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Here's one that wasn't hard to see coming. General Motors has announced that it is ending production of the Cadillac ELR , which was essentially a gussied upChevy Volt at twice the price. You can call this one a mercy killing as the overpriced, pseudo-green, government-subsidized vehicle was doomed for failure as low sales figures reflected the lack of value offered by the vehicle. That failure was predicted here back in December of 2013 when the ELR was rolled out. As with the sales-challenged Chevy Volt, most of the media bought into the Cadillac ELR hype, calling it a...

Tesla (TSLA) stock is down more than 25% so far this year. It hit its lowest level since February 2014 on Wednesday. Wall Street has grown increasingly skeptical about the company in recent weeks. Adam Hull, an analyst with European investment bank Berenberg, initiated coverage on Tesla Wednesday with a sell rating. Pacific Crest analyst Brad Erickson said in a report Tuesday that investors should "avoid" Tesla stock. He cited concerns about sluggish demand for the company's new Model X crossover. And even longtime Tesla bull Adam Jonas of Morgan Stanley, is suddenly feeling a little less optimistic about the...

Plunging oil prices are set to hit the electric car industry hard, but Tesla vehicles won't be the worst affected, says CEO Elon Musk. "[The] industry as a whole, I think, will definitely suffer from lower oil prices," Musk told CNN's Kristie Lu Stout on Monday. "It just makes economic sense."

Faraday Future - the California-based electric car company that's been operating in stealth mode for the past year and a half - made its first big splash on the eve of CES this week with the unveiling of the FFZERO1, a high-performance concept car. The sinewy machine looks more appropriate for a race track than a city street thanks to a claimed 1,000 horsepower, a 0-60 time under three seconds, and a top speed over 200 miles per hour. Of course, those are all purely theoretical numbers since this is just a concept, though the company teases that it could...

When Bob Lutz speaks, automotive journalists listen. Well, at least they usually do. When a recent Automotive News roundtable discussion showed Lutz blasting General Motors' Chevy Bolt (and electric vehicles like it), mainstream journalists failed to pick up on the story. Lutz was right on the money when he exposed the EV folly, which is costing automakers billions of dollars and driving up prices of conventional, gas-powered vehicles. Bob Lutz certainly has credibility in the automotive world. As an ex-GM executive he was known as the father of the Chevy Volt, a taxpayer-subsidized vehicle that I have had plenty...

President Obama’s clean energy program included $36 billion in taxpayer funding, more than double that of the previous administration, and a lot of that money went into electric cars. Obama touted his decision to use federal stimulus money to “invest” heavily into electric cars and clean energy at the climate summit in Paris this week, saying his administration has “met our goals a lot quicker than expected.” But investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson delved into the program in her latest production of Full Measure and found the program’s goals are actually way behind. In her segment titled “Electric cars running on...

The wife and I Purchased an electric car about a month ago. I'm as far as a tree hugger as you can get but we needed a vehicle. Our son will be starting collage soon so a another vehicle was needed. Her total commute is close to 6 miles, the car had 2,560 miles when we bought it. it's a 2012, fairly well equipped with air, power windows, mirrors, power locks, heated seats, etc. Since the range is only an estimated 62 miles it works for us.My Car is not restricted on distance since it's petroleum powered so it should...

In the next 60 months the automotive industry will see more change than in the last 60 years. European car manufacturers should commit to electric cars now or Europe will be in economic trouble Once in a while a new technology comes along that profoundly changes the way humans relate to energy and transport. Wheels, steam engines and airplanes are all step changes that put humanity on a new trajectory. When I first drove the full electric Nissan Leaf back in 2011, I realized I was sitting in such a technological breakthrough. An internal combustion engine peaks at ~30% efficiency....

Greens are hailing this as the spear-point of their green energy revolution. But the Premier’s green cars will run on...coal. Electric cars need large batteries, which have to be recharged. Maybe the Premier has a large subsidized solar panel on the roof of her garage, so that when she comes home, she can recharge the big battery? But the sun does not shine at night, so the car will still rely on electricity from coal.

Consumer Reports withdrew its recommendation for the Tesla Model S — a car the magazine previously raved about — because of poor reliability for the sporty electric sedan. The turnabout comes after the influential consumer magazine handed the luxury car a “worse-than-average” rating in its annual report on the predicted reliability of new vehicles issued Tuesday. The news sent Tesla Motors stock down as much as $23.77, more than 10%, to $204.33 in mid-day trading. See the most-read stories this hour >> Consumer Reports surveyed 1,400 Model S owners “who chronicled an array of detailed and complicated maladies” with the...

Electric carmaker Tesla has announced that it will obtain lithium for its batteries from two companies in northern Mexico, leaving Nevada lawmakers who approved major tax incentives for the company frustrated. In 2014 the Nevada Legislature approved $1.3 billion in tax incentives for Tesla’s Reno gigafactory. The Las Vegas Sun reports that during legislative debates over the incentive package, there was speculation that Tesla would boost the state’s lithium industry...

Summary Apple's much rumored electric vehicle may use fuel cell technology from U.K. startup Intelligent Energy. Intelligent Energy's technology doesn't require high pressure hydrogen storage and can be refueled by swapping out self-contