Military hydrogen-powered Chevy Colorado ZH2 launches

Chevrolet Colorado ZH2 hydrogen fuel-cell vehicleAlmost a year after it was first announced, General Motors and the U.S. Army will soon begin testing their jointly-developed hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle. Called the Chevrolet Colorado ZH2, it is based on a stretched version of the Chevy Colorado mid-size pickup truck chassis, with radically-different bodywork and numerous other modifications...

When will plug-in electric car sales exceed hybrid sales? Poll results

Jen Smith with her new 2016 Toyota Prius FourThe questions of whether and when sales of plug-in electric cars will resume their climb after a static 2015 are much on the minds of green-car advocates these days. It's taken as an article of faith that cars with plugs will grow as a proportion of the global market, ultimately supplanting large parts of the current gasoline fleet in decades to...

New Kia Rio subcompact debuts at Paris Motor Show

2017 Kia Rio (European spec)After multiple teases, the next-generation Kia Rio made its global debut at last week's media days for the 2016 Paris Motor Show. While the subcompact Kia model isn't a particularly big seller in the U.S., it's part of a segment that's hugely important in the rest of the world. With this latest redesign, Kia has tried to make the Rio more stylish...

2017 Chevy Bolt EV review consensus: car is good, range is real

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EVThe 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car isn't on sale yet, but quite a lot of useful information is already available to potential buyers. General Motors recently confirmed the $37,495 base price (before Federal, state, and local incentives), and an EPA-rated 238-mile range—meeting its original promises. Several media outlets, including this...

Tesla and China: why an obvious match isn’t as simple as it seems

2014 Tesla Model S in ChinaChina is not just the world's largest overall new-car market, it's also now the largest market for plug-in electric cars. With its ambitious plan to build 500,000 electric cars per year beginning in 2018, it would seem to make sense that Tesla Motors would make China a priority. But Tesla has struggled in China since it launched the Model S there...

Smart Electric Drive has a little Renault-Nissan underneath

2017 Smart ForTwo Electric DriveOne of several new electric cars and concepts at last week's Paris Motor Show was the electric version of the second-generation Smart minicar. As Smart pointed out, it's the only maker that offers the option of gasoline or electric powertrains in every model it makes. Those are the ForTwo two-seat coupe, the ForTwo cabriolet with its roll-back...

Plug-in electric car sales in Sept: Volt steady, Leaf higher

2017 Chevrolet VoltSales of plug-in electric cars in September chugged along steadily, with steady sales from both the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid and stronger totals for the Nissan Leaf battery-electric car. Chevrolet logged 2.031 deliveries of its Volt hatchback, likely now almost all the new second-generation model, raising the year-to-date total to 16,326. That's...

Mitsubishi GT-PHEV concept at Paris Motor Show

Mitsubishi GT-PHEV concept, 2016 Paris auto showMitsubishi unveiled the latest in a series of plug-in electric SUV concepts at the 2016 Paris Motor Show. As with other recent concept from the Japanese automaker, though, it is unclear whether this one will translate into a future production model. The Mitsubishi GT-PHEV concept is a large and fairly luxurious plug-in hybrid utility vehicle...

Tesla delivered 24,500 electric cars in Q3, holds firm on 2016 goal

2016 Tesla Model STesla said late yesterday that it delivered roughly 24,500 electric cars during the third quarter, including 15,800 Model S sedans and 8,700 Model X utility vehicles. That total slightly exceeds estimates by at least half of the financial analysts who had projected deliveries from the Silicon Valley maker before their release. The third-quarter...