Mazda’s SkyActiv-X: diesel fuel economy from gasoline engine

2020 Mazda 3 prototypeThe internal combustion engine, now more than 200 years old, will be with us for a long time to come yet. Powering more than 1 billion vehicles on the planet and almost 100 million new ones each year, it is the default way to move vehicles along the world's roads. With its carbon emissions now conclusively implicated in climate change, electric...

2012 Chevy Volt has now crossed 400,000 miles, range remains steady

2012 Chevrolet Volt crosses 400,000 miles, September 2017   [photo: owner Erick Belmore]As more battery-electric cars are sold and more drivers become aware of them, the question of battery life recurs among pretty much every potential buyer. How long will the battery last? Will I have to replace it every 18 months as I do in my smartphone? Data on the liquid-cooled battery packs of older Tesla Model S and Chevrolet Volt cars offers...

2018 Kia Niro Plug-In Hybrid goes on sale in UK

Kia Niro Plug-In Hybrid (U.K. version)The Kia Niro Hybrid has been on sale in the United States since early 2017, but at its launch, the brand promised a plug-in hybrid version would arrive by the end of this year as well. Ahead of its U.S. launch, the Kia Niro Plug-In Hybrid has now arrived in the United Kingdom with a 36-mile rated range on battery power alone on the optimistic NEDC...

How important will plug-in hybrids be in 2025? Poll results

2018 Chevrolet VoltCar shoppers may not be buying huge numbers of all-electric cars yet, but they largely understand how they work. It's a car, you plug it in to charge a battery, it runs on the battery, end of story. Plug-in hybrids are far harder to explain—are they short-range electric cars? are they hybrids?—and no maker has yet cracked the marketing...

CA legislators propose $1 billion to remove dirtiest diesel trucks

California state capitol, SacramentoThe state of California has officially launched its legislative push for stricter heavy-duty truck and bus emission regulations. Following calls for the state to use its recently-extended carbon cap-and-trade program to fund updates to fleets of semi trucks and other commercial vehicles, four state senators have stepped forward with an official...