Autoblog Green

TreeRover is a robot experiment that autonomously plants trees in areas that suffer from having none. The robot took 4 months to create and is the invention of two students from UVic Electrical and Computer Engineering. TreeRover is still being modified and enhanced to navigate further. Learn more at iotatechnologies.ca. Transcript: This robot plants trees to save the environment. TreeRover is a robotic experiment designed to plant trees in areas that suffer from having none. Created by two UVi

We love driving the Ford Mustang. We've got one — a GT — in the Autoblog stable at the moment, and the keys to that V8-powered, rear-wheel-drive beast are highly coveted in the office. Some of us (well, maybe just this particular author) feel a tinge of guilt, though, when we fire it up and lustfully rev the engine. We can't help but think of the fuel it gulps on our spirited commutes home. For those of us with a heavy conscience, it looks like we'll be getting a greener offering in

On this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Green Editor John Beltz Snyder and Associate Editor Joel Stocksdale. We talk about driving the 2018 Ford Ecosport and Hyundai Accent. Joel tells us why he loves the naturally aspirated engine in our long-term Honda Ridgeline. We discuss Tesla's profitability claims, Johan de Nysschen leaving Cadillac and a possible date change for the Detroit Auto Show. As usual, we'll also spend a listener's money on a car.

Lyft on Thursday announced a multimillion-dollar investment to counterbalance the pollution produced by its entire fleet of ride-sharing vehicles by immediately purchasing carbon offsets verified by a third party. The plan to become fully carbon-neutral, it says, makes Lyft one of the top voluntary purchasers of carbon offsets in the world.

Volkswagen AG unit Electrify America will install electric vehicle charging stations at more than 100 Walmart store locations in 34 U.S. states by mid-2019 as part of Electrify's plans to bolster charging infrastructure across the country, the two companies said on Wednesday.

Polestar's halo coupe, the shapely Polestar 1 is about to get its China debut at the Auto China show in Beijing next week, after its global presentation at the Geneva Motor Show last month. It arrives at the China show with greetings from snowy Sweden, as Polestar has released this test footage from the Swedish Arctic Circle.

In addition to the all-electric Enspire crossover concept revealed this week ahead of the Beijing auto show, Buick is adding a new production variant to its Velite series of electrified vehicles for China. It's called the Velite 6, a plug-in hybrid that will launch this year in Buick's largest market, with a full-electric version, shown in the lead photo above at right, coming later.

Tesla will attempt to ramp up production to 6,000 Model 3 cars per week by the end of June to reach its weekly goal of 5,000 and allow for a margin of error, Electrek reported, citing a letter to employees from Chief Executive Elon Musk.

One thing potential customers of Automobili Pininfarina's circa-$2.5-million, 250 mph electric hypercar can be rest assured of: It should look good. "Above all it must be beautiful," Italian design director Luca Borgogno told a small gathering of the world's press at the exclusive launch of the new car brand in Rome, on the eve of the first-ever Formula E race there last week.

For the Beijing Auto Show, Buick is showing yet another crossover, this one in concept form. It's called the Buick Enspire, and unlike the rest of the brand's crossovers, this one is all electric. It's more than just a repurposed Bolt EV, too. Instead of the Bolt's 150 kW and 200-horsepower motor, the Buick has a 410 kW motor, which equates to 550 horsepower. Buick claims the motor will get the crossover to 60 mph in just 4 seconds.

Elon Musk is not using one of those tarps that cover coils of aluminum delivered to the Tesla stamping facility as his blanket. Nor is he resting his head on a pillow made from absorbent mats used to deal with factory spills. At least it is unlikely.

Subaru's advancing to the electrified frontier, and it's reportedly picking a name for its plug-in hybrid. That name is said to be "Evoltis."

esla has temporarily suspended its Model 3 assembly line in what the company said on Monday was a planned production pause, as the automaker continues to face challenges ramping up its new sedan.

Tesla batteries retain over 90 percent of their charging power after 160,000 miles, according to data gathered by a Dutch-Belgium Tesla owners group. According to its survey of over 350 owners, the EVs dropped about 5 percent of their capacity after 50,000 miles, but lose it at a much slower rate after that. If the trend holds, most Tesla vehicles will still have 90 percent capacity after around 300,000 km (185,000 miles), and 80 percent capacity after a whopping 800,000 km (500,000 miles).

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency violated the law when it approved a $43,000 soundproof phone booth last year for the office of embattled Administrator Scott Pruitt, a congressional watchdog unit said on Monday.

Indian automaker Mahindra has announced the launch of Automobili Pininfarina, a new standalone sustainable luxury vehicle brand, with plans for a new electric hypercar in 2020.

When we talked with folks at Porsche about introducing the Mission E here in the U.S., they acknowledged that charging infrastructure was a challenge the company must face head-on. "We have to work on our charging infrastructure [across] the nation, so that range anxiety — despite the fact that we have a bigger range than 300 miles — is not a barrier," Porsche Cars North America President and CEO Klaus Zellmer told us. Now we know a little more about that plan, as Zellmer told Automo

Last year, we brought you news of an automated valet parking system that would allow visitors to the Mercedes-Benz museum in Stuttgart to have their cars drop them off and then go park itself autonomously. Now, one of Daimler's German rivals plans to offer similar capabilities. Volkswagen Group, which includes Porsche and Audi, is currently testing autonomous parking at the Hamburg Airport, with plans to put the technology into consumer vehicles beginning in 2020.

Despite sales of the Lexus CT hybrid hatchback ending last year in the U.S., Lexus isn't planning to abandon its segment in favor of the new compact crossover, the UX. The CT remains on sale in some countries, and Lexus's European boss is adamant the brand has to keep offering cars in that segment.

The Pagani Huayra is nearing the end of its run. The final coupe — number 100 — will be dressed up like Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes-AMG F1 car. The roadster version that follows will be limited to just 100 examples, too. It should be no surprise then that the company is working on its third model. According to Car and Driver, a fourth one is in the works, too. Rather than a big, twin-V12, the fourth model will be all electric.