Daily coverage of the world of cars.
BMW and Chevrolet are changing the world of transportation, but not in the way we might have thought they would.
Both companies are driving us toward an electric future, and both have just taken epic steps to help solidify their choice of EVs as the cars of the very near future.
More specifically, both have selected SUVs and crossovers as the electric cars of the future. Continue reading >>>
A British legend was born in 1959. No, we’re not referring to the great Tracey Ullman, but another icon that has become deeply rooted in British culture and is known around the world:
The MINI.
The economy car, originally produced by the British Motor Corporation, was voted the second most influential vehicle of the 20th century, just behind the Ford Model T and ahead of the Volkswagen Beetle. Production began in 1959 and continues to this day, though ownership has changed hands a number of times.
The famous British brand has been under BMW ownership since 2001, and now the German automaker plans to further dilute MINI’s English roots. Continue reading >>>
Freezing air has descended upon my city. Those leisurely mornings of heading out to the car in shorts and a T-shirt have been replaced by scraping windshields free of frost.
I love my electric Nissan Leaf, because I can start and warm it up using an app on my phone while I stay toasty warm inside the house. My Subaru Legacy actually requires me to go outside and start the motor with a key.
This week I needed the Legacy, because my errands required more range than the Leaf could provide. That meant I had to brave the cold, trek outside, and start the Subaru so it would be warm for my family.
When I got back inside, my wife, who was getting ready in the upstairs bathroom, asked why the car was so loud.
“Because it has a gas motor,” I said.
Needless to say, we have become accustomed to driving electric.
We’ve been hoping the next electric car might be a Tesla Model 3, but with production problems pushing back availability of the car, we, like thousands of other drivers, may have to look elsewhere. Continue reading >>>
Tesla has very high hopes for its midsize Model 3 sedan.
It doesn’t just hope to survive and sell enough copies to make the investment worth it—the electric carmaker plans to revolutionize the auto business by selling a hundred thousand or so every year.
That’s a lofty goal. All of those sales would have to come from somewhere… and the BMW 3 Series could be the sacrificial lamb. In fact, one investor believes sales of the 3 Series could “go to zero.” Continue reading >>>
One of the benefits of owning an electric car is not needing to buy gasoline. The cost savings add up year after year, even when you include the cost of electrons to recharge the batteries.
Two of the biggest concerns since the advent of hybrid and EV technology are electric range and potential cost of replacing battery packs.
Range anxiety has mostly been solved as EV range steadily increases to over 200 miles per charge. Replacing battery packs has, so far, proven to be a non-issue, but it’s bound to become one as the earliest EVs continue to age. How much should people expect to pay once the inevitable happens?
About half of what the car cost new, at least according to Chevrolet. Continue reading >>>