2019 Tesla Model 3 crash test secures 5-star safety for entire lineup

2019 Tesla Model S Dual Motor Long Range  -  NHTSA frontal crashThe federal government has crashed another Tesla Model 3. And once again, the results are something that Tesla, its owners and acolytes, and anyone considering one of these electric cars can agree is good news. With tests newly posted for the 2019 Tesla Model 3 Long Range Dual Motor (all-wheel drive) version, the entire Model 3 lineup now earns...

23 states now oppose EPA fuel economy freeze

Smog over Los Angeles, courtesy Flickr user steven-bussThe number of states that oppose President Trump's efforts to freeze emissions and fuel economy standards is growing. In June last year, 16 states and Washington, DC, sued the federal government over the proposal before it was even released. On Tuesday, governors of 23 states plus Puerto Rico released a joint statement urging the Trump...

Tesla Model 3 earns top safety scores in Europe

Euro NCAP front crash test of 2019 Tesla Model 3European tests have demonstrated safety levels in the Tesla Model 3 beyond those yet tested in the U.S. The European New Car Assessment Program announced results last week from its full round of testing on a 2019 Model 3, and it gave the Model 3 its highest overall score in 2019 for the full collection of tests—in crash protection for its...

Volkswagen tests AI-informed design process to cut weight—and flaunt it

Volkswagen Type 20 Microbus conceptElectric vehicle makers face a weight dilemma. Shoppers want more range, and each extra kilowatt-hour of lithium-ion battery-pack capacity adds as much weight as carrying 2 or 3 gallons of extra gasoline around all the time. Yet the more a vehicle weighs, the more energy it takes to move it and its occupants from place to place. Without the extra...

No updates for Tesla Model S, Model X, says Musk

2018 Tesla Model SThe Tesla Model S and Model X might never get the floating, center-mounted, horizontal instrument cluster from the newer Model 3, as had been widely reported based on patent and trademark drawings and insider reports. On Monday night, Tesla CEO Elon Musk quashed the rumors on Twitter, his usual venue, in response to a question from a follower...

2020 Mini Cooper SE urban electric car revives Mini E formula

2020 Mini Cooper SE HardtopThe fully electric 2020 Mini Cooper SE will bring back everything early Mini pioneers loved about the company's first electric effort, the 2009 Mini E, in a more conventional, practical package. It will still be the sportiest Mini, with quicker powertrain responses, and a lower center of gravity, than the gas-powered Mini Cooper S. The biggest...

2020 Hyundai Sonata will emit less with new valve-duration tech

2020 Hyundai SonataHyundai last week announced that it has developed what it claims is the world’s first mass-production continuously variable valve duration (CVVD) technology. The company asserted the new valve tech, headed into versions of the 2020 Hyundai Sonata, will produce significant improvements in emissions, fuel efficiency, and performance. The...

Toyota covers Prius Prime with solar panels to test mileage

Toyota Prius Prime PHV test vehicle with solar panels in JapanWhile Toyota has been skeptical of electric cars, the carmaker is expressing optimism about technology that can supplement plugging in: solar. Along with its battery partners NIDO and Sharp, Toyota is experimenting with a new Prius Prime in Japan (called the Prius PHV there), equipped with 860 watts of solar panels on the roof, hood, and rear...

GM plans cleaner tires and factories, as well as more EVs

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV pre-productionCombating global warming and air pollution is about more than electric cars, as General Motors has made clear in its annual sustainability report issued at the end of June. GM CEO Mary Barra has repeatedly proclaimed the company’s goal of “zero accidents, zero emissions, and zero congestion.” To that end, late last year, the...

How much would 100 percent renewable energy really cost?

Mulan wind farm [CREDIT: Global Climate Budget 2018]Democratic presidential candidates talked hardly at all in the debates late last month about the Green New Deal, a proposal in Congress, to, among other things convert America's electric power completely to renewable sources. Americans have shown broad support for such a transition. What's been left unaddressed—and which many candidates...

Connecticut Supreme Court to hear dealers’ appeal over Tesla store

Tesla Store Los Angeles [photo: Misha Bruk / MBH Architects]The Connecticut Supreme Court is scheduled to take up the case of whether Tesla should have been allowed to operate stores in the state. It's a case that could help shape a brewing national debate about how consumers buy electric cars, whether current dealers are equipped to sell them, and whether new startup automakers should be subject to laws...