Tesla Q3-2017 deliveries: Model S, Model X strong; Model 3 misses goal

2017 Tesla Model S 100D   [photo: David Noland, owner]The quarterly delivery and production figures from Silicon Valley electric-car maker Tesla are eagerly followed when they emerge a few days after the end of a quarter. On Monday, Tesla said it had delivered 26,150 electric cars, its best quarterly total yet and 4.5 percent higher than the third quarter of 2016, its previous best quarter. Of those...

GM to launch two new electric vehicles within 18 months, 20 by 2023

Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car with future GM electric and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, Oct 2017 General Motors said on Monday it will unveil two new battery-electric vehicles within the next 18 months, and will offer 20 electric and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles globally by 2023. The news came in a conference call for reporters with Mark Reuss, GM's executive vice president of global product development. GM's announcement follows similar...

ChargePoint launches electric-car charging activated by smartphone

Chevrolet Bolt EV being charged outside Go Forth electric-car showroom, Portland   [photo: Forth]Electric-car charging network ChargePoint has announced a new feature that allows electric vehicle (EV) owners to begin charging their car using near-field communication (NFC) and their smartphone. This doesn’t mean your phone itself is capable of charging your car, of course, though that would be fantastic. Instead, the company—which...

Electric-car incentives added in, remarkably, oil-rich Dubai

Hyperloop One concept drawing for system bridging Abu Dhabi and DubaiDubai, the second largest sheikdom in the United Arab Emirates, has introduced new incentives in an attempt to make electric cars more desirable. Battery-electric and plug-in vehicles often go overlooked in the oil-rich area, but even some of the world's largest crude-oil producers plan to reduce their addiction to black gold. Now, Dubai will...

Electric cars are some of fastest-selling used vehicles in the U.S.

2017 Fiat 500eNot 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're apparently very popular once they're used. In fact, electric and plug-in cars dominate the top 10 fastest-selling...

2018 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV: first drive of plug-in hybrid SUV

2018 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, Catalina Island, CA, Sep 2017Not too many people will ever drive the 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, the plug-in hybrid version of the company's mid-size crossover utility vehicle. So it was fitting that the company launched the vehicle on dusty roads in the back country of Catalina Island: roads that not many people are allowed to drive on. Located two dozen miles off the...

Will Tesla steamroller German luxury makers? Perhaps not

2014 BMW i3 and 2014 Tesla Model S   [photo: Tom Moloughney]It has become an article of faith among some Tesla fans and owners that the company will inevitably rise to compete with and ultimately defeat the titans of the global auto industry. This belief is especially prevalent for the luxury sector, where three German carmakers dominate the global market for pricey and admired vehicles of all sorts. About...

BMW i3 electric car quirk: no AM radio offered, but why? (update)

2015 BMW i3 REx  -  Driven, Portland OR, April 2015The BMW i3 electric car is a tour de force of advanced engineering--and it was the most energy-efficient car sold in the U.S. in 2014 and 2015. Its body shell is made of carbon-fiber reinforced plastic, riding on an aluminum platform containing the lithium-ion battery, the electric motor, and the crash structures. But you can't get AM radio in the...

Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid gets ad support from Sesame Street characters

Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid Sesame Street advertisementThe 2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid is a one-of-a-kind vehicle, the sole plug-in hybrid minivan offered for sale in North America. Its early months were plagued by a powertrain recall for a potentially faulty diode within the power inverter module. Now, the Pacifica Hybrid is back on sale in its second model year, and the minivan with 33 miles of...