First 2017 Chevy Bolt EV electric cars sold today, in California

First 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV buyers, Fremont, California: Bobby Edmonds, Bill Mattos, Steve HenryAnd now it's real. Just 23 months after GM CEO Mary Barra unveiled the Chevrolet Bolt concept at the Detroit Auto Show, the very first production versions of Chevy's 238-mile electric car to be sold were delivered this morning to eager San Francisco Bay Area buyers. The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV will be sold first in California and Oregon, and then...

European electric and plug-in hybrid sales for Jan-Oct 2016

Renault Zoe electric car on the Outer HebridesWhile the Nissan Leaf remains the best-selling electric car in other markets, the Japanese automaker's French partner once again remains on top of the European sales charts. The Renault Zoe was again the best-selling electric car in Europe between January and October, the most recent month with available data. The Zoe and Leaf have traded the lead...

Global carbon emissions have been flat for three years now

Ontario Power Generation Nanticoke Generating Station coal power plantGlobal efforts to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions may be starting to pay off, suggests a recent study. Last month, scientists released an assessment that suggests global carbon emissions did not increase significantly in 2016. That makes this the third year in a row that carbon emissions have remained flat. DON'T MISS: Renewable energy growth...

Will California lead the green-car resistance?

2017 Chevrolet VoltWhen it comes to green cars, California leads the nation—and has done so for decades. California residents buy more hybrids and electric cars than those of any other state, and it is also the only state with fueling infrastructure to support the sale of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. Consumer enthusiasm is underpinned by strict regulations...

Tesla CEO Musk, other Silicon Valley execs, to meet Trump Wednesday

'Revenge of the Electric Car' premiere: Elon Musk arrives in a Tesla RoadsterTesla CEO Elon Musk is among a roster of chief executives from Silicon Valley set to meet with president-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday, according to news reports. Musk has suggested that climate change is among the most urgent challenges facing mankind, one reason his company makes only zero-emission electric cars. The president-elect, on the...

2017 Toyota Prius Prime: gas mileage, electric range review

2017 Toyota Prius Prime, Catskill Mountains, NY, Nov 2016The 2017 Toyota Prius Prime turned out to be a better plug-in hybrid than we had expected when we drove it around sunny Ojai, California, on the press launch in October. It's a viable competitor to the second-generation Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid, though the Volt has an EPA-rated 53 miles of electric range to the Prime's 25 miles. Now we've had...