In an ideal world, this is how electric-car tax credits should work

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car at EVgo fast-charging station, Newport Centre, Jersey City, NJThe tax reform bill likely to be voted on by the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives retained a number of provisions originally slated to be cut from the tax code. Among them was the federal income-tax credit for purchase of a plug-in electric vehicle. Three carmakers—General Motors, Nissan, and Tesla—have now used more than half...

2018 Kia Niro Plug-In Hybrid first drive review

2018 Kia Niro Plug-In Hybrid, Six Flags Magic Mountain, California, Dec 2017Some plug-in hybrid models are easily distinguishable from the rest of the cars their maker sells. Others, like the 2018 Kia Niro Plug-In Hybrid, are all but invisible. It takes a sharp eye to see the charging port door on the left-front fender or the trim and badging differences that distinguish it from a garden-variety Niro Hybrid. We spent 500...

Electric-car tax credit retained in Congressional tax reform bill: report

U.S. Capitol BuildingWe'll likely never know whether it was the influence of auto lobbyists, pressure from the actual public, or a letter signed by two dozen mayors. But however the sausage was made, it appears that the U.S. income-tax credit for purchase of a plug-in electric vehicle will not be killed after all. Whether it would survive amidst the sweeping changes...

Which plug-in hybrid would you buy today if you had to? Twitter poll

2018 Chevrolet VoltThis has been something of a plug-in hybrid month. Last week we got our first drive in the 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid, which we felt was the first affordable car with a range similar to that of the Chevrolet Volt. This week we're driving the 2018 Kia Niro Plug-In Hybrid. DON'T MISS: 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid first drive That car and...

Can Honda break through buyer confusion about plug-in hybrids?

Frame from 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid With the launch of the 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid sedan, the Chevrolet Volt now has its first serious competition among long-range plug-in hybrids. About 25,000 second-generation Volts were sold last year, and this year's number will be about 20,000. Honda says it may sell about the same number of plug-in Claritys. On a media drive last...