Volkswagen confirms electric dune buggy concept for Geneva auto show

Volkswagen Geneva Show Electric Buggy conceptA VW beach buggy made for blasting over the sand may ride again. Volkswagen confirmed on Wednesday that it will show a concept electric dune buggy at the Geneva auto show in March. Rumors circulated in December that the brand was considering such a move. READ MORE: Fun revival: Electric dune buggy could join VW I.D. line According to Autocar...

Tesla turned profit at the end of 2018; Model Y coming by end of 2020

2019 Tesla Model 3 PerformanceTesla recorded a $139 million profit for the last quarter of 2018, smaller than the $311 million quarterly profit before it, but ended 2018 down nearly $1 billion, the automaker told investors Wednesday. "Last year was the most challenging year in Tesla history, but also the most successful," Tesla CEO Elon Musk said. Revenues for 2018 nearly...

Don’t worry about coal, electric cars are still cleaner

Smokestacks pollution air qualityOne of the easiest ways for electric-car drivers to get in an argument is discussing how much coal-fired electricity contributes to pollution. Now a new study by BNEF (a Bloomberg spinoff) can help give electric-car drivers some peace of mind in these arguments. It shows that electric cars are cleaner—even when they do run on primarily...

Barra blogs again: GM plans to double EV, self-driving investments

Future Cadillac long-range electric large luxury utility vehicle (rendering), 2019 Detroit auto shoFollowing a round of layoffs late last year, GM is planning to renew its focus on creating electric cars and autonomous vehicles. For the second time in four months, CEO Mary Barra took to LinkedIn to reiterate that the company is shifting its focus to electric cars. The first time preceded November's announcement that General Motors would lay off...

2019 Nissan Leaf Plus gets longer range in cheapest trim

2019 Nissan LeafNew California regulatory compliance documents hint that lower trim levels of the upcoming 2019 Nissan Leaf Plus will be the ones with the longest range. To get the maximum range of 226 miles that Nissan estimates, buyers will likely have to stick to the base S trim level, according to documents, based on California emissions tests and obtained by...

Road-trip mission: 2020 Porsche Taycan charging is free and very fast

Porsche Taycan productionAs Porsche is finding out with its Taycan electric car, it’s not always easy being the first—or the fastest. The 2020 Porsche Taycan will be the first production model built on an entirely new 800-volt architecture that helps allow much faster road-trip charging than any other electric car—with the potential to add more than 60...

US has world’s second highest electric-car population

2014 Tesla Model S in ChinaThe race is on to see which countries can sell the most electric cars in an effort to reduce global warming. As with many things counted in raw numbers, China is far ahead, with 1.28 million electric cars on the road. As with most things Chinese, however, the population numbers—of people or of cars—don't tell the whole story...

Shutdown has held up EPA certification, new vehicle introductions

Exhaust emissions from tailpipe [photo: Simone Ramella, 2005, used under Creative Commons 2.0]Now that the government has reopened after a 35-day shutdown, EPA employees are going back to work facing a backlog. Toward the end of the shutdown last week, executives at all three major Detroit automakers expressed concern about certification delays that could affect new models they plan to bring to market. It can now begin addressing that...

Ford Mustang Hybrid: Oughta have a V-8?

Mystery Ford Mustang teaserIn an era of spreading electric cars and more stringent fuel-economy and emissions standards, some muscle cars are losing their signature V-8 engines. The Ford Mustang, despite the company's announcements that it will be offered as a hybrid, may not be one of them. According to new patent filings from Ford, revealed by AutoGuide, the Mustang may...

Blowing away dirty energy: Wind to pass hydro as top renewable in 2019

Mulan wind farm [CREDIT: Global Climate Budget 2018]For electric-car drivers looking to emit less pollution as the drive, 2019 could be a banner year. The U.S. electric grid has been getting gradually greener as utilities replace coal fired powerplants with primarily wind and natural gas. That trend is due to reach a tipping point in 2019, according to numbers by the Energy Information Agency at...