You might not know it to look at them, but these two cars—one Swedish, one Chinese—share underpinnings and a parent company. Volvo and its Chinese parent Geely are very serious about selling cars that plug in. Starting in 2016, the Swedish brand has included plug-in hybrid versions of pretty much every new vehicle it sells… Read more »
The news that General Motors would relaunch the infamous Hummer name—as an all-electric truck no less—broke a few days before the high-dollar, high-visibility 2020 Super Bowl ad that introduced that vehicle to the world. After a succession of carefully staged events for media and the public, we now know that the 2022 GMC Hummer EV… Read more »
A new excerpt from Tesla: How Elon Musk and Company Made Electric Cars Cool, and Remade the Automotive and Energy Industries, Edition 4.1. An inside look at the early days David Havasi was a car guy from birth. He grew up near Auburn Hills, and his dad worked in the auto industry. “My childhood was… Read more »
Can new electric entries in a hugely popular segment convince US buyers to buy EVs from Nissan and VW as family vehicles? Two new battery-electric models from major global car brands are about to bring electric cars into a category where they’ve been notably absent: family crossover utility vehicles. The 2021 Volkswagen ID.4 and 2022… Read more »
One of a coming wave of low-volume luxury plug-in hybrid SUVs, the 2020 BMW X3 xDrive 30e offers 18 miles of electric range—and the ability to use it in the real world. The 2020 BMW X3 xDrive 30e is the first conventional plug-in hybrid model from BMW that’s actually worth plugging in. It’s one of… Read more »
Every Tesla model has arguably been a historic vehicle. The Roadster was the first EV to offer the performance and aesthetics that attract car buyers. Model S was the first mass-produced EV to deliver this combination, and Model X delivered it as an SUV. Model 3, the culmination of the company’s master plan, was the… Read more »
EVs may experience minor hiccups, but they shouldn’t suffer much more than the rest of the auto industry. It’s the question everyone has to ask: How will the Covid-19 pandemic affect my business? For those in the electric-car world, the question is more pointed: Will the pandemic hurt the growth of electric vehicles over the… Read more »
Over the first 10 years of their existence, most modern battery-electric cars have been compact hatchbacks or Teslas. While a few are marketed as crossover utility vehicles, none have been the full-size pickup trucks that make up a huge and very profitable segment of US vehicle sales. That’s about to change. What follows is a… Read more »
Will Ohio’s Voltage Valley energize a new era for the US auto industry? Big things are happening in the Mahoning Valley area of northeastern Ohio. The region, which centers on the city of Youngstown, was a booming center of steel production until the 1970s. Since then, like many other industrial hubs, the area has suffered… Read more »
It’s almost enough to make you think Ford plans to offer electric cars shoppers may actually want to buy. The extended debut of the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E electric SUV culminated in its formal unveiling in an aircraft hangar last November, just before the start of media days at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The… Read more »