GM goal: profitable, affordable electric cars built in big numbers

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV pre-production vehicles at Orion Township Assembly Plant, March 2016Automotive innovation rolls out over many years, usually decades, and usually only a few companies lead. Others hang back, waiting to see if buyers will accept new features, new powertrains, and new types of vehicles. More than six years after modern electric cars hit the market in volume, many automakers are only now deciding on their strategies...

Q: Why is Tesla worth more than GM? A: The sins of Detroit

Tesla Motors, Palo Alto, CaliforniaIt remains unclear whether Tesla will survive as an independent company, given that it's had exactly two profitable quarters in its 12-plus years of existence. And yet, last week, Tesla briefly passed General Motors to become the most valuable U.S. automaker by market capitalization. It had passed Ford last week, and long ago surpassed the value...

After Tesla, which automaker is best in electric cars? Poll results

2012 Tesla Model S beta vehicle, Fremont, CA, October 2011Regardless of the number of cars they've sold—fewer than the Renault-Nissan alliance—Tesla is undoubtedly the best-known electric-car maker in the world. It delivered 76,000 cars last year, against roughly 10 million each for Volkswagen Group, Toyota, and General Motors. But its sleek, fast, electric Model S and the associated...

Has GM really ‘already lost’ the electric-car race to Tesla?

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car in Maven car-sharing fleet, Los Angeles [photo: Dan MacMedan foLots of people like horse races, win-or-lose competitions, and rankings. They're easy to understand, and definitive. They may also lose the forest for the trees, which is what we're tempted to suggest about a new article that addresses the launch of the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car. GM's 238-mile battery-electric hatchback is rolling out...

GM says green-car buyers should consider its diesels: here’s why

2017 Chevrolet CruzeDiesel engines will continue to appear in pickup trucks, European luxury SUVs, and at least a few mass-market crossover utility vehicles. Two of those are the Chevrolet Equinox and Mazda CX-5 crossovers that will launch for the 2018 model year. But the future of diesel in U.S. passenger cars remains far more up in the air, due to a confluence of...

Is 2019 Cadillac XT3 crossover the next plug-in hybrid for luxury brand?

Section of 2019 Cadillac XT3 spy shot  [image via S. Baldauf/SB-Medien, as used on Motor Authority]Spy shots are continually fascinating, for both future buyers and auto journalists. They can reveal hints about the shapes, design aspects, and powertrains of vehicles that may not hit showrooms for as much as two years. Some recent spy shots of the 2019 Cadillac XT3 small crossover utility vehicle have a very distinctive feature that tells a lot...

GM’s Maven car-sharing adds Chevy Bolt EV electric cars (in LA)

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car in Maven car-sharing fleet, Los Angeles [photo: Dan MacMedan foWith the 238-mile Chevy Bolt EV electric car now in its third month of sales and rolling out to additional states every month, the industry is focused on its sales numbers. Retail buyers have asked to what degree GM's plans to dedicate a number of the early Bolt EVs to its Maven car-sharing service might affect availability. If yesterday's...

GM releases second Chevy Bolt EV autonomous driving video

Chevrolet Bolt EV Cruise Automation test mule in San FranciscoThe Chevrolet Bolt EV may very well turn out to be a game-changing electric car in more ways than one. With an EPA-rated 238-mile range and a base price of $37,495, the Bolt EV has the potential to appeal to a much broader range of customers than previous electric cars. At the same time, it's also the car General Motors is using as its primary...

Donald Trump owned two American cars; one was a Tesla

Tesla Model SElectric cars have the potential to dramatically reduce carbon emissions, but that does not seem to be a priority for President-elect Donald Trump. He has suggested that climate change is a hoax created by China to hurt U.S. businesses, and his statements on the campaign trail indicate policies that will boost fossil fuels. Some of Trump's...

Hydrogen cars celebrate half a century; have they made a difference?

GM Electrovan fuel-cell prototype, 1966Electric cars are virtually as old as the auto industry, but hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles are not. In fact, exactly fifty years ago this month, GM showed off the first one, which it called the Electrovan. This remarkable and innovative prototype for a zero-emission vehicle used the body of an adapted GMC Handi-Van, containing the first fuel cell...

2017 Chevy Bolt EV: here’s what can go wrong for electric-car pioneer

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, road test, California coastline, Sep 2016The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV will be on dealership floors within several weeks, cementing its position as the first affordable 200-mile electric car. It will beat planned 200-mile electric cars from BMW, Nissan, Tesla, Volkswagen, and other makers, and that's all to the good for plug-in car advocates. But the Bolt faces numerous hurdles to success...

Chevy Bolt EV electric car shows GM can do Silicon Valley, exec says

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, road test, California coastline, Aug 2016Over the last five years, much has been written about autonomous-car efforts from Apple and Google. Could these two massively successful Silicon Valley startups overturn the established order in the global auto industry? The answer remains to be seen, but this month brought news that both companies are restructuring their efforts. DON'T MISS: 2017...