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Apple's new solar-powered campus, and more in the week that was
As the founder of Tesla, Elon Musk is a proponent of clean technology and renewable energy. That's why it's so surprising that Donald Trump has selected Musk to serve as a strategic advisor -- here's hoping Musk can convince the President-elect to take climate change seriously. In other news, Chevrolet just delivered its first batch of Bolt EVs to customers in the San Francisco Bay Area, beating Tesla's Model 3 to the punch. Steven Hawking is working with NASA to launch a self-healing starship that will search for habitable planets in Alpha Centauri. And Japan Airlines has developed a way to transform old clothing into jet fuel.
GM starts testing self-driving Bolts on Michigan roads
GM isn't wasting much time now that Michigan has cleared some of the legal hurdles to testing self-driving cars in the state. Effective "immediately," the car giant will start testing autonomous rides on Michigan's public roads -- that includes modified Chevy Bolts, of course. The initial focus is on testing around GM's Technical Center offices in Warren, but test drives will reach the metro Detroit area within the "next few months."
Chevy delivers its first Bolt EVs in Tesla's backyard
The high-range, reasonably priced Bolt EV is finally here. Introduced at CES 2016, the car's delivery to a dealership in Fremont, California is the completion of an aggressive roadmap for the automobile set forth by GM CEO Mary Barra when the vehicle was unveiled. And it's probably not a coincidence that the cars will be transferred to their new owners approximately three miles from the Tesla assembly plant.
Chevy beats Tesla to a sub $30,000 long-range EV
Oregon and California residents can now buy an electric car with an EPA range of 238 miles for under $30,000. Chevy's pricing configurator for its Bolt EV is now online, and as expected, the base LT model with a 10.2-inch touchscreen, Apple CarPlay (or Android Auto) and a rear vision camera costs $37,495, or exactly $29,995 after the $7,500 federal tax credit. If you get the premier model with all the options (including driver assist features) it'll cost $44,950, or $37,450 after US tax credits. As Chevy warned earlier, the DC fast charge option is $750 extra on all models.
The world's fastest electric car, and more in the week that was
Tesla finally sealed the deal on its acquisition of SolarCity this week, and the merger is already producing incredible results. The two companies just completed a project to power an entire island on solar power. In other energy news, researchers in Israel developed found a way to make solar panels 70 percent more efficient. Two Chinese companies are building a massive solar plant in the exclusion zone near the Chernobyl nuclear reactor. And Sweden announced plans to cut its tax on solar energy by 98 percent.
Toyota could abandon hydrogen in favor of EVs
Toyota has been vocal in its belief that hydrogen-powered vehicles like the Mirai will eventually replace gas and diesels. But this insistence makes the company's recent decision to launch a long-range EV similar to the Tesla such a surprise. Reuters (via Nikkei) is reporting that the carmaker will quietly reverse its longstanding resistance to pure all-electric vehicles in the very near future. It's believed that Toyota will launch a new EV with a range of around 186 miles on a charge by 2020 as it looks to make all of its products emissions-free by 2050.
Chevy starts manufacturing the Bolt
A new wave of affordable yet practical electric cars is finally reaching production lines. GM has started manufacturing the Chevy Bolt at a plant in Orion Township, Michigan, putting it on track to sell the $30,000 (after tax credits) EV in California and Oregon by the end of the year. It's not certain just who'll get first crack at the Bolt besides Lyft drivers (there are no reservations, as the AP notes), but it's safe to say that Chevy is beating Tesla to the punch -- the Model 3 doesn't enter production until mid-2017.
Chevy truck brings hydrogen fuel cells to the military
Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles aren't just for eco-conscious civilian drivers. Chevy has unveiled the Colorado ZH2, an experimental truck designed to test the feasibility of fuel cells in the military. Its powerplant is much quieter and cooler-running than a conventional gas motor, making it ideal for special ops where conventional trucks would blow your cover. However, its real specialty doesn't involve driving at all -- you can use the modular cell to power devices outside the truck with up to 25kW of continuous electricity. A squad could run equipment while camped out in mid-mission, for example.
The first Chevy Bolt EV you see might be your Lyft ride
Shortly before General Motors scooped up the pieces of failed Uber competitor Sidecar back in January, they invested $500 million in Lyft for a partnership to create a self-driving vehicle network. In August, news broke that the car giant made an offer to buy the ride-sharing company, but was rebuffed. Their intertwined saga continues today, as they announced that Lyft drivers would be among the first to get Chevy's Bolt electric vehicles.
