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Canoo is an EV startup that in 2019 showed to the world a subscription service auto called the Life Style Vehicle. This EV had a center based driving position and to some reminded people of the VW Microbus. Fast forward a few years and Canoo is now a publicly traded company that has considerable patents on EV powertrain and other components and under a new CEO had up to today two products planned that the public knew about. The Canoo LifeStyle auto pictured above and their MPDV or Multi-Purpose Delivery Vehicle pictured below. An unknown source leaked on Reddit that Canoo was planning to enter the lucrative and highly competitive North American truck…
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Canoo is excited to announce their preorder reservation system is now open with a minimal $100 deposit. Canoo Inc. has stated that their first BEV will be their Lifestyle vehicle launching in 2022 with a targeted pricing of starting from $34,750 and rising to $49,950 for delivery, base and premium models before incentives or optional equipment. Pickup Truck and MPDV scaled production are scheduled to begin in early 2023. CEO and Executive Chairman of Canoo Inc. Tony Aquila states the following: “It’s no longer a question of whether America will go EV – but when. Our line-up is future-forward and succeeds where others have struggled: Giving people the EV that wo…
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With the rise of services of car and ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft, a number of people have said this would begin the downfall of buying and owning a new vehicle in the U.S. But a new study commissioned by Kelly Blue Book says that isn't happening for the majority of the country. The study revealed many Americans consider vehicle ownership to be more convenient, reliable, safer than car- and ride-sharing services. It also revealed that 76 percent of respondents that use these services are planning to buy or lease a vehicle within the next two years. "While there are numerous benefits to ride sharing and car sharing, our data reveals that owning a car…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com June 19, 2013 Another automaker bites the dust. Carbon Motors, the company behind the futuristic E7 police vehicle has filled for chapter seven bankruptcy (i.e. liquidation) last Friday. The Indianapolis Business Journal says the company's bankruptcy paperworks lists liabilities of $21.7 million and assets of just $18,976. Those assets include one E7 prototype, some furniture, books, and intellectual property. Carbon Motor's business plan hinged upon getting a $310 million loan from U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program. Last March, the Department of Energy declined their appli…
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com March 8, 2012 Carbon Motors, the company behind the purpose-built E7 police vehicle will not be getting any of the $310 million in U.S. Department of Energy loans under the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) program that it applied for almost three years ago. Carbon Motors CEO William Santana Li says the company is a victim of politics. “We are outraged by the actions of the DOE and it is clear that this was a political decision in a highly-charged, election year environment. Since Solyndra became politicized last fall, the DOE has failed to make any other loans under the ATVM program, has pulled back on…
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com December 18, 2011 Carbon Motors, the company behind the purpose-built E7 police vehicle sent a letter to President Obama's cabinet on Friday urging them to approve the company's Department of Energy Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing loan. Carbon Motors applied for ATVM loan program two years ago, but hasn't seen a cent of it. The letter goes on a point by point basis on why they deserve the loan, ranging from the environmental impact of the current fleet of police vehicles to the amount of people that would be put work to build the E7. The Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing loan program has been criti…
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com May 11, 2012 Automotive legend Caroll Shelby passed away last night at the age of 89 after a lengthy illness at the Baylor Hospital in Dallas, TX. Shelby's shadow extended nearly across automotive world. In the fifties, Shelby was a highly accomplished racer. He would win three U.S. sports-car championships, the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans, and set land speed records at Bonneville. However, a heart condition in 1960 would cause him to stop racing. But that didn't stop Shelby. During the sixties, Shelby would be known for building the Shelby Cobra and his partnership with Ford, building the Shelby GT350 and GT500 Mustang…
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Here is a paradox for you: Automakers have been increasing the number of safety features in their vehicles to help protect or avoid a crash. But this has also brought an unforeseen consquence; crash your vehicle and it is more likely that your insurance company will total it. That's according to a story from Automotive News who spoke with Bob Tschippert, senior vice president of Dallas-based underwriter Risk Theory. Tschippert explained that all of these new features has increased the costs of repairing a vehicle, thus causing the chance of an insurance company totaling vehicle to rise. "In the past, if you had a front-end collision, you had damage to the engine…
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By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com January 8, 2013 Eight months after Google became the first company to be licensed by the state of Nevada to test autonomous vehicles on public roads, Audi becomes the first automaker to be licensed. The German automaker is no stranger to autonomous vehicles. In 2010, a specially-built TTS took on the Pikes Peak Climb, finishing the course in 27 minutes. Audi will use its license to continue developing and refining its autonomous system, which the automaker equates to auto-pilot system on a plane. Audi's vision for the system would have the driver allowing the vehicle to perform mundane tasks like stop-and-go traffic …
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Google, Audi, GM, Honda, Hyundai, and NVIDIA announced at the Consumer Electronics Show today a new partnership called the Open Automotive Alliance (OAA). The overall goal of the alliance is to help speed up the development of technological innovation in the auto industry by openness, customization, and scale. The alliance will work on bringing the Android operating system from phones and tablets to vehicles, giving automakers a degree of technological development expertise that they haven't had awhile. In return, automakers will be able develop infotainment systems their standards. "Millions of people are already familiar with Android and use it everyday. The expansion…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com October 20, 2012 (Author’s note: This is a new thing I’m trying out with the news coverage. Let me know what you think about this. -WM) Everyday, I go through a number of stories that I will post on Cheers & Gears. However, a good number of stories that I have picked out don’t make it onto the page during the week and either get posted next week or never. That’s about change with the arrival of the Cheers & Gears’ Weekend Edtion. Its where the stories that gotten forgotten about during the week get their due. In this first edition, we’ll be covering, Change of Guard at Volvo A Smaller Mazda California’s Be…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com October 27, 2012 Everyday, I go through a number of stories that I will post on Cheers & Gears. However, a good number of stories that I have picked out don’t make it onto the page during the week and either get posted next week or never. That’s where the the Cheers & Gears’ Weekend Edtion comes in. Its where the stories that gotten forgotten about during the week get their due. In this second edition, we’ll be covering, Two New Honda Models Based On The Fit Ford's Flat Rock Plant Welcomes A New Vehicle Tesla's Trade-Up and More Next: Honda's Two Vehicles Based on Fit Rumorpile: Next-Generation H…
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Like many countries, China offers various incentives to spur the sales of electric vehicles. But a report from Bloomberg says the Chinese government is considering reducing various subsidies beginning next year. According to sources, the government is considering cutting the average incentive by more than a third from where they currently stand. Also up for consideration is incentives being eligible on models that can travel at least 200 kilometers (about 125 miles) on a single charge. Why? The government wants automakers to keep innovating by making EVs cheaper and go much further on a charge. “China is switching away from carrots. The government wants to ensu…
