Texas
-
Hurricane Harvey will go down as one of the most destructive and costliest natural disasters in the United States. While the storm has dissipated, with this week's attention focused on Hurricane Irma, the effects and damage tolls will last for years—and one thing already seems clear: Texas' dependence on the fossil-fuel industry poses an issue. Not only does the industry itself contribute to emissions that produce climate change, but one of the state's largest industries sits in a direct path for catastrophic hurricanes. DON'T MISS: Exxon knew climate change was real, ads told public it...
-
Texas restores $2,500 electric-car purchase rebate, except for Teslas
Ah, Texas, the state that was formerly a nation and continues to do things slightly differently. Its politics is bare-knuckle, its hats are big, and so are its ranches. It also generates more renewable wind energy than any other state in the union. Its auto-dealer lobbyists, however, are equally...
John Voelcker -
Dealers save $500 for car buyers, lobby group claims; 'false,' says Politifact
Tesla Motors' direct-sales model for electric cars has rankled franchised auto dealers. Dealer associations have attempted to block Tesla direct sales in multiple states, and have undertaken public-relations campaigns extolling the virtues of the franchise model. One of the latest claims made by...
Stephen Edelstein -
What it took to buy an electric car in Texas: the good, the bad, and the ugly
Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to locate and purchase or lease a Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid somewhere in the heart of Texas oil country. Hoping to make Tom Cruise proud, I accepted the mission. But first, a bit of perspective: in 2005 I had set out to purchase a Mercury Mariner...
John Voelcker -
Why I leased a 2017 Chevy Volt (in Texas) to replace a Volvo
Texas is the land of pickups and SUVs, of oil wells and full-day drives from your Texas home to Grandma’s Texas home. Your everyday driver had better be your highway car, because every drive involves a highway. I’ve owned every size of SUV, from Chevy Suburban to Toyota Land Cruiser to...
John Voelcker -
Solar panels at Toyota's new Texas HQ to provide 25 percent of its electricity
Toyota's new Texas headquarters will feature solar panels on parking garages.
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla will open a second gallery in a state where it can't legally sell cars.
-
Georgetown, Texas: Far From Green, But 100 Percent Renewable Energy--Why?
A Texas city converts to renewable energy to save money.
Stephen Edelstein -
Kia Soul EV To Go On Sale In Five More States By This June
The Kia Soul EV will soon be sold in Georgia, Texas, Oregon, Washington, and Hawaii.
Stephen Edelstein -
IL Suspends Clean-Car Rebates; GA Tax Credit In Trouble Too; Texas Next?
State tax credits and purchase rebates have proven effective in kickstarting the early market for plug-in electric cars and other green vehicles. But they don't last forever, as buyers in Illinois and Georgia are learning; the Ilinois program has been suspended, and Georgia seems likely to kill off...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Vs Franchised Car Dealers In Texas, Arizona: Battles Continue
Debate over Tesla direct sales is re-sparked in Arizona and Texas.
Stephen Edelstein -
Could Elon Musk's Hyperloop Crack The Texas Tesla Sales Ban?
How Elon Musk's planned Hyperloop test track could become a bargaining chip in the game of direct sales.
Stephen Edelstein -
California, Texas, and Florida are the top three states for hybrid and diesel sales, a new study says.
-
Texas Electric-Car Purchase Rebates Up To $2,500 To Start Soon
Texas plans to offer rebates to buyers of new electric cars, plug-in hybrids, and natural-gas vehicles.
Stephen Edelstein -
Toyota's Texas Move: Prius Maker Lands In Highest-Carbon State (Updated)
Toyota announced yesterday that it would relocate the headquarters of its U.S. arm from Torrance, California, to Plano, Texas. Left unaddressed in the announcement was the fact that the Japanese carmaker, known for its green image and its pioneering Prius hybrid range of 50-mpg cars, is moving from...
John Voelcker -
Why Oil State Texas Turns Out To Be Friendly To Electric Cars
Charging stations run by utility companies make Texas a popular spot for electric cars.
Stephen Edelstein -
Dumb Laws From States Banning Tesla Sales
Those states that ban electric-car startup Tesla Motors from opening stores and selling cars online--including Arizona, Colorado, Texas, and Virginia--turn out to have a bunch of other really dumb laws on their books too.
John Voelcker -
Tesla Underground: Texas Franchise Rules Make Model S Owners Skirt The Law
Over the last couple of years, Tesla Motors has fought legal and legislative battles in a number of states over proposed or current state laws that try to stymie its unique factory-direct sales and service model. In most cases--Massachusetts, New York, and North Carolina, among others--Tesla has...
David Noland -
Texas is tough, and Texas car dealers are no exception. But electric-car startup Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA], in the person of its CEO Elon Musk, testified yesterday at a hearing in the Texas legislature on a bill that would allow it to sell its cars directly to Texas buyers. That's presently illegal in Texas, where legislation long backed by state dealer groups requires all new cars to be sold by an independently-owned third party. That is to say, a car dealer. No touching the new car There are now two Tesla Stores in the state, in Austin and in Houston, among the 16 stores in 12 states run by...
-
Texans Still Love Trucks, But Hybrid Sales Are Growing
Texans really like their trucks. It's one of life's constants--the sun will always rise, politicians will always lie, Texans will always buy trucks. That doesn't mean Texan car buyers aren't open to new ideas though, and though it may come as a surprise, hybrid sales are actually increasing at...
Antony Ingram -
Texas Latest To Consider Dedicated Electric Car Tax
If you bought an electric car to try and save a few dollars on gas, you may start to find it a little more difficult in some states. Texas is the latest to consider an extra tax on electric vehicles to make up for lost gas revenue, helping to raise money for road maintenance. According to state...
Antony Ingram -
Texas Grid CEO: We Can Handle Electric Cars Just Fine
On the list of reasons to dislike electric cars, arguments about electricity grids being unable to cope with demand are often fairly near the top. You'll have heard it before: The concept that, as everyone drives home after work and plugs in their electric vehicle, electricity grids fail under the...
Antony Ingram -
Largest Electric-Car Charging Site: Would You Believe Houston?
UPDATE: To answer the question posed in our headline: No, we do not believe Houston has the largest electric-car charging site. See below. When we think of Texas, we think of many things: open roads, desert landscapes, Beyoncé. And of course, we also think of oil, since Texas is one of the...
Richard Read -
First Private Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Open In Texas
NRG Energy has opened its first eVgo direct-current electric vehicle charging station in Dallas, Texas, as part of a privately funded 70-station network in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, the company announced. The chargers are designed to be “fast-chargers,” which use a 480-volt direct...
VentureBeat's GreenBeat