Trump’s climate-change order: now what happens?

The White House, Washington, D.C.  [Creative Commons license by dcjohn]These do not appear to be the best of times for President Donald J. Trump, but his agenda of eliminating regulations and promoting fossil fuels continues to roll out. This week, Trump appeared at the EPA to sign an executive order that directed the agency to reopen and reassess its Clean Power Plan for reducing carbon emissions from generating...

VW resolves diesel cheating cases with 10 more U.S. states

Volkswagen TDI 'clean diesel' television ad screencapVolkswagen Group of America continues to work through a long list of civil and criminal lawsuits over its diesel emission cheating scandal. Yesterday, the company said it had reached agreements with attorneys general in 10 states to resolve environmental claims against it. The pact also covers some claims by consumers that were not included in the...

European brands adopt electric delivery trucks: Harrods, Hermes

Nissan e-NV200 revolutionizes iconic Harrods fleetIn the U.S., electric-car advocates and green energy fans have been dealt some setbacks during recent weeks. In Europe, however, the push toward electrification remains as strong--and trendy--as ever. Delivering on zero emissions In Germany, courier service Hermes (not to be confused with French luxury goods retailer, Hermès) is going...

Google Street View car used to spot, quantify methane leaks

2012 Subaru Impreza hatchback used for Google Street View, modified to gather data on methane leaksNatural gas is growing as a part of the world's grid mix, because its carbon per kilowatt-hour is much lower. But methane leaks that emit large volumes of climate-change gas into the air may offset that advantage. Now, a Google Street View car has allowed researchers to pinpoint and quantify the severity of natural-gas leaks in five different...

Mercedes-Benz electric cars to arrive sooner as urgency increases

Mercedes-Benz EQ electric car concept  [photo: Axel Harries]Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler is speeding up its shift towards electrification. The auto-maker remains on track to bolster its portfolio with 10 electric vehicles, but they’ll arrive three full years sooner than expected. The battery-powered cars are now scheduled to debut by 2022 instead of by 2025, company officials have confirmed...

2017 Honda Clarity Fuel Cell: first drive of hydrogen-powered sedan

2017 Honda Clarity Fuel Cell, Santa Barbara, CA, March 2017There are now three different vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells on sale in California, and we've driven them all. The 2017 Honda Clarity Fuel Cell is the first one in which we were able to forget about the powertrain and simply drive. It's the best of the three, although that won't matter much to the majority of U.S. car buyers who live...

Lessons learned from early electric car: 2011 Nissan Leaf at 90,000 miles

2011 Nissan LeafBeing a pioneer isn't easy. When you're pioneering new automotive technology, it can be challenging and sometimes costly. Just ask anyone who owned an early turbocharged sport sedan, for instance. That also applies, in some cases, to some of the first modern electric cars, and in particular the Nissan Leaf. DON'T MISS: Nissan Leaf leases can...

How to curb climate change yourself: drive a more efficient car

2017 Toyota PriusGiven the current political landscape in Washington, it's not unreasonable to worry about the future of U.S. efforts to combat climate change. The Trump Administration has embarked on an explicit mission to undo all Obama Administration efforts to reduce carbon emissions. Climate-science deniers in the current administration include Trump himself...

Fast-charging a 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car at EVgo fast-charging station, Newport Centre, Jersey City, NJThe 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV is the first mass-priced electric car with more than 200 miles of range to go on sale in the U.S. That alone makes it a landmark vehicle, and has led to significant interest in the first electric car that provides comparable range to that of Tesla cars over the last nine years. Its maker, however, often refers to the...

Clean energy provides far more U.S. jobs than fossil fuels: analysis

Photovoltaic solar power field at Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, TennesseeYesterday, U.S. president Donald J. Trump signed an executive order to begin the process of rolling back pretty much every vestige of U.S. efforts to address climate change. In both his campaigning and since his inauguration, Trump has claimed that his government and its actions focus on creating or bringing back jobs for working-class Americans...

Modified European VW diesels ‘undrivable,’ say some owners

2015 Volkswagen Golf TDI SEMost of the Volkswagen and Audi diesel cars sold in the U.S. from 2009 through 2015 are likely to be bought back from their owners, probably leaving fewer than 100,000 on U.S. roads. That's not the case in Europe, where the impacts of the Volkswagen diesel emission scandal are still playing out. Roughly 11 million cars with TDI diesel engines were...

Germany, Austria electric-car charging networks improve, fast

2017 Volkswagen e-GolfTwo adjacent European countries are stepping up efforts to improve their public electric-car charging infrastructure. Initiatives in Germany and Austria should see major improvements to charging networks in a short period of time, as both countries aggressively promote electric cars in an effort to reduce emissions. Austria hopes to unify what is...

2018 Nissan Leaf: more spy shots of electric car’s second generation

Section of 2018 Nissan Leaf spy shot  [image via S. Baldauf/SB-Medien, as used on Motor Authority]The more camouflaged spy shots that emerge of a car being tested on public roads, the closer it likely is to being introduced. After seven years of the first-generation Nissan Leaf electric car, a redesign is due—some might say overdue. Now we have a second set of spy shots of the 2018 Leaf being tested, indicating a likely unveiling this...