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China is the latest country to investigate possibly ending the sale of gas and diesel vehicles. According to the state's Xinhua News Agency, deputy industry minister Xin Guobin told an auto industry forum over the weekend has started "research on formulating a timetable to stop production and sales of traditional energy vehicles." “Some countries have made a timeline for when to stop the production and sales of traditional fuel cars,” said Guobin. “The ministry has also started relevant research and will make such a timeline with relevant departments. Those measures will certainly bring profound changes for our car industry’s development.” This move is…
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China has announced today that it would be reducing tariffs on U.S.-built cars and car parts from 40 to 15 percent beginning on January 1st. This reduction will last for three months as the U.S. and China begin hashing out a new trade deal. We first reported the reduction of the tariffs earlier this week. China's Ministry of Finance posted on their website said it hopes the talks between the two can go quickly and remove "all additional tariffs on each other’s goods" that were brought forth before the current trade-war. “China just announced that their economy is growing much slower than anticipated because of our Trade War with them. They have just suspended U.…
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com December 29, 2011 2012 is bring forth some significant changes for automakers that were planning to invest in China. The National Development and Reform Commission (NRDC) and the Ministry of Commerce announced that January 30, 2012, the country will stop encouraging foreign investment in the auto industry. The NRDC states the decision was made to help nurture their domestic brands. Jenny Gu, a senior market analyst at LMC Automotive in Shanghai tells Bloomberg the decision will end seven years of foreign-investor benefits including reduced tariffs on imported plant equipment. Recently, China has slapped new duties on…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com August 28, 2012 Chrysler and General Motors are banning campaign stops for the candidates running for the U.S. President. The banning hopes to sidestep criticism that might stem from the bailout the two automakers got back in 2008. "This fall, Chrysler will not host campaign events inside its facilities. The company is focused on meeting production demands," a Chrysler spokeswoman told Automotive News. “We’re a car company, not a political platform,” a GM spokesman said. Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required) William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at william.maley@cheersandg…
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The most famous boulevard in Paris, the Champs-Élysées will not see any vehicles for one Sunday every month. The Agence France-Presse reports that the Paris city government will ban vehicles from the Champs-Élysées the first Sunday of every month. The ban will go into effect on May 8th, not the 1st. The reason it is a week later is May 1st is a national holiday and many workers who will be needed to run the scheme will have the day off. This is part of Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo's plan to improve the overall environment in the city. Since she was elected back in 2014, Hidalgo has backed plans to create more pedestrian zones in the city and ban diesel cars by 2020. She a…
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The past month has been quite strenuous on the relationship between the Environmental Protection Agency and the State of California. Back in April, EPA chief Scott Pruitt announced they would be rolling back the fuel-efficiency regulations set towards the end of President Obama's tenure. The EPA also announced that it was considering revoking California's waiver to set their own emission standards. A few days later, we reported that the officials from the White House, California, and automakers were trying to work out a possible emissions deal to prevent a legal fight. It seems those talks went nowhere as California along with sixteen other states and the District of Colu…
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com May 29, 2012 Last fall, the Department of Transportation and eight automakers began a study to assess drivers' acceptance of accident-avoidance technologies. The study, called the Connected Vehicle Safety Pilot Program put people on closed roads in cars that were equipped with the technologies and asked what did they think about it. Out of the 688 participants in the study, 92% wanted the technology in their vehicles and more than 90% believed it would improve the safety of driving in the real-world. These numbers covered most age ranges. But there is a catch. A majority of drivers said they wouldn't pay a modest amo…
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Drew Dowdell - CheersandGears.com After 30 years, the ever increasing subsidy for ethanol produced from corn has expired. When Congress adjourned for the year last week, they did not renew the ethanol subsidy that has cost taxpayers some $45 billion during its lifetime. Every gallon of ethanol pumped provided corn growers with a 45 cent subsidy. Most of the savings from ending the subsidy to go towards reducing the US's budget deficit. At the same time, a 54 cent per gallon tariff on ethanol imported from Brazil also expired. Brazil is twice as productive per acre of farm land by using sugar cane rather than corn. The expiration of the Brazilian ethanol tariff is unlike…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com October 28, 2013 Consumer Reports has released this year's Auto Reliability Rankings, and not surprisingly Japan is on top. The top three in the rankings are Lexus, Toyota, and Acura. Following them is Mazda in fifth, Infiniti in sixth, Honda in eighth, and Subaru in tenth. That doesn't mean there weren't any surprises. Audi jumped four places to forth, while Volvo climbed a massive thirteen spots to seventh place. GMC was the only American brand to place in the top ten with spot in ninth. Outside the top ten, America, Europe and Japan saw mixed results. Scion took a big tumble, dropping ten spots to eleventh. Nissan dr…
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Yesterday, Consumer Reports announced the results of their annual reliability survey for 2015. Not surprisingly, the top ten was mostly made up of Japanese and Korean automakers, with Lexus and Toyota taking the top two spots. However, Audi led the Europeans by taking the third spot. For the domestics, Buick landed at number seven on the list. The survey reports that a number of automakers are still having troubles with the infotainment system, but also with transmissions. “We’ve seen a number of brands struggle with new transmission technology. “Whether it’s a complex system such as a dual-clutch gearbox, a continuously variable transmission, or one with eigh…
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It's that time of year when Consumer Reports announces the results of their brand report cards and for the most part, the results aren't surprising. The top ten were mostly dominated by Japanese automakers with Lexus being on top, followed by Mazda and Toyota. But if you look a little further down the list, you'll find a domestic automaker making the ten. Buick took the number seven spot on their annual reliability survey with the publication giving it an overall score of 69 and recommending 83 percent of their lineup. Buick has a reputation for large, cushy cars, and they’ve really invented themselves pretty quickly. They’re making reliable vehicles, and they’re making…
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com June 3, 2012 With gas prices going up and up, automakers are offering fuel-efficient versions of their compact cars to help stretch a gallon of gas farther. Consumer Reports wanted to see if these fuel-efficient compact models are worth the extra $500 - $800 from their non fuel-efficient models. They picked up a Chevrolet Cruze Eco, Ford Focus SFE, and Honda Civic HF to test the claim. Each of the vehicles were equipped with an automatic transmission. The Civic HF and Focus SFE is rated at 33 MPG combined, and the Cruze Eco is rated at 31 MPG combined. CR found in their testing the Civic HF got the highest combined …
