It got 265 miles on the the stricter 5-cycle EPA test. The Leaf got 73 miles and most people are able to match that. It doesn't get more standard than that. The problem with "independent" range tests is the road conditions are never consistent. That means it can't be used as a basis for comparison. The closest you can…

All the stuff posted about Tesla recently by Jalopnik has been negative. The bottom half blue text "meta-review" is copied word for word from other articles. Only the first black text half was written by Jalopnik and I only see negative there too (criticizing the length of the drive). Previously Jalopnik posted an…

The Volt is a world car that has appeal across the globe, which will help its sales. The Escape is pretty much a US only car (SUVs sell well only in a few markets, hybrid ones sell even less).

"Batteries weigh more, aren't recyclable, cost a ton to replace every ten years."

Doesn't change that it's a step closer. We have a lot of petroleum in other industries, but there are alternatives there too. Out biggest consumption by far is still for transportation, so we fix that first.

After reading the article about Ford being doomed, I found the CNET article, and I laughed.

The 10 minute drives are obviously for "first drive" coverage. I don't think anyone is expecting to get a full review from that kind of drive, just to get a bit of a feel of how it drives (as for things you can test stationary, like the infotainment system, storage, seating, etc., any journalist can visit a local…

No difference with the Tesla either (this test drive event is a preview event before the pre-orderers finalize their orders). Every single car in the 5000 allocated for this year is already a customer car and the only one who has taken delivery is one large investor (they did the same with the Roadster). There's no…

Ford by far got the largest loan in the ATVM program. It got $5.9 billion (70%) out of the $8.4 billion loaned out so far to 5 companies (the second largest was Nissan with $1.448 billion, the rest are smaller companies like Tesla and Fisker which got ~$0.5 billion each and the Vehicle Production Group that got $50…

The people calling BS are comparing a different situation (esp. the one about the burnout). All the magazine brake tests that "confirmed" that brakes can stop a car at WOT were done with a driver fully prepared to stop (which means one dedicated pedal to the medal press on the brakes when the car still has vacuum…

Neither were in the right, but the Benz came off as an idiot. He was lucky to not have been rear ended or sideswiped by the truck. You can't really win against a truck (which is why I pass them as quickly as possible).

The way you are driving is correct in a large majority of states in the US. The way described in the article is right only in a handful of states.

Not every state requires you to stay on the right unless passing. In fact, it appears a majority of states say slower traffic keep right rather than all non-passing traffic keep right. Here's handy chart:

On I-5, the signs actually say 70. Generally if you keep within 10mph, the cops don't care, so on I-5 most people go 80. People in the far left lane generally keep about 15mph above the limit though.

They have all 5000 cars for this year pre-ordered, so a media blitz is worthless to them in the first place. The only people who they have to present the cars to are those 5000 people (which they will do so in a test drive event they have lined up this month, something unreported here) and their investors. There is no…

Most people would describe a fire that erupts quickly as an explosion. The Crown Victoria has been involved in plenty of incidences where eye witnesses described the incidents as "explosions". And Crown Vics are certainly not battery powered.

Leaving out important details is almost the same as lying.

"The GTR that crashed into the cab may be destroyed, and may even have been leaking fuel from the fuel lines that were likely damaged... but it didn't explode the way the taxi did."

Add this tech to hybrids and the hybrids will still be on top in efficiency (esp combined efficiency, since this doesn't eliminate idle losses and doesn't offer regen braking, while hybrids do).

An expensive Prius that gets crap fuel economy (for a hybrid). That's why Lexus is canceling it.