EV startup Lucid Motors unveiled its Lucid Air electric luxury sedan in December, leaving EV-watchers hungry for more details (Bloomberg recently checked out a couple of preliminary prototypes). Now Lucid has given us a much fuller picture of what the Air will look like when it hits the roads in 2019. The company’s promises of… Read more »
Search Results Found For: "Tesla"
Southwest Research Institute consortium conducts independent battery benchmarking
Comparing the spec sheets from different parts manufacturers is tricky business for engineers in any industry. However, the advanced battery market seems to be uniquely challenged in this regard. As Tesla CEO Elon Musk often points out, when it comes to batteries, the BS factor is outrageous. Even if you assume that every vendor provides… Read more »
2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV: The era of long-range, mid-priced EVs is here
The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV will surely be remembered as a milestone model in automotive history – and hopefully for more than just the hype that heralded it. For several years, the punditocracy has been saying that the “killer app” that would bring electromobility to a “tipping point” and build that all-important “critical mass” would… Read more »
New LEAF coming in September, existing lessees will get a deal
With new 200-mile EVs from GM and Tesla making headlines, the EV world has been anxiously awaiting word of how Nissan, maker of the world’s all-time best-selling pure EV, would respond. Now at least we have a date. “Nissan USA’s all-new Nissan LEAF will be globally revealed in Sept. & go on sale before the… Read more »
Rocket Man – Elon Musk In His Own Words (book review)
Like Einstein, Picasso and Muhammad Ali, Elon Musk is a great aphorist. His pithy sayings are continually quoted in contexts ranging far beyond the techie press. In fact, whole web sites (shitelonsays.com) have been devoted to the utterances of the Californic oracle. Not all those who do great things are good at explaining how they… Read more »
Taking the Lucid Air for a test drive
EV startup Lucid Motors unveiled its Lucid Air electric luxury sedan in December. Bloomberg recently got to check out a couple of prototypes. Reporters took a ride in a vehicle that had almost no interior finish – just bare metal panels and a vinyl bench seat. The test vehicle was far lighter than the finished… Read more »
Strict US auto emission and efficiency standards are history (updated)
As expected, the USA’s Climate-Change-Denier-In-Chief will move towards rolling back federal regulations on vehicle emissions. The change, which could undo one of President Barack Obama’s most significant environmental legacies, does not require action by Congress. Reuters reports that an announcement is expected from the Trump administration as soon as Tuesday. The expected order will reopen… Read more »
Japanese automakers doggedly forge ahead with fuel cells
The debate over fuel cells rages on. Many in the EV industry, most prominently Elon Musk, have explained at eloquent length why hydrogen fuel cells are inferior to batteries for automotive applications. Others however, especially in Japan, do not agree. The main proponent is Toyota, which has been selling the Mirai fuel cell vehicle since… Read more »
New episode of Nova looks at the state of battery tech
As growing EV sales make the headlines, the general public is becoming more aware of the batteries they carry around in their pockets and laptop cases. A recent episode of PBS’s Nova, “Search for the Super Battery,” offers a digestible summary of some of the advances happening in the battery field. In an attempt to… Read more »
Prototype images of next-gen Nissan LEAF published by Motor Authority
The Nissan LEAF has earned a place of high honor in the plug-in pantheon. Until Tesla’s Model S started to take off, it was the unchallenged top seller among pure EVs, and it remains the only mid-priced EV to achieve anything resembling mass-market sales. However, the respected elder statesman has been overtaken by younger rivals…. Read more »