Chatbot for Kia Niro hybrid vs driving the actual car

2017 Kia Niro Touring, Catskill Mountains, NY, March 2017A chatbot would never lie to you, right? That’s what I wanted to find out when I tested a Facebook Messenger chatbot for the 2017 Kia Niro crossover, which recently won the Guinness Book of World Records for the lowest fuel consumption for a hybrid vehicle. (It was an interesting competition, because two people drove across the United States...

South’s good ol’ boy drag racers whupped by Tesla, not happy about it

Tesla Model S P100D drag raceFor as long as there have been automobiles, drivers have had the itch to go faster than the guy in the next car. Throughout decades we've seen horsepower wars waged between giant, large displacement V-8 engines and even 4-cylinder engines with plenty of forced induction. The rise of the electric car, however, has changed things quite a bit. DON'T...

Soaring growth of solar power demonstrated in one chart

Photovoltaic solar power field at Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, TennesseeSometimes a picture is truly worth a thousand words. In the case of the rapidly rising rate of solar generation for electricity, numerous forecasts by internationally respected bodies have proven woefully conservative. The image in the tweet below, created by Auke Hoestra at the Technical University of Eindhoven, in The Netherlands, shows it...

German electric-car industry centers in ‘Silicon Saxony’

Mercedes-Benz EQ electric car concept  [photo: Axel Harries]Silicon Valley seems to grab many of the tech headlines in the United States, especially when it comes to autonomous vehicles, cars than plug in, and the future of transportation. Electric-car maker Tesla has undeniably contributed to Silicon Valley's automotive chops, but other makers are working to ensure they aren't left behind as software...

2017 Chevy Bolt EV electric car at 6 months: owner’s likes, recommendations

John and Mimi Porter of San Diego, California, with their new 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, in Feb 2017The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV is the first mass-priced electric car with a range of more than 200 miles, and it's already had a big impact on the California market. While it continues to trickle into dealerships in other states, a few lucky Californians now have six months in the 238-mile electric hatchback under their belt. An early owner, John...

2017 Chevy Bolt EV electric car at 6 months: owner’s likes, recommendations

John and Mimi Porter of San Diego, California, with their new 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, in Feb 2017The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV is the first mass-priced electric car with a range of more than 200 miles, and it's already had a big impact on the California market. While it continues to trickle into dealerships in other states, a few lucky Californians now have six months in the 238-mile electric hatchback under their belt. An early owner, John...

Toyota, Honda, Nissan, other Japan firms to fund hydrogen fueling

Hydrogen station in Ebina City, JapanEarlier this year in Europe, 13 companies joined forces to create the Hydrogen Council, a global initiative to discuss and promote the use of hydrogen as a renewable source of energy. In the United States, GM and Honda have partnered up to build a production plant in Michigan that will roll out next-generation propulsion systems for fuel-cell...