When can I buy a Chevy Bolt EV electric car? See state-by-state schedule

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, road test, California coastline, Sep 2016Last month, the first Chevrolet Bolt EV electric cars were sold in California's Silicon Valley. Electric-car advocates and buyers across the U.S. now want to know when they too can expect to take delivery of their 238-mile electric hatchbacks. And as numerous comments and e-mails from readers attest, some Chevy dealers don't seem to have a clue...

Toyota Prius Prime buyers misled by dealers; more education needed

2017 Toyota Prius Prime PremiumThe Toyota Prius Prime is a far better car than its plug-in hybrid predecessor, and it seems likely to become one of the higher-volume plug-in electric cars on the U.S. market. If, that is, Toyota's own dealers prove willing to sell it—or even find out that it exists. After three separate complaints by readers in different areas of the U.S...

Tesla can no longer sell cars in Missouri stores; dealer lobby lauds victory

Tesla Store opening in Westfield Mall, London, Oct 2013Just as the new year began, Tesla was dealt a fresh setback in its campaign to make its electric cars directly available to customers throughout the U.S. Tesla's license to sell cars through its Missouri showrooms expired Saturday, following a circuit-court judge's decision that prevented renewal. In an August court case, Cole County Circuit Court...

Michigan says Tesla sales ban not unconstitutional, responding to lawsuit

Michigan state capitol, Lansing (photo by Brian Charles Watson)Tesla Motors continues to fight for the ability to sell its electric cars directly to customers in Michigan, home of the rest of the U.S. auto industry. The Silicon Vallery automaker has been banned from doing so for about two years, thanks to subtle changes made to the state's franchise laws to prevent direct sales. Having failed to overturn the...

This Boston dealer is excited about the electric-car future

2016 BMW i3A major challenge for electric-car advocates is finding enthusiastic dealers who are willing to put in the effort to explain and promote them. Given the need to educate different staff on a new type of vehicle, explain the associated incentives, and respond to numerous customer questions, electric cars require dealers to invest more time than...

Tesla a ‘predator,’ dealer lobby howls; second VA store OKed anyway

Tesla Store opening in Westfield Mall, London, Oct 2013The Virginia department of motor vehicles ruled yesterday that Tesla is eligible to open a second retail store in Virginia, in the state capitol of Richmond. Virginia franchise laws prevent automakers from operating their own dealerships, but the state's Department of Motor Vehicles can grant special dispensation to companies that have no...

Chevy Bolt EV allocations: dealer in California gets electric-car update

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, road test, California coastline, Sep 2016As its new electric car gets closer to public sale, General Motors has apparently made its first allocations of 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EVs to Chevy dealers. The news comes via a posting on the GM-Volt forum from a southern California dealership. Rick Alpern, the general manager of Keyes Chevrolet in Van Nuys, California, wrote that the dealer had...

Tesla sues Michigan over ban on direct sales of its electric cars

Tesla Store Los Angeles [photo: Misha Bruk / MBH Architects]Earlier this month, an application for a dealer license submitted by Tesla Motors was denied by the state of Michigan. It was the final decision in a process that kicked off in October 2014. That was when a last-minute wording change in state franchise law foreclosed the electric-car maker's ability to sell cars directly to buyers, its business...