As expected, 2018 Ford F-150 gets V-6 diesel engine option

2018 Ford F-150 Power StrokeFord's best-selling full-size pickup truck will be powered by a diesel engine for the first time in its 70-year history. Monday morning, Ford revealed details of the new diesel-powered 2018 Ford F-150 Power Stroke, which it claims will achieve an EPA-estimated fuel-economy rating of 30 mpg highway when it goes on sale this spring. Under its hood...

E10 gasoline now standard, but E15 push stalled, so here comes E30

Big square baler harvesting wheat straw for production of cellulosic ethanolThough the Environmental Protection Agency has already ruled on ethanol-blended gasoline mixtures for 2018, that hasn't stopped ethanol advocates from pushing for a higher 30-percent blend for non-flex-fuel vehicles. The latest call for ethanol comes from corn-state ethanol refiners, farmers, and an ethanol-producer trade association, all of whom...

California to fall short of 100 hydrogen fueling stations by 2020

Hydrogenics hydrogen fueling stationAs electric charging stations continue to sprout across the country, hydrogen fueling stations haven't experienced the same rapid growth. That's an issue in California, where Assembly Bill 8 stipulates a goal of 100 functioning public hydrogen stations by 2020. The latest forecast predicts the state will come up short. DON'T MISS: California To...

Tesla Model 3 Long Range rating of 310 miles: Is it understated?

2017 Tesla Model 3, in photo tweeted by Elon Musk on July 9, 2017Amidst all the coverage on Wednesday of the Tesla Model 3 production numbers, we realized we'd forgotten one piece of the Model 3 saga. That would be the official EPA range and efficiency ratings for the 2017 Tesla Model 3 Long Range version. Those were issued at the end of November, and they seemed worth highlighting as a way to compare the Model...

Gas prices primed to rise in 2018, highest in four years: report

Gas + Electricity sign: how long until we see this for highway rest stops?   [mockup: John Briggs]As Americans collectively sigh at their credit-card bills from the holiday season, GasBuddy has some bad news that won't help ease the financial pain. The fuel price-tracking website predicts the cost of a gallon of fuel will rise by $0.19 per gallon in 2018, on average, to the highest level gas prices have been since 2014. That might not seem...

Mainstream media on electric cars: more thoughtful on their growth

Chevrolet Bolt EV being charged outside Go Forth electric-car showroom, Portland   [photo: Forth]As with any innovation, coverage of plug-in electric cars by mainstream media has been, shall we say, variable. Seven years after the first Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt were delivered to their buyers in December 2010, misconceptions and misinformation abound. Technology is often not a strong suit for business reporters, of course, and plug-in...

Is ‘Drawdown’ the climate-change action map the world needs?

2018 Smart ForTwo Electric Drive Cabriolet, First DriveWe often speak of methods and technologies we can employ as a society to curb climate change, either by reducing carbon emissions or through other means. But less frequently do we talk about them in real terms, including how much excess carbon these methods and technologies can pratically remove from the atmosphere. That's where Drawdown, a...

Shenzhen now uses only electric buses: 16,500 of them

Bus in Shenzhen, China, By GEei Ginhee wins (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0]Over the last few years, the Chinese government has begun to push electric vehicles with all its might. In addition to incentivizing the purchase of electric vehicles, the central government has recently banned the sale of some 553 fossil-fuel passenger cars in the country. But when it comes to local concerns, a collection of municipalities...