When some future author writes a book about the most influential cars in automotive history, the Nissan LEAF will be right up there with the Model T, the VW Beetle and the Tesla Model S. The LEAF was the first EV aimed at the mass market, and as of this writing, it remains the best-selling… Read more »
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Automakers’ fight against fuel efficiency is nothing new
As the world’s transportation system begins to make the transition to electric power, automakers (except for one) are being dragged into the future kicking and screaming by governments. To anyone familiar with the companies’ history, this should come as no surprise. A new article from the Union of Concerned Scientists recounts the industry’s long history… Read more »
Former EPA official: US automakers’ EV strategies are irrational
These days, not a week goes by without an announcement of some major electrification initiative from a major carmaker: Nissan’s new LEAF is coming to the US soon, GM is actually advertising its Bolt EV, VW and Daimler have each announced a range of new EVs (for China, at least), and Volvo and Jaguar have… Read more »
What’s going to happen with US emissions regulations?
Q&A with emissions standards expert Michael Steel of the law firm Morrison & Foerster For better or for worse, the proliferation of plug-in vehicles that has occurred over the past few years is largely the result of government regulation. Automakers are producing some excellent EVs, but (except for a certain California carmaker) to put it… Read more »
Mercedes to invest $1 billion to build electric SUVs, batteries in Alabama
Daimler has announced that it will invest up to $1 billion to build electric SUVs and batteries at its assembly plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The company said it will build a new battery plant near the site in 2018, and that production of a Mercedes-Benz EQ electric SUV will begin “early next decade.” More than… Read more »
US fuel efficiency standards save consumers billions, especially low-income households
The Trump Administration has just held a hearing to solicit public comments on its effort to weaken the EPA’s fuel efficiency standards. The EPA has reopened the previously-completed mid-term review of vehicle efficiency standards. While the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers supports re-opening the review, it has suggested that it would prefer to keep existing vehicle… Read more »
Mazda exec reiterates lack of interest in EVs
Mazda is one of the few major automakers that currently makes no plug-in vehicles, although it has indicated that it would offer an EV in 2019 to meet ZEV regulations. A Mazda exec defended the company’s status-quo strategy at a recent Michigan trade group convention, saying that the “impending death of the internal combustion engine… Read more »
Automakers want to keep existing CAFE standards (but extend the deadline)
Automakers have expended much time and treasure lobbying for government fuel efficiency standards to be watered down. Now it appears that they aren’t interested in scrapping the current standards altogether, but only in extending the deadlines for them to be applied. The US administration has announced that the EPA will reopen the midterm evaluation of… Read more »
EV audible noise rules may be cancelled in Washington’s “deregulation” drive
in November 2016, after six years of procrastination, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released rules requiring electrified vehicles to emit sounds to help protect pedestrians. The “quiet car” standard fulfills a law that Congress approved in 2010. Much of the impetus for the rules came from the National Federation for the Blind. Now,… Read more »
NRDC report quantifies American jobs supported by fuel economy standards
Over 288,000 American workers are employed building technologies for the auto industry to reduce pollution and improve gas mileage, according to a new report from the Natural Resources Defense Council. “Supplying Ingenuity II: U.S. Suppliers of Key Clean, Fuel-Efficient Vehicle Technologies,” a joint production of NRDC and the BlueGreen Alliance, finds that hundreds of thousands… Read more »