All In Gear
New emissions-rating system in Paris will help keep dirty diesel cars from streetsOver the last year, Paris has instituted strict curbs on older cars in an effort to ban those with the worst exhaust emissions.聽Now French authorities will make it easier for police to distinguish among otherwise identical cars in the streets to find engines fitted with older and weaker emissions-control systems.
Why a German minister's new Tesla is raising eyebrowsGiven Germany's considerable investment in its auto industry, using a German car seems almost obligatory for government officials. Yet聽one environment minister is causing a stir by challenging that tradition.
Electricity-storage tech facing biggest test yet in CaliforniaFrom the perspective of both renewable-energy advocates and electric utilities, grid-scale energy storage offers many potential benefits.聽Yet energy storage has not been tested on a large scale by US utilities. Until now.
This week: GM settles in Switchgate scandal, Tesla's Autopilot absolved in crash probeWithin the past few days, two scores have been settled: One involving General Motors's faulty ignition switches, the other Tesla's semi-autonomous Autopilot software.聽
New Wyoming bill forbids utilities from using renewablesRepublican legislators recently introduced a bill that would essentially ban large-scale renewable energy in the state by 2019.
Trump may reverse auto emissions rules, but don't expect other nations to followOther countries have no intention of rolling back their emission limits. This means that any changes Trump makes in the US could be offset by laws elsewhere.
Emissions cheating goes global: France and Britain also investigating automakersWith US headlines about the latest on emissions cheating from Volkswagen, and now an investigation of Fiat Chrysler, the past week has not been a great one for diesel cars.聽Now, two automakers are subject to diesel investigations in Europe.
Here's what it will cost to charge Tesla cars at company's Supercharger stations?Tesla said in November that it would end free unlimited use of its Supercharger DC fast-charging stations.聽Now the company is offering more details on Supercharger pricing.
Fiat Chrysler latest target of investigation over alleged emissions cheatingThe carmaker faces a criminal investigation over the Environmental Protection Agency's claim聽that diesel engines in Jeep Grand Cherokees and Ram 1500 pickups violated the Clean Air Act.聽
Record-breaking Takata airbag recall expands againTakata recalls pushed well over the 1-million mark, with聽816,000 Ford, Lincoln, Mercury vehicles added.
6 more VW bosses charged in emissions scandal, including former R&D headOn Wednesday, the six executives were charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, defraud customers, and violate the Clean Air Act.聽- Better service? Why Uber, Lyft could cut NYC taxi fleet by 85 percentA recent study聽suggests that ride-sharing services are so good at what they do, they could reduce New York's massive, roaming fleet of roughly 13,500 taxis significantly.
Advocacy group says diesel vehicles are coming back, though mostly trucksThe future of the technology in the US appears to be manufacturers using diesels to improve efficiency in trucks, while turning to electrified powertrains to do the same in passenger cars.
Chevy Bolt electric car wins North American Car of the Year awardThe Bolt snags an award that doesn't often go to 'green' vehicles.
How much have electric-car battery costs fallen? This much!According to one study, average electric-car battery costs declined every year between 2010 and 2015.- Tesla quietly limits lifetime full-speed launches via over-the-air updateOne apparent software update has rankled a few Tesla owners.
Tesla delivered 76,230 cars in 2016, missing its goalTesla delivered fewer cars last year than聽the low end of its guidance to financial analysts, which was 80,000 units.- Californians can now legally break into cars to rescue animalsA new California law went into effect on January 1 allowing residents to rescue animals from cars 'by any reasonable means.'
- Electric-car market share in 2020: estimates vary widelyOf the new cars sold globally in 2020, what percentage will be electric?聽It's a simple question, but at the moment there doesn't appear to be a clear answer.
- Futuristic Chinese traffic-straddling bus abandoned, blocking trafficLast summer, a seemingly cool 'straddling bus' project in China made headlines.聽Well, after a whole lot of hoopla and promotion it's been scrapped.
