Bill Gates Bets on the Future of Internal Combustion

Starting in two months, hybrid and electric motor vehicles will be required to play recordings of conventional car-like sounds to alert pedestrians and cyclists to their approach.

Detroit Electric went out of business in 1939, after losing its edge to internal combustion engines that no longer needed to be started with a hand crank. As of today, it's back, with a bold plan to have a new electric car rolling off the line by the end of 2014.

“Once people hear that the economics are very good, maybe we won’t have everybody dash to gas and throw out coal. We hope the rest of the world can learn from our plant.” A technology that holds the hope for cleaner use of coal will be tested on a commercial scale for the first time in Canada next year, aiming to resolve big uncertainties about the vast amount of power it will need.

By John Petersen:March is Motor Show time in Geneva and it was fascinating to witness the shift in emphasis away from plug-in vehicles as European automakers highlighted their accomplishments in fuel efficiency technologies like HEVs, micro-hybrids and dual fuel drive trains that can switch back and forth between gasoline and compressed natural gas.

The new 2014 all-electric Chevrolet Spark EV is not the most stylish ride, but one thing about its exterior design stuck out: The grilles under the headlights are fake. Grilles bring air into the car, and are a key feature on cars with conventional internal combustion engines.

Emissions of carbon dioxide from fossil fuel consumption in the United States have fallen remarkably since 2008, with recent levels the lowest since 1995. Here I comment on some of the factors behind this.

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Are electric cars running out of juice again? Recent moves by Japan’s two largest automakers suggest that the electric car, after more than 100 years of development and several brief revivals, still is not ready for prime time – and may never be. In the meantime, the attention of automotive executives in Asia, Europe and North America is beginning to swing toward an unusual but promising new alternate power source: hydrogen.