Through the OnStar system, Texas-based Volt owners are doing some really smart smart-grid experiments. Texas, by the way, is quietly taking the lead in electric car ownership and charging.
Bosch throws open the lab doors and lets Car Talk see what it's working on. Much of the new stuff is laser-targeted at making cars more fuel efficient, but there's also safety electronics that get us closer to self-driving cars.
A growing number of attractive models, high gas prices and growing public acceptance led to strong sales numbers for electrics and hybrids in August. And with more cars on the road, we're getting a sense of how people are using them.
Jim Motavalli takes a trip down a rust- and black-smoke-filled memory lane.
The Obama Administration has finalized its fuel economy plan through 2025, and its supporters say it's a big engine for job growth. Romney disagrees, but he's talking millions of jobs from his drill, drill, drill energy plan. What's going on? A political season with worrisome unemployment figures.
Big rig truckers are saving a lot of money by switching from diesel to natural gas, but we need a national network of filling stations before this cheaper, cleaner fuel takes over.
Believe it or not, they still make these quintessential hippie vans in South America, though they've been off the North American market for decades. Now VW is talking about building an updated and retro version as part of its "heritage series" (alongside the new Beetle).
Driving a stick is becoming an endangered art in America: fewer and fewer of us even know what to do with a clutch.
The Tesla Model S is billed as an electric rocket ship with 300-mile range that doubles as a practical sedan. How's it stack up against those claims? Jim Motavalli takes it for a spin and reports back.
What if you could make your car absolutely idiot-proof? MIT, right here in Cambridge, is working on a semi-autonomous accident-avoidance system that promises to take over when danger is imminent.
Hawaii has abundant sunshine, geothermal resources and strong winds to make sustainable energy. It also has expensive imported gas and a state mandate for electric cars. With the tourism industry on board and the universities doing their part, battery vehicles are hitting the roads.
There's a bit of a slob in all of us, but sometimes our car clutter gets the better of us. Do you know a vehicle--yours maybe--that's beyond untidy? Has it been the maid's day off for, like, decades? Send the evidence to Car Talk Plaza.
A few plug-in taxis are plying the world's roads, but almost all are in pilot programs and special tests. Don't our planet's polluted cities deserve zero emission fleets? The world's still waiting for a full-blown commitment to electric taxis, which would be ideal for battery swapping and other innovations.
The U.S., European and Chinese markets have their challenges. But a perfect storm is aligning over the tiny island nation of Iceland, which has geothermal electricity almost too cheap to meter. The big news this week is a major tax break for EVs.
Audi's electric e-tron division has unveiled battery-powered city cars and the high-performance R8, the first that will actually be produced. I finally got behind the wheel of an e-tron on a rainy Manhattan afternoon. This A3 won't be produced, but a plug-in hybrid version will be out in 2014.
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