Tesla quietly limits lifetime full-speed launches via over-the-air update

Tesla Model X vs Tesla Model S drag race screencapTesla uses over-the-air software updates to quickly add new features to its electric cars, or to correct problems without the need for customers to bring their cars to service centers. But one apparent software update has rankled a few Tesla owners. The software in question is said to limit the number of times Launch Mode can be used with specific...

Clean energy to grow, coal to fade, regardless of Trump EPA plans

wind farmPresident-elect Donald Trump's choice of Oklahoma attorney general Scott Pruitt to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) indicates that his administration will pursue radically different energy policies from its predecessor's. Pruitt is a climate-science denier, and has sued the agency he is being asked to lead multiple times. He has...

Indiana too slaps electric cars with $150 fee for not using gas

Indianapolis, by Flickr user ellenm1 (Used under CC License)Indiana may soon follow Michigan in implementing fees for electric cars, with the stated goal of helping to pay for road repairs. Michigan is now adding fees for electric cars, as well as plug-in hybrids and battery-electric cars, because they don't burn enough gasoline to generate the same state tax revenue as other vehicles. Similar reasoning...

Explaining how Honda Accord Hybrid system works: video

2017 Honda Accord HybridThe 2017 Honda Accord Hybrid mid-size sedan returned last year, ending a one-year hiatus for the model. The new version uses an updated version of the two-motor hybrid powertrain fitted to earlier hybrid Accords, which were sold as 2014 and 2015 models. That powertrain is notable because it uses a gasoline engine to power the wheels in some...

What will you be driving 10 years from now? Poll results

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EVWith news stories literally every day about autonomous vehicle tests, and the growing number of plug-in electric vehicles on sale, the future is ... well, up in the air. Readers of this site tend to be more future-oriented than many car buyers, so we polled our Twitter followers about their views of the matter. We asked what they thought they...

Diesel owners in Germany who sue VW face significant hurdles

2010 Volkswagen Golf TDIIn the U.S., owners of Volkswagen 2.0-liter TDI diesel cars with illegal "defeat device" software have reached a settlement with VW—and a preliminary agreement for a smaller number of affected 3.0-liter V-6 diesels is largely, if not entirely, settled. It may have taken months of negotiating, but 2.0-liter diesel owners can be assured of...

Green car preview at Detroit Auto Show

City of Detroit, by jdurchen [Flickr]Media days for the 2017 Detroit Auto Show begin amidst significant uncertainty about green cars and their future in the U.S. It remains unclear how the incoming Trump Administration will treat current fuel-economy and emissions standards. Continued low gas prices are driving a boom in SUV and crossover sales, something reflected in the number new...

Tesla starts cell production at Gigafactory, shows it off to investors

Tesla gigafactory, March 2016, shown in drone footage posted to YouTube by Above RenoSlightly less than three years after it was first announced, Tesla is now producing lithium-ion battery cells at its massive "Gigafactory." Billed as the largest factory of its kind in the world, the Gigafactory was conceived to provide the volume and economies of scale necessary for Tesla to produce electric cars in truly large quantities. It has...