Tesla Model S, Model X electric cars updated with new features

2017 Tesla Model SBefore the Tesla Model 3 officially entered production, the electric-car maker shuffled features on its Model S to provide a clear distinction between the two sedans. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has often said those looking for luxury will be happiest in a Model S, while the Model 3 remains a much more straightforward piece of transportation. The updates...

Autocrossing a Fiat 500e electric car for first, maybe last, time

Andrea Kerr driving Fiat 500e electric car in autocross, Great Park, Irvine, Califronia, July 2017When we published an article on one owner's experience using his Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car to compete in a local autocross, it contained a comment that riled up our reader Doug Kerr. That comment—"Outside of one high-performance electric vehicle, casual electric cars are hardly the racer’s choice"—prompted Kerr to take the...

BP follows other gas-station brands, adds electric-car charging

Highway sign for electric-car fast-charging station at BP in Metrolina area of Charlotte, NCMajor oil companies are beginning to take the threat of electric cars seriously, and the latest evidence comes from British Petroleum. BP has begun discussions with electric-vehicle makers to partner on a network of charging stations. The move comes as many European countries announce plans to ban the sale of fossil-fuel powered cars in coming...

Tesla Model 3 net reservations clarified after 16 months: 455,000

Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk at Tesla Store opening in Westfield Mall, London, Oct 2013Sometimes, if you ask a question often enough for long enough, an answer will eventually be forthcoming. In the case of the net number of $1,000 reservations for the Tesla Model 3 electric car, it took 16 months for the company to cough up the latest data. It came, not surprisingly, from CEO Elon Musk, speaking on a conference call for financial...

RIP Mitsubishi i-MiEV: lowest-range, slowest electric car departs U.S. market

2016 Mitsubishi i-MiEV Quick Drive  -  Portland OR  -  July 2015   [photo: Doug Berger]The Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric car deserves a place in history. It was arguably the first mass-produced modern electric car put on sale, well before the Nissan Leaf arrived in December 2010. Pre-production i-MiEVs were operating in test fleets in Japan as early as 2007, and it was on sale in that country even as Tesla struggled to get its Roadster...

Mazda exec: engines can get cleaner, EVs will die without subsidies

2017 Mazda CX-5 Grand TouringSmall 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...

Decline of oil: Bloomberg suggests what it could look like

Oil well (photo by John Hill)Predictions on the future of global energy vary greatly, but many analysts largely believe that peak demand for the oil industry is coming relatively soon. The world's largest oil companies, however, see it differently: they say their business will only continue to grow through the year 2040. Exxon and OPEC each believe more than 100 million...

New propaganda video on electric-car tax credits: time to debunk!

Nissan Leaf at West Coast Electric Highway charging station (Photo by Pine Mountain Sports)The U.S. federal income-tax credit for purchase of an electric car has seen its share of attacks over the years. Now a new video seeks to twist the facts to paint those subsidies in a bad light. While facts don't lie, it's easy to create a new narrative by taking carefully chosen facts out of context and presenting only a small part of a broader...

Startup Amber’s self-driving cars to hit Dutch streets in 2018?

Amber OneWhile Uber, Tesla, and Google are fighting over who will be first to deploy self-driving cars on a large scale, the Dutch underdogs at mobility startup Amber are planning a surprise move to overtake them all. If all goes according to plan, Amber’s self-driving cars will hit the streets of Dutch cities by mid-2018. Amber CEO Steven Nelemans...

Tesla’s won’t discuss net Model 3 reservations number; why?

2017 Tesla Model 3, in photo tweeted by Elon Musk on July 9, 2017One year ago today, a communications staffer (since departed) wrote that Tesla had received 373,000 reservations for its future Model 3—a number first issued in April 2016. In a splashy event for owners, fans, and media, a few dozen early-production Model 3 electric cars were delivered last Friday. During the year leading up to that event...

EPA museum may axe climate-change display, add one on coal

International Paper Company mill, 1973 [From EPA Documerica series]The museum at the Environmental Protection Agency may soon be in for an overhaul to reflect the agenda of the Trump administration. It's no secret Scott Pruitt, current EPA administrator and climate-science denier, has worked to deregulate many of the agency's regulatory efforts to promote fossil fuels. That's part of Trump's campaign promise to...

Tesla Model 3 Easter eggs, discovered by board member Steve Jurvetson

Tesla Model 3 Easter eggs screenThe few dozen 2017 Tesla Model 3 owners who've already taken delivery of their electric cars will find a few surprises inside if they look closely enough. The Silicon Valley automaker handed over the first examples of its new Model 3 to customers, one of whom happens to be Steve Jurvetson. Jurvetson is well known among the Tesla community not only...