VW Electrify America plan for electric-car charging across U.S. released

BMW i3 and Volkswagen e-Golf electric cars using Combined Charging System (CCS) DC fast chargingTwo billion dollars is a lot of money. When VW Group of America agreed to fund a $2 billion project to spread zero-emission vehicle infrastructure across the U.S. as part of its settlements in the Volkswagen diesel emission scandal, that immediately changed the playing field for electric-car fast charging. Now the first of four phases of the...

What’s the best Porsche Panamera? It’s a plug-in hybrid now

2018 Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid, 2017 Geneva auto showThe top 2018 Porsche Panamera that money can buy now comes with a plug. That’s according to Porsche Cars North America’s Chief Operating Officer Joe Lawrence, who said as much to Green Car Reports last week during the 2017 New York auto show. “I think what we have with the (2018 Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid) is a...

Trump DoE to critique renewables against coal for grid reliability

wind farmIt is widely accepted in the energy industry that U.S. coal production will fall as a percentage of the total electric grid mix. That has little to do with its high carbon footprint per kilowatt-hour generated; it is largely due to far greater supplies of much cheaper fracked natural gas. It is also widely accepted that renewable energy sources...

Tesla Model S pricing, feature changes: breaking them down in detail

2017 Tesla Model SAs its owners know, although much of the car-buying world doesn't, Tesla doesn't believe in the idea of model years. Rather than updating its electric cars each autumn, to correspond to a new model year, it simply changes them when it feels the updates are ready. This can lead to some confusion over the features and capabilities of a give car...

Brand-new 2015 Volkswagen TDI diesels back on sale after modifications

2015 Volkswagen Jetta TDI, 2014 New York Auto ShowIf you're a diehard diesel fan, you now have one last chance to buy a brand-new Volkswagen TDI diesel car. Well, almost brand-new, anyhow: the cars in question are 2015 models, and about 11,000 of them will go on sale after they have been modified. Once they're sold, there will likely be no more new Volkswagen diesels sold in the...

2017 Cadillac CT6 plug-in hybrid sedan reviewed by LA Times

2017 Cadillac CT6 Plug-In HybridWhile the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid and the Chevy Malibu Hybrid rack up four-figure sales in most months, the third vehicle to use elements of that same drivetrain remains all but invisible in the U.S. That's the 2017 Cadillac CT6 Plug-In Hybrid, a version of the CT6 large luxury sedan from GM's luxury brand. The plug-in CT6 is the sole...

Europe diesel sales sag slightly, continuing trend since 2012

Volkswagen TDI diesel vehicles owned by Phil Grate and family, Seattle, WashingtonDespite efforts by Chevrolet to step into the void left by Volkswagen, sales of diesel passenger vehicles in the U.S. may have been permanently crippled by the VW diesel emission scandal. In Europe, however, diesel has been entrenched for decades as roughly 50 percent of the market. Even before the scandal, it wasn't expected to rise much beyond...

All-electric Audi e-tron Sportback concept teased for Shanghai auto show

Teaser for Audi e-tron Sportback concept debuting at 2017 Shanghai auto showThe Shanghai auto show is shaping up to be a showcase for all the green cars and concepts that were absent from last week's New York auto show. Among them is a concept for a "four-door coupe" version of the Audi e-tron all-electric SUV that'll go into production sometime next year. The Audi e-Tron Sportback Concept doesn't necessarily preview a...

Electric jet startup is backed by Boeing and JetBlue

Zunum range-extended electric regional jet - concept designSeattle-based startup Zunum Aero has received funding from Boeing HorizonX and JetBlue Technology Ventures toward making its dream of electrified air travel a reality. Sometimes billed as the Tesla of the airplane industry, Zunum is developing a relatively small regional aircraft with about 700 miles of range. A 1,000-mile range will be attainable...

What U.S. cities have the most solar power? New report lays it out

Photovoltaic solar power field at Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, TennesseeCities across the U.S. are working to limit their emissions of climate-change gases turning to solar power, among other tactics. In 2016, programs focused on bringing the benefits of photovoltaic solar power to business and residents helped to expand that capacity with record-breaking growth. Advances in solar technology, improved costs, and...

Luxury electric Lucid Air sedan hits 217 mph in stability test

Lucid AirOnly a handful of people have ridden in one outside the company, but development of the Lucid Air luxury electric sedan seems to be proceeding apace. The company said yesterday at the New York auto show that a development prototype had reached an electronically limited top speed of 350 km/h (217 mph) in testing last month. Lucid Motors, formerly...

Automakers seek deal to delay EPA’s 2022-2025 emission rules

Chrome exhaust pipeDespite some alarmist reporting, President Donald Trump hasn't abolished the EPA's vehicle emission limits. Nor has he wiped out corporate average fuel-economy rules, set by the NHTSA. So far, he's done two things: signed an executive order reopening the comment period for 2022-2025 EPA emission limits, and proposed a budget that would slash EPA...

Electric-car charging networks spin out, merge, and go global

Fast-charging 2015 Nissan Leaf at evGo station in Auburn, MA   [photo: John Briggs]Much like the cell-phone network industry in the mid-1990s, the electric-car charging industry is on a fast pace of network expansions and mergers. EV charging companies are on the verge of rapid global growth as utility companies and large multinational corporations put up big money, according to a report from Navigant Research Blog. For...

Toyota Prius One: stripped-down hybrid added at lower price

2017 Toyota PriusIt hasn't been the greatest of years for the Toyota Prius hybrid, the Japanese carmaker's flagship product. The fourth generation hybrid hatchback debuted as a 2016 model into the teeth of continued low gasoline prices, and its radical design language apparently turned off at least some potential buyers. Now Toyota is taking steps to make the...

Tesla trucks: semi to be shown in Sept, pickup in 18-24 months

2012 Tesla Model S beta vehicle, Fremont, CA, October 2011Relative few companies regularly make major announcements via their CEO's Twitter account, but electric-car maker Tesla is different. From software updates to dates for new product lines, tweets from Tesla's CEO Elon Musk routinely make news. And so it was this week, when Musk announced the months in which the company plans to reveal designs for...