Oil refiners express skepticism, worry over electric cars

ExxonMobil oil refinery, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, by WClarke [CC BY-SA 4.0]A recent survey by the World Refining Association shows some oil industry executives are becoming concerned about how the proliferation of electric cars may affect their business. A core of respondents, however, seem unconvinced that electric cars are a threat. In the survey published late last month, 61.1 percent of professionals in the oil...

2018 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV gas mileage review: practical and efficient

2018 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEVThe Mitsubishi Outlander plug-in hybrid is something of a missing link in the market for plug-in cars. There are finally plenty of choices for those who want to dispense with gas entirely and buy a small hatchback. Several electric SUVs are coming, but the only one that really lives up to the automotive ideal of driving anywhere you want at a...

How many miles are enough for a plug-in hybrid? Readers respond

2017 Toyota Prius Prime and 2017 Chevrolet Volt with Green Car Reports editor John VoelckerGreen Car Reports readers and Twitter followers are clearly fired up when it comes to plug-in hybrids. When we asked in last week's Twitter poll how many miles are enough for a plug-in hybrid, we got two to three times our usual responses. We asked the question because plug-in hybrids come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and capabilities. The main...

Oil analysts predict peak consumption in 2036

Natural gas flaring from oil well [licensed under Creative Commons from Flickr user Sirdle]Most people buy electric cars to reduce oil consumption, but oil companies keep selling more oil every year. Now, a new study by oil industry consultancy Wood Mackenzie predicts that the demand for oil will start to decline as early as 2036, when autonomous cars become more popular. That forecast comes much earlier than many big oil companies...

VW plans to build electric ID Crozz and ID Buzz in America

Volkswagen ID Buzz and ID Crozz concept, 2017 Los Angeles auto showVolkswagen plans to build two of its upcoming electric cars in the United States. VW's North American CEO, Hinrich Woebcken, told British magazine Autocar that the models will be built in the United States and sold domestically. Presumably this means the ID Crozz electric crossover SUV and the ID Buzz, the long-awaited successor to the VW...

Volvo confirms Polestar 2 electric “sedan”

Volvo 40.2 conceptA Volvo executive has revealed a few details of the Polestar 2, an electric sedan that will follow next year's Polestar 1 performance coupe. The Polestar 2 will be a sedan and is expected to debut sometime in 2019, according to an interview that British publication Autocar conducted with Polestar COO Jonathan Goodman last week in at the Goodwood...

What type of electric car racing interests you? Take our Twitter poll

2018 Formula-E race finish, Brooklyn, NYElectric cars are showing up at races from mountaintops to drag strips to New York harbor. The cars are quiet—and fast. Yet the series don't seem to have taken race fans by storm. READ THIS: Volkswagen's ID R Pikes Peak race car shows why you should care about electric car racing Two challenges stand out as reasons that electric racing...

Solar investment falls in midst of erupting trade war

Tesla and SolarCity solar farm on Ta'u, American SamoaElectric cars and solar power fit together like a hand in a glove. Charging with solar power, electric cars can drive using almost no non-renewable energy. Now according to a report in Bloomberg New Energy Finance last week, solar investment has dropped by 19 percent worldwide in the second quarter following a trade war between China and the U.S...