Uber's self-driving cars, and more in the week that was
It's official: Self-driving cars are here. This week Uber's autonomous taxi fleet picked up its first passengers in Pittsburgh, while Ford announced that its self-driving car will have no steering wheel, gas pedal, or brakes. Ford is also working on cars that can harvest drinking water from thin air -- and then dispense it from a dashboard tap. In other auto news, the Chevy Bolt scored an EPA-certified driving range of 238 miles -- further than the base Tesla Model S. Tesla sued an oil exec for allegedly impersonating Elon Musk to steal trade secrets. And design studio Duffy London debuted the solar-powered super yacht of the future.
Behind the wheel of GM's 238-mile range electric car
Chevy's new Bolt shows up in San Francisco's SOMA district at the height of rush hour. It comes around the corner evading cars, buses and wandering Giants fans on their way to the game a few blocks away. It's urban chaos and it's the exact environment the long-range EV will encounter when new customers drive it out of showrooms sometime before the end of the year.
The Chevy Bolt will have a 238-mile range
Chevy has finally announced the range of its upcoming Bolt all-electric vehicle. At 238 miles, the relatively inexpensive EV should squelch some of the range anxiety that's kept drivers from making the switch from gas-powered vehicles.
Chevrolet cuts in-car LTE data pricing in half
The ongoing cost of owning a new car just got a little cheaper for Chevy drivers who opted to trick out their new vehicles with 4G LTE data plans. As CNET's Roadshow reports today, the automaker has cut the rates for its in-car cellular service in half.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: An impressive mobile home, and more!
Is the age of the flying car upon us? This week a new report revealed that Google co-founder Larry Page has secretly invested over $100 million in two aerial vehicle startups. Meanwhile, four major political parties in Norway have proposed a ban on all gas-powered cars by the year 2025. A team of Swedish students unveiled one of the world's most energy-efficient rail-bound vehicles. A young filmmaker transformed a boring Chevy van into an incredible solar-powered mobile home. And the Coboat is a sun and wind-powered catamaran for co-working freelance nomads.
GM is already testing self-driving Chevy Bolts
That didn't take long. Just weeks after GM bought Cruise Automation to give its self-driving car initiative a boost, the spy photographers at SpiedBilde have spotted multiple Chevy Bolts roaming around San Francisco with autonomous driving sensors on their roofs. In fact, one of the drivers is Cruise Automation co-founder Kyle Vogt -- clearly, he's taking the hands-on approach in this collaboration.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: Toyota's new Prius, and more!
Tesla is set to unveil its most affordable electric car ever next weekend, but Chevrolet stole a bit of its thunder by rolling out the first pre-production Bolt EV. Meanwhile, Toyota debuted the Prius Prime, a plug-in hybrid with a record-breaking 120 MPGe rating. Hybrid Air Vehicles launched the world's largest airship, which can fly for three weeks straight without a crew. And frequent fliers will be relieved to learn that Airbus has developed a new plane designed to eliminate jet lag.
Chevy is getting the Bolt EV ready for production
The all-electric Chevy Bolt is on schedule to start being built by the end of the year. The automaker announced today that pre-production of the vehicle has begun. The company is currently finishing up its testing of auto-plant tools and process needed to actually build the car.
OnStar is helping GM plan for an autonomous-car future
General Motors has been on a tear lately. The automaker recently invested $500 million in Lyft and acquired both self-driving startup Cruise and ride-share company Sidecar. And that's all since January. But there's one thing that GM has had for years that might give it an edge over the competition: OnStar.
Chevy's new Malibu keeps teens safe from themselves
The Chevy Malibu used to conjure up images of teen rebellion. The late '60's/early '70s SS muscle car was the go-to backroads drag racer for more than a few adolescents. And while the latest incarnation is more "grocery getter" than rumbling rocket, it still has four wheels, which means kids will figure out a way to put their lives in danger while behind the wheel. GM wants to curb that.
The Chevy Volt is a fun hybrid that tiptoes into the future
I have to drive 40 miles and the 2016 Chevy Volt says I only have about 23 miles of charge left in the battery. No biggie: I have three quarters of a tank of gas. I hit the accelerator and the car's two electric motors push me onto the highway. Plug-in hybrids like the Volt are nothing new. But what makes this stand out from other EV/petroleum vehicles is that it doesn't look different from the rest of the cars on the road.
