At almost twice the volume of the U.S., China is the world’s largest car market. Its government has aggressive plans to put the country at the forefront of global electric-car development, deployment, and sales. China’s entrepreneurs have r…
Author: John Voelcker
2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV: How GM’s only electric car stacks up after 3 years
Sometimes, if you’re lucky, the captions write themselves. I was riding shotgun in the 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car when a sign loomed up on the left side of the road: “Dismal Nitch.” It was a small pull-off and rest area along…
2020 Lincoln Aviator Grand Touring: Review of the brand’s first plug-in hybrid
The PHEV adds more power, more torque and better performance – with little mention of a plug. It’s a brutal truth: in key coastal markets like California and the Northeast, the Lincoln brand has all but vanished from any discussion of luxury vehicles. In fact, Lincoln execs admit it outright. Like crosstown rival Cadillac, Lincoln… Read more »
2020 Porsche Taycan electric car: seven things we didn’t expect
The 2020 Porsche Taycan is the German sports-car maker’s first all-electric car. It’s also the most serious competitor yet to the Tesla Model S, the groundbreaking luxury electric car that’s in its seventh year on sale. A good deal of…
2020 Porsche Taycan preview: Fast, electric, expensive
The 2020 Porsche Taycan is the German maker’s sixth model line, its first-ever electric car, and remarkably expensive, starting at $152,250 for the Turbo and $186,350 for the Turbo S. Those are prices comparable to the similarly named models of t…
1,000-mile electric car unveiled: Aptera returns 10 years later
What’s the minimum necessary range for an electric car? The world’s auto industry seems to have settled on 200-plus miles for North America and 300 kilometers (160 miles) or more for European and Asian markets. The longest-range 2019 Tesla, the Model S…
2019 Kia Niro EV: An impressive electric compact suggests good things from future Kia EVs
Kia may be the auto brand with the biggest disconnect between perception and reality in the US today. It makes stylish, modern vehicles – passenger cars plus a growing range of crossover utilities – packed with advanced features. It’s a legitimate competitor to Toyota, Honda, and others. But ask the average buyer if he or… Read more »
2019 Hyundai Kona Electric: A viable EV competitor for the average car buyer
As a company, Hyundai often sets goals that slightly exceed those set by competing automakers. The engineers who designed the Ioniq Hybrid and Plug-In hatchbacks were told that the new vehicles had to beat the fuel-efficiency ratings of the Prius hybrid and Prius Prime plug-in hybrid. So it is with the Hyundai Kona Electric. We… Read more »
VW diesel mitigation: PIRG rates state plans, lacks reality check on EVs
The Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal has fallen out of the news, but VW Group recently boosted its allowance for the total costs to 30 billion euros ($33 billion). In the U.S., VW has bought back hundreds of thousands of TDI diesel vehicles and is p…
A look at Volkswagen’s MEB architecture
The all-electric underpinnings that the VW Group will use to build dozens of EVs A few weeks before the end of 2019, if all goes according to plan, the first Volkswagen I.D. Neo electric car will roll off the assembly line at the company’s plant in Zwickau, Germany. Different versions will offer ranges from 160… Read more »
