How to drive Ford C-Max Hybrid for best gas mileage? Owner video explains

Hypermiling a Ford C-Max HybridPurchasing a hybrid vehicle makes for a slightly different ownership experience than a traditional gasoline-only car. There are always a few tips and tricks for owners to return the best mileage and range from electrified vehicles, and now a 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid owner has shared his secrets. Owner Paul Jones has prepared a detailed video to...

Electric-car leases in California: Leaf, Volt, Focus vs Clarity

2017 Honda Clarity ElectricThe state of California is undeniably the United States' premier market for electric vehicles. It's also a market where automakers actually need to sell certain volumes of zero-emission cars, which means some of the nation's best lease deals on electric cars can be found in the Golden State. There are plenty of electrified vehicles to choose from...

Nissan Gripz Concept uses Note e-Power series-hybrid system

Nissan Gripz concept, 2015 Frankfurt Auto ShowThe series-hybrid powertrain, in which motive power is provided exclusively by one or more electric motors that run on electricity produced by a combustion engine, has been popular in trains and boats for many decades. In cars, it's been confined to the BMW i3 REx and the Fisker Karma (now Karma Revero). Even the first-generation Chevrolet Volt...

Driving a Chevy Bolt EV electric car halfway across the U.S.: what it takes

Driving a 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV from Virginia to Missouri, June 2017  [photo: Bill Massmann]How badly do you want a new, affordable, long-range electric car? Badly enough to drive it more than 800 miles without a unified fast-charging infrastructure? That's exactly what Bill Massmann, a professional land surveyor in St. Louis, Missouri, did to become the proud owner of a new 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car. DON'T MISS: Chevy Bolt EV...

Texas restores $2,500 electric-car purchase rebate, except for Teslas

Tesla owners & supporters gather in Statehouse in Austin to support company [photo: John Griswell]Ah, Texas, the state that was formerly a nation and continues to do things slightly differently. Its politics is bare-knuckle, its hats are big, and so are its ranches. It also generates more renewable wind energy than any other state in the union. Its auto-dealer lobbyists, however, are equally large and powerful. DON'T MISS: Tesla Loses Legal...

Ohio bill would grant permanent subsidies to coal-fired power plants

Coal, by Flicker user oatsy40 (Used Under CC License)It's now widely acknowledged that the energy and electricity-generation landscape is changing rapidly. The U.S. has vastly increased its oil and gas production, driving down prices of fossil fuels globally. At the same time, ever-cheaper renewable energy—not only solar, but surprisingly fast-growing wind generation—is now...

Self-driving Chevy Bolt EV electric test cars to be deployed

One of 130 second-generaiton self-driving Chevrolet Bolt EV electric cars, with GM CEO Mary BarraIt's widely acknowledged that most, if not all, of the autonomous vehicles expected to reach our roads in volume will be electric cars. Without the complexity of a combustion engine and transmission that must be electromechanically controlled, the task of automating the driving of a vehicle is considerably simpler. It largely comes down to a...

Hyundai Kona small SUV revealed, with electric version to come

2018 Hyundai KonaHyundai has finally shown the world its subcompact crossover utility vehicle, the 2018 Hyundai Kona. The 2018 Kona marks the brand's first foray into the subcompact SUV segment and will likely arrive in the United States next year or for 2019. The Kona name comes from the tourist spot in Hawaii and is meant to signify the vehicle's adventurous...

BMW venture arm invests in U.S. electric-bus maker Proterra

Proterra Catalyst electric busYou can't buy one at your local car dealer, but electric transit buses have a significant role to play in reducing vehicular emissions and expanding the spread of electric-vehicle technology. Two companies have a majority of the U.S. market for electric buses, which is growing quickly if perhaps more quietly than that for electric cars. The U.S...

Mercedes to make electric cars at its China factory with BAIC

Mercedes-Benz EQ electric car concept  [photo: Axel Harries]It's not only electric cars: China is also now the world's largest market for luxury cars. Audi got an early foothold among party officials and high-ranking government officials, but the allure of global brands has ensured that Mercedes-Benz and BMW sell lots of cars there as well. Now, Mercedes parent company Daimler is combining its local...

California joins Germany in climate coalition to support Paris pact

California state capitol, SacramentoThe 50 states that make up the U.S. don't get to set their own foreign policies (neither do Canadian provinces). But that doesn't necessarily prevent them from working with other countries on matters of mutual interest. And that's just what California is doing in an agreement announced this weekend that expands its efforts to battle climate change...

How much would relaxing U.S. fuel-economy rules matter? Poll results

Gas pumpOne of the earliest acts of the Trump Administration was to announce that it would re-examine emission rules finalized by the EPA in the waning days of the Obama Administration. Making good on that promise, EPA administrator (and climate-science denier) Scott Pruitt reopened the commenting period on tailpipe-emission limits of carbon dioxide...

Honda’s all-electric NSX 4-Motor EV is more advanced than any Tesla

Honda's head of research and development, Sekino Yosuke, has revealed the next-generation Honda NSX could be based on the firm’s 1,000 hp Pikes Peak race car, the NSX-inspired 4-Motor Acura EV Concept.

The 4-Motor Acura EV finished third overall at the Pikes Peak hill climb in 2016. That was thanks to its all-electric all-wheel-drive powertrain, comprising four electric motors that developed around 740 kW and 800 Nm of torque, a 70 kwh lithium-ion battery pack and only 1,500 kg kerb weight. Honda claims the electric NSX is capable of 0-100 km/h in 2.5 seconds and 0-200 km/h in 6.2 seconds.

With the current all wheel drive hybrid NSX having only been on sale since last year, an all-new NSX is unlikely to be launched before 2023, when battery technology is expected to have progressed significantly.

Honda first demonstrated a 4-Motor EV CR-Z prototype in 2015 with journalists who test drove the vehicle suggesting torque vectoring gave it cornering ability in a whole other league to a Model S.

While there's no denying Tesla, especially with ludicrous mode, have re-calibrated the auto-industry's definition of 'quick', it's probably less well known that Tesla's powertrain is actually based on 1990s technology with the 3 phase AC induction motor and controller designs originally licensed from EV1 drive system engineer Alan Cocconi.

Unlike current high performance all-wheel drive electric vehicles, like Tesla's Model S P100D, which use 2x motors and conventional mechanical differentials, Honda's electric NSX features four electric motors — one for each wheel.

With a dedicated motor at each corner, the Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD) system can precisely apply either positive or negative torque individually to each wheel. This opens the door to torque vectoring and full-time active yaw control - something that will make consumer EVs safer and more energy efficient.

How does this work? Imagine electronic stability control that, instead of applying friction brakes (wasted energy), applies negative torque (regenerative braking) to individual wheels. Unlike friction-brake based ISC, the NSX 4-Motor system can also apply positive torque to individual wheels. Combining that range of precise control with a multi gyro inertial measurement platform unlocks an entirely new level of safety and high performance active dynamic control.

While it might be another 5-6 years before Honda's 4-Motor Super Handling All-Wheel Drive makes it into production, the team at Evans Electric are developing an AWD torque vectoring system based on compact Axial flux induction motors.

2017 Ford Fusion Energi: low electric range, no public charging frustrating

2017 Ford Fusion EnergiElectric-car charging infrastructure in the United States is getting better, but still has a very long way to go. While anyone that's given even a passing glance to plug-in vehicles would likely tell you the same thing, I experienced the impact of a charging-free society first-hand while driving a Ford Fusion Energi. The plug-in hybrid Fusion...