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By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com February 5, 2013 The trend of automakers downsizing engines and adding turbochargers to add performance and increase fuel economy has drawn the ire of Consumer Reports. The publication recently tested eleven different vehicles and found that with rare exception, “the turbocharged cars have slower acceleration and no better fuel economy than the models with bigger, conventional engines.” Consumer Reports highlights the Ford Fusion which can come equipped with either an optional 1.6L or 2.0L EcoBoost turbocharged four-cylinder. In CR's testing, the 1.6L EcoBoost Fusion posted the slowest 0-60 MPH of 8.9 seconds among c…
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If you're looking a vehicle that has the best value in the marketplace, then according to Consumer Reports, you should be looking at the Toyota Prius. The publication announced the results of their annual Best New-Car Value analysis. The analysis looks at the five-year cost for a vehicle to an owner which includes such factors as maintenance, insurance, and depreciation. That cost is factored in with Consumer Reports’ road-test score and reliability rating for each vehicle. This is the second year the Prius has been named the best value in the marketplace. Consumer Reports says the Prius has a nice balance of performance, reliability, and low estimated five-year ownershi…
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Most new cars and trucks sitting on dealer lots have fuel economy estimates on their window sticker. The only group of vehicles that don't are heavy-duty trucks. This is due to the EPA not requiring automakers to publish estimates on trucks with gross weight ratings that exceed 8,500 pounds. This makes it difficult for folks to compare the heavy-duty trucks with one another or comparing the diesel variants with the light-duty gas versions. Consumer Reports doesn't believe it should be this way and is working on an effort to change this. Consumer Reports recently tested a Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD, Ford F-250 Super Duty, and Ram 2500 equipped with their optional dies…
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According to research issued by AAA, 40 percent of Americans expect driver assist systems with names like ProPilot, Co-Pilot 360, or Autopilot to give the vehicle the ability to drive itself. In a quote to Automotive News, Director of Automotive Engineering and Industry Relations at AAA says "Somewhere in there, you'd think a pilot is involved, but indeed no, human driving is still required." AAA examined 34 vehicle brands to identify the number of driver-assistance names used and found 40 different terms used to describe automated emergency braking, 20 terms for adaptive cruise control, and 19 different lane-keeping assist names. At CES this year, a coali…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com July 10, 2013 Convertibles have a small slice of the new car market. That slice seems to shinking even further. According to data from R.L. Polk, sales of convertibles last year barely reached one percent. That's a major drop when compared to convertible sales of 1.6 percent in 2009 and 2 percent in 2006. In all, 151,636 convertibles were registered last year. While that is an increase in number of registations over the past few years, it still is lagging behind other vehicles. The reason for this? Automakers are putting more development into more volume models such as midsize sedans and crossovers. "They're sitting do…
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Truck owner loyalty is legendary. Buyers typically pick one brand and stick with that brand for as long as they buy trucks. Indeed my own father has owned only one brand of pickup, the Ford F-series, since before I arrived on earth. In 2018, Ford moved more than 900,000 copies of its F-series pickups out of a total segment of 2,944,395. But have rising prices started to crack that loyalty? CarGurus did a survey and found that 70% of truck owners would switch brands if their truck raised prices by $10,000, that is up from 64% last year. While $10,000 seems like a big jump, even an increase of $5,000 would cause 42% of owners to ditch their current brand. Of …
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By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com May 10, 2013 While the midsize sedan market as a whole remains the single largest segment in the U.S., sales of the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry are shrinking due to the rise of crossovers. "While the segment is still growing year-over-year, it's nowhere near what it was growing last year as the industry was launching a lot of new midsize cars," said Bill Fay, the U.S. head of the Toyota brand. The rise of crossovers are being fueled by their practicalness, ability to get in and out much easier, and improved fuel economy. The price gap between midsize sedans and crossovers has also narrowed. Kelly Blue Book says a c…
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Developing autonomous vehicles in sunny, dry locales like Phoenix, Arizona has proven to be difficult due to numerous variables such as traffic and human behavior. But an upcoming study from Michigan State University reveals that autonomous technologies still have a number of hurdles as testing begins in areas with changing conditions. Automotive News had the chance to speak with Hayder Radha, an MSU professor of electrical and computer engineering who oversaw the upcoming study. The findings reveal that the algorithms that are used to distill the various bits of information coming from the cameras and radar/lidar sensors have issues when it lightly rains. "When…
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Buying and selling vehicles in Cuba is an interesting proposition. If you own or want to buy a vehicle before 1959 (the year when Cuba underwent a revolution and became a communist nation), you don't have to ask the government for permission. If the vehicle built after 1959, then you would have to obtain a special permit from the government which allows you to buy that vehicle. But buying a vehicle in Cuba in the near future will become a much easier affair. The Cuban Government announced last week that it will eliminate the permit as a way to open up the marketplace to more people. “It’s become clear that while private sales of cars between individuals has developed s…
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Since President Donald Trump was elected, automakers have been pushing for him to relax the stricter fuel economy and emission regulations coming into effect by 2025. Now there is another group calling for this. At the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) annual conference, dealers voiced support for the new president ease the upcoming regulations. "You inflate the price of the vehicle and a car that was maybe within reach of being affordable now may not be," said NADA's new chairman, Mark Scarpelli to Reuters. Scarpelli argues that the tech needed to improve fuel economy adds $1,500 to $3,000 to the price of a vehicle. He also says that a "diffe…
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By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com January 22, 2013 Last year, we reported on new legislation that wouldn't allow any rental-car company or car dealer to loan/sell any recalled vehicle before the necessary repairs have been made. Currently, only new vehicles cannot be sold unless the necessary repairs have been carried out. At the time, rental-car companies opposed the legislation, but have since agreed with it. Now dealers and smaller rental-car companies are fighting for an exemption from this legislation. Bailey Wood, spokesman for the National Automobile Dealers Association tells USA Today that dealers have a financial incentive to fix recalled c…
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com May 11, 2012 According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, traffic deaths are at their lowest levels since 1949. NHTSA's preliminary numbers show an estimated 32,310 people died in traffic accidents last year, a 1.7% drop from 2010 where 32,885 people died. Deaths in traffic accidents has been decreasing by 26% since 2005. New England and the Great Lakes region saw the biggest decrease in car accident deaths in 2011, with the former down 7.2% and the latter down 3.3%. California, Arizona, and Hawaii saw a 3.3% increase. AAA says the decrease is due several factors, primarily being motorists drove …
