The U.S. is coming up to its Independence Day holiday, in which we celebrate the Declaration of Independence from England and reflect on our history and traditions as a nation. This is an interesting time to do that, and there's a cynical argument to be made that backroom politics is as American as apple pie and bald eagles. Which brings us to the... Montana solar-power law rigging caught on live video, regrettably
The U.S. is coming up to its Independence Day holiday, in which we celebrate the Declaration of Independence from England and reflect on our history and traditions as a nation. This is an interesting time to do that, and there's a cynical argument to be made that backroom politics is as American as apple pie and bald eagles. Which brings us to the... 
Six years ago, we wrote that a number of single-motor hybrid systems were about to enter the market. They represented a new approach to a technology pioneered in 1997, when the first-generation Toyota Prius was launched in Japan. Through 2010, all the full-hybrid vehicles introduced by Ford and General Motors used systems designed around a pair of... 
The White House has declared this week the inaugural "Energy Week," and what better way to mark the occasion than by driving electric cars? Cars that plug in to use grid energy for travel are a great catalyst for reducing energy consumption and reducing our use of fossil fuels. Now one reporter who took the plunge and leased a 2017 Chevrolet Bolt... 
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the Highway Loss Data Institute has once again confirmed the Tesla Model S electric car is an outlier. While the Model S gets high ratings for its crash safety, it also seems to incur higher insurance losses than competing conventional cars. Higher claim frequencies, more costly repairs, and higher... 
Today, reports say BMW will reveal its Tesla Model 3-fighter this fall, PG&E concludes electric cars can be kinder to the grid, ChargePoint raises more money, and the 2018 Honda Fit gets Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. All this and more on Green Car Reports. It's been a busy week for ChargePoint, which is not only taking over management of... ![BMW i3 electric car charging in 'EV Charging Only' space, Santa Clarita, CA [photo: Steve J. Myung]](http://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/bmw-i3-electric-car-charging-in-ev-charging-only-space-santa-clarita-ca-photo-steve-j-myung_100607534_t.gif)
As the demand for electric cars grows, utility companies are considering their effect on local power grids—both positive and negative. Recently, California's PG&E and BMW recently wrapped up a pilot program testing experimental vehicle-to-grid technology to see if electric cars could actually aid the grid—and they did. The program... ![2019 BMW 3-Series, portion of spy shot from Motor Authority [Image via S. Balfauf/SB-Medien]](http://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/2019-bmw-3-series-portion-of-spy-shot-from-motor-authority-image-via-s-balfauf-sb-medien_100612272_t.gif)
In August 2016, when the first U.S. ads for the BMW 330e plug-in hybrid sport sedan hit the airwaves, they carried an interesting promise. "You will wait, and wait, and wait some more," the voiceover intoned, "all before that electric-car company's new model ever even arrives." That would be the Tesla Model 3, of course, the 200-plus-mile sedan... ![2017 Renault Kangoo ZE [photo: Yannick Brossard for Renault]](http://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/2017-renault-kangoo-ze-photo-yannick-brossard-for-renault_100612267_t.gif)
French automaker Renault has given its small light commercial electric vehicle a handful of upgrades, including a significantly longer battery range. The Renault Kangoo ZE is now officially on sale with a longer rated range, a more powerful charging system, and a heat pump to keep the little van efficient in the coldest temperatures. Renault... 
Today, we've got some auto-industry analysis on BMW's electric cars, two updates on recent stories, a look at Tesla's latest Autopilot, and a takedown of a bizarre Swedish study of the environmental impact of electric cars. All this and more on Green Car Reports. With the BMW i5 dedicated electric crossover now apparently dead, and an all-electric... 
The 2018 Nissan Leaf will likely be revealed within the next three months, but more than 100,000 older Leaf electric cars are still silently in use on U.S. roads. Some of them, especially the lowest-range cars from the two earliest model years (2011 and 2012), have started to see significant battery capacity degradation. That was the case with...