EPA says fuel economy rose in 2017, but it may be falling again

2019 Honda InsightAn EPA report released Wednesday shows that cars are getting better gas mileage in response to rising fuel economy standards. Yet a roaring economy and low gas prices have put Americans on a truck-buying spree, and the EPA is working to undermine those standards. According to its annual automotive trends report, the average new car reached a...

Electrified Bell Nexus concept shows how Uber Air could take off

Bell Nexus VTOL hybrid air taxiAlthough flying cars aren’t looking that much closer to reality, your Uber could take to the air in just a few years and be electric. Well, mostly electric, eventually. Hybrid electric-powered vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) vehicles could come into service specifically as air taxis. In January, at CES, Bell Helicopter presented one such...

Audi e-tron Sportback electric SUV edges closer to production form

2020 Audi e-tron Sportback prototypeWe've seen and driven the upcoming Audi e-tron quattro electric SUV, and this week got a look at the more affordable Q4 e-tron as well as four new plug-in hybrids coming from Audi. In between, the brand is also scheduled to release a fastback version of the e-tron Quattro SUV, called the e-tron Sportback. Auto-industry observers got their first...

Nissan Leaf crosses 400,000 cumulative global sales

2019 Nissan LeafWith Tesla looming in its rearview mirrors, the little Nissan Leaf is chuffing ahead in the global electric-car sales race. The company that built the original modern electric car announced on Tuesday that it sold its 400,000th copy of the Leaf worldwide, just as the longer-range Leaf Plus version goes on sale to spar with Tesla's new Short Range...

BMW X3 xDrive 30e builds out plug-in hybrid lineup

BMW X3 xDrive30eBMW has recently announced that it will upgrade two mainstays of its plug-in hybrid lineup in the U.S. with the new 2020 X5 xDrive 45e and an updated 530e for 2019. In between, BMW now says it will launch a new plug-in hybrid version of its bestselling model, the X3 for the 2020 model year. The 2020 BMW X3 xDrive 30e gets 31 miles of plug-in range...