Electric upstart Rivian plans for dealers, but not to sell trucks

Rivian R1T electric pickup conceptElectric cars worry traditional car dealerships. Tesla sells cars nationwide without dealers—even if buyers have to drive over state lines to get them in some cases. Electric cars eat into one of dealerships' main profit centers, service, because they don't need oil changes, spark plugs, or even air filters. And traditional dealerships have...

Report: Global CO2 emissions at record levels in 2018

Smokestacks [CREDIT: Global Climate Budget 2018]Blame China—and India. Global carbon emissions are on the rise, and hit record levels in 2018, after remaining flat in 2016 and experiencing a small gain last year, a new report shows. The report by the Global Carbon Project came out just as world leaders gathered in Poland to discuss the next steps for reducing carbon emissions under the...

Toyota Prius AWD-e: Going light on the rear motor helps it hit 50 mpg

2019 Toyota PriusThe all-wheel drive version of the Toyota Prius introduced last week at the LA Auto Show earns an astoundingly good EPA fuel economy rating of 50 mpg combined—nearly as good as the 52 mpg earned by much of the Prius lineup (LE, XLE and Limited). But the system isn’t nearly as capable as the one you might encounter in Toyota’s...

VW’s last engines, Toyota batteries, Ford names: Today’s Car News

Left to right: Volkswagen ID, ID Buzz and ID Crozz conceptsVW announced that it is now designing the last combustion engines it will sell. Ford trademarks two possible names that could go on its upcoming electric SUV. Toyota explains why it still uses nickel-metal hydride batteries. And a Chinese battery company says it will pass the magic $100-per-kilowatt-hour threshold as soon as 2020. All this and...

Trademark filings show Ford may call electric SUV the “Mach E”

2020 Ford electric SUV teaserFans of the Ford Mustang didn't take it well earlier this year when Ford suggested it might call its upcoming 300-mile electric SUV the Mach 1. Now new trademark filings discovered by The Drive show a new possibility for the name: the "Mach E" or the "Mach-E." Ford filed trademark applications for both names on Nov. 26, the report notes, for use...

VW says it is now developing its last generation of gas, diesel engines

VW MEB platformOur readers speculate a lot on this site about how long it will be until gas and diesel engines fade out, and the transition to electric cars is complete. Volkswagen may just have given an answer to that question in a conference at the automaker's headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany, on Tuesday. The brand's strategy chief, Michael Jost, said the...