If there were a favorite car among journalists and car fans at this week's Frankfurt motor show, it may have been a small, all-electric hatchback city car. Which is pretty remarkable, given the practical, unexciting, utilitarian, slightly nerdy image every non-Tesla electric car seems to carry among that group even today. The car in question is... Honda Urban EV Concept to go on sale in 2019, but not for North America
If there were a favorite car among journalists and car fans at this week's Frankfurt motor show, it may have been a small, all-electric hatchback city car. Which is pretty remarkable, given the practical, unexciting, utilitarian, slightly nerdy image every non-Tesla electric car seems to carry among that group even today. The car in question is...
If concept cars are meant to grab attention, then the BMW i Vision Dynamics Concept—an all-electric sedan that debuted Tuesday at the Frankfurt motor show—may have fulfilled its mission. With the huge, vertical twin-kidney BMW grille also seen on the BMW X7 SUV concept, the smaller four-door sedan concept grabbed viewers' attention...
Most analysts agree the future of the automobile will slowly but increasingly come to rely on battery power. Electric cars will slowly displace internal combustion engines, many researchers suggest, and peak demand for fossil fuels used in transportation could arrive as soon as the next decade. What will become of companies, then, that focus on...
Although a handful of automakers have opted to skip the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show, there are still plenty of new green concept cars and production models confirmed to make their debut. Leading up to the media days of the 2017 Frankfurt show, we will continue to update this running list of what is confirmed and what potentially may make its debut...
Henrik Fisker, legendary automotive designer and the man behind the now-defunct Fisker Automotive company, is getting ready for his grand return to the industry. Spearheading the return will be the Fisker EMotion, which will arrive from the designer's new company, Fisker Inc. Although we only have preliminary specifications on the EMotion electric...
When you see a concept car drive onto the stage at an auto show, don't be fooled into thinking it's what you'll drive out of the dealer a couple of years later. We got to drive the Volkswagen ID Buzz all-electric Microbus concept car Saturday for a couple of miles along the oceanside road outside Monterey, California. Our drive in the ID Buzz...
The Volkswagen ID Buzz concept, an all-electric reinterpretation of the iconic VW Microbus, generated huge enthusiasm and public crowds when it debuted in January at the Detroit auto show. Today, the company announced its board had officially approved production of the vehicle, a distinctive entry in a growing lineup of electric cars planned for...
Hyundai arrived first to market with the world's first production hydrogen fuel-cell crossover utility in 2013 with the Tucson Fuel Cell, and we have a good idea of what to expect from the brand's follow-up act. The Korean brand unveiled a lightly-disguised concept this week that previews its next fuel-cell SUV to come in 2018, which remains...
It's long been said in the auto industry that Hyundai-Kia is the only competitor that truly scares industry colossus Toyota. Thirty years ago, the Korean company was a bit player, producing designs adapted from obsolete Mitsubishi technology. Today it's a major global player, reacting fast to market swings—and its goal is to be second only...
It seems as though online signups are all becoming all the rage among electric-car makers. The practice probably started with Tesla, but it really accelerated in April 2016 when the company revealed the Tesla Model 3 electric sedan in a hugely publicized event watched around the world. The company's first lower-priced model was unveiled in front...
Continental, a major supplier for automakers around the world, has come out with a bold prediction: internal-combustion engine development by German automakers will essentially end by the year 2025. The supplier, which makes exhaust-gas-cleaning systems for diesel cars and nitrogen oxide-measuring sensors, lists several factors contributing to its...
The global debut of the 2018 Nissan Leaf electric car is just a month away, and now another teaser image has been released. This one's a design sketch showing a drawing of the car's side profile, suitably shaded to obscure some of the details. You can compare it to a shot of the actual vehicle, captured last week in Norway while a 2018 Leaf was...
Toyota is one of the largest global automakers, while Mazda is one of the smallest. A new report suggests that the two Japanese makers are close to finalizing a capital-investment deal under which Toyota would take 5 percent of Mazda, and the smaller maker would invest in Toyota as well, and the two would set up a joint U.S. assembly plant...
Small Japanese automaker Mazda is in a tough spot. It's been on its own for most of a decade now, after Ford sold its shares in the company, and now Mazda must fund numerous new models all by itself. With global sales of just 1.5 million vehicles, it's one-seventh the size of Toyota or Volkswagen. DON'T MISS: Mazda to launch homogeneous-charge...
With electric-car battery prices falling faster than predicted even five years ago, carmakers face tough and costly choices in choosing powertrains for the lineups in 2020 and after. Pressed by stiff carbon-emission reduction laws in Europe and heavy regulations to encourage electric cars in China, they must assess how much to invest in new...
The Chevrolet Bolt EV, initially intended to be adapted from the next-generation Chevy Sonic subcompact, ended up with unique underpinnings designed solely for use as a battery-electric vehicle. Carmakers virtually never limit dedicated architectures to a single vehicle—they're simply too expensive to develop—so it's long been expected...
So here's a question for you: when was the last time you traveled by horse to ... well, to anywhere other than the stable you started from? In 1900, horses were the de facto way for Americans to travel, whether riding them or in horse-drawn carts. By 1925, that had changed: 15 years of the Ford Model T, or "Tin Lizzie," had revolutionized road...
It's square-edged, with flat body panels, large knobbly tires, and a simple interior that can easily be hosed out when dirty. The Bollinger B1 electric utility truck revealed tonight at the Classic Car Club on New York City's Hudson River was designed out in the country, where trucks have to be functional above all else. And functional it is, with...
The report that Toyota is planning an electric car with a solid-state battery for 2022 has led some fans and advocates to suggest huge new leaps in electric cars are imminent. The 2011 Nissan Leaf had an EPA-rated range of 75 miles combined; the comparable figure for a 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV is 238 miles. That's remarkable progress, and clearly...
Not so many years ago, a 1.2-liter engine would only have been found in the U.S. in the smallest and least impressive of subcompact cars. It might have been a 3-cylinder, and certainly wouldn't have had even 100 horsepower. But times change, and engines of that size will soon be found even in the smallest of Mercedes-Benz luxury cars. DON'T MISS...