Dealers start to worry about ebbing repair income from electric cars

Honda Clarity Fuel Cell on lift at dealershipThe average vehicle on U.S. roads these days is more than 10 years old, despite three successive years of record new-vehicle sales. That's a result not only of the 2008-2010 recession but also vastly more durable and reliable vehicles compared to those of previous decades. All of those vehicles provide a ready stream of service revenue to...

Why some cities should kick out cars, but others can’t and won’t

Bollore BlueCars recharging at Paris curb for the Autolib electric-car sharing service, Sep 2016U.S. visitors to European cities, especially capitals like Paris and Rome and Madrid and London, often remark how different they are from those in the U.S. Many of their historic cores, dating back far before automobiles existed, remain intact—and for much of the 20th century, they coexisted uncomfortably with those cars and trucks. Now...

Tesla Model S racing is now a real thing, approved by FIA sanctioning body

Tesla Model S P100D Electric Production Car Series race carIt's formally called the Electric Production Car Series, but for the moment it may come to be known as "the Tesla Model S series" by electric-car fans and racing followers alike. After being unveiled almost two years ago, it's now officially a legitimate racing series: On Wednesday that the FIA, the governing body for world motorsports, officially...

Plug-in electric car sales for Jan fall after year-end surge

2018 Nissan Leaf electric car, test-driven by Shiva of Fremont, California, Oct 2017While 2017 saw higher U.S. sales of plug-in electric cars than any previous year, expectations for 2018 sales are running even higher. The Chevrolet Bolt EV will be available in all 50 states for a full year, the new 2018 Nissan Leaf with a 151-mile range is now on sale, and of course the Tesla Model 3 will be a factor. How much of a factor...

Harley Davidson to offer electric motorcycle within 18 months, says CEO

Harley-Davidson Livewire electric motorcycle in The Avengers movieHarley Davidson president and CEO Matt Levatitch said Tuesday an electric motorcycle “is an active project we’re preparing to bring to market in 18 months.” Clearly the its Livewire Project, shown in the U.S. in 2014 and Europe in 2015, gave Harley the positive feedback it needed to dedicate resources to developing an electric...

When do electric-car tax credits expire? (updated for 2018)

Chevrolet Bolt EV being charged outside Go Forth electric-car showroom, Portland   [photo: Forth]In less than three months, personal income-tax returns or 2017 will be due for most U.S. adults. Some of those taxpayers will have bought a plug-in electric car last year, knowing that the Federal government offers an income-tax credit to help reduce the effective cost. But as more and more electric cars hit the roads, will electric-car shoppers...