XL Hybrids gets big order for pickup truck plug-in hybrid ‘upfit’

2017 Ford F-150Improving fuel efficiency doesn't always require creating a new vehicle. XL Hybrids markets modifications that allows fleet buyers to "upfit" their vehicles into hybrids. So far, the company's efforts have focused on hybrid powertrains for vans, box trucks, and shuttle buses. DON'T MISS: Ford Transit Van Gets Add-In Hybrid Kit For Better Fuel...

Germany may miss 2020 emission targets, government report shows

2017 Volkswagen e-GolfAmbitious emissions-reduction goals are important, because they allow policymakers to coordinate and focus efforts on a defined target. But the problem with setting lofty goals is that, eventually, they must be met. The German government is now finding out how difficult that can be. DON'T MISS: EU starts legal action against Germany, UK for...

Mitsubishi electric cars to use Nissan-Renault platforms: report

2017 Mitsubishi i-MiEVNow that it has officially taken control of Mitsubishi Motors, the Renault-Nissan Alliance is integrating the smaller automaker's green-car projects with its own. Renault-Nissan announced plans to acquire a 34-percent stake in Mitsubishi in May, shortly after the company admitted to cheating on fuel-economy tests for many years in its home country...

Tesla to charge for Supercharger parking if charging is over, sometimes

2013 Tesla Model S at Supercharger station on NY-to-FL road trip [photo: David Noland]Last Friday night, I arranged to meet my wife for dinner in Newburgh, New York, at a restaurant that has a Tesla Supercharger. Even though the battery in my Model S 85 was about 60 percent full, I figured I might as well top it off to 90 percent while we ate. When I arrived, there was a white Model X already plugged in. That left five empty...

2018 BMW 530e ‘iPerformance’ plug-in hybrid sedan for U.S. unveiled

2018 BMW 530e iPerformanceThe latest model in BMW's expanding lineup of plug-in hybrids sold in the U.S. is a version of its new 5-Series sedan, with a plug. Called the 530e iPerformance, it joins plug-in hybrid versions of the 3-Series and 7-Series sedans and the X5 SUV, as well as the sleek i8 coupe. Like all BMW plug-in hybrids based on existing models, the 530e wears...

Woz got a Tesla, not a Chevy Bolt EV: Supercharging may be why

Steve and Janet Wozniak with new 2016 Tesla Model S, December 2016  [source: Steve Wozniak Facebook]In September, Chevy scored quite a publicity coup for its Bolt EV long-range electric car. The car's chief engineer, Josh Tavel, took a pre-production 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV to show Steve Wozniak, cofounder of Apple Computers—universally known as "Woz." He's a big electric car fan, and had driven a Tesla Model S since he picked one up his...

Electric Chevy Bolt EV will be GM’s first autonomous car

Chevrolet Bolt EV self-driving prototypeWith its EPA-rated 238-mile range and a base price of $37,495, the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV is a serious foray by General Motors into mass-market, long-range electric cars. It turns out the Bolt EV will play another important role for the company, too: it will be a testbed for its autonomous-driving technologies. Earlier this year, autonomous Bolt...