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Archive for the ‘green cars’ Category

Our readers from North America may not really be familiar with the Renault Zoe, but it is actually the best selling all-electric vehicle in Europe, so the fact that a new one has been launched is a pretty big deal. It’s definitely an evolution of the old car and not a dramatic, revolution, but it addresses some key concerns people had with it in the past in order to make it even more enticing for city types who don’t want a small EV.

The 2020 Renault ZOE has freshened up exterior design, a much improved interior (it sorely needed), a battery pack has 30 percent extra capacity over the old one and new tech that was not available on the old ZOE. And having improved the car in all these areas, Renault has a chance of staying on top of EV sales in Europe, even though there are far more rivals out now than there were when the ZOE debuted, back in 2012.

To be honest, this is my favorite segment right now – I’m talking about the electric pickup truck segment – and it’s the Rivian/Tesla war that has gotten me so intrigued. We saw Rivian come out with both camper and specialized kitchen concepts for its R1T truck recently. While we have seen Rivian truck in reality, the Tesla pickup truck is still – as Mark Hanna would say – Fugazi. Tesla has kept it a secret and has been fairly successful doing it. This has led to people flexing their brain muscles and trying to render the truck in the most creative and imaginative ways. However, we came across this one particular rendering that is perhaps the best one we’ve seen to date!

To be honest, this is my favorite segment right now – I’m talking about the electric pickup truck segment – and it’s the Rivian/Tesla war that has gotten me so intrigued. We saw Rivian come out with both camper and specialized kitchen concepts for its R1T truck recently. While we have seen Rivian truck in reality, the Tesla pickup truck is still – as Mark Hanna would say – Fugazi. Tesla has kept it a secret and has been fairly successful doing it. This has led to people flexing their brain muscles and trying to render the truck in the most creative and imaginative ways. However, we came across this one particular rendering that is perhaps the best one we’ve seen to date!

This is more of a statement from Rivian than an announcement. The company has made it quite clear that it has the stomach to take on the biggest, baddest bully in the market – Tesla – head-on. Even though Tesla enjoys a better brand recall, Rivian has taken an alternate path to become a household name in the EV adventure lifestyle segment. The startup from Michigan has been promoting its Rivian R1T truck as an EV camper now. Seeing the photos on the company’s social media, we must say it looks exciting.

Jeff Mc Quinn gives credit to his Model 3 driver-assist system for saving him from getting sideswiped on the freeway. Mc Quinn felt his Model 3 swerve into an adjacent lane. He believed something was strange and thought the Autopilot was malfunctioning. Only when he reviewed the vehicle dashcam footage, which he shared on YouTube, did the Model 3 owner realize that the Autopilot system saved him from being sideswiped by a truck.

Mini has officially entered the EV fray, and we have finally uncovered the proof. To be honest, Mini Cooper is one of the very few cars from the current combustion-engined crop that could slip into an EV avatar without any cosmetic changes. We have seen automakers going bonkers with the so-called ’futuristic’ designs with slim headlights, sharp cut lines, etc. But in contrast, the Mini Cooper gels well with those electric cars with its retro, rounded looks, and Mini seems to understand that. The 2020 Mini Cooper SE has been spotted sans camo doing some all-electric testing. This electric Mini is based on the Cooper S and looks largely similar to it albeit with a few minor changes. Will the retro-looking Mini Cooper SE make a name for itself in arguably the most competitive segment in the right now?

The Karma nameplate has a long and less-than-glittering history. First appearing as a hybrid-powered GT sedan from Fisker Automotive in the late 2000s, the original Karma only lasted for about a year before biting the dust. Fisker Automotive produced less than 2,700 examples before it went bankrupt in 2013, after which the Wanxiang Group Corporation bought up the remaining assets. Recently renamed to Karma Automotive, the company charges headlong into the premium hybrid GT segment with the Revero. The Revero first appeared in 2016 for the 2017 model year, and now it is getting a refresh with a new look, updated interior, and powertrain parts sourced from the BMW i8.

