Shell Airflow Starship semi truck aims for fuel-economy record

Shell Airflow Starship fuel economy record truckTrucks use an awful lot more fuel than cars. Consequently, the fuel you can save from making small improvements can be massive. That’s what Bob Sliwa aims to do when he sets out from San Diego, Calif., on May 17 in his Shell Airflow Starship record truck. Hauling his full-sized trailer fully loaded to the truck's 80,000 pounds capacity, he...

1970 Clean Car Race: How college teams helped bring about emission limits on new cars (and show up Detroit) after the first Earth Day.

Life magazine centerspread of 1970 Clean Air Car Race entriesWhen it comes to changing the world, never count out a bunch of college students with pens and wrenches. In response to growing demands to clean up the air, particularly from automotive exhaust pipes, and growing pushback from automakers, a bunch of college students banded together in 1970 to prove they could make cars cleaner than Detroit could...

2018 Nissan Leaf electric car: Is there a fast-charging problem?

2018 Nissan Leaf with EVgo fast charger at NJ Turnpike Molly Pitcher travel plaza, Feb 2018As Tesla has shown, not all fast charging is created equal. Now owners of the new 2018 Nissan Leaf are complaining that that the car's "fast" charging is not always as fast as advertised. Owners have found that the car's electronic management software dials back charging speeds with each successive fast charge on any given trip. Nissan says this...

Classic Mini converted to electric previews 2019 Mini E to come

Classic Mini with electric powertrainWith a new, all-electric Mini E set to arrive in dealerships in a year or less, BMW wants to highlight the idea of a Mini Cooper powered by batteries. That's what led it to display an "old Mini" converted to electric power at a reception before last week's New York auto show. Sadly, the car wasn't on display at the show itself because—as...

Jaguar I-Pace electric car to join Waymo’s self-driving car fleet

Waymo Jaguar I-PaceBritish carmaker Jaguar Land Rover and Waymo said Tuesday the carmaker would sell Google's autonomous-car technology arm up to 20,000 of its new all-electric Jaguar I-Pace SUV to be used in self-driving service by 2020. While last week's news focused entirely on the fatal crash of a Volvo converted by Uber to autonomous operation—apparently...

Mercedes-Benz takes the electric car plunge, but diesel is here to stay

Mercedes-Benz EQA concept, 2017 Frankfurt auto showDaimler AG executives said Tuesday that diesel power for Mercedes cars is here to stay, even as electric cars and electrified mobility spreads throughout its passenger and commercial vehicles, and even its global partnerships. Electrified vehicles include everything from 48-volt mild hybrids through plug-in hybrids to battery-electric cars. At the...

Audi e-tron electric SUV appears in camouflage at Geneva show, on city roads

Camouflaged 2019 Audi e-tron electric SUV on stage at 2018 Geneva auto showThe Geneva auto show was expected to offer the first head-to-head comparison between the first two all-electric SUVs models from European luxury brands, both starting deliveries later this year. It didn't quite work out that way. The 2019 Jaguar I-Pace did indeed debut last Friday, before media days at the show, but the 2019 Audi e-tron didn't...