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Delphi Automotive is undertaking an ambitious cross-country road trip. The supplier announced that it will be taking an Audi SQ5 fitted with the latest self-driving tech on a trip from San Francisco to New York City. The trip will begin on March 22nd and end during the first week of the New York Auto Show. Delphi is planning to run the vehicle for 6 to 8 hours per day with two engineers in the vehicle to make sure all of the tech is working properly. "Delphi had great success testing its car in California and on the streets of Las Vegas. Now it’s time to put our vehicle to the ultimate test by broadening the range of driving conditions. This drive will help us collect i…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com October 16, 2013 Range Anxiety. A condition that still plagues electric vehicles. But it isn't limited to prospective customers who are worried about not having enough juice, it has now spread to rental customers. A number of rental car agencies have now started offering electric vehicles. This allows consumers to try an EV. But renters are returning the EVs much sooner and exchanging them for gas vehicle. “People are very keen to try it, but they will switch out of the contract part way through. Range anxiety makes them think they can’t get to a charging station,” said Lee Broughton, head of sustainability at Enterprise…
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New cars are getting more and more expensive. Kelly Blue Book reported earlier this month that the average transaction price of a new car was $35,541, up 1.8 percent compared to the same time last year. This has more consumers checking out the used car lot, causing demand to rise. “Customers forget a new car is now more than $30,000 and they expect it to be $20,000,” said Brian Allan, a senior director at Galpin Motors Inc., to the Wall Street Journal. “When people see the price has gone up, it is sticker shock, especially when people only buy a car every five to six years." Data from Edmunds reports that the gap between the price of a new and used car is n…
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com February 17, 2012 Distracted Driving is a topic that’s on everybody's minds, and with good reason. Newer vehicles are packed with more technology; ranging from touchscreen infotainment systems options to voice-controlled applications to smartphone integration. It comes as no surprise that the U.S. DOT Secretary Ray LaHood, the man who is leading the Distracted Driving cause has announced a new set of proposed guidelines for automakers to limit the use of in-car tech solutions that are "not directly relevant to safely operating the vehicle, or cause undue distraction by engaging the driver's eyes or hands for more than…
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com February 17, 2012 Distracted Driving is a topic that’s on everybody's minds, and with good reason. Newer vehicles are packed with more technology; ranging from touchscreen infotainment systems options to voice-controlled applications to smartphone integration. It comes as no surprise that the U.S. DOT Secretary Ray LaHood, the man who is leading the Distracted Driving cause has announced a new set of proposed guidelines for automakers to limit the use of in-car tech solutions that are "not directly relevant to safely operating the vehicle, or cause undue distraction by engaging the driver's eyes or hands for more than…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com October 21, 2013 It has been a few months since we had any update from VL Automotive, the group who showed off a Fisker Karma with 6.2L LS9 V8 from the Corvette ZR1 called the Destino. Back in May, Bob Lutz said plans for the Destino were safe, despite the problems Fisker Automotive were having at the time. This past week, Lutz gave an update on where VL Automotive stands. Lutz tells Automotive News that VL currently has 25 Karmas on hand and that it has gotten over the hurdle of acquiring codes to access the Karma’s infotainment system. "Without getting those codes, it was close to impossible to get a working car," sai…
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com January 4, 2012 At next week's Detroit Auto Show, Volvo will show of a XC60 Plug-In Hybrid Concept. The XC60 Plug-In Hybrid Concept will sport a brand new 2.0L turbo-four producing 280 HP. The gas engine is mated to a 70 HP electric motor giving a combined power output of 350 HP. 0-60 takes around 5.8 seconds and can get 50 MPG. Drivers can choose from three different modes how much of the available power from the gas and electric motor are used: Pure: All electric mode, range of 35 miles Hybrid: Mix of gas and electric power. CO2 emissions are 53 g/km Power: Maximum Power is available Volvo says the XC6…
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A big complaint you'll hear from journalists covering the Detroit Auto Show is the month that it is held. January is a miserable time in the north with cold temperatures and endless amounts of snow. But there could be some relief coming. The Wall Street Journal has learned from various sources that organizers of the show are considering moving the show from January to October. Crain's Detroit Business adds that show officials have been floating this idea for more than a year with automakers, city officials, and Cobo Center. Both say the show's leadership team has yet to make the final decision and could happen as early as 2020. A spokesman for the Detroit Auto S…
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It is now official, the Detroit Auto Show will not be held in January beginning in 2020. Organizers of the show made the announcement yesterday afternoon and released a teaser video showing what the show may look like in its new date, complete with outdoor test tracks and vehicle displays. The Detroit Auto Dealers Association (DADA) will be holding a press conference on July 24th announcing the new date. As we have reported previously, DADA was considering moving the show to October not only for better weather (a complaint for a number of journalists who cover the show), but to also give it some breathing room from another show, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) th…
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By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com January 13, 2013 We're just a day away from the Detroit Auto Show starting and the leaks have been pouring out. Four automakers: Honda, Infiniti, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen have had their showings prematurely revealed within the past week. We'll start with Honda and their Urban SUV Concept. The concept is based on the Fit and has a sporty and dynamic SUV profile. Next is the Infinti Q50 (Yes, the successor to the G Sedan) which was leaked by Infiniti Canada on their site before being taken down. Luckily someone saved an image of the site and shared it. The Q50 has a similar design to the current M (or should I sa…
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If there is one thing that we can pull from this latest round of contract negotiations between the Detroit three and the UAW is that amount of car production that will be heading to Mexico. According to a report from Automotive News, Ford and Fiat Chrysler Automobile will have moved production of most of their mass-market vehicles from the U.S. to Mexico. General Motors will be the only Detroit automaker who is keeping some sort of production of their compact and midsize cars. Why the shift to Mexico? It comes down to what vehicles make money for the three automakers. Currently, pickups and SUVs carry a much higher profit margin than cars. "You can afford to p…
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Drew Dowdell - January 19, 2012 - CheersandGears.com One of the limitations of current wind turbine technology is the limited amount of power generated per turbine. Large scale installations are required to match the power output of just the smaller coal buring powerplant. The largest wind turbines in the world produce about 5mw of power while the average coal fired power station produces around 500mw. Simple math can tell you that 100 of the largest wind turbines we have would need to be built to equal just one coal power plant. The additional real estate and construction costs v. the fuel costs of coal and natural gas are a substantial hurdle in the adoption of wind p…
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com January 16, 2012 A few years ago, a man by the name Scott Devin decided to build an American supercar to compete with the world’s best. So he called on a Swedish designer, Daniel Paulin to design his car. Now, being a new start-up car company, Devon couldn’t develop his own platform or an engine due to not having enough money. So, he went the donor car route for his new car and picked the Dodge Viper. Now, before you start thinking all Devon did for his new car was take a Viper and dress it up, there was more done to it. The Viper V10 was tuned and tweaked to produce 650 HP. The body, designed by Paulin was coachbuil…