Electric cars represent the future of the auto industry. It’s not a question of “if” anymore. But, just because there’s a surge of momentum in desire for electric cars, that doesn’t mean that electric cars will always be better than gas cars. On the contrary, gas-powered cars will remain relevant even as the EV revolution comes in full swing. Automakers can make proclamations about the robust future of EVs as much as they want, but there are more than 100 years of history behind gas-powered cars that nobody, not even the biggest auto brands in the world, can just sweep under the rug. Electric cars offer advantages in a handful of ways, but they still have a long way to go to prove to the people that they’re better than gas-powered cars.

The start of production of the 2020 Tesla Model Y next year will result in a battery cell shortage, according to reports from the Gigafactory 1 factory. Panasonic’s CEO, Kazuhiro Tsuga, wants to discuss the topic with Tesla. For the production of the Model Y, Tesla has yet to declare which factory it will use. Also, Tesla has not confirmed any battery supplier for the production of the Model 3.

Is Tesla relying on a new investment from Panasonic?

Known as Taylor Jackson, the independent porn star is the author of the first XXX-rated flick filmed inside Tesla Model X in Autopilot mode. Despite Tesla’s warnings about the Autopilot technology not being fully hands-free yet, the video shows a lot of hand actions in the car, but hands are not always on the steering. Taylor Jackson stated: “I wouldn’t recommend it since it is dangerous.”

Google is looking to enter the automotive infotainment operating system market with Android Automotive OS, not to be confused with Android Auto, a system that is already included in the infotainment system of most new cars and allows users to display their phone operating system on a car’s infotainment system. Android Automotive OS is different, and it is actually a fully-fledged operating system specially designed to have all the functions we’ve come to expect from automotive infotainment solutions.

Carmakers across Europe are striving to meet a 2020 EU target of average car CO2 emissions of 95g per kilometer. To avoid the fines, the EU allows automakers to pool their fleets together and purchase credits from other automakers with a surplus. Last month, Financial Times revealed a deal between Tesla and Fiat-Chrysler (FCA) worth “hundreds of millions of euros”. According to the Financial Times, the understanding is now worth around €2 billion ($2.3 billion USD). The deal with FCA is expected to be an extremely great boost of money for Tesla but FCA should keep in mind that the sale of emission credits will not last forever. The new regulations while helping Tesla financially are pushing other carmakers to release their own all-electric vehicles as nobody in the industry is ready to keep dispensing billions to their own competitors.

Volkswagen reported that, within the first 24 hours after opening registrations, the ID.3 hatchback collected 10,000 pre-booking across Europe. The massive number of users overloaded VW’s system, which caused interruptions and delays to customers trying to pay the $1,122 deposit due for the registration.

With a 205-mile range, the base model ID.3 starts from “under €30,000”. Starting from “less than €40,000” the ID.3 limited edition “1st” includes a 261-mile battery. Two trims of that model are available: “1st Plus” and “1st Max”.

On May 7, honoring a promise made in 2016 to Tesla customers, Elon Musk made a tow hitch available as an option for Model 3. So far, the feature is open only to Europeans for an extra charge of about $1,262. Tesla has been talking about a towing capacity of up to 910 kg (2,000 lbs).

Disappointingly, Tesla is not making available the tow hitch for Model 3 vehicles already delivered, so you can only get one if you haven’t taken delivery yet.

It does not seem that the electric car trend will perish. Sure, the economy of it does seem sketchy, and I do not believe that manufacturers would invest as much in it without generous government subsidies and incentives, but electric cars are on the roads and they are here to stay. However, the single most challenging hurdle of the further development of electric vehicles is battery technology. Since the very beginning in the 19th century, manufacturers had problems storing, or actually, creating electrons. That did not stop them from trying to create an electric car. After all, in the year 1900, 38 percent of all vehicles on American roads were electric, 40 percent steam-powered, and only 22 percent ran on gasoline.

I am not making this up –
the U.S. Dept. of Energy reported that “by 1900, electric cars were at their heyday, accounting for around a third of all vehicles on the road. During the next 10 years, they continued to show strong sales.”

More than 100 years of development dramatically changed battery technology. Health hazardous batteries from the first electric vehicles have evolved into a state of the art lithium-ion and nickel-metal hydride batteries, but even to this day, they do not seem to be able to serve as a replacement for gasoline and diesel.

So, what new battery solutions will shape our future?

