Explaining how Honda Accord Hybrid system works: video

2017 Honda Accord HybridThe 2017 Honda Accord Hybrid mid-size sedan returned last year, ending a one-year hiatus for the model. The new version uses an updated version of the two-motor hybrid powertrain fitted to earlier hybrid Accords, which were sold as 2014 and 2015 models. That powertrain is notable because it uses a gasoline engine to power the wheels in some...

What will you be driving 10 years from now? Poll results

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EVWith news stories literally every day about autonomous vehicle tests, and the growing number of plug-in electric vehicles on sale, the future is ... well, up in the air. Readers of this site tend to be more future-oriented than many car buyers, so we polled our Twitter followers about their views of the matter. We asked what they thought they...

Diesel owners in Germany who sue VW face significant hurdles

2010 Volkswagen Golf TDIIn the U.S., owners of Volkswagen 2.0-liter TDI diesel cars with illegal "defeat device" software have reached a settlement with VW—and a preliminary agreement for a smaller number of affected 3.0-liter V-6 diesels is largely, if not entirely, settled. It may have taken months of negotiating, but 2.0-liter diesel owners can be assured of...

Green car preview at Detroit Auto Show

City of Detroit, by jdurchen [Flickr]Media days for the 2017 Detroit Auto Show begin amidst significant uncertainty about green cars and their future in the U.S. It remains unclear how the incoming Trump Administration will treat current fuel-economy and emissions standards. Continued low gas prices are driving a boom in SUV and crossover sales, something reflected in the number new...

Tesla starts cell production at Gigafactory, shows it off to investors

Tesla gigafactory, March 2016, shown in drone footage posted to YouTube by Above RenoSlightly less than three years after it was first announced, Tesla is now producing lithium-ion battery cells at its massive "Gigafactory." Billed as the largest factory of its kind in the world, the Gigafactory was conceived to provide the volume and economies of scale necessary for Tesla to produce electric cars in truly large quantities. It has...

Plug-in electric car sales in Dec: Bolt EV launches; Leaf, Volt rise

First 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV buyers, Fremont, California: Bobby Edmonds, Bill Mattos, Steve HenryAs sales results trickle in from automakers throughout the day, industry analysts will be waiting to see whether enough buyers signed on the line to make 2016 a new record sales year. Among cars with plugs, however, the trend was clearly up—and December saw the first sales of the long-awaited 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, the 238-mile...

Tesla can no longer sell cars in Missouri stores; dealer lobby lauds victory

Tesla Store opening in Westfield Mall, London, Oct 2013Just as the new year began, Tesla was dealt a fresh setback in its campaign to make its electric cars directly available to customers throughout the U.S. Tesla's license to sell cars through its Missouri showrooms expired Saturday, following a circuit-court judge's decision that prevented renewal. In an August court case, Cole County Circuit Court...

Hyundai Ioniq, Sonata plug-in hybrids available anywhere in U.S.

2017 Hyundai IoniqSome manufacturers only offer their plug-in hybrid models in certain markets, even as hybrid models are now generally offered nationwide. Like electric cars, plug-in hybrid sales are sometimes limited to markets deemed suitably friendly to these types of vehicles by their makers. But Hyundai has a more ambitious strategy. DON'T MISS: 2017 Hyundai...