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The project of a trade war between the U.S. and China (along with the European Union) has many automakers on edge. Some are beginning to speak out about the possible dangers it may bring. Mercedes-Benz's parent company, Diamler AG announced yesterday that its full-year earnings will be slightly lower than last year. Their reasoning comes down to consumers in China buying fewer SUVs that are imported from the U.S. Most of Mercedes-Benz SUVs are built in Alabama. “Remember, for those following from a Trump/global free trade perspective, this is now a German car maker, warning on the profits coming from their Alabama-made SUVs, which are then sold/exported into Chi…
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By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com January 28, 2013 Today Diamler, Ford, and Nissan announced a new partnership to jointly develop a common fuel cell system for vehicle to be ready as early as 2017. The three companies will work together on a common fuel-cell stack and fuel-cell system. Also, the partnership will participate in the adoption of global specifications and component standards, and studying the joint development of other FCEV components. "We are convinced that fuel cell vehicles will play a central role for zero-emission mobility in the future. Thanks to the high commitment of all three partners we can put fuel cell e-mobility on a broader …
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com March 13, 2012 Even after its release, Fisker has been having their share of problems with the new Karma; battery defects, software problems, and Consumer Reports having their Karma die during their testing. A former Fisker employee isn't surprised. The employee told GigaOM that Fisker pushed the Karma before it was production ready to try and meet its milestones from the Department of Energy for its $529 million loan. Unfortunately, the report and the source didn't go into details. When asked for comment, a Fisker spokesperson said, “Quality and customer satisfaction are the top priority for Fisker Automotive. Wit…
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China is the world's largest EV market with sales of electric auto's reaching 2.61 million up 70% in 2018 over 2017. This constitutes 4% of the total Chinese market today. China is requiring 10% of total sales to be EV in 2019 and raised to 12% for 2020. In comparison, the US saw EV sales jump 81% for 2018 to a total of 360,000 EVs sold out of a total of 17.2 million auto's sold. Yet the US has only 1 million EVs on the road and the auto industry is projected to spend a mind blowing $255 billion in R&D and Capital for electric models by 2023. Due to high-system cost and low volumes with intense competition EVs in the short run will be unprofitable as OEM's bring the…
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com January 13, 2012 2011 was a good year for diesel vehicles. A report done by the from the Diesel Technology Forum says sales of diesel vehicles in 2011 rose 27.4%. The report states the overall growth of diesel vehicles in 2011 was at 10.2%, putting the increase ahead of the curve. Interestingly enough, the group says sales of hybrid vehicles were down 2.2%. The report also states sales of diesel vehicles grow to over 6% of the U.S. market by 2015 and reach as high as 7.4% in 2017 when more diesel models hit the market. Press Release is on Page 2 A diesel version of the hot-selling Chevrolet Cruze will begin sal…
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com April 19, 2012 The diesel car, once considered the dirtiest and worst powertrain in America, is making a large comeback. According to statistics gathered by the Diesel Technology Forum, diesel vehicles sales are up 35% in the first quarter of 2012. A trend since diesel sales were up 27% the year before. By comparison, the overall U.S. auto market is up 13.% in the same time, and hybrid sales increased 37.2%. In the big picture, diesels captured 3% of the total U.S. market. That might not seem like a lot, but when compared to hybrids which has seen their total drop from 2.7% to 2.1% in three years, its a lot. So why …
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Consumer Reports' has unveiled the results of their 2018 Auto Reliability Survey and it was not a good showing for the domestics. Only two domestic brands finished in the top 20 - Ford which came in 18th and Buick who placed 19th. The latter dropping 11 spots in this year's survey. The rest of the domestic brands finished in the bottom half with Ram, Tesla, and Cadillac finishing 26th to 28th. Finishing last was Volvo with CR saying the brand's Sensus Connect infotainment system being the reason for the drop. What finished towards the top? For 2018, Lexus and Toyota take the top two spots. Mazda saw the biggest improvement, jumping nine spots to third place. Completin…
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Automotive News recently reviewed a fair amount of data to answer a question; which automakers are selling more vehicles to rental car companies? Previously, the big three would do "fleet dumping" as a way to prop up sales for the month. But now, Ford and General Motors have actually cut back on selling to rental fleets and number of Asian automakers are picking up the slack. Automotive News compared sales to rental fleets in 2012 to this year's numbers, and GM has reduced its sales to fleets from 18.6 percent (nearly one-fifth of their total sales) to 13.6 percent. It should be noted that GM is still the top rental car provider with 378,219 vehicles through November.…
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com June 8, 2012 Transportation secretary Ray LaHood has made it his mission to end distracted driving, calling it an “epidemic.” To help end it, LaHood and Department of Transportation has unveiled their Blueprint for Ending Distracted Driving. The blueprint calls for: Get the last eleven holdout states to pass laws banning distracted driving. Challenge the auto industry to not provide vehicle content that the government considers distracting. Educate young people about the perils of distracted driving. Continue a public education campaign that "Provides all stakeholders with actions they can take that go beyond p…
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One of the key materials used in electric car batteries is cobalt. But there are growing concerns that the supply of cobalt is getting scarce as more and more automakers begin building electric cars. A new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance says cobalt shortages are expected to happen earlier than previously forecast. This issue possibly brings a big challenge to the rollout of electric vehicles over the next five to seven years. "The long lead time to bring on new mines and the concentration of cobalt reserves in the Democratic Republic of the Congo mean there is a real possibility of supply shocks in the early 2020s," analysts from BNEF wrote. "If c…
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It seems everyone is getting into the car business, whether that is through autonomous technologies or electric vehicles. The latest entrant may surprise a number. Yesterday, Dyson (yes, the vacuum cleaner maker) announced that it was working on an electric vehicle. Rumors about this have been swirling for a few years. Last year, the documents from the UK government revealed a £16 million ($22.54 million) grant was awarded to the company for the research and development on batteries, which added more fuel to the fire. In the announcement, founder James Dyson revealed that company has been working on this project for more than two years. 400 people are working on the …
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Magna's eBeam technology announcement today aims to reduce the cost of building a new EV or electrical vehicles platform. The costs associated with a new platform to move to electrification from a traditional ICE is slowing down the ability to get product to market. Magna's eBeam technology is focusing on allowing to keep the existing pickup trucks capabilities while transitioning to electrification. This is the first significant solid beam rear axle change in more than 100 years according to Magna. Magna's eBeam technology is scalable giving auto makers the ability to electrify their trucks without sacrificing utility and functionality. eBeam techno…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com October 28, 2013 California and seven other states have signed a new pact that hopes to increase the number of zero emission vehicles on their roads to 3.3 million by the year 2025. Joining California in this pact are Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Oregon, and Vermont. The seven states have already adopted a rule like California where by 2025, 15 percent of vehicles sold must produce zero emissions. To help get to this goal, the eight states have four steps to spur sales of zero emission vehicles Amend building codes so it becomes easier to build charging stations Buy more zero emission…
