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When the Fiat 500e electric minicar launched in 2013, its range was rated at 87 miles, but its most distinctive feature was its wickedly fun-to-drive character. Six years later, the fun driving remains the same—and the range has fallen slightly to 84 miles, based on changes to EPA test...

Most shoppers seem to view visiting a franchised auto dealer to negotiate the purchase or lease of a new car with a distinct lack of enthusiasm. In fact, as electric-car driver Douglas Kerr notes, the process is often compared to having a cavity filled. Kerr has now leased or bought four separate...

Fears that Congress would kill the federal tax credit for purchase of a plug-in electric car were laid to rest in December when that incentive survived the $1.5 trillion tax-cut bill. Now Congress has added back a handful of other tax credits related to electric cars and greener transportation in...

The Toyota Prius hybrid has been its maker's "halo car" and an example of its most advanced technology for two decades. Launched from an early-1990s project to halve the fuel consumption of a small car, its hybrid-electric powertrain pioneered mass electrification of passenger cars. But the sales...

What the auto industry calls a "mid-cycle refresh" can range from indistinguishable to very evident. The 2018 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid falls into the latter category, with new front and rear styling, changes to the interior and dashboard, and numerous added safety and connectivity features. The hybrid...

While 2017 saw higher U.S. sales of plug-in electric cars than any previous year, expectations for 2018 sales are running even higher. The Chevrolet Bolt EV will be available in all 50 states for a full year, the new 2018 Nissan Leaf with a 151-mile range is now on sale, and of course the Tesla...

Nearly a year ago, we published a gas-mileage review on the Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid, the South Korean brand's Toyota Prius challenger. We saw 49.5 miles per gallon over 565 miles of driving. Now, we've tested the Ioniq Hybrid in more extreme conditions, on the cold, wintry roads of Detroit, Michigan...

The arrival of the first affordable long-range electric car on the market has naturally led some owners to push the car in a way that they might not do with a plug-in car offering just 80 miles of battery range. The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, EPA-rated at 238 miles combined, removes most daily range...

Possibly no German carmaker was more shocked by the emergence of the Tesla Model S in 2012 than Porsche. Each of Porsche's models was a top performer in its segment for power, handling, and features, and sold at highly profitable prices. Then came the Tesla Model S, a five-seat hatchback sedan that...

Anyone who remembers the epic, metallic-tasting, technicolor smog in the Los Angeles Basin found into the 1990s understands why air quality matters there. While the worst of the uncontrolled tailpipe emissions have now been greatly reduced, and the air is cleaner, the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide...

At this point, a majority of the global auto industry agrees that Tesla and its electric cars have had a remarkable impact in less than 10 years. Founded 15 years ago by two Silicon Valley engineers, Tesla won funding from venture capital, private investment, and government loans that totaled...

It's rare that automakers let journalists or potential buyers drive or even ride in development prototypes. It's not unknown: Chevrolet did it with development versions of both its 2011 Volt range-extended electric car and the more recent 2017 Bolt EV battery-electric model. But it's a good way for...

For a century, the U.S. auto industry was the world's largest. That ended in 2009, when China's sales of 13.5 million new vehicles surpassed a recession-slammed U.S. total of 10.4 million. Last year, U.S. drivers bought 17.5 million new vehicles—against more than 30 million sales in China...

Californians got the chance to buy Chevrolet Bolt EV electric cars before everyone else, and the compact hatchback has sold well in the state, aided by its 238-mile rated range. Last February, readers John and Mimi Porter of San Diego shared their first impressions of the new silver Bolt EV they...

Pickup trucks took the limelight this year, but a significant green car made a quiet debut. It's an interesting and handsome model that revives a familiar name for Honda. The 2019 Honda Insight is a compact premium sedan projected to get an EPA combined rating of 50 mpg or better. The new Insight...

The highest-volume vehicle GM sells in North America is a full-size pickup truck—one that likely also contributes outsize profits from each of its hundreds of thousands of units. So the launch of the 2019 Chevrolet Silverado Saturday night before the Detroit auto show was a big deal for the...

How comfortable would you be in a taxi or car-service vehicle that had no steering wheel, accelerator or brake pedals? That's the question prompted by a photo that has already produced some subconscious anxiety among at least auto writers. How the public will react remains to be seen, but they'll...

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has aspirations of vertically integrating his companies as much as possible, trying to avoid traditional suppliers wherever he can. While Tesla has been successful in developing things like their electric motors in-house, the company still relies on others for many of the...

It's well known that a battery-electric version of the Kia Niro will join the lineup soon, completing a range that now comprises the Niro Hybrid and the recently launched plug-in hybrid. Most observers had assumed the Niro EV would use the same underpinnings as its corporate sibling the Hyundai...

Even as vehicles become more fuel-efficient, the unending market shift toward crossover utilities, SUVs, and trucks kept the overall average U.S. new fleet efficiency stagnant for the fourth year in a row. For 2017, sales-weighted new-car fuel economy landed at 25.2 mpg, an improvement over 2016 of...