In response to Canada’s federal electric cars incentive price cap below $45,000 or $55,000 with options, Tesla lowered the cost of the Model 3 to $44,999 in the country. However, it also software-locked the vehicle to only 150 km (93 miles) of range. Is Tesla trying to take advantage by selling the new base Model 3 with half the range and a reduced price of $2,000? Well if this were the case, the automaker would have offered to unlock the range as an option which doesn’t seem to be happening. Indeed Tesla claims that “In order to be eligible for the incentive in Canada and provide our customers with this benefit, we are unable to offer a range upgrade on Model 3 Standard Range cars.”

Instead of selling the range limited Model 3, Tesla seems like it’s trying to push the upgraded Model 3. By lowering the price of the base Model 3, the Standard Range Plus becomes suitable for the incentive since it is technically an option for a car which starting price is below $45,000 and doesn’t go over $55,000.

The electric car snowball has been growing rapidly in recent years and, at this point, it’s only a matter of time before the trend will make the transition to norm. While nowadays most carmakers offer some sort of electrification in their lineups, 2020 is expected to bring a sustained push in this direction, with more and more manufacturers joining (or strengthening) the electric bandwagon.

What are we looking at exactly? For starters, a lot of “first-ever” electric cars coming from reputed brands that have a solid history in a given field – take Porsche and sports cars, for example.

Then, we should be in for the rise of unusual suspects, such as China’s BYD, joined by promising startups like Rivian and even boutique carmakers – that’s right, we’re looking at Croatia’s Rimac Automobili but also Pagani, which has recently signaled the intention to build an all-electric hypercar.

So, without further ado, here’s what we think should be on every car enthusiast’s watchlist when it comes to electric cars with coolness as their middle name.

Karma Automotive, the company that emerged after the bankruptcy of Henrik Fisker’s first automotive venture, came to the 2019 Shanghai with its own “Big Three”: A flamboyant open-top concept, the revised Revero GT and this lavish and elegant two-door sports car penned by Pininfarina which could be produced in limited quantities by Pininfarina if enough buyers get together. As it’s based on the Revero’s underpinnings, it should be at least as quick and agile if not more so.

Karma has been around for a few years already, but it was seen as a stagnant company. After all, its only product has been the Revero, essentially an exercise in rebadging the Fisker Karma. In a way, it makes sense as Chinese company Wanxiang who bought Fisker’s assets (as well as a production plant and other things) paid over $149 million for them and, anyway, the Karma’s bad rep was never due to its design since it’s arguably one of the prettiest four-door GTs of the 21st century (just look at the curvaceous rear fenders).

Last year, Karma introduced the Aliso, a limited-edition version of the Revero and the company announced that only 15 will be made with a base price of $145,000, some $15,000 on top of the Revero’s base MSRP of $130,000. This luscious coupe we see here should be at least as expensive if it will be put into production. If not, just look at it in concept form and think that it’s a source of inspiration for Karma products to roll out in the near future.

Now that we’ve had an eyeful of the 2020 Tesla Model Y, it’s time to look at it from a more analytical perspective, especially with regards to how it stacks up against the 2019 Tesla Model X. What are the differences between these two all-electric utility vehicles, and why do those differences matter?

Outside of all the negative publicity from Tesla drivers being idiots and blaming Tesla for their own stupidity, and the recent onslaught of Tesla fires lately, it’s hard to remember that cars like the Tesla Model S and Tesla Model X are some of the safest cars on the road. But, the truth is that they are. Their crash test ratings are amazing, and the Model X takes a miracle to flip over. Be this as it may, you never really know how safe a car is until it’s put to the test in the real world. This video that you’re about to watch proves exactly that.

This video took place inside the Barcelona tunnel in Spain just last week, and it shows a grey station wagon drift out of its lane, clip a black compact car, then head on the Tesla Model S. As far as to why the wagon drifted from its lane, we’re completely unsure, but we’ve found out that the driver of the station wagon was fatally injured. That in itself makes it all the more amazing that the driver of the Model S, as seen just a couple of seconds after the crash, walks away practically unscathed. The crash was so bad that the station wagon’s engine was even thrown from the car.

Check out the video below to and prepare yourself for a rather scary-looking accident.