Electric Cars

  • LAPD BMW i3

    The Los Angeles Police Department will buy 100 BMW i3 electric cars for non-emergency use. The LAPD announced plans for this order last year, when it took delivery of an i3 and a Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] Model S for testing. It turns out officers preferred the i3. ALSO SEE: 2017 Volvo S90 first drive review While some U.S. cities already operate small fleets of electric cars, the LAPD order likely represents the largest for electric police cars in the U.S. so far. The cars will be used for auxiliary functions, like transporting officers and community-outreach initiatives. All cars will wear...

  • Mercedes-Benz modular platform for electric cars
    First look at Mercedes' modular platform for electric cars

    Mercedes-Benz has crafted a dedicated platform for its next-generation electric cars. Revealed this week during a tech briefing at the automaker’s headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, the platform will make its way into a handful of models, the first of which will be previewed in concept form...

  • 2016 Tesla Model S
    Musk: 37 of 40 Tesla Model S suspension complaints were fraudulent

    The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently examined the suspension of the Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] Model S after receiving a number of complaints about parts breaking. The CEO of the electric car company Elon Musk revealed in a Twitter post on Friday that NHTSA determined...

  • Tesla Motors production line for Tesla Model S, Fremont, California
    NHTSA probes Tesla Model S suspension

    The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is examining suspension components on Tesla Motors’ [NSDQ:TSLA] Model S sedan after receiving dozens of complaints of parts breaking. According to The New York Times, NHTSA received 33 complaints, including one where a suspension ball joint...

  • 2016 Tesla Model S
    Tesla Model S price dropped to $67,200 for new 60-kwh option

    You can now buy a Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] Model S from as low as $67,200 thanks to a new entry-level model with a 60-kilowatt-hour rating. The car comes with rear-wheel drive (Model S 60) though for an additional $5,000 buyers can take home an all-wheel-drive version (Model S 60D). Until recently...

  • Pair of Acura NSX supercars to take on 2016 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb
    All-electric Acura NSX to tackle 2016 Pikes Peak Hill Climb

    Be sure to follow this year’s Pikes Peak International Hill Climb as there will be a very special car racing to the clouds. Acura has confirmed an NSX-based prototype powered by four electric motors will be entered in the event’s Electric Modified Class. The prototype will be driven by...

  • Faraday Future FFZERO1 Concept, unveiled at 2016 Consumer Electronics Show, Las Vegas

    Mysterious Chinese-backed electric car startup Faraday Future has hired an experienced executive away from Ferrari [NYSE:RACE], one of the best signs yet the company is serious about entering the auto industry. The company has brought onboard Marco Mattiacci, reports Business Insider. Mattiacci is best known for his short stint in 2014 as Ferrari's Formula One team principal, but he previously led Ferrari's North American and Asia Pacific operations. Faraday is expected to make the announcement tomorrow, at which time Mattiacci's role will likely be explained. Not much is known about Faraday;...

  • 2016 Tesla Model X P90D after crash while owner was parking  [photo: owner 'Puzant']
    Model X accelerating out of parking spot was driver error, says Tesla

    A Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] Model X owner while recently parking his electric SUV ending up crashing into a nearby building. The owner, who goes by the name “Puzant” on Tesla’s official forum, claimed the car, which was only five days old, accelerated by itself. Tesla on Monday...

  • 2016 Tesla Model X
    Musk: Software fix coming for Model X doors

    Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] CEO Elon Musk says a software update to be released by the automaker soon will fix a host of problems related to the "falcon wing" doors that are a signature feature of its Model X crossover. Since its launch, the Model X has been plagued with complaints from consumers...

  • 2017 Genesis G80 Sport (Korean spec)
    Genesis to have electric cars, own performance brand

    The head of Genesis, Manfred Fitzgerald, has confirmed that the new Hyundai luxury brand will offer electric cars. “We will definitely go as Genesis brand down the road of alternative propulsions and it is very, very obvious that EV is definitely on the map,” Fitzgerald told journalists...

  • BMW Vision Next 100 concept
    BMW i’s focus changes to autonomous cars

    With electric cars becoming mainstream, the BMW i sub-brand originally established for the zero-emission cars has changed its focus to autonomous driving technology. That’s the word of Klaus Fröhlich, BMW’s board member for R&D, who recently spoke with Reuters. BMW, like many...

  • Tesla Model 3 design prototype  -  reveal event  -  March 2016
    Musk: Tesla Superchargers won’t be free for Model 3 owners

    One of the advantages of buying Tesla Motors’ [NSDQ:TSLA] Model S or Model X over a rival electric car is that it gives you free access to a growing network of high-speed charging stations, referred to by the company as Superchargers. However, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has made it clear the feature...

