Ahead of France, Paris to phase out internal-combustion engines by 2030

Paris, by Flickr user Alexandre Dulaunoy (Used under CC License)France followed two other European countries—Norway and the Nethelands—with a plan to ban the sale of new cars powered by gasoline and diesel by 2040. While the country will stick to the 2040 timeline, France's capital city of Paris announced a more aggressive timeline. Ten years ahead of the country as a whole, Paris will phase out...

Oxford aims to be world’s first zero-emissions city

Hyundai ix35 (Tucson) gasoline car parked in electric-car charging spot, Oxford Services, U.K.The college town of Oxford, England, is poised to become the first municipality in the United Kingdom to ban gasoline and diesel-fueled cars from its city center. A proposal headed to the Oxford City Council has four stages that would culminate in a city free of vehicular emissions by 2035. Initially, the city hopes to ban gas and diesel cars...

EPA to study cutting amount of ethanol in U.S. gasoline

FlexFuel badge on E85-capable 2009 Chevrolet HHRSince 2007, the Renewable Fuel Standard has required increasing levels of ethanol in gasoline blends sold in the U.S. Most fuel stations across the United States no longer offer pure gasoline, with E10—a blend of 10 percent ethanol and 90 percent gasoline—prevailing. After years of debate, the EPA has now announced it will study the...

How Mazda’s SkyActiv-X engine, based on HCCI, actually works (video)

Mazda HCCI engineEarlier this month, Japanese automaker Mazda laid out its future powertrain strategy and dropped a massive announcement in the process. In 2019, Mazda will introduce a gasoline-powered Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition engine, dubbed Skyactiv-X, that the automaker promises will offer huge strides in efficiency and fuel economy. That means...

France plans to ban all gasoline, diesel vehicles by 2040

Nicolas Hulot, French minister of ecological transition, announces 2040 ban on vehicles with enginesTo most North Americans, the idea of banning all vehicles with internal-combustion engines seems unthinkable. Filling up with gasoline (or diesel) is as American as are dispersed low-density suburbs without mass transit, bike paths, or even sidewalks. Europeans, more of whom live in cities and most of whom have access to a more balanced set of...

The oil industry doesn’t care about electric cars: here’s why

Oil well (photo by John Hill)It crops up in comments from electric-car advocates and clean-energy users fairly regularly. And it goes something like this: "Big Oil and Gas are on the verge of collapse, as clean energy and electric cars make them obsolete." Occasionally the sentiment is followed by an approving emoji. DON'T MISS: Electric cars pose little threat to oil demand...

When will you buy your last-ever gallon of gas? Poll results

Gas pumpWell, never let it be said that this site's readers don't practice what they preach. We asked our Twitter followers when they thought they would buy their very last gallon of gasoline ever. Remarkably, one third of them (35 percent) said they had already done so. DON'T MISS: What will you be driving 10 years from now? Poll results That means they...

Is ethanol-free gasoline heading for the end of the road?

Non-ethanol gasoline pumpThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is struggling with Congress and various corporate interests over the amount of ethanol that will be blended into the U.S. fuel supply. The Renewable Fuel Standard in place since 2007 calls for specific volumes of ethanol, but critics have tried to cap that amount while the EPA has tried to maintain or...

Southeast gasoline drivers to get range anxiety after pipeline rupture?

Gasoline shortage due to ruptured pipeline, September 2016The term "range anxiety" is commonly associated with electric cars because of relatively short ranges for many of them, along with a lack of charging infrastructure in many regions. But at the moment, many drivers of gasoline cars in the southern U.S. may begin feeling exactly the same thing. A pipeline rupture in Alabama has led to fuel shortages...