2024 Polestar 2 costs $51,300 with 320-mile range, rear-wheel drive

2024 Polestar 2The updated 2024 Polestar 2 starts at $51,300 and is scheduled to begin deliveries in August, the automaker announced Tuesday. That base price, which includes a mandatory $1,400 destination charge, is $1,500 more than 2023's starting price, but the new model year brings many changes and improvements. Polestar has been boosting its range bit by...

Cost misconceptions may be behind waning EV interest

2024 Kia EV9Consumer interest in EVs is lagging, and cost is partly to blame, according to a new Ipsos study. Despite factors like increased choice of EV models and a revamped federal tax credit ushered in by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), interest in EVs has essentially leveled off, the study suggests. In 2022, 49% of respondents said they were...

Ford Maverick and Escape hybrids recalled for engine failure

2023 Ford MaverickFord is recalling 125,322 newer hybrid and plug-in hybrid models over the potential for engine failure that could cause engine fires. It's an expansion of a recall from last July that now includes 2023 models. Ford issued a stop-sale order to dealers for new in-stock vehicles in the recall population. The expanded recall affects 2020-2023 Ford...

Telo wants to deliver the world’s most efficient electric truck

Telo truck (rendering)Why do pickups have to be so huge, and where are the lean, efficient, manageably sized electric trucks for the city? Emerging from stealth mode Tuesday, California-based Telo Trucks is revealing its thought-provoking answer to that—in the form of an electric pickup that it claims will have all the cab and bed space of a Toyota Tacoma, with...

EV charging stations with Tesla connectors could tap federal funds

Tesla chargingThe White House is offering subsidies to charging stations that use Tesla connectors, as long as they also include Combined Charging Standard (CCS) connectors, Reuters reported Friday. The report follows an announcement by General Motors this week, and Ford a couple of weeks earlier, that they would adopt the Tesla connector, which Tesla recently...

Lucid and Fisker are both preparing to sell vehicles in China

Lucid Air SapphireLucid and Fisker in the past week separately announced plans to sell vehicles in China soon. The head of Lucid's China operations confirmed to Reuters Thursday that the automaker was planning to enter the Chinese market. The Reuters report also cited an anonymous source with knowledge of Lucid's plans, who said the automaker plans to sell imported...

Here’s how to get more mpg out of your Toyota hybrid

2023 Toyota Prius XLEOne of the novel experiences of hybrid ownership is that, even without the space in your life for charging, you can sample what it’s like to go electric—as the hybrid system maximizes gas mileage by momentarily shutting off the engine and running the hybrid as an EV over short distances. But as some recent data from Toyota Motor North...

Jeep Wrangler 4xe, top-selling PHEV, gets a price cut for 2024

2024 Jeep WranglerThe updated 2024 Jeep Wrangler 4xe plug-in hybrid gets a price cut for the new model year. First noticed by CarsDirect, the price cut comes as other Wrangler variants get a price increase, which is typical for a refreshed model like the 2024 Wrangler. But Jeep is also adding a new base Sport S trim level for the 4xe below the carryover Willys...

Porsche Mission X previews electric sports cars, 900V charging

Porsche Mission X conceptPorsche on Thursday unveiled the Mission X, an electric suoercar concept that could preview a future production model. "As a design study, not offered for sale, with production to be decided in due time, the Mission X is a glimpse into what the sports car of the future could look like," a Porsche press release declared. The automaker sees the...

2024 Lexus TX 550h+ 3-row plug-in hybrid aims for 33 miles, 30 mpg

2024 Lexus TXLexus on Thursday night revealed a new luxury three-row SUV model, badged TX and including hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions. Much as the Toyota Highlander Hybrid is just getting a larger, longer Grand Highlander Hybrid companion model, the Lexus TX satisfies those wanting a bigger and boxier vehicle that’s not as thirsty or costly as the...

GM EVs get Supercharger access in 2024, Tesla charge port in 2025

GM EVs get Tesla Supercharger access in 2024General Motors has announced that starting in 2025 it will build the Tesla charge port, called North American Charging Standard (NACS), into its future EVs. And so, with three out of three U.S.-based automakers now on board (Stellantis is based in the Netherlands), it seems we truly have a North American charging standard. The news, which follows...

Charging blunts benefits of electric ride-hailing, study finds

Ford Drive - Uber pilot program with Mustang Mach-EUber and Lyft have pledged to electrify their ride-hailing fleets by 2030, but a new University of Michigan study argues that it won't make much of a difference. Replacing all current ride-hailing vehicles with EVs would eliminate tailpipe emissions, but the overall benefit to society would still be slight—just 3% per trip on...

GM’s Buick Proxima EV concept for China is a gullwing flagship

Buick Proxima conceptGeneral Motors on Monday unveiled a new Buick EV concept for China. The Buick Proxima is the product of GM's China Advanced Design Center in Shanghai, which has pivoted to focus on EVs, according to a press release. A flagship sedan built on a dedicated EV architecture, it sports gullwing doors that are typical concept-car fare, but will likely...