A much-publicized Tesla teardown from earlier in the year reveals some lessons and missed opportunities. Battery manufacturing happens to be in places with dirty power sources. And DC fast chargers have the potential to downsize. All this and more on G…
Author: Bengt Halvorson
Tesla Model 3 teardown underscores missed opportunities
Last year employee parking lots overflowed at Tesla’s Fremont, California, plant. By comparing the headcount of Tesla’s factory at present versus historically, it’s easy to grasp why the facility has seemed so crowded. At its heyday, Toyota…
EPA deadline, BMW electric reality check, Mustang hybrid tease: Today’s Car News
If you have a strong position regarding the EPA’s proposal to freeze fuel economy standards at 2020 levels through 2026, speak out. Tomorrow is the deadline for making public comments that are part of the legal record. A zinc-air battery project is bac…
Zinc air battery project claims $100/kwh cost, could be headed to vehicles
Until now, solid-state lithium-ion cells have been the likely path forward for battery technology, potentially finding their way into some production vehicles by 2025. But one other battery possibility is increasingly looking viable for the near future…
Tesla Model 3 shuffle, Jaguar I-Pace delivery, and Hyundai first drives: The Week in Reverse
Will Tesla see a groundswell of interest in its new, $45k Model 3 Mid Range, and is it doing the right thing in (perhaps temporarily) dropping the Full Self-Driving option from the configurator? And how might Nissan price its upcoming longer-range vers…
Tesla removes Full Self Driving option from website for all models
Friday marked exactly two years since Tesla announced that every one of its cars was being produced with the hardware needed for Full Self-Driving. Friday was also the first full day that Tesla removed the option from its configurator—at the same…
Lower-cost Tesla Model 3: Does 260 miles, $46K before incentives split the difference? [Updated]
UPDATE: Tesla originally rolled out the Model 3 Mid Range at a base price of $45,000 on 10/18. Less than six days later it’s raised the price $1,000, and we’ve adjusted the numbers in this piece to reflect that. “We made a slight adjustment to ou…
Documents: 60-kwh Nissan Leaf pricing aligned with Chevy Bolt EV
Even before the second-generation Leaf was introduced last year, it was an open secret that Nissan planned an extended-range, 60-kwh version of the Leaf. Now our friends CarsDirect have found some documents—U.S. order guides that dealerships plan…
Jaguar delivers first I-Pace electric crossover in North America
Jaguar confirmed its first retail delivery of the I-Pace electric crossover Monday, a few weeks ahead of the company’s early November target for retail sales. The I-Pace isn’t late, but a vehicle like it has been a long time coming. It&rsqu…
2017-2018 Kia Niro hybrid recall concerns extra heat in the back seat
Drive a 2017 Kia Niro (or a 2018) and find your back seat becoming a hot seat? It might be a good idea to stop driving it and call your dealership. In 2017 and some 2018 Kia Niro models, a main relay, within what’s called the power relay assembly…
