ORION TOWNSHIP, MI—General Motors is investing $300 million in its assembly plant here to produce a new Chevrolet electric vehicle that will create 400 new jobs.

In the future, vehicles may travel down roads covered by overhead catenary wires and on highways paved with solar panels. Several experimental projects already exist in China, France and Southern California.

When most people think of leak testing, one childhood event probably comes to mind: Submerging a filled bicycle inner tube in a sink full of water, hoping to find the exact leak location by following a trail of air bubbles.

At the recent Geneva Motor Show, vehicle electrification was a leading topic of conversation. While automakers aren’t giving up on the good-old internal combustion engine just yet, they’re investing billions of dollars to develop fully electric systems that are reliable, safe and cost-effective to assemble.

CHATTANOOGA, TN--A Volkswagen spokesman recently indicated that this city would be the likely location for its new electric vehicle plant.

WASHINGTON--Automakers are scrambling to defend the electric vehicle tax credit after House Republicans last week proposed eliminating it to help pay for their broader package of tax cuts.Lobbyists here quickly huddled to figure out how to save the tax credit, which the industry views as critical to promoting commercial adoption of electric vehicle technology.

SAN FRANCISCO--Cruise, the self-driving car startup that sold to General Motors last year, has developed a production design vehicle based on the Bolt electric vehicle. Temporarily dubbed Generation 3, the car is now ready for the factory production line. Thus far, the company has produced about 50 of the cars.

That modern life can, and often does, imitate popular art is well established, even to the point of being a cliché. Much less commonplace is life improving upon art.