Electric Vehicle

Kia Motors is having a busy year, reloading with seven all-new or refreshed vehicles this year, not the least of which is the 2014 Kia Soul that we first saw at the New York Auto Show. If you believe ...    Read more

The all-electric subcompact segment is suddenly heating up. We recently got behind the wheel of the 2013 Fiat 500e and now, the 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV is joining in on the fun. Chevy has given its pint-sized EV a starting price of 27,495, ...    Read more

Tesla Motors announced today that is has repaid the entire loan it received from the Department of Energy back in 2010. Oh, and we should probably mention it did so nine years ahead of schedule. That $451.8 million Tesla was on the hook for also includes all interest accrued in ...    Read more

It's pretty safe to assume that this slab-sided thing caught by the friendly people at our sister publication Motor Trend is undoubtedly a Toyota. It was seen this morning on the Interstate 405 just miles from Toyota's Torrance headquarters; neighbor Honda typically uses California plates for its cars out our way. ...    Read more

When Fiat took over Chrysler back in 2009, there were rumblings that the Italian automaker would bring the Pentastar back to Turin. Now, as Italy's economic turmoil rages on, it appears that Fiat is kicking around the idea of ditching its home of more than 100 years in Lingotto--and its ...    Read more

Like Acura and the second-coming of the NSX, fellow Japanese automaker Infiniti has plans to roll out a flagship sports car that will rely on a hybrid powertrain. This unnamed sports car is expected to feature technology previously seen in the Emerg-e and Essence concepts. Infiniti hasn't confirmed anything yet, ...    Read more

Electric and hybrid vehicles are the way of the future, or a passing fad, depending on who you ask. For the Chrysler Group, electric and hybrid vehicles have always seemed to have fallen into a gray area. That is, until the 2013 Fiat 500e showed up. Fiat and Chrysler Group boss ...    Read more

"I saw a Coda a while back. On the street. That someone paid for. And was driving," I said this morning to a colleague who works across the building. He'd never seen one outside of  Motor Trend's "Car of the Year" testing circuit last year. Most people hadn't. That could explain ...    Read more

Toyota is taking a bath on its hydrogen vehicle development program. Going on sale in 2015, the car whose technology once cost more than $1 million per unit will come down between $50,000 and $100,000 when it goes on sale in two years' time. We think it will be even ...    Read more

Tesla Motors really does seem hellbent on getting rid of the stigmas associated with electric cars: limited range, battery deterioration, high costs of ownership, and everything that comes with ...    Read more

The Ford Fiesta is the automaker's entry-level offering, and it has added new engine options of late to make for a very diverse range. It appears Ford is at least exploring future possibilities of expanding that range, partnering up with German tech supplier Schaeffler to produce an ...    Read more

It all comes down to personal preference. Do you want a beefy V-8 engine? Or are you more concerned with your carbon footprint? Do you want smartphone integration? Or do you like left being left alone while you drive? According to a recent report by J.D. Power and Associates, when ...    Read more

With its newest concept, the Toyota Me.We, is a symbol of minimalism in a world of excess. Toyota has just unveiled the concept in Paris, and says the inspiration for the vehicle came from a desire to move away from the motor industry tradition. This is an alternative to cars ...    Read more

As the 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV draws nearer to production, we're slowly getting more and more details for the little electric car. Chevrolet's first all-electric car--and the first all-electric vehicle GM has bestowed upon customers since the GM EV1 of the late 1990s--the 2014 Spark EV will have an electric ...    Read more

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Nissan have launched a new electric vehicle taxi in celebration of Earth Day. The pilot program will put six Nissan Leaf taxis into service this spring to help show the city, the taxi industry, and the general public that zero emission vehicles can ...    Read more

Brash and outspoken, we've got to say we miss Bob Lutz and his candidness, which have been missing on a regular basis since he retired from General Motors in 2010. The former executive spoke this week at SAE International's World Congress, a consortium of auto companies and their engineers, to ...    Read more

To attract more drivers to its upcoming electric car, BMW will be offering extra services, including the use of gas-powered models. The automaker will install optional at-home charging stations for the i3 city car, which will ...    Read more

Tesla Motors is continuing its fight to set up independent stores to sell its novel electric cars, and dealers are fighting back. Now its CEO, Elon Musk, says he's willing to take his case to Washington to smite the traditional dealership sales model in one fell swoop. "If we're seeing nonstop battles ...    Read more

California residents will soon be able to purchase or lease the new 2013 Fiat 500e with ease as the company unveils great financing offers. Already eligible for federal and state electric vehicle tax credits, Fiat will also include its own rebates to sweeten the deal, making the starting price for ...    Read more

The 2014 Cadillac ELR plug-in hybrid is ditching the traditional paddle-shifter route and taking a page from the Fisker Karma, of all things. Unlike traditional paddle shifters that allow the driver to upshift and downshift, the Cadillac ELR's steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters let the driver temporarily regenerate energy and store ...    Read more

BMW launched a new digital tool this week that gives consumers access to data about the range, savings, and environmental impact that BMW ActiveE drivers experience across the country. The "Electronaut Effect" gives unfiltered information that is updated weekly to help potential buyers in their decision to lease or purchase ...    Read more

The whole Fisker Automotive loan debacle is just becoming inane now, if it wasn't already. U.S. House of Representatives member Darrell Issa, R-California, is now seeing if the money that went to Fisker could have been better served going to another start-up automaker ...    Read more

Tesla Motors is a company on the move these days. After testifying in front of Texas' Assembly this week to lift the state's laws on company-owned franchises, CEO Elon Musk said there's a distinct possibility that the electric car maker could open its next plant in the Lonestar State. "When we ...    Read more

Praise for the 2013 Tesla Model S has been nearly universal, with the biggest sticking point being that the car is just too expensive for the average consumer. Compounding the problem, Tesla Motors announced this week that it will no longer build the base $52,400 version with its 40 kWh ...    Read more

Chances are that if you've been in a major metropolitan area or a college campus lately, you've seen Zipcars parked on city streets. Bedecked with vinyl "Zipcar" graphics, the cars are short-term rentals that provide personal transportation for those who may not otherwise have such mobility. If you're in the Los ...    Read more