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Only a couple of months after electric vehicle start-up Lucid Motors came out of the dark and unveiled an unnamed prototype vehicle, they have unveiled their first model named the Air. The model is taking direct aim at Tesla and their Model S sedan. The Air is powered by two electric motors - one on each axle - and can be paired with either a 100 kWh or 130 kWh battery pack. Total output stands at 1,000 horsepower. In terms of range, the 100 kWh battery pack is estimated to provide over 300 miles and 130 kWh battery pack is estimated to provide around 400 miles. Outside, the Lucid Air looks like something out of Minority Report. The front is short and fea…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com December 20, 2012 The Detroit Free Press reports electric vehicles like the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt aren't garnering the same residual values as gas vehicles. The report cites data from Kelly Blue Book which estimates the 2012 Nissan Leaf will hold around 20% of its value after five years while a 2012 Nissan Sentra will hold around 30%. The 2012 Chevrolet Volt is predicted to hold around 30% while a 2012 Chevrolet Cruze will hold 38%. Auto Leasing Guide (ALG), another pricing service estimates the residual values of the Leaf and Volt about a point higher than KBB. Now, the residual value estimates don't take int…
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The European car market as a whole has been in decline for six consecutive months as of March 2019 with 19 out of 27 markets posting declines. March numbers were down 3.6 percent over the same month in 2018. Looking at the first quarter of 2019 paints an even bleaker picture with only 6 countries recording growth. While overall demand is down, the demand for electric vehicles grows. The sales of EVs exceeded 100,000 units for the first time ever with a total of 125,400 EV and PHEVs sold. That is an increase of 31%, mostly in Germany, Norway, Spain, and the Netherlands. Much of that growth is attributed to the Tesla Model 3 entering the market and becoming Europe'…
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Electrify America is working hard to build up the largest network of electric chargers in the US. They have already partnered with Chargepoint, so that if you have an account with one company, you can use your account at either company's charging stations without additional fees. Now the network has gotten even larger as an interoperability agreement has been reached with EVgo, one of the largest charging networks out there. So now, if you have an Electrify America account, you can charge your EV with at least three different providers on a single account with no additional fees. Electrify America is the company that was formed from Volkwagen's dieselgate scanda…
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In a move that was expected to happen soon, the EPA announced that it plans to revise the fuel-efficiency regulations that were approved during the President Obama administration. “The Obama EPA’s determination was wrong. Obama’s EPA cut the midterm evaluation process short with politically charged expediency, made assumptions about the standards that didn’t comport with reality and set the standards too high,” said EPA chief Scott Pruitt in a statement today. The statement goes on to say that the agency will begin working on new standards for cars for 2022-2025 with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The regulations that were finalized d…
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When the EPA and NHTSA unveiled the proposal for revised fuel economy standards, there was a key part that brought up a lot of debate: The claim that the new regulations would reduce the number of fatalities and crashes. As we pointed out in our story, there were a number of holes in that argument. It seems we were not the only ones questioning this. Yesterday, the review of the proposal done by the White House's Information and Regulatory Affairs was made public. In it are hundred of pages of correspondence, analysis, and drafts. Bloomberg went through the documents and found that EPA officials were questioning the rationale put forth by NHTSA on reducing crashes. …
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The Trump Administration and the EPA officials have scrapped all further talks with California and canceled the $929 million in federal funds for a California high-speed rail project. California's Governor has responded that this is in response to California leading a 16 state coalition challenge to President Trump's national emergency to take funds from the defense department and apply it to building a wall from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean. California has already filed suit to block the Trump administration proposal to roll back federal fuel economy targets for 2022-2025. CARB Chair Mary Nichols is on record that they are willing to work with t…
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The Environmental Protection Agency has today proposed to keep its vehicle emission targets through 2025, shocking a lot of people and possibly setting up a major fight between regulators and the automotive industry. According to Automotive News, the proposal will now enter a 30-day comment period. After this period, the EPA administrator could finalize this proposal and begin enforcing these standards a bit quicker. By 2025, automakers will need to increase their to 54.5 miles per gallon corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) numbers to 54.5 miles per gallon. Why move the proposal up now? A proposal was expected next year with a final decision in 2018. The EPA…
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The Environmental Protection Agency released their annual report on industrywide fuel economy this week and says that 2013 model year vehicles achieved an average of 24.1 miles per gallon — up 0.5 mpg from the previous year and almost 5 mpg since 2004. "We are thrilled to see that manufacturers continue to innovate and are bringing technologies to improve fuel economy online even faster than anticipated," said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. Mazda was the top automaker in the report with a fleet average of 28.1 MPG, while Nissan was the leader in the full-line automakers with 26.8 MPG. The Detroit automakers made up the bottom with Ford at 22.2 MPG, GM at 22.0 MPG, and…
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The Environmental Protection Agency is becoming stricter as to how they test for emissions in light of the Volkswagen Diesel scandal. On Friday, the agency's Office of Transportation and Air Quality announced they would be conducting more spot checks of light-duty cars and trucks to make sure that automakers haven’t been cheating on tests. Automakers were notified of the changes via a letter. The EPA wouldn't go into detail about the changes. “They don’t need to know. They need to know that we will be keeping their cars a little bit longer,” said Christopher Grundler, director of the EPA’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality. In the letter, the EPA states may…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com August 26, 2013 When Ford announced that it was lowering the fuel economy numbers of the C-Max Hybrid a couple of weeks ago, they said the EPA's fuel economy testing was unrealistic for hybrid vehicles. The EPA has come back this week and gave a clear message: "The problem here is really not how the testing is done." Christopher Grundler, the EPA's top auto industry regulator told Automotive News that the EPA's own engineers weren't sure if their tests were accurate due to the whole C-Max Hybrid fiasco and decided to retest a few hybrid vehicles in the summer. The results? The Toyota Prius and Hyundai Sonata Hybrid had n…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com October 4, 2013 The Environmental Protection Agency announced plans to release their results of fuel economy audits done on twenty vehicles. Christopher Grundler, head of the EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality tells Automotive News the audits looked at a specific portion of the test cycle known as the coast-down test. The coast-down test has a vehicle run up to 80 MPH and then is allowed to glide to a stop. This test measures the aero of the vehicle, the rolling resistance of the tires, and amount of friction in the drivetrain. That data is then put into a dynamometer that an automaker uses to run its vehicle…
