When's the last time you sat down and read large parts of an owner's manual for a car? If it's been a few years—or a few decades—you may be surprised how frustrating they are if you're actually searching for specific information. By and large, their indexes are atrocious (often using only manufacturer terms like "connected multimedia... 2017 Chevy Bolt EV 10 to 40 percent battery-capacity loss: possible, but unlikely?
When's the last time you sat down and read large parts of an owner's manual for a car? If it's been a few years—or a few decades—you may be surprised how frustrating they are if you're actually searching for specific information. By and large, their indexes are atrocious (often using only manufacturer terms like "connected multimedia... 
When it comes to green cars, California leads the nation—and has done so for decades. California residents buy more hybrids and electric cars than those of any other state, and it is also the only state with fueling infrastructure to support the sale of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. Consumer enthusiasm is underpinned by strict regulations... 
The point at which electric cars will become truly cost competitive with internal-combustion cars is a subject of vigorous discussion by advocates and skeptics alike. But could tougher emissions standards help push the cost of electric and internal-combustion powertrains toward convergence? Even if the cost of electric cars doesn't drop... 
The 2017 Toyota Prius Prime turned out to be a better plug-in hybrid than we had expected when we drove it around sunny Ojai, California, on the press launch in October. It's a viable competitor to the second-generation Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid, though the Volt has an EPA-rated 53 miles of electric range to the Prime's 25 miles. Now we've had... 
The Volkswagen 2.0-liter diesel settlement approved by a federal judge at the end of October includes a provision for funding of zero-emission vehicle infrastructure. Under the agreement, VW will spend $2 billion in charging or fueling infrastructure for zero-emission vehicles. Exactly how that money will be spent, and how the program will be... 
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said he wants his company to be building 500,000 electric cars a year by 2018. That's an ambitious goal, but at least one necessary piece of the puzzle is already in place. Tesla's factory in Fremont, California, previously produced that many cars when it was a joint operation of General Motors and Toyota. DON'T MISS... 
If you find yourself on the roads of central Oregon, keep an eye out for this eye-catching Nissan Leaf. It's owned by Pine Mountain Sports, a ski and mountain-bike shop located in Bend, Oregon, which uses it as a shop vehicle. Christened, the "Pinemobile," it was purchased back in August, and is living up to the expectations of its owner so far... 
The Fiat 500e electric minicar is aging, and with the introduction of the 238-mile Chevrolet Bolt EV this month, the three-door hatchback's 84 miles of range becomes woefully uncompetitive. So Fiat Chrysler Automobiles needs a new all-electric vehicle to comply with California zero-emission vehicle rules, despite its CEO's frequent complaints that... 
The 238-mile 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car should begin deliveries in the coming weeks. But sales of the Bolt EV's European cousin—the Opel Ampera-e—won't begin until well into the next year. Because it offers a range of over 200 miles at a mainstream price ($37,495, before federal, state, and local incentives) Chevy has high... 
From small startups to major established automakers, many companies have Tesla Motors in their sights. But Lucid Motors—the California-based startup formerly known as Atieva—may have the biggest guns in its arsenal of any of Tesla's would-be rivals. The company plans to unveil its previously-teased electric "executive sedan" December... 
The Volkswagen diesel settlement for 2.0-liter TDI models, approved at the end of October, includes a provision for $2 billion in funds to install charging or fueling infrastructure for zero-emission vehicles. There has been considerable debate over what those funds should be used for, and how they should be administered. The vast majority of the... 
Since it was launched in December 2010, the Nissan Leaf electric car has been offered with a telematics system that relies on a cellular connection. NissanConnectEV, previously known as Carwings, lets owners monitor functions like climate control and charging remotely, and find nearby charging stations. When the system launched, it was based on a... 
Engineers are nothing if not creative. Significant research is going into improved ways of storing electricity, including alternatives to the currently dominant lithium-ion battery-cell chemistry in electric cars. That includes using supercapacitors to substitute for storage batteries in some circumstances. DON'T MISS: Batteries from junkyard... 
Last week, we wrote about the results of a Twitter poll we put up to get a feel for what our readers like best about the site. The flipside of "most valuable" is "least valuable," so we put up the same list of choices again, this time asking survey respondents to rank their least favorite types of articles. Surprisingly, however, the results... 
Even after they have degraded too much for continued automotive use, the lithium-ion battery packs in electric cars still have significant useful storage capacity. That's led several automakers to experiment with alternative uses for these "second-life" batteries in stationary energy storage. Battery packs can store energy generated by renewable... 
Among the established German luxury automakers, BMW has so far shown the greatest commitment to electric cars. It launched the "i" sub-brand dedicated to plug-in cars in 2013, and continues to sell the i3 electric city car and i8 plug-in hybrid sport coupe. BMW has also rapidly expanded the number of plug-in hybrids based on existing models in its... 
Tesla will voluntarily recall about 7,000 electric-car charging adapters after two reports of overheating resulting in melted plastic on the adapters. The adapters are accessory items sold by Tesla online, but were manufactured by an outside supplier. They haven't been sold in six months, according to Tesla. DON'T MISS: Tesla takes it to Michigan... 
The first 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric cars should be arriving in dealerships sometime this month, likely in electric-car friendly California before anywhere else. The launch of the 238-mile electric car is now close enough that General Motors has undertaken the mundane yet critical task of issuing an owner's manual for the car. Owner's manuals... 
Tesla Motors is not legally allowed to sell its electric cars directly to customers in Michigan, thanks to subtle changes made two years ago to the state's franchise laws. But Tesla now has one store in the home state of the Detroit Three automakers. However, that location is only a "gallery" where consumers can look at cars, but can't buy. CHECK...