Smart ForTwo minicar: 15 years later, has it made a difference?

2016 Smart ForTwoMinimal cars are often an appealing idea: why should one person drive a two-ton vehicle with five or more seats on local journeys of 10 miles or fewer? Then there's the crushingly difficult parking in major European, Asian, and North American cities. Add to that, perhaps, a desire for minimal use of energy and material resources. So why not design...

Lucid (nee Atieva) to build luxury electric cars in Arizona factory

Teaser for Lucid electric carLucid Motors has become the latest startup automaker proposing to build electric cars in the U.S. The company—formerly known as Atieva—says it plans to break ground next year on a new factory in Casa Grande, Arizona. Lucid will begin production of its first electric car by 2018, it said in a statement, and expects to employ more than...

Mazda to offer electric car in 2019, maybe with range extender?

2017 Mazda MAZDA6Mazda may become the next automaker to commit to building an electric car, possibly one with a range-extending gasoline engine. That's the gist of numerous of conversations between journalists and Mazda executives at the recent Los Angeles Auto Show. Company officials said Mazda plans to launch an electric car in 2019, dangling hints that it may...

Trump names Elaine Chao as U.S. Secretary of Transportation

Elaine ChaoPresident-elect Donald Trump nominated former labor secretary Elaine Chao to be his secretary of transportation yesterday. She will follow current DoT secretary Antony Foxx, who himself succeeded Ray LaHood in 2013. Foxx has focused on safety recalls following the GM ignition scandal, as well as tactics to reduce distracted driving and rules for...

2017 Nissan Leaf preview

2017 Nissan Leaf  Six years after the current-generation of the first high-volume modern battery-electric car went on sale in the U.S., the 2017 Nissan Leaf carries on virtually unchanged from the previous model year. The Leaf remains the best-selling electric car in history, although its sales have slowed recently—perhaps due to the design's age and...

Tesla to roll out Autopilot self-driving capabilities ‘very soon’

2016 Tesla Model STesla Motors will soon begin rolling out software to restore lost Autopilot driver-assistance features, its CEO says, as a prelude to what the company claims will be the launch of genuine self-driving capabilities. Last month, Tesla announced that it was equipping new Model S and Model X electric cars with a more elaborate suite of sensors, known...

Tesla to roll out Autopilot self-driving capabilities ‘very soon’

2016 Tesla Model STesla Motors will soon begin rolling out software to restore lost Autopilot driver-assistance features, its CEO says, as a prelude to what the company claims will be the launch of genuine self-driving capabilities. Last month, Tesla announced that it was equipping new Model S and Model X electric cars with a more elaborate suite of sensors, known...