Politics
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Quebec raises registration fees for cars with large engines, and keeps electric-car incentives.
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Germany To Boost Incentives Toward 1-Million Electric-Car Goal By 2020?German Chancellor Angela Merkel calls for an incentives program to boost electric-car sales.
Stephen Edelstein -
Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Vehicle Tax Credit Expires This Month: Will It Be Renewed?Financial and other incentives are widely viewed as a good way to kickstart the adoption of new green vehicles, largely to compensate for their higher prices against conventional gasoline cars. But just as Toyota is building up to next fall's launch of its 2016 Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle in...
John Voelcker -
Wisconsin: Higher Taxes For Hybrids, Electrics For Not Burning Enough Gas To Fund Road Repairs?Wisconsin may join the ranks of state that charge a flat fee for green cars.
Stephen Edelstein -
Days Numbered For Dirtiest Diesels In Europe; France To Phase Out Diesel FuelEuropean cities move to eliminate the dirtiest cars from their streets.
Stephen Edelstein -
Washington State To Give Electric Cars Tax Breaks, Carpool-Lane Access?Washington's governor wants to provide more incentives for electric cars.
Stephen Edelstein -
Leaked information shows how the oil industry is fighting climate-change legislation in three states.
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The Netherlands: Well-Suited To Electric Cars, And Eager To Have MoreDutch tax incentives are helping the country meet a goal of having 200,000 electric cars on its roads by 2020.
Stephen Edelstein -
Beijing's Privileged Electric-Car Registrations Fail To Attract InterestA lottery prioritizing electric-car purchases failed to produce the desired results.
Stephen Edelstein -
U.S. And China Agree To Curb Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Presidents SayFor the first time ever, China has agreed to limit its greenhouse-gas emissions, under a deal announced this morning between Chinese president Xi Jinping and U.S. president Barack Obama. In exchange, the U.S. set a goal of cutting its own carbon emissions more deeply by 2025, building on a...
John Voelcker -
Michigan Anti-Tesla Law 'Unnecessary Protectionism': AutoNation CEONever let it be said that AutoNation CEO Mike Jackson doesn't speak his mind. His latest stunner came last week, when he deemed auto-dealer efforts to ban all direct sales by Tesla Motors state by state "unnecessary protectionism." In doing so, Jackson broke ranks with the vast array of auto-dealer...
John Voelcker -
Want $24,800 In Incentives To Drive Electric Cars? Head For KoreaSeoul will offer big incentives to buyers of electric cars from four manufacturers, and companies that install charging stations on their property.
Stephen Edelstein -
By most accounts, the world is pretty much awash in oil these days. Increases in North American shale-oil production have boosted supply to the point where there's now discussion of the U.S. becoming a net oil exporter sometime in the next decade. Meanwhile, the vehicle fleet is slowly getting more efficient--and U.S. gasoline consumption peaked in 2006 and has fallen steadily since then. DON'T MISS: Auto Industry Doing Fine In Meeting Gas-Mileage Goals, It Turns Out (Aug 2014) All of this has added up to produce remarkably low recent gasoline prices. In some parts of the U.S., drivers now...
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Car Dealers Fire Back: Why Negotiating Is Good For Car Buyers (Video)The National Auto Dealers Association releases a new video on the "benefits of price competition."
Stephen Edelstein -
Were Small Cars Exactly The Wrong Way To Launch Electric Cars?Historically, most technology innovations in automobiles start at the high end and gradually work their way down the lineup until they've become standard features of even the humblest of cars. From automatic transmissions to disc brakes, turbochargers to fuel injection, high-end audio systems to...
John Voelcker -
Minnesota Tesla Owners Show Banned Model S To Iowa Electric-Car ShoppersSuppose auto dealers in a neighboring state pressured their DoT to make Tesla Motors stop giving test drives of its Model S electric car--the same kind it now offers in more than a dozen other states. What would you do? If you were you a group of Tesla owners in Minnesota, you might just take...
John Voelcker -
The Videos Car Dealers Hate: Is It 'Haggling' Or 'Negotiating'?Car dealers often come in for criticism, especially among electric-car advocates and Tesla Motors supporters who have watched state dealership lobbying groups make Tesla's direct-sales model illegal in a number of states. Since 2010, those lobbyists have been altering state laws originally designed...
John Voelcker -
CA To Require New Buildings To Be Prepped For Electric-Car Charging StationsA new California rule will require new construction to have sufficient electrical capacity for charging stations.
Stephen Edelstein -
As expected, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder yesterday signed a bill that bans Tesla Motors from selling its electric cars directly to buyers online in the state. The bill removes one word--"its"--from existing state franchise law, which had originally been enacted to prevent franchised dealers from competition by the automakers whose cars they sell. DON'T MISS: Michigan Car Dealers Slip One Over On Tesla, Ban Direct Sales: UPDATED Tesla has no franchised dealers to protect, but dealer lobbyists across the country have had considerable success in changing these laws state by state to make...
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EPA To Tighten Gas-Mileage Test Rules, Audit More Ratings From CarmakersThe EPA plans to audit more of the gas-mileage test data submitted by carmakers, and tighten its rules for that testing, after fuel-economy ratings on almost 20 recent models proved to be too high and had to be reduced. The move follows the highly publicized rollbacks of gas-mileage ratings over...
John Voelcker -
Do Dealer Efforts To Ban Tesla Sales Backfire When Public Notices?Are car dealers winning battles against Tesla Motors, and its direct-sales model, that will set them up to lose the bigger war? For almost five years, state dealer associations have lobbied legislators to change laws to make Tesla's direct-sales model illegal, requiring that all new cars be sold...
John Voelcker -
China Puts Teeth Into Gas-Mileage Rules, Will 'Punish' Makers Who Don't ComplyChina will publicly shame offending carmakers, and limit production.
Stephen Edelstein -
Michigan Car Dealers Slip One Over On Tesla, Ban Direct Sales: UPDATEDA bill banning Tesla's direct-sales model is passed by the Michigan state legislature.
Stephen Edelstein -
Changes To CA Rules May Cut Zero-Emission Vehicle RequirementCalifornia's rules requiring six automakers to sell specified numbers of zero-emission vehicles starting in 2012 have had a substantial impact. But a meeting to be held one week from today may determine whether required volumes of emission-free cars--likely battery-electric vehicles--are cut for a...
John Voelcker