Charging your electric vehicle used to be an easy thing, at least in many areas where electrification has long been promoted. Public chargers were installed in high-profile areas like shopping centers, parking garages, and at the workplace. For the longest time, it wasn’t unusual to see these chargers go unused for long periods of time. […]
Plug-in models with greater driving range are here and coming , countered by combustion vehicles that continue to achieve surprising efficiency gains.
Like most kids growing up in the 1960s, my first experience with an electric race car was at a slot car track as a teenager. They were fast…really fast if you used a hopped-up rewind motor capable of smoking competitors off the track. This was followed decades later with the full-scale, real-life electric cars I […]
There is a strong push for self-driving autonomous cars sweeping the auto industry. It’s an interesting mix of competing companies merging with both the traditional car brands and the tech industry. The overriding assumption is that taking the driver out of the transportation equation is better for safety and the environment than human involvement in […]
When it comes to chips, automakers are all-in. That is, the silicon variety and not those with which you can gamble away a fortune, something auto companies are loathe to do. Traditionally, the risks auto manufacturers undertake are carefully calculated and always rooted in the world of profit and market share. As they look to […]
Diesel haters seem to be overly anxious to pile-on and shout ‘death to diesels’ these days. It’s human nature to take offense at being fooled and the diesel market certainly is paying the price of the recent emissions scandal. Serious deception took place and it’s far from forgotten, even as corrections are underway or being […]
Some cars leave an impression that lasts a lifetime. The Ford Mustang is one of those cars for me. As a kid, I was blessed with a dad who always had something unique in the driveway, from a Morris Minor to a Triumph Herald. None were exotic or expensive, but they were fun and more […]
Connected car technologies are transforming the automotive industry much like smart phone apps revolutionized the mobile phone sector. A new generation of aftermarket products are helping tech-savvy drivers reduce accidents, lower insurance costs, save fuel, and plan routes more effectively. Cars and trucks have become mobile computing platforms and the tech transformation is accelerating. By […]
There are many outspoken and polarizing proponents of the various fuels and technologies at play today. This has been the case for several decades now and isn’t likely to disappear anytime soon. Many electric car enthusiasts do not see a future for internal combustion or even hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Hydrogen proponents point out that fuel […]
A steady stream of advanced powertrains, new fuel-efficient systems like stop/start, and more alternative fuels have helped raise fuel economy to new heights in recent years, but the latest breakthrough in energy-efficient cars may surprise you: safety technology. You got it. Safety equals green. New safety systems are fuel economy game-changers, because fewer crashes mean […]
Today, consumers in California can drive and lease the first wave of commercially available fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) in the U.S, and additional models are promised from several leading automakers in the next few months and years. Of equal importance, today’s FCEV drivers can fill-up at any of nine hydrogen fueling stations in the […]
It isn’t all about efficient powertrains. Lightweighting vehicles is having a positive effect on increasing fuel efficiency.
Personally experiencing the modern ‘green’ car’s fascinating evolution brings important perspective on how we got here and where we’re going.
It is an exciting time to be involved with the auto industry, or to be in the market for a new car. The auto industry has responded splendidly to the challenge of new emission, fuel economy, and safety standards. The public is offered a greater than ever selection of vehicles with different powertrains, lightweight materials, […]
To bolster the market, battery electric cars will require continuing federal and state incentives that combined typically total $10,000 or more.
What does Silicon Valley, California have in common with Leipzig, Germany? They are both home to the most innovative, technically advanced, and possibly the most significant cars of the 21st century. The Tesla Model S and the BMW i3 are the cars that have defied experts who said they couldn't be built. While the key […]
Location-efficient affordable housing is key to sustainability. Kalos, the Greek word for ‘beautiful,’ may be the name of an 83 unit affordable housing project in San Diego, California, but it also describes the ‘green’ car capacity the developer, Community HousingWorks, plans for the project as part of its pursuit of LEED platinum certification. We have […]
The evolution of the auto industry has been no less than amazing. I have witnessed this first-hand while documenting the advent of ‘green’ cars over two decades at Green Car Journal and at Motor Trend before that. We had electric cars back in the 1990s as we do now, battling for acceptance, with other alternative fuels also jockeying for […]