American commute times reached record highs in 2018

Traffic in Atlanta, Georgia during rush hour (via Wikimedia)The average American now spends 54 minutes commuting each day (27 minutes each way), or 20 minutes more each week and 17 hours more each year than they did a decade ago, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Commute times have been on the rise since 1980, The Washington Post reported Monday. Over that period, Americans have sacrificed the...

Payment not accepted: Volta’s free DC fast charging network starts soon

Volta free DC fast chargingA California-based company is taking the ad-supported model popularized by smartphone apps and applying it to the next generation of vehicle infrastructure with a nationwide network of free DC fast charging stations. Volta announced last week that it will build 150 stations over the course of the next year, it said in its announcement. This first...

Will Tesla’s purchase of battery maker lead to proprietary cells?

Tour of Tesla battery gigafactory for invited owners, Reno, Nevada, July 2016Tesla's quiet acquisition of a Canadian battery manufacturer may be the first significant indicator yet that the Silicon Valley EV builder plans to develop its own future battery tech. Some time over the summer, Tesla discretely purchased Ontario-based Hibar Systems Ltd., Electric Autonomy Canada reported on Friday. The acquisition only came to...

The most important electric cars for 2020

Rivian R1SElectric-car debuts continue apace for 2020, and not one on our list feels like a rush job from any of their respective automakers. That’s because mainstream electric cars have become deliberate automobiles themselves. No longer relegated to low-volume “compliance cars” or hurried powertrain swaps, the electric cars on our list...