Shift to electric cars will cost money, may lack excitement: Toyota CEO

Toyota Motor Corporation president Akio Toyoda, at Tesla stand, 2011 Detroit Auto ShowEvery automaker is now working on one or many electric cars, but some are at the head of the pack and others lag behind. General Motors already sells the 238-mile Chevrolet Bolt EV, and Volkswagen has firm plans for multiple electric cars by 2020 and as many as 30 by 2025. That leaves Toyota, the third of the world's three largest carmakers and by...

British magazine gets ride in all-electric Mercedes EQ Concept

Mercedes-Benz EQ electric car concept  [photo: Axel Harries]Mercedes-Benz has big plans for electric vehicles in the future, but its main nod to what those plans will bring thus far is the EQ Concept. Shown at the Paris Motor Show last year, the vehicle represents a conceptual version of the first of many electric vehicles to come from the Germany luxury marque. In fact, parent company Daimler has already...

New all-electric Mini E to launch in 2019 as halo for brand

MINI E electric cars used in vehicle-to-grid test. Photo by University of Delaware/Evan KrapeThe first Mini E, cobbled together by putting a battery pack where the rear seat used to be, was BMW's very first attempt at building a modern electric car. Only a few hundred were built, back in 2009, but the quick project gave the German company real-world experience on how electric-car drivers used their cars, recharged them, and otherwise...

San Francisco to LA on one charge? Lightning Motorcycles to give it a go

Lightning LS218 electric motorcycleLightning Motorcycles is known for pushing the boundaries of electric motorcycles. In 2013, it set the record for the fastest production electric motorcycle, at an adrenaline-pumping 218 mph. Now Lightning CEO Richard Hatfield has plans to make a prototype bike that can travel 400 miles on a single charge, which would be a remarkable feat for an...

Israeli firm StoreDot claims battery with 5-minute charging time

StoreDot shows fast-charging battery cell, Cube Tech Fair, Berlin [via Periscope: Gruendermetropole]It's one of the Holy Grails for battery researchers and electric-car advocates alike: a battery that could recharge in the same amount of time as it takes to stop for gasoline. Some of that can be provided by charging at higher rates, as Porsche's proposed 800-volt system for 15-minute fast charging would. But most of the change has to come deep...

Would weaker EPA rules kill advanced start-stop hybrid systems for U.S.?

2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid debuts at 2017 New York auto showToday's political climate has made for fluid motion in regulations, and corporate average fuel economy targets haven't been left out. Suppliers and automakers have already begun investing heavily into vehicles to be sold in 2022 through 2025, which will include various fuel-saving and emission-reducing technologies. However, that unsettled...