Yesterday morning, the state of California held a hearing on proposed rules governing self-driving cars. Both automakers and Google objected to the regulations as written, saying that the requirement to comply with voluntary federal regulations issued last month would hobble their development efforts. Then, last night, Tesla Motors announced a... Tesla upgrades self-driving sensors, hardware; full autonomy test next year?
Yesterday morning, the state of California held a hearing on proposed rules governing self-driving cars. Both automakers and Google objected to the regulations as written, saying that the requirement to comply with voluntary federal regulations issued last month would hobble their development efforts. Then, last night, Tesla Motors announced a...
Today, predictions on electric car sales, a new luxury plug-in hybrid sedan, why electric cars exist, and another zero-emission vehicle that would require huge infrastructure spending. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Haven't ordered your Tesla Model 3 yet? The company says new orders won't be delivered until 2018. At the earliest. Think...
Owners love them, but modern electric cars have not made a large dent in sales of internal-combustion cars since becoming widely available five years ago. In fact, but for a few exceptions, electric cars essentially wouldn't exist without legislation aimed at lowering transportation-related carbon emissions. Tesla's success in raising the profile...
The BMW 5-Series has always slotted between the Bavarian maker's high-volume 3-Series and full-size 7-Series in size and price. But while BMW currently offers plug-in hybrid versions of those two sedans, it doesn't yet do so with the 5-Series (although it did show one several years ago as part of a Chinese joint venture). Now BMW is rolling out a...
Sales of plug-in electric cars were essentially flat in the U.S. last year compared to 2014, and this year isn't necessarily going to be much better. Part of that is due to product cadence: the Nissan Leaf and Tesla Model S, two of the top-selling cars in previous years, are now relatively old vehicles. The Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid is only in its...
If you haven't placed your order for a Tesla Model 3, the electric car builder now says that your request won't be fulfilled until the middle of 2018. That's at least a few month delay over the "late 2017" figure for new orders that the automaker had been quoting on its website until just a couple of days ago. DON'T MISS: Readers speculate on...
Today, a name for a future electric car, an energy debate in a small state, and a possible way to turn greenhouse gases into vehicle fuel. All this and more on Green Car Reports. We first saw the Audi e-tron Quattro Concept at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show. Now we learn the production electric car will be named simply Audi e-tron. Everyone assumes...
At least in North America, ethanol is a contentious fuel. A decade ago, it was seen as a homegrown and carbon-neutral way to use less gasoline—and federal legislation mandated that increasing volumes be blended into U.S. fuel supplies. Much debate followed over using "food for fuel," its supposed carbon neutrality and the footprint of the...
The smallest U.S. state now faces a big question on energy policy. Rhode Island is in the midst of deciding whether to continue getting a large portion of energy from fossil fuels, or to switch to renewable energy. Those options are represented by two competing projects: a large natural-gas power plant, and an offshore wind farm. DON'T MISS: Dirty...
The announcement of the Chevrolet Bolt concept car came like a thunderclap at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show. After unveiling the 2016 Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid, General Motors CEO Mary Barra rolled out a bright orange five-door hatchback electric car. It would have 200 or more miles of range, she said, for a price starting at $37,500 before...
Nano Flowcell Holdings hasn't been shy about promoting its flow-cell battery technology. It's displayed flashy concept cars at multiple auto shows, offering bold performance claims for what it said were near production-ready designs. But the company doesn't seem to have given outsiders any significant time behind the wheel of any of its prototype...
Stricter global emissions standards are putting significant pressure on carmakers to improve fuel efficiency and make greater use of electric powertrains. But that may not be the sole force driving automakers toward reduced carbon emissions. Cutting emissions is also a priority for at least some of their investors, it seems. DON'T MISS: India, EU...
We've known for sometime that Audi will launch an all-electric utility vehicle in 2018, but there has been some confusion about what it will be called. It was widely believed that the SUV would carry the Q6 e-tron name, stemming from both its position in the Audi lineup and its use of an electrified powertrain. But now it appears the electric SUV...
A convertible version of the BMW i8 plug-in hybrid coupe was teased as far back as the 2012 New York Auto Show, when the i8 Spyder concept first debuted. But while the i8 coupe went into production as a 2014 model, BMW has been unusually slow to approve a convertible version for production. BMW mentioned an i8 convertible during a March press...
Suppose you're one of the world's three largest automakers. You don't offer a type of vehicle that a relatively small but highly visible customer in your home market wants. Do you have the right to be annoyed if that customer designs those vehicles itself? DON'T MISS: USPS picks AM General to help build next-generation mail trucks Only...
The next generation Mini Countryman crossover utility vehicle will be the brand's first model to offer a plug-in hybrid powertrain. Its parent company BMW has released teaser images confirming an upcoming production plug-in hybrid. While it did not specifically say the model was a Countryman, the camouflaged prototype being driven by Mini...
Last December, representatives form 195 countries met in Paris to negotiate an agreement to address climate change on a global scale. Almost a year later, enough countries have now formally ratified that agreement in order that it can officially take effect. The tipping point was reached when India and the 28 members of the European Union ratified...