As Ford and GM appear poised to go big on a range of battery electric full-size pickups, Stellantis and its Ram brand are readying more than BEVs as they shift to cleaner trucks. The range of Ram possibilities that became a little clearer last week, surrounding the reveal of the Ram 1500 Revolution BEV Concept at CES, includes an electric... Ram confirms range-extended EV, considers fuel-cell HD trucks
As Ford and GM appear poised to go big on a range of battery electric full-size pickups, Stellantis and its Ram brand are readying more than BEVs as they shift to cleaner trucks. The range of Ram possibilities that became a little clearer last week, surrounding the reveal of the Ram 1500 Revolution BEV Concept at CES, includes an electric... 
Just a year ago, GM changed its tune about the possibility of hybrids—and plug-in hybrids like the much-loved Chevrolet Volt—in the company’s near-term future. Put simply, GM was finished with hybrids. There will be no follow-ups to the Volt, no long-rumored plug-in hybrid crossover, and even no more hybrids on the way. With the... 
The rapid progress of lithium-ion battery-cell energy density and the growth of fast-charging networks have together helped write the epitaph for BMW’s range-extending technology, badged REx on the BMW i3. “It has no future,” replied Jan Freimann, BMW’s manager for connected e-mobility and one of the company’s battery... 
Mazda's new concept may sport a set of suicide doors and have an optional rotary engine, but it's not a performance coupe; it's an electric crossover, and it's aimed squarely at the European market. The Mazda MX-30 borrows its designation from the old "Mazda eXperimental" nomenclature closely associated with piston engines (as opposed to Rotary... 
Mazda has confirmed that it will reveal its first “mass-production battery electric vehicle” at the Tokyo Motor Show on October 23. The electric vehicle will be a completely new model, according to Mazda, and will, like the new Mazda 3, follow Mazda’s new clean-slate, human-centered design approach. Mazda is offers no further... 
The Wankel rotary, the peculiar pistonless internal combustion engine design that Mazda built so much of its heritage around, may see a resurgence after all. Earlier reports and remarks from Mazda executives have suggested that while the rotary will make a comeback, it will be relegated to what’s essentially an emergency generator—a... 
Electric trucks are getting more attention now than they did eight years ago, as the world prepared for the launch of the first modern electric cars to be sold in volume. The Tesla Semi tends to draw enormous amounts of attention, while less glamorous fleet buyers are ever more favorable toward plug-in electric trucks for known urban routes within... ![2017 BMW i3 REx range-extended electric car [photo: Chris Neff]](https://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/2017-bmw-i3-rex-range-extended-electric-car-photo-chris-neff_100622577_t.gif)
How badly do you want to buy a BMW i3 electric car? Badly enough to move to areas of California where Southern California Edison will be your electric utility? If so, a new program offered through April 30 will give residential customers and SCE employees $10,000 off the purchase of any model of the i3. DON'T MISS: How to buy or lease an electric... 
Mazda's famed rotary engine may spin once again. The automaker confirmed the development of a range-extending rotary engine with Toyota for use in a shared future project. Toyota revealed the e-Palette concept on Monday at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The vehicle, a battery-electric and self-driving prototype, previews one... 
As European countries continue to crack down on emissions from road vehicles, automakers are stepping up with solutions to ease reduce levels of smog-causing nitrogen oxides, especially in city centers. Ford identified the commercial vehicle segment as one it believes is ripe for electrification, and earlier this month it revealed its Ford Transit... ![2012 Chevrolet Volt crosses 400,000 miles, September 2017 [photo: owner Erick Belmore]](http://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/2012-chevrolet-volt-crosses-400000-miles-september-2017-photo-owner-erick-belmore_100621124_t.gif)
As more battery-electric cars are sold and more drivers become aware of them, the question of battery life recurs among pretty much every potential buyer. How long will the battery last? Will I have to replace it every 18 months as I do in my smartphone? Data on the liquid-cooled battery packs of older Tesla Model S and Chevrolet Volt cars offers... 
While the 2018 BMW i3 will formally debut next week at the Frankfurt auto show, the company has released details ahead of time on the updates to the lineup of its compact electric car. While battery range stays the same as last year, a new i3s model (for Sport) has been added, with revised suspension and a Sport mode added to its drive-mode... 
The 2017 Karma Revero remains as much of a head-turner today as the low, sleek four-door sedan was when it debuted a decade ago under another name. It also happens to be a range-extended electric luxury sedan, though we tend to think that the Karma would sell just as well if it ran on coal dust and baby-seal blood. It's a big, low, handsome shape... ![2014 BMW i3 REx range-extended electric car at 3 years [photo: owner Tom Moloughney]](http://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/2014-bmw-i3-rex-range-extended-electric-car-at-3-years-photo-owner-tom-moloughney_100607410_t.gif)
This week, my 2014 i3 REx turned three years old; I picked it up on May 21, 2014. For the most part I’ve been very pleased with the car. It’s definitely not perfect, but then again no car is. It has fit my needs and driving demands perfectly and I only needed to drive on the range extender for about 2,700 of the 71,000 miles that I've... 
Recent patent filings suggest Mazda’s next Wankel engine will equip a battery-powered car, not a rear-wheel drive heir to emblematic sports coupes like its RX-7 and RX-8. Mazda has invested more time and money into the rotary engine than any other automaker, so executives are reluctant to let it fade away into history. While the RX-8 has... ![2013 Chevrolet Volt in Venice, California [photo: Chris Williams]](http://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/2013-chevrolet-volt_100407520_t.gif)
Unlike conventional hybrids and many plug-in hybrids, the first-generation Chevrolet Volt makes extensive use of both electric and gasoline power. With a fully-charged battery pack, it will drive on electric power alone until the charge is depleted, at which point the onboard gasoline engine activates. The gasoline engine serves as a generator... 
Advocates of battery-electric and hydrogen fuel-cell cars are often at odds over which powertrain technology is the more practical solution to reducing emissions. But French firm Symbio continues to experiment with ways to combine the two. It fits hydrogen fuel cells as range extenders for battery-electric vehicles, primarily small delivery vans... ![Section of 2018 BMW i3 spy shot [image via S. Baldauf/SB-Medien, as used on Motor Authority]](http://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/section-of-2018-bmw-i3-spy-shot-image-via-s-baldauf-sb-medien-as-used-on-motor-authority_100593578_t.gif)
This year's updated BMW i3 electric car is only just arriving at U.S. dealerships after a battery-capacity boost that gives it longer range. But already some details of the 2018 BMW i3 have leaked out, in the form of spy photos and further rumors about more battery capacity yet. Unlike our usual previews based on manufacturer releases, then... 
The 2017 BMW i3 represents the first significant update of BMW's electric car since it went on sale in the U.S. back in May 2014. This mid-cycle refresh includes several updates, most notably a much larger battery pack and a corresponding increase in its EPA-rated range. Battery capacity rises 50 percent, from 22 to 33 kilowatt hours, and BMW says...