Here’s how to comment on EPA proposal to loosen emission limits on cars

Chrome exhaust pipeOn August 10, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced it would reopen the Comment Period for the vehicle-emission standards for model years 2022 through 2025 it had finalized in January. The auto industry and its lobbyists had complained that the agency had moved too quickly, despite its issuance last summer of a voluminous Technical...

VW engineer gets 40 months in jail, $200K fine, for diesel cheating role

2015 Volkswagen Golf TDI SEFormer Volkswagen employee James Liang was sentenced in Detroit yesterday to serve 40 months in prison and pay a $200,000 fine for his role in the global Volkswagen diesel-emission cheating scandal. It was a stiffer sentence than expected for an engineer who helped to create software that controlled exhaust emissions only when Volkswagen and...

UK Royal Mail electric vans now entering service

Arrival UK Royal Mail electric postal vanThe United Kingdom's Royal Postal Service has entered a new era as its first electric mail vans enter service. In total, nine electric postal vans from local company Arrival will enter the Royal Post's fleet, along with another 100 electric vans to be added in December from French brand Peugeot. The Arrival electric vans are capable of traveling...

Tesla semi reportedly has 200 to 300 miles of range

2012 Tesla Model STesla's first foray into the commercial vehicle sector—an all-electric semi truck—is expected to debut next month, but specifics surrounding the electric-car maker's latest project have been few and far between. An exclusive report may have revealed Tesla's range figure as it prepares to tackle a segment dominated by diesel-powered...

New LG Michigan plant could boost GM electric-car domestic content

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV pre-production vehicles at Orion Township Assembly Plant, March 2016The question of where consumer goods are made has become more prominent in our political discourse of late, cars among them. Every automobile sold in the U.S. carries a listing of content sources, specifying what percentage by value of its overall content comes from which countries or regions. Electric cars, it turns out, have some anomalies...

2018 Chevrolet Equinox Diesel (very brief) first drive

2018 Chevrolet Equinox Diesel, first drive, Teaneck, NJ, Aug 2017We spent a few days with a gasoline-powered 2018 Chevy Equinox back in May, but now we've driven a much rarer version. The 2018 Chevrolet Equinox Diesel will start to arrive at U.S. Chevy dealers within two weeks, the company says. On Wednesday, as part of a comprehensive presentation on the five diesel engines GM uses globally, we got some "seat...

Energy Dept disappoints US coal industry: no order keeping plants open

The White House, Washington, D.C.  [Creative Commons license by dcjohn]The Trump administration has reneged on one aspect of a promise widely discussed throughout the 2016 presidential campaign: reviving the coal industry. President Donald Trump declared the United States coal industry would thrive under his watch, but the Trump administration and the Energy Department have just delivered a blow to the...

California’s solar energy grid survived the eclipse without incident

Colas Wattway road-mounted solar panelsSolar power provides 10 percent of California's energy supply, which meant electric-grid operators had to be prepared for potentially disastrous effects during Monday's solar eclipse. To the surprise of many, there were no serious repercussions as the moon blocked a significant source of energy for many California utility companies. The solar...

2018 Nissan Leaf teaser: electric car will ‘amaze your senses’

Teaser for 2018 Nissan Leaf debuting on September 6, 2017With the 2018 Nissan Leaf electric car due to be unveiled to the world in Japan on September 6, the company continues to release bits and pieces of teaser information. Yesterday, Nissan issued a video promoting a list of the new model's features. It also provided a photo of the electric hatchback's rear corner, showing a very different taillight...