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After a number of automakers having to revise their fuel economy estimates, the Environmental Protection Agency is proposing that automakers run their vehicles in the real world to see if their estimates hold any water. "Some auto makers already do this, but we are establishing a regulatory requirement for all auto makers," said Chris Grundler, director of the EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality. The EPA's proposal would have automakers run their vehicles on a test track to measure air-resistance and rolling friction. At the moment, most automakers use computer models to generate this data. But if the wrong data is put in, it could cause mileage numbers to in…
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By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com February 14, 2013 After the whole Hyundai-Kia mileage fiasco, the EPA says it will be conducting more fuel economy audits. Jeff Alson, a senior EPA engineer said at a conference about the government’s 2025 fuel economy standard that the agency performs “routine audits” of manufacturer's mileage claims, but does admits more can be done. “We’ll probably do more of that in the future than we did in the past,” Alson said. Alson also told the conference that the EPA also needs to do a better job of communicating real-world mileage with customers. “Everybody wants a label that tells you exactly what you’re going to get, …
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By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com February 24, 2013 Four months after Hurricane Sandy blasted the East Coast, the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) announced its revised estimates for the number of vehicles damaged in the storm's wake. The new total of vehicles damaged in Hurricane Sandy stands at 250,500 vehicles. This number is well above the estimate put out by National Automobile Dealers Association which say that 200,000 vehicles could be damaged. The majority of the vehicle losses stem from New York (150,000) and New Jersey (60,000). NICB's data also showed how massive Sandy was, with West Virginia (1,000), Maine (500) and Vermont (500) al…
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About a year ago, European antitrust regulators became very suspicious that BMW, Daimler, and Volkswagen were involved in a longstanding automotive cartel that colluded on restricting certain emissions control devices for the market. Raids were carried out at various facilities, but nothing came out. That changed yesterday as the European Commission has opened a formal investigation. "The Commission is investigating whether BMW, Daimler and VW agreed not to compete against each other on the development and roll-out of important systems to reduce harmful emissions from petrol and diesel passenger cars," said Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, head of competition policy f…
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With President Donald Trump tweeting last Friday threating a 20 percent tariff on all imports of European Union assembled cars, the EU has responded by saying it would raise their tariffs on imports of U.S.-built vehicles. “If they decide to raise their import tariffs, we’ll have no choice, again, but to react,” said EU Commission Vice President Jyrki Katainen. “We don’t want to fight (over trade) in public via Twitter. We should end the escalation.” This comes a month after the Trump administration announced an investigation into new car imports on the grounds of national security. U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said late last week the department is e…
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Europe is starting to develop a case of pickup truck fever. According to data from JATO Dynamics, 80,300 trucks were sold in Europe in the first half of this year. This pales in comparison to the 1.1 million full-size and 216,194 midsize trucks sold in the U.S. in the same timeframe. But sales in Europe are climbing. LMC Automotive says sales of trucks in Europe are up 19 percent and they predict sales will crest 200,000 next year. Why this steady rise in pickups? According to Automotive News Europe, it comes down to the lack of alternatives and government regulations. "One of the reasons is usage. Previously people used large, body-on-frame SUVs to tow boats or…
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Echion Technologies is addressing today's biggest challenge for electric vehicles is the speed at which the battery is recharged. Current technology pretty much has your 300 mile battery recharging in 45 minutes to 1 hour. In 2017 Toshiba came out with a battery that goes into production for select new EVs that come out at the end of 2019 with general availability in 2020. The Generation 1 SCiB battery was 200 miles in 6 min and with generation 2 they have now made it 353 miles fully recharged in 6 min. Now we have Echion Technologies that has come up with a unique material solution for Lithium-ion batteries. According to the interview by Cambridge Indepe…
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As lawmakers continue to work on comprehensive tax reform, one item related to the automotive industry on the table was the tax credit for electric vehicles. The credit, which can be up to $7,500, was dropped in the House version of the bill but kept in the Senate version. The credit was started in 2009 as part of the economic stimulus package as a way to encourage investment by auto manufacturers in the development of electric powered or assisted vehicles. The the current version of the bill in reconciliation keeps the credit. Analysts estimate that scrapping the credit would save $200 million over the next 10 years. The credit is capped at 200,000 qualifying …
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Norway, a country that produces a lot of its own oil, has become the leader in electric vehicle sales. According to a report by Reuters, 48.4% of all new car sales for the first half of 2019 have been electric vehicles. This is up from just over a quarter of the market in the same period of 2019. Tesla is the sales leader with a 24.5% share of all vehicles sold during the month of June, most of that being the Model 3. Telsa is not the only benefactor of the sales gain, Nissan, Hyundai, and BMW all offer fully electric vehicles that have seen growth as well. Mercedes and Ford, two makers without a full EV offering have seen their sales drop. Norway is seekin…
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The future of Faraday Future is becoming dimmer. The Verge reported yesterday that the automaker has decided to shut down some operations this week at their headquarters in Gardena, California, and at its factory in Hanford, California. Workers who started after May 1st of this year “must take a furlough,” according to an email sent by FF CEO Jia Yueting. Those working before "will have the option to remain on board with a reduced salary of $50,000 per year," employees told The Verge. Yueting said the furlough will last at least through December, and is dependent on finding new funding. “We are grateful to all of the hundreds of employees who are willing to stay with…
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The comedy of errors that is electric car startup Faraday Future continues. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Faraday Future has stopped construction on its $1 billion production facility in North Las Vegas. The company in a statement the decision came down to a changing business strategy. “We have decided to put a hold on our factory at the Apex site in North Las Vegas. We remain committed to the Apex site in Las Vegas for long-term vehicle manufacturing.” Faraday goes on to say they are looking into purchasing an existing building either in California or Nevada. This would allow them to get production of their first vehicle, the FF 91 underway very qui…
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Last month, electric vehicle start-up Faraday Future halted construction on their $1 billion production facility in North Las Vegas. At the time, FF said they would be looking into purchasing or leasing a production facility in either California or Nevada to get production of the FF 91 up and running. Today, Faraday has announced they have leased a factory in Hanford, California - about 200 miles north of their headquarters in Los Angeles. The facility is million-square-feet and the company is planning on employing close 1,300 people once production is up and running. “Our new production facility is the latest demonstration of our commitment to getting FF 91 on th…
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The bad news keeps hitting Faraday Future. Earlier this month, we reported on the fight between the automaker and its latest backer, Evergrande Health Industry Group. Faraday claims that Evergrande failed to provide additional funds as part of an investment deal. Evergrande has denied this claim and has brought in lawyers to fight this charge. But this row has caused the electric car start-up to make some difficult decisions. The Verge obtained an email sent to Faraday Future staff on Sunday night, announcing that staff salaries would be cut by 20 percent, and laying off some workers. The email also states that FF CEO Jia Yueting has decreased his annual salary to $1…
