Categories: Auto tech

Is the Chevy Volt an EV or a Hybrid? Who Cares?

Posted by: David Welch on October 12

To hear one critic tell it, General Motors got caught in an out-and-out lie when the company described labeled the Chevrolet Volt an extended-range electric vehicle. Edmunds.com said in...

Chevrolet Volt Fatigue Setting In

Posted by: David Welch on July 30

The Chevrolet Volt may be wearing out its welcome. General Motors has been hyping the gasoline-electric car ever since the company showed it off to the public 1,300 days...

What Toyota Sees in Tesla

Posted by: David Welch on July 15

Here's a matchup I thought I'd never see: Toyota and Tesla Motors. Toyota is a conservative money maker that likes to develop technology in-house. It has quite a nice hybrid...

Ford's MyKey System Puts Invisible Road Nanny With Teen Drivers

Posted by: David Kiley on October 06

Ford is clearly trying to appeal to today’s car buyers, not tomorrow’s, by rolling out a feature ion 2010 models that can limit teen drivers to 80 mph, using a...

Can Diesel Ever Become Fashionable In The U.S.?

Posted by: David Kiley on September 09

There has been overwhelming response to my story this week, “The 65 MPG Ford The U.S. Can’t Have.” The fact that the story has gotten picked up on so...

Ari Gold's Lament

Posted by: David Welch on June 18

Even if you’ve never been to Los Angeles, it’s not hard to picture an endless line of Californians queued up in their cars on Interstate 405 or California 101....

Toyota seeks the ultimate battery

Posted by: Ian Rowley on June 11

A big chunk of the current debate over the future of hybrids and electric vehicles surrounds the readiness of lithium ion batteries. The next generation batteries are more powerful and...

California Muddies The Green Road Yet Again

Posted by: David Kiley on March 28

California’s clean air regulators voted Thursday to again revise the state rules that had directed automakers to put hundreds of thousands of zero-emission vehicles on the road by 2003....

Mercedes Lithiom-Ion Breakthrough

Posted by: David Kiley on March 03

Mercedes-Benz says it has achieved a breakthrough in automotive battery development, saying it will use lithium-ion technology in its next S400 BlueHybrid scheduled to go on sale in Europe...

GM's Fifteen Minutes of Leadership On Plug-Ins May be Up

Posted by: David Kiley on July 25

A research analyst I know said he was doing some work in California recently, and heard over and over again from consumers that they viewed General Motors and Ford as...

Another Bad Week for Li-Ions

Posted by: Ian Rowley on June 20

For car companies developing hybrids, lithium ion cells are the Next Big Thing. More powerful than today's nickel metal hydride cells, Li-Ions are also lighter and take up less space....

The Volt To Be Lutz's Legacy

Posted by: David Kiley on May 21

So, I heard General Motors’ Bob Lutz on National Public Radio’s “Wait. Wait Don’t Tell Me” this past Saturday. The GM product boss said the vehicle he is most...

Bush, GOPers, Dems and Big Three Show No Leadership on Fuel Economy

Posted by: David Kiley on March 26

I dropped into the White House today for the photo opp session with President Bush, GM CEO Rick Wagoner, Ford CEO Alan Mulally and Chrysler CEO Tom Lasorda. The four,...

Ward’s 10 Best Engines Reviewed (Mostly)

Posted by: Matthew Vella on December 07

Ward’s just announced its winners for the 10 Best Engines of 2007. Obviously this list is less broadly informative to new car buyers than, say, something penned by Consumer Reports...

Diesel gets its day

Posted by: David Welch on October 05

For about four years, I have been writing columns saying that Americans need to quit taking Toyota's spoon-fed mantra that hybrids are the answer to the fuel economy question...

Japan's automakers say no to drinking driving

Posted by: Ian Rowley on September 20

In June, I mentioned on the Asia Tech Blog a new cell phone from DoCoMo which allows Japan's managers to check if drivers have been hitting the bottle before taking...