Rioting protesters win delay of new French carbon tax

Gasoline prices in California, August 2012 [photo: Brenda Priddy]Rioting in the streets is the sword of Damocles hanging over every decision a politician makes—especially when those streets happen to be French. And rioting in the streets is what put an end to a new gas-tax proposal in France this week. Technically, its wasn't even a straight gas tax. DON'T MISS: Trump administration plans to end...

2019 Toyota Prius AWD-e priced at $27,300

2019 Toyota PriusToyota has released pricing for the new all-wheel-drive version of the Prius that it revealed at the LA auto show last week. The base version of the all-wheel drive model will start at $27,300, including a $920 destination charge, according to our partners at CarsDirect.com. That's a premium of $1,400 over the front-wheel-drive LE. For the whole...

Tesla Model 3 Mid Range goes an EPA-official 260 miles

2018 Tesla Model 3EPA range ratings are funny things—they're never official until they're official. Tesla released its Model 3 Mid Range in early November, in an effort to offer a lower-priced base model, with an estimated range of 260 miles. Now the EPA has released final range figures confirming that number, and revealed official MPGe efficiency estimates...

Long-range Nissan Leaf missing from LA Auto Show

2017 Nissan Leaf showing battery pack (Source: Nissan)One key car was missing from the electric lineup at last month's LA auto show: the updated, long-range Nissan Leaf. Leaf fans have been eagerly anticipating the long-range car, potentially called e-Plus in some markets. Early reports note that it will have an all-new 60-kilowatt-hour battery good for a range up to about 220 miles, a significant...

Trump administration plans to end electric-car tax credits

Trump Chief Economic Adviser Larry KudlowAs tax credits begin to expire for some automakers and the electric-car industry begins to lobby to extend them, the Trump administration plans to end them altogether. President Donald Trump's Chief Economic Adviser Larry Kudlow told Reuters that the administration plans to end the $7,500 federal tax credit by 2020 or 2021 for all automakers. Last...

VW’s new U.S. CEO: The tipping point on EVs is already here

Volkswagen MEB platform architectureSome executives at major automakers continue to insist that electric cars remain years away from becoming a mainstream reality—and that it’s harder to sell them than traditional vehicles with gas tanks and tailpipes. Volkswagen of America’s new CEO, Scott Keogh, is most definitely not one of them. In a round-table interview with...

ChargePoint raises $240 million to expand charging-station network

2014 BMW i3 REx fast-charging at Chargepoint site, June 2016  [photo: Tom Moloughney]ChargePoint, the largest network of electric car charging stations, announced last Wednesday that it has raised $240 million to become even bigger. The investment comes at a pivotal moment after ChargePoint CEO Pasquale Romano in September announced an ambitious goal to build enough chargers to juice up 2.5 million electric cars worldwide. The...

Latest climate study says it’s already too late

Hurricane Florence approaches U.S. East Coast Sept. 12, 2018Sit down before you read this. Good. With all the dire warnings about climate-change coming from the most recent studies—from the Fourth National Climate Assessment released on Black Friday to an October report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which showed that catastrophic effects could hit by 2040—the latest news...

Mazda plans new dedicated electric car

2018 Mazda3Mazda may not have shown an electric car at last week's LA auto show, but it is poised to join the electric-car revolution. A new report in British Autocar magazine notes that the zoom-zoom automaker will introduce a new electric model in 2020 that won't be shared with other gas cars in Mazda's lineup. Mazda has said that a range extended version...

Electric cars from Audi, Porsche: Explaining platform magic

Audi e-tron GT Concept, 2018 LA Auto ShowIt would be unthinkable for any automaker but Porsche to introduce a new car with a flat-6 engine hung out behind the rear axle. At this week’s 2018 LA Auto Show, the 2020 Porsche 911 duly made its debut in the hallowed configuration that has persisted since 1964. But with underpinnings specific only to one model, the new 911 is a major...

Tesla (again) says buyers must order today for full tax credit

Tesla Model 3 all-wheel drive Performance rolls off a new assembly line in a temporary structureIf you want to buy a Tesla and get the full tax credit, today is your last day to order for Tesla to guarantee delivery by December 31. With the tick-over of the new year, the federal tax credits on Teslas will be reduced from $7,500 to $3,750. That could raise base price of a Tesla from $39,700 after the tax credit to $43,450 (including delivery...

Tesla (again) says buyers must order today for full tax credit

Tesla Model 3 all-wheel drive Performance rolls off a new assembly line in a temporary structureIf you want to buy a Tesla and get the full tax credit, today is your last day to order for Tesla to guarantee delivery by December 31. With the tick-over of the new year, the federal tax credits on Teslas will be reduced from $7,500 to $3,750. That could raise base price of a Tesla from $39,700 after the tax credit to $43,450 (including delivery...

In the red: Electric cars share location data and more with Chinese

2014 Tesla Model S in ChinaIn this post "1984" world, most consumers acquiesce to sharing their data with companies in return for better, quicker, more convenient, cheaper, or even free services. How many, however, would voluntarily turn over data about everywhere they went and when to the government, particularly a Communist government? According to a new AP report, that's...

EV Drive coalition begins lobbying effort to save tax credit

First 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car    [photo: Patrick Reid]Members of the lame-duck Congress all got letters on their desks Tuesday stating why the electric-car tax credit should be revised and extended. Along with a five-point fact sheet made public Tuesday, the effort is the first salvo in a battle by the newly-formed EV Drive Coalition to extend the plug-in vehicle tax credit, which is expiring for two...