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Towards the end of last year, the fate of Faraday Future looked to be bleak. Their main investor, Chinese company Evergrande Health Industry Group filed a complaint with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that claimed Faraday tried to cancel a deal to sell a 45 percent stake to them. Evergrande claimed the company didn't meet various milestones to get the full $2 billion it had agreed to in the summer. But Faraday fought back, saying that Evergrade didn't cough up the cash. This would only signal the beginning of various issues. Throughout October, reports started to emerge that Faraday started implementing austerity measures that included a 20 percent cut in salaries and …
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On the surface, Faraday Future appears to been having a run of good luck. It had gotten a major investment from healthcare division of Chinese real estate group Evergrande; testing is continuing on their first EV, the FF 91; and the company has started building pre-production vehicles at its US plant. But trouble always seems to be looming and it has struck once again for the start-up automaker. Yesterday, Reuters reported on a filing made by Evergrande Health for the Hong Kong stock exchange accusing Faraday Future of trying to cancel a deal to sell a 45 percent stake to Evergrande. Back in June, Evergrande Health agreed to buy the 45 percent stake into FF from prev…
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Aptera Motors, the company behind the odd looking, three wheel electric vehicle called the 2e has announced today they're closing up shop. In a letter written by Aptera Motors President and CEO, Paul Wilbur, Aptera was unable to raise enough money from investors to keep it going until it received a $150 million loan from the Department of Energy's Advance Technology Vehicle Manufacturing program. "This is a difficult time for everyone connected with our company because we have never been closer to realizing our vision," Wilbur wrote. The closure ends a saga that started back in 2006 when the company made the announcement the 2e would get the equivalent of 300 m…
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Sergio Marchionne isn't taking no for answer from General Motors over merging with FCA. Reuters reports the automakers have brought investment banks for help to deal with this mess. Sources say FCA has brought in UBS, while GM has brought in Goldman Sachs and possibly Morgan Stanley. In the case of GM, the company has signed a letter of engagement with Goldman Sachs on advice with dealing with FCA. "It would be inconceivable for General Motors not to be talking to any number of advisers about normal business operations, but I'm not going to list the issues one by one," said GM Senior Vice President Tony Cervone. Cervone didn't confirm if GM had brought in Goldman …
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Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is none too pleased with the Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd as they're planning to sell an off-road vehicle that looks very much like the original Willys Jeep. Bloomberg obtained a complaint filed by FCA to the U.S. International Trade Commission on August 1st. The document claims that Mahindra's Roxor infringes key characteristics of Jeep's signature design - namely the “boxy body shape with flat-appearing vertical sides and rear body ending at about the same height as the hood.” “They are a nearly identical copy of the iconic Jeep design. In fact, the accused product was ‘modeled after the original Willys Jeep." The…
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Fiat Chrysler Automobile has abruptly pulled back on their merger offer with Renault after the second day of negotiations came to a close. The Wall Street Journal reports that Renault's partner, Nissan declined to support the deal according to sources. During a vote today on the Renault board, the two Nissan representative abstained, raising concerns for both FCA and Renault that Nissan would back out of the alliance. This, in turn, caused the French Government (major stakeholder in Renault), to not pledge its support of the deal. The government asked for a delay on the vote until Nissan would guarantee that it would continue with the alliance. The falling of these d…
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The U.S. Postal Service are looking for new delivery trucks to replace the current fleet - some which are around 20 years old. The Detroit News reports that there are 15 companies that range from military, mass-transit, specialized transportation, and two automakers. Those two automakers are Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Ford. Now building a vehicle for the U.S. Postal Service isn't as easy as you might think. Here the requirements the vehicle must meet: Last at least 20 years Carry a minimum payload of 1,500 pounds Pass safety and emissions requirements Share similar design characteristics of the current vehicle “We are seeking a larger vehicle that will en…
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The EPA, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and California Air Resources Board have released their draft Technical Assessment Report on the 'Midterm Evaluation of Light-duty Vehicle GHG Emissions Standards for Model Years 2022-2025'. Despite the long name, this report is important as the results will help determine if the 54.5 mpg corporate average fuel economy target for 2025 needs to be adjusted or not. Let's begin with the good news. The report says the industry is “adopting fuel economy technologies at unprecedented rates.” Automakers and suppliers have been hard at work on developing new technologies to improve overall fuel economy and emission…
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The U.S. Commerce Department is asking automakers to spill their secrets; product planning, financing, supply chains, and other bits that aren't in public filings. Bloomberg reports that the department’s Bureau of Industry and Security sent out a 34-page questionnaire asking for sensitive details to several automakers. Failure to do so could result "in a maximum fine of $10,000, imprisonment of up to one year, or both" as mentioned on the first page of the survey. “The breadth and depth of this request is invasive, requiring massive amounts of proprietary and confidential business data from global operations -- all under the pretense of national security,” said…
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FedEx has 700 planes and over 180,000 vehicles that range from Semi's to delivery vans. Reducing emissions is not easy especially with daily package volume grew by 99.2% from 2009 to 2019. Yet over this same period FedEx reduced CO2 emissions by 40%. This is not an easy feet. FedEx has focused on a simple three-pronged approach to sustainability: Reduce Replace Revolutionize This simple focus has allowed FedEx to reduce their environmental impact in their fleet, facilities and material choices. FedEx has accomplished much through upgrading their fleet of planes to be one of the most modern around to reusable shipping packages. FedEx now…
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FedEx has committed to being Carbon-Neutral by 2040 by going Green Globally with an initial investment of $2 Billion dollars for auto electrification, sustainable energy and carbon sequestration. FedEx has started their corporate march to a greener cleaner planet by pledging $100 million dollars to Yale University in establishing the Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture. In the drive to offset current airline emissions which is a big part of FedEx business, they are heling to support the research into various methods of carbon sequestration at scale. This is where they scrub the CO2 emissions from our air and lock it away much the way trees and plants take i…
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The past few years have seen studies come out that reveal teenagers are less likely to have a driver's license. But a new study from the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) says teens aren't the only group that are passing on a license. The study which looked at data from 1983 to 2014 reveals that every age group has seen a decrease in carrying a driver;s license. 24.5 percent of Americans aged 16 carried a license in 2014. This is down 6.6 percent from 2008 where 27.5 percent carried one. 76.7 percent of Americans aged 20 to 24 have a license in 2014, compared to 82 percent in 2008. A number of older Americans aren't also carrying lic…
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