The large Panamera sedan and the Cayenne and Macan SUVs are not only some of Porsche's more popular models, but fund its development of the fabled 911 rear-engine sport coupe and the Boxster...

Chevy Bolt EV tested by Tesla Model S owner: his assessment

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, road test, California coastline, Sep 2016Fleeing my home in New York’s Hudson Valley for California during February and March has a number of charms. Currently at the top of the list: reading about Winter Storm Stella while watching the surfers at Rincon Beach. For electric-car nuts like me, however, there’s another California perk that’s not far behind: the wide...

After Audi e-tron, next electric car to be compact BMW i3 competitor

2016 Audi A3 e-Tron Sportback, San Francisco Bay Area, Oct 2015Next year, the Audi e-tron luxury electric crossover is expected to arrive at U.S. dealers, bringing Audi into direct competition with the Tesla Model X roughly three years after the world's first all-electric utility vehicle went into production. But with a pledge to sell 25 percent of its cars with plug-in electric capabilities by 2025, VW...

Which luxury brand will do best in electric cars? Poll results

Rendering of BMW i5 electric crossover utility vehicle, from patent drawings [Indian Autos Blog]Within the next two years we will see new all-electric luxury cars from Audi, BMW, Jaguar, and Mercedes-Benz appear in actual showrooms. All four of those makes have shown concepts for their pricey, 200-mile-plus electric cars, and most of them are expected to go on sale in the second half of next year as 2019 models. But which make is likely to...

Volvo plans a long-range electric car for 2019, details to come

2018 Volvo XC60The electric car that Volvo has long planned for 2019 could join a growing group of long-range, mass-market models like the Chevrolet Bolt EV, the upcoming Tesla Model 3, and the second-generation Nissan Leaf. The Swedish automaker has concentrated on plug-in hybrids for the most part thus far, but plans to launch a production electric car within...

Why I canceled my Chevy Bolt EV electric-car order: a reader explains

Doug Kerr, daughter Andie Kerr, fiancee Barbara Gleason; Fiat 500e, Ford Focus Electric, Fiat 500eThe advent of affordable 200-mile electric cars promises to increase public acceptance of cars with plugs—or at least that's the hope of both carmakers and advocates. The first of those, the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, is now entering the market, state by state, to great acclaim. But not every electric-car fan is sold on the Bolt EV's...