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...

Ford Transit Connect Hybrid taxi prototype to appear in Detroit

Ford Transit Connect Hybrid taxi prototypeThe Ford Transit Connect small van has proven popular among U.S. taxi drivers. In some cities, you're just as likely to find Transit Connect taxis plying the streets as traditional sedans—especially in taxi-rich New York City. But now Ford plans to put a new—and greener—spin on this workaday vehicle. DON'T MISS: Ford plans...

Tesla delivered 76,000 cars in 2016, missing its goal

2017 Tesla Model SWhile the auto industry will start to report December and year-end sales totals today, Tesla Motors issued its year-end delivery and production results yesterday. The Silicon Valley car maker, now completing its ninth year of production, delivered 22,230 electric cars during the fourth quarter of 2016. That brings its total for last year to 76,230...

Most autonomous cars shown at CES are electrified: preview

Hyundai Ioniq autonomous prototypeThe annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas has become a major venue for automakers. Increased interest in connectivity and autonomous driving, as well as collaborations with tech companies, have led to a greater automaker presence at CES, held just before the annual Detroit Auto Show. Last year, General Motors chose CES, and not the auto...

2017 Mitsubishi Mirage G4: gas mileage review

2017 Mitsubishi Mirage G4 SE, Catskill Mountains, NY, Nov 2016The Mitsubishi Mirage is the underdog of small cars: slow, loud, and archaic, but scrappy. And it's been a much bigger sales success than Mitsubishi expected, given the small numbers of minicars and subcompacts sold in the U.S. these days. For 2017, Mitsubishi added a four-door sedan model dubbed G4 to the existing five-door hatchback, and gave...

Tesla upgrades Autopilot for 1,000 ‘Hardware 2’ cars to test

2017 Tesla Model STesla Motors is now beginning to roll out upgraded software to accompany the more complex suite of sensors known as "Hardware 2" that launched in October. All Model S and Model X electric cars built since then have this array of eight cameras, 12 ultrasonic sensors, as opposed to the less-elaborate "Hardware 1" package used previously. But while...

UK moves ahead on lower-carbon power to end coal use by 2025

Coal, by Flicker user oatsy40 (Used Under CC License)The United Kingdom is increasing its use of low-carbon energy sources as it moves to phase out coal-fired power plants altogether by 2025. Renewable-energy sources such as wind and solar, combined with nuclear power and generating plants fired with renewable wood pellets, are displacing fossil fuels in the country's electricity-generation mix...

Woz is getting a Chevy Bolt EV after all; it arrives today

Steve Wozniak and a Chevrolet Bolt EVIt appears that Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak—also known as "Woz"—is getting his 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV after all. In September, the car's chief engineer, Josh Tavel, showed Woz a pre-production version of the Bolt EV, and took him for a ride. Woz seemed to like what he saw. DON'T MISS: Woz got a Tesla, not a Chevy Bolt EV...

Electric-car market share in 2020: estimates vary widely

2017 Nissan Leaf  Of the new cars sold globally in 2020, what percentage will be electric? It's a simple question, but at the moment there doesn't appear to be a clear answer. Estimates of electric-car market share approximately three years from now vary widely, as do those for periods further beyond that. DON'T MISS: Electric Cars To Be 35 Percent Of Global Sales...

More solar energy was added in 2016 than natural gas or wind

Photovoltaic solar power field at Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, TennesseeRenewable-energy growth has accelerated in 2016, but this may go down as a milestone year for one renewable-energy source in particular. Together, all renewable-energy sources are expected to account for 8 percent of U.S. electricity-generation capacity in 2017, according to the Department of Energy, and solar energy is responsible for most of...