Will 2021 Ford Escape bring back hybrid model (or plug-in hybrid)?

2012 Ford Escape HybridTomorrow, Ford is hosting journalists at an unusual event called "Ford Uncovered," at which it may discuss some of its future products for 2020 and beyond. Key among the questions that attendees will undoubtedly ask will be those about the company's strategy for electrified vehicles. While Ford was the first U.S. carmaker to offer a hybrid...

Electric car sales in Germany finally start to soar: Tesla leads

2018 Tesla Model S and 2018 Tesla Model XIt's starting to look like China will lead the world in adoption of plug-in electric cars, but which carmaking nations will follow it? While electric cars were launched simultaneously in Japan and the United States, Europe lagged somewhat behind. Now, however, Germany—home to the largest piece of Europe's auto industry—appears to be...

VW Group has nailed down $25 billion of battery supply, it said today

Volkswagen ID electric car concept, 2016 Paris auto showFor a company that has only two battery-electric models in production, both several years old, VW Group spends a great deal of time talking about electric cars. The company has plans to launch 30 new electric vehicles by 2025, and has released four Volkswagen ID concepts, the first of which will enter production in November 2019. At its annual...

Cars now clean enough that household products rival them for air pollution

1970s Los Angeles smog depicted in the Honda short film The first major emission controls on motor vehicles were introduced in 1975 with the advent of the catalytic converter. Today's cars emit less than 1 percent of the three "criteria" pollutants that came out of their tailpipes half a century ago. They emit relatively so little carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and hydrocarbons that the collective...

2018 Honda Accord Hybrid rated by EPA at 47 mpg combined

2018 Honda Accord HybridThe EPA has now released the fuel-efficiency ratings for the 2018 Honda Accord Hybrid, and they came in 1 mpg below the combined number the company had hoped to reach. At a drive event last fall, Honda said it hoped the redesigned Accord Hybrid could manage the same fuel-efficiency ratings as last year's model: 49 mpg city, 47 highway, 48...

India plan for converting to electric cars by 2030 may get trimmed, a lot

Smog in Dehli, India (by Flickr user Mfield)Two years ago, the government of India proposed a remarkable and ambitious goal: make every new vehicle coming onto its roads electric by 2030. The plan was largely a response to some of the world's highest levels of hazardous air pollution in its cities, higher in many cases than the legendary foul air in Chinese cities. The world's second-most...

How 2019 Volkswagen Jetta inched up its EPA fuel-economy ratings

2019 Volkswagen JettaWhile plug-in electric cars get lots of media attention, they remained just 1 percent of U.S. vehicle sales last year. And while the Trump Administration appears dead-set on rolling back emission limits and fuel-economy requirements established years ago, that effort will undoubtedly face lengthy court challenges as to the scientific basis...

Mercedes-Benz EQ electric car Geneva debut was…a rebranded Smart car

2018 Smart EQ ForTwo CabrioUnveilings for several key new electric cars were expected during the media days for last week's Geneva auto show. The Jaguar I-Pace made its formal debut, and the Audi e-tron appeared in camouflage as a sort of full-size teaser display. But there had been word from Mercedes-Benz that it would introduce an EQ electric car as well. DON'T MISS...

Best deals on hybrid, electric, fuel-efficient cars for March 2018

2018 Hyundai ElantraNot a lot has changed since last month: Buyers continue to move from passenger sedans to crossovers and trucks, and gasoline remains relatively cheap. That means you can pick up some bargains fuel-efficient and electrified vehicles. DON'T MISS: Lexus lowers hybrid prices a lot to cut premium over gasoline Our list of deals for March, courtesy of...

Electric cars got even cleaner in a year, new grid data shows

Electric-car wells-to-wheels emission equivalencies in MPG, Mar 2018 [Union of Concerned Scientists]More good news about electric cars in the U.S.: the emissions associated with the electricity used to charge them have fallen. Again. Based on the latest data on powerplant emissions from the EPA, an electric car on the road in the U.S. now has average emissions as low as an 80-mpg car. DON'T MISS: Electric cars cleaner than any gas-only car for...

2019 Toyota Corolla Hybrid hatchback debuts in Geneva for Europe

2019 Toyota Corolla hatchbackRemember hatchbacks? Actually, come to think of it ... remember passenger cars? You know, the sedans and wagons and hatchbacks that don't have all-wheel drive and aren't jacked up 6 to 9 inches off the ground? They used to roam this fair land of ours, but lately, they seem to have been routed by crossover utility vehicles and SUVs and trucks of...