Over seven years of plug-in electric cars and 20 years of hybrids, the pickup truck sector remains largely untouched. GM sold hybrid Chevrolet and GMC pickups for a few years, and Ford plans an F-150 hybrid in 2020. A startup company now called Workhorse (nee AMP) noticed that white space and made a bold play for the market with its W-15 plug-in... Workhorse CEO: $300 million in preorders for plug-in hybrid pickup trucks
Over seven years of plug-in electric cars and 20 years of hybrids, the pickup truck sector remains largely untouched. GM sold hybrid Chevrolet and GMC pickups for a few years, and Ford plans an F-150 hybrid in 2020. A startup company now called Workhorse (nee AMP) noticed that white space and made a bold play for the market with its W-15 plug-in...
First-hand details about the Tesla Model 3 remain almost as rare as the cars themselves; Tesla has built only a few hundred Model 3 electric cars since its launch in July Now a new video provides an incredibly in-depth look at Tesla's mass-production car, though we suspect it may have been approved by the company. It gives us a detailed look at...
The process of drafting a so-called tax reform bill has been shrouded in mystery, with even Republican congressmembers admitting they didn't know what provisions it will contain. But according to a report on Thursday, the draft of the bill, named the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act—to be released Thursday—may eliminate the income-tax credit of...
Only one topic really mattered in the Tesla third-quarter financial results call for analysts held Wednesday afternoon: Model 3. In light of far lower September deliveries than promised as late as July by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, all interest focused on the more-affordable, higher-volume electric car that's meant to catapult Tesla to selling half a...
With sales of the Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car rising every month, shoppers are inevitably curious about any changes to the Bolt for the 2018 model year, its second. Now the information is out, and buyers will find the 2018 Chevrolet Bolt EV is virtually the same car as the 2017 model—with two exceptions. Chevy has changed the heated...
Although electric cars offer numerous benefits in engineering, design, and zero-emission operation, their overall weight remains a hurdle for automakers, especially as bigger batteries with longer ranges become more important. It now appears that Toyota may look to airless tires as a way to cut weight in its future electric cars: It debuted the...
It is just over five years since I bought my Better Place Renault 2012 Fluence ZE in Israel—and a little over five months since I returned it to Israel’s Renault importer for a cash settlement. By that time, the 22-kilowatt-hour battery capacity was down to 11.3 kwh, and a warning light had been on continuously since July 2016. I gave...
As automakers commit to more electric and electrified cars in the near future, many hurdles remain that can make owning an electric car more difficult than a conventional vehicle. Meanwhile, as electrified cars become more common, automakers and brands will also continue to introduce new models for vehicle ownership, many of them subscription...
Daimler, parent company of Mercedes-Benz and Smart, also owns the Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation—which it used last week to preview major shifts coming to its Daimler Trucks business. It all took place at the reveal of E-Fuso, a new sub-brand of Daimler's Fuso operation that will focus on electrified and electric trucks and buses...
The Tokyo Motor Show is a chance for Japanese automakers to show off what they've been working on in secret labs and design studios. At the Mitsubishi booth this year sits an aggressive-looking all-electric SUV that shows one version of what your next large electric car could look like, if you enjoy hulking rear ends on your high-clearance 'ute...
Relatively few auto-company CEOs would publicly mention sleeping on the roof of one of their factory buildings. But Tesla CEO Elon Musk is not like most other chief executives of auto companies. Most also don't break news via tweet, for instance. A tweet by Musk Thursday evening referred to the eighth circle of Hell and suggested he'd slept on the...
The list of people and companies who want to be or want to make the "Tesla Fighter" is long and storied. Volkswagen has had some good things to say about the California-based electric-car maker, but it's also been working to take on the world's most lauded EV company. During a panel discussion in Germany last week, VW CEO Matthias Müller made...
Last month, the Kia Niro Plug-In Hybrid went on sale in the United Kingdom, offering British buyers a mass-priced compact wagon with 25 to 30 miles of electric range. While it shares its underpinnings with the Hyundai Ioniq Plug-In model, the Niro has more of a wagon shape than Hyundai's five-door hatchback—good for European markets where...
Following Honda's hit electric-car concept at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show, the Urban EV, the company brought a second all-electric concept to the 2017 Tokyo Motor Show with more sporting intentions. The Honda Sports EV coupe concept debuted the Urban EV concept, a design wrapped in a sleek and retro-looking sports car body. If Honda bet on retro...
When the Oklahoma Legislature passed a bill earlier this year that imposed new fees on owners of hybrid and electric cars only, it was swiftly sued by the Sierra Club. Now the Oklahoma Supreme Court has rendered its verdict in that suit, filed in August. In a 6-3 decision, the state's highest court struck down the bill as an unconstitutional tax...
Not every car buyer can afford a brand-new vehicle, which often makes gently used vehicles an appealing alternative. But while cars that plug in take only a small share of new-vehicle purchases today—about 1 percent—they apparently move quite fast off dealer lots once they're used. In fact, electric and plug-in cars dominate the top 10...
Before production of the Tesla Model 3 began, company CEO Elon Musk promised Tesla would offer owners some sort of free Supercharger use. Specifically, Musk said, "free long-distance charging is [included]," which led many reservation holders to believe they would receive free Supercharger credits, just as owners outside of the Model S and Model X...
While Tesla works out the production bottlenecks that plague the Model 3, rivals continue to gear up to challenge the Silicon Valley maker's more affordable electric car. Specifically, Tesla's latest announced competitor comes from the new brand at Volvo Cars Group, named Polestar, which has become a standalone maker within the company's stable...
When consumers think of battery-electric and plug-in hybrid cars, most likely conjure thoughts of Tesla, or perhaps Nissan with its Leaf and Chevrolet with its Volt and Bolt EV. However, none of those three brands managed to sell 10,000 plug-in cars during the month of September. That sales honor belongs to BMW, which announced sales of its i3...
The very first working four-cycle internal-combustion engine was invented by Niklaus Otto in 1876, and in due course it changed the world. A quarter of a century later, gasoline engines, steam-powered vehicles, and electric drive competed on an equal basis, but by 1915, it was clear the gasoline engine would triumph. The next 100 years brought...