Consumer Reports won’t recommend Tesla Model 3 (Updated)

2018 Tesla Model 3 Long Range electric car, road test in greater Atlanta area, Feb 2018Consumer Reports, the consumer product testing magazine famed for its independence, got its deposit in early for a Tesla Model 3 so it could pass judgment before too many non-Tesla diehards could plunk down month's salary to buy one. Now the magazine has released its final test results for the Model 3, and they have found it wanting. When the...

Which Tesla Model 3 would you order or have you ordered? Take our Twitter poll

2018 Tesla Model 3 Long Range electric car, road test in greater Atlanta area, Feb 2018Now that Tesla has opened orders for Dual Motor all-wheel-drive and Performance versions of the Model 3, lots of Green Car Reports readers waiting to order those models can see light at the end of the tunnel. That made us curious how many of you were holding out for those high-zoot Model 3s, which ones you favored, how many were satisfied with the...

New emails show FCA knew of diesel cheats as early as 2010: report

2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel, Bear Mountain, May 2014Fiat Chrysler Automobiles discussed using illegal software to cheat emissions tests in diesel versions of the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Ram EcoDiesel pickup as early as 2010, newly revealed documents show. The emails, which were unsealed last week as part of a proposed class-action lawsuit against FCA show the company was interested in using...

Electric Jaguar E-Type whisks royal couple from Windsor Castle

Prince Harry and new wife Meghan Markle in the Jaguar E-Type Zero conceptSomething old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. All were rolled into one gorgeous bauble leaving Saturday's royal wedding. The light-blue metallic Jaguar E-Type convertible waiting to whisk Prince Harry and his new princess, Meghan Markle, from their public reception at Windsor Castle to a private celebration hosted by Prince...

Elon Musk announces Tesla Model 3 AWD, performance Model 3 specs

2018 Tesla Model 3It wasn't quite a message in a bottle, but Tesla boss Elon Musk tweeted Saturday night some specifications and a ballpark price for his company's long-awaited all-wheel-drive and performance versions of the Model 3. The all-wheel-drive Model 3 will add $5,000 to the base Model 3's price and offer the same 310-mile range as the Long Range Battery...

EPA watchdog calls emissions testing improved, says more could be done

Volkswagen TDI diesel cars stored at Pontiac Silverdome (Photo by Jalopnik)The EPA's Office of the Inspector General, the internal agency watchdog, said this week that improvements to the agency's emissions testing since the Volkswagen diesel scandal have been effective, but that more could be done. According to a report in The Hill, emissions testing improvements have been effective overall since Volkswagen duped...

Tesla expands Supercharger network as Model 3 rolls out

Tesla Supercharger site in Rocklin, California, before expansion    [photo: George Parrott]As Tesla works to ramp up Model 3 output to two-three times the levels of its previous models, the company is apparently anticipating the need for more Superchargers to charge them. According to the crowdsourced website Supercharge.info, Tesla added 121 new Supercharging stations since the beginning of the year, with 1,324 new individual...

Shell Airflow Starship semi truck leaves San Diego on record fuel-economy run

Shell Airflow Starship fuel economy record truckTruck driver Bob Sliwa hit the road on Thursday night in his carbon-fiber-bodied, diesel-powered semi truck, as he attempts to set a fuel economy record for big rigs by the time he pulls into Jacksonville, Fla., next Wednesday. The endeavor, sponsored by Shell and the North American Council for Freight Efficiency, aims to boost more than miles per...

Bitcoin processing uses more power than Teslas do, for now

Tesla Model S purchased with Bitcoins from Lamborghini Newport BeachOne criticism that doubters level at electric cars is that the electric grid may not have enough power to run them, at least in some places. While those concerns haven't materialized on any large scale, perhaps those critics should be more worried about Bitcoins. READ THIS: No, electric cars (still) aren't crashing the grid. Again. A new report by...

IIHS rates Autopilot emergency crash response in Tesla Model 3

Tesla Autopilot 2 Perpendicular ParkAfter a spate of crashes involving drivers using Tesla's Autopilot system, the press is awash in speculation about its effectiveness. Now the IIHS, which rates accident avoidance systems across many automakers, has given Tesla's system an official rating: "Superior." DON'T MISS: Report: Tesla rejected additional driver sensors for Autopilot The...

Volvo ditches diesel, but will half its cars be electric by 2024?

2017 Volvo S60 and V60 PolestarVolvo says it is going all-in on electric cars in an effort to turn the company into something of a Tesla alternative. To that end, the company has announced that half its cars will be battery electric models by 2024, according to a report in Road & Track earlier this year. It has also dedicated its high-performance Polestar brand to selling...

BMW reveals its self-driving, electric iNext vision for the future

Teaser for BMW iNext debuting in 2021At BMW's annual shareholders' meeting in Germany on Thursday the company released a teaser image of its future iNext electric car. The image shows an SUV silhouette similar is size to an X5, BMW's mid-size SUV. The iNext is designed to be a technology showcase for BMW: electric propulsion, full self-driving, and advanced interfaces, said BMW CEO...

Report: Tesla moves to set up operations in China

2014 Tesla Model S in ChinaFollowing a report last year that Tesla has received approval to build a factory in Shanghai, the company is setting up independent operations in China. According to a Wall Street Journal report on Monday (subscription required), Tesla is the first automaker to take advantage of new Chinese laws that will allow foreign green automakers to open for...

Northeast states band together to direct charging infrastructure

Electrify America 350 kw chargers at Home Depot in Chicopee, Mass.It sometimes seems as if everyone who buys an electric car lives in California. That's especially true from the perspective of officials in the Northeast, who have signed on to California's emissions regulations and zero-emissions vehicle mandates, yet see few electric cars sold in their states. One problem has been that states in the Northeast...