EVgo adds mobile app for electric-car charging network access

2015 Nissan Leaf at evGo fast charger at Livingston Mall, Livingston, NJ   [photo: John Briggs]One way for electric-car charging networks to make the public charging experience more user-friendly is through the use of smartphone apps to replace the RFID cards that identify members and let them initiate charge sessions. Not only do they provide electric-car drivers a host of capabilities, but they allow drivers to pay for charging sessions...

What is a Toyota Prius Hellcat? You may not want to know

Toyota PriuSRT8 by American Racing HeadersThe huge annual SEMA show for builders and owners of highly customized cars brings out some truly bizarre creations. Only at SEMA will you see vehicles like the one-of-a-kind PriuSRT8, a Toyota Prius with a gas-guzzling V-8 engine under its hood that effectively turns the hybrid's green credentials on its head. The once gas-sipping hatchback...

Workhorse CEO: $300 million in preorders for plug-in hybrid pickup trucks

Workhorse W-15 extended-range electric pickup truckOver seven years of plug-in electric cars and 20 years of hybrids, the pickup truck sector remains largely untouched. GM sold hybrid Chevrolet and GMC pickups for a few years, and Ford plans an F-150 hybrid in 2020. A startup company now called Workhorse (nee AMP) noticed that white space and made a bold play for the market with its W-15 plug-in...

NASA looking at geothermal energy from Yellowstone supervolcano

Iceland's Fimmvorduhals erupts. Image: Henrik ThorburnAlthough claims of imminent volcanic eruption are likely exaggerated, any eruption of what's known as the Yellowstone Supervolcano would cause global chaos. Through intense monitoring programs, scientists have a clear idea of the Yellowstone volcano's behavior. Now NASA scientists are exploring a radical idea that could one day neutralize the...

Tesla Model 3 owners’ club video offers new details on electric car

Tesla Model 3 via Model 3 Owners' Club videoFirst-hand details about the Tesla Model 3 remain almost as rare as the cars themselves; Tesla has built only a few hundred Model 3 electric cars since its launch in July Now a new video provides an incredibly in-depth look at Tesla's mass-production car, though we suspect it may have been approved by the company. It gives us a detailed look at...

Tax bill may eliminate credit for all electric-car buyers: report

Chevrolet Bolt EV being charged outside Go Forth electric-car showroom, Portland   [photo: Forth]The process of drafting a so-called tax reform bill has been shrouded in mystery, with even Republican congressmembers admitting they didn't know what provisions it will contain. But according to a report on Thursday, the draft of the bill, named the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act—to be released Thursday—may eliminate the income-tax credit of...

Saving gas by lifting the pedal: engine braking vs coasting (video)

Will you use less fuel during engine braking or simply by coasting?The way a driver operates a car can produce very different fuel-economy numbers, and when driving downhill, two notable techniques come into play. The first is leaving the car in gear and using so-called engine braking to provide at least some deceleration. But many believe putting a car in neutral uses less fuel, followed by use of the brakes to...