Proposed laws in Arizona and elsewhere would collect additional taxes from owners of electric cars, is it too soon to start collecting road use fees from electric car owners? Pop quiz: Who pays for building and maintaining the highway system? It’s largely paid for via gasoline taxes. Another pop quiz:…
Fisker Automotive runs into cash crunch, after missing milestones in the Dept of Energy loans program, due to repeated delays on the Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid luxury sedan. Fisker Automotive, the designer and manufacturer of high end luxury plug-in hybrid cars, has run into a cash crunch and is laying…
GM’s strange Chevy Volt superbowl ad caused a couple Fox News commentators to launch into a flimsy and leaky hit job on the Chevy Volt. It’s superbowl season and one of the now-traditional side-shows to that football game is the advertising run during the show. Because of the large audience…
The price of gasoline can affect the outcome of the 2012 elections, the success or failure of alternatively fueled vehicles like electric cars, and the success or failure of efforts to mitigate climate change and other environmental goals. What should the price for gasoline be? That’s a huge question with…
The laudable goal, developing a gasoline powered car with 100 miles/gallon fuel efficiency, is being offered a $1 billion government prize as incentive, and would keep the U.S. addicted to oil. Not all Californians are looking forward to electric vehicles, some are Congressmen who propose legislation whose result would be to keep us addicted to oil.…
GM’s former Chairman, Bob Lutz, blasts the right wing media for lying about the Chevy Volt. Yesterday Forbes published an op-ed piece from GM’s former CEO, Bob Lutz defending the Chevy Volt and calling on certain right wing media outlets to focus on telling the truth, rather than concocting lies. One wonders after reading…
California continues to lead the nation in developing standards for advanced clean, zero emissions, vehicles from cars up to big trucks. Today the California Air Resources Board (CARB) passed new regulations that could help shape the future of the automotive industry. Previous era’s of California’s clean air regulations have both made California’s air cleaner, and have…
A politically charged Congressional Hearing this morning questioned the NHTSA’s integrity following the Chevy Volt crash test fire last summer, with Administrator Strickland bearing the brunt of Rep. Jordan’s angry questioning. In a politically charged Congressional Hearing held today, the safety of the Chevy Volt, and the integrity of the…
The NHTSA released a detailed report of the Chevy Volt crash test and forensic investigation last week prior to this weeks House Oversight committee hearing. On Wednesday this week the House Oversight Committee will take up the question, “Volt Vehicle Fire: What did NHTSA Know and When Did They Know…
The firestorm over the Chevy Volt battery pack fire is moving next week to a hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the hearing is to feature Dan Akerson, GM’s CEO. In May 2011 a Chevy Volt underwent extreme crash testing by the NHTSA, and three weeks later…
Instead of showing that “federal investigation of three fires that occurred after Volt crash tests lowered demand for the Chevy Volt” a recent report instead shows interest in the Volt has fallen due to its price. A number of news reports are circulating a claim, credited to CNW Market Research,…
Perhaps when we think “oil companies want to kill electric cars” our imagination is running away with us, but when a Congressman who owns/owned millions of dollars in oil company stock, who is also a car dealer, and wants to kill electric cars, what else is our mind to think?…
The government tried to close his car dealership, he fought back, and now as a Congressman Rep. Kelly wants to kill the electric car. With HR 3768 introduced, on Dec 30, by Chevy Car Dealer and Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), a proposal to end the $7500 tax credit for electric…
Demanding that electric cars solve global warming and foreign oil dependence overnight makes it impossible for electric cars to look like a success. With the new year came the ending of a long list of tax credits, among which were the electric vehicle tax credits we discussed last week. Today…
The latest round of the U.S. Federal budget showdown was averted with the deal on the payroll tax cut, but there was collateral damage with dozens of tax credits that were not extended and are now expiring on Saturday, including three related to electric vehicles and several more related to…
