Tesla vs Uber, Toyota electric cars, Ioniqs compared: Today’s Car News

Nio EP9Today, an electric car smashes a lap record, Toyota's CEO worries about passion, the EPA gets feedback on eliminating pollution regulations, and Tesla turns down Uber. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Toyota's CEO and namesake, Akio Toyoda, worries that electric cars will lack excitement, not to mention costing the company a lot to develop...

EPA gets 29,000 comments on proposed elimination of environmental rules

Smog obscures George Washington Bridge, 1973 [From EPA Documerica series]Much of the news out of Washington, D.C., these days has to do with the possibility of political scandal. But the wheels of government keep turning, and significant changes are happening at numerous agencies charged with missions as diverse as collecting intelligence, supporting education, and protecting the environment. Few groups are seeing...

Musk fires head of automation firm key to Tesla Model 3 factory

Elon Musk plugs a Tesla Model S into a Supercharger (Image: deanslavnich on Twitter)Tesla and Klaus Grohmann have parted ways. Reuters reports Tesla CEO Elon Musk ousted Grohmann over the executives concerns over how his company's legacy clients, including Tesla rivals like Daimler and BMW, would be served in the future. Grohmann's company, Grohmann Engineering, specializes in automation, and Tesla purchased the company last...

Hyundai Ioniqs: pitting hybrid vs electric on video

2017 Hyundai Ioniq HybridRoad trips have been a staple of automobile culture for decades, but with the rise of electric vehicles, charging infrastructure has thrown them a curve ball. Unlike gasoline-powered vehicles, which can refuel almost anywhere in a populated area, electric vehicles require a little more planning to ensure things go smoothly. So, how easy is it? The...

Shift to electric cars will cost money, may lack excitement: Toyota CEO

Toyota Motor Corporation president Akio Toyoda, at Tesla stand, 2011 Detroit Auto ShowEvery automaker is now working on one or many electric cars, but some are at the head of the pack and others lag behind. General Motors already sells the 238-mile Chevrolet Bolt EV, and Volkswagen has firm plans for multiple electric cars by 2020 and as many as 30 by 2025. That leaves Toyota, the third of the world's three largest carmakers and by...

British magazine gets ride in all-electric Mercedes EQ Concept

Mercedes-Benz EQ electric car concept  [photo: Axel Harries]Mercedes-Benz has big plans for electric vehicles in the future, but its main nod to what those plans will bring thus far is the EQ Concept. Shown at the Paris Motor Show last year, the vehicle represents a conceptual version of the first of many electric vehicles to come from the Germany luxury marque. In fact, parent company Daimler has already...

New all-electric Mini E to launch in 2019 as halo for brand

MINI E electric cars used in vehicle-to-grid test. Photo by University of Delaware/Evan KrapeThe first Mini E, cobbled together by putting a battery pack where the rear seat used to be, was BMW's very first attempt at building a modern electric car. Only a few hundred were built, back in 2009, but the quick project gave the German company real-world experience on how electric-car drivers used their cars, recharged them, and otherwise...