China ratchets down green-energy growth for first time ever

ChinaOver the past few years, China has made a major push to reduce carbon emissions by encouraging use of green technologies. Thanks to generous government incentives and fleet purchases, it is now the world's largest market for plug-in electric cars. Construction of new solar and wind farms has also proceeded at a rapid pace. DON'T MISS: Chevy Volt...

Charging etiquette for electric-car drivers: what you need to know

2015 Nissan Leaf at evGo fast charger at Livingston Mall, Livingston, NJ   [photo: John Briggs]As electric-car adoption expands past early adopters into more general buyers, it may be difficult for public charging infrastructure to grow as fast as the number of electric vehicles on the road. Here in the U.S., every month roughly 10,000 new plug-in vehicles are sold or leased—and that number could rise dramatically once the highly...

How fast IS a Tesla Model S P100D? How about 0-to-60 in 2.5 seconds?

2016 Tesla Model S P100D on the drag stripLast month, Tesla Motors announced new 100D versions of the Model S and Model X. A battery-pack capacity increase of 10 kilowatt hours over the previous 90D versions brings a bump in range, of course. But what about performance? DON'T MISS: The Tesla Model S P100D really, seriously goes over 300 miles this time Tesla claims the top Model S P100D...

ChargePoint adds wait-list feature for electric-car charging stations

2014 BMW i3 REx fast-charging at Chargepoint site, June 2016  [photo: Tom Moloughney]Public charging infrastructure for electric cars is still fairly limited compared to gas stations. That leaves many electric car drivers in certain areas vying for relatively few stations—which can create friction. But network operator ChargePoint is rolling out a feature it believes will help streamline the process and increase station...

Chevy Volt to become Buick Velite for sale in China: report

2016 Buick Cascada  -  second drive reportThe current-generation Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid may acquire a new identity for the Chinese market. General Motors sold the first-generation Volt under different brands in various international markets. So far it hasn't continued that practice with the second-generation version, which went on sale in the U.S. earlier this year. DON'T MISS...

Nissan electric subcompact below Leaf in future electric-car lineup?

2016 Renault Zoe electric carThe 2011 Nissan Leaf was the first mass-priced modern electric car when it launched in December 2010. Nissan has since sold close to a quarter of a million Leafs, and together with its alliance partner Renault it has now sold more than 350,000 all-electric vehicles. But the Leaf is still with us, albeit with a slightly longer range, whereas the...

VW Dieselgate one year later: what have we learned about diesel cars?

Volkswagen TDI 'clean diesel' television ad screencapIt's now a year and eight days since the EPA broke the news that Volkswagen had admitted to including "defeat device" software in almost half a million so-called "clean diesel" vehicles sold in the U.S. from 2009 through 2015. That software detected when the cars were undergoing laboratory tests, and kept their emissions within legal limits during...