  • Bosch e-kart concept

    Bosch has created an electric go-kart that could change the face of entry-level motorsports. Electric cars are known for, among other things, their instantaneous torque delivery. Simply press the pedal and, unless they have been tuned otherwise, they can deliver up to 100 percent of the motor's thrust immediately. The Bosch e-kart, for now a prototype, makes the most of its electric motors and integrated battery pack. The German engineering firm says the little kart can scoot to 62 mph from rest in fewer than five seconds before topping out at more than 80 mph. That's good acceleration for a...

  • Volvo 40.2 concept
    Volvo to launch both small and large electric cars

    Coinciding with the reveal of its new concepts previewing its next-generation compacts a week ago, Volvo confirmed plans for a second electric car. Volvo first announced its commitment to launching an electric car last October, and now the automaker has committed to launching at least two...

  • 2014 Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive  -  First Drive, May 2014
    More details on Mercedes' plans for 4 new electric cars

    Earlier in the year we learned Mercedes-Benz was working on at least four new electric cars. The four cars were said to include two sedans and two SUVs. According to Autocar, the cars won’t be standalone models but versions of existing Mercedes models with tweaks done to the styling to ensure...

  • 2014 BMW i3 REx, Catskill Mountains, New York, Oct 2014
    BMW sued over i3’s extended-range electric powertrain

    BMW has been hit with a class action lawsuit regarding a potential issue afflicting the extended-range version of the automaker's i3 electric car. According to the suit, which was filed in a District Court in Los Angeles last week, the extended-range i3, known as the i3 REx, can reduce power to...

  • 2015 Tesla Model S P85D, May 2015   [photo: George Parrott]
    Tesla Model S to tackle Pikes Peak Hill Climb

    Electric cars have proven to be the weapon of choice for many tackling the Pikes Peak Hill Climb in recent years. In fact, last year’s overall winner was powered solely by a battery and electric motor. The air gets thinner the higher you go up and this has a detrimental effect on the...

  • Tesla Model 3
    Startup teases new recruits with Tesla Model 3

    Imagine your first day at scientific instruments manufacturer Practichem: You're issued a company badge, a laptop, and... a Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] Model 3. That's what the Raleigh, North Carolina startup is promising new employees. The company is looking to recruit 10 new employees and, according...

  • Tesla Model 3

    Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] has confirmed via a Securities and Exchange Commission filing it plans to sell new stock in a bid to raise as much as $2 billion. About $1.4 billion will be raised by the sale of new shares while the rest will come from the sale of CEO Elon Musk’s own shares to cover tax expenses stemming from stock options he's exercised. Most of the funds raised will go into expanding Tesla’s plant in Fremont, California in preparation for Model 3 production. Tesla remains committed to starting production of the car in late 2017. Many analysts predict Tesla won’t...

  • Stolen BMW i3 dashcam
    Supposedly stolen BMW i3 dashcam video funny, but probably fake

    Warning: This video contains some NSFW language. Let's get this one out of the way: This dashcam footage from the United Kingdom is potentially fake. That doesn't mean it isn't hilarious. The background is supposedly that a thief broke into and stole a BMW i3—no doubt a difficult task given...

  • 2016 Tesla Model S
    Tesla says subcontractors' $5/hour pay is unacceptable

    A new investigation accuses Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] of using cheap Eastern European labor to expand its assembly plant in Silicon Valley, but it is the automaker's response to the situation that is garnering the most attention. The San Jose Mercury-News published a detailed report last weekend...

  • NextEV TCR (Team China Racing) competing in the Formula E Championship
    More details on Chinese firm NextEV’s electric supercar plans

    There’s no shortage of Chinese-backed startups attempting to be the next Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA]. A few that have been reported on here at Motor Authority include Atieva, Detroit Electric, Faraday Future/LeEco, Karma, National Electric Vehicle Sweden and TechRules. Another is NextEV, which...

  • LAPD tries out Tesla Model S P85D
    LAPD tests out Tesla Model S as patrol car

    If Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] gets its way, the next set of flashing lights in your rearview mirror very well could be attached to a high-zoot electric car. The California electric car brand has loaned a pair of Model S P85Ds to the Los Angeles Police Department for testing purposes. ALSO SEE...

  • BMW Vision Next 100 concept
    Will BMW's new flagship be an electric car?

    Tesla is currently igniting the hearts and wallets of a portion of the car-buying public that is interested in putting an electric vehicle in their garage or driveway. Those are car buyers that the traditional automakers are paying close attention to, or should be if they're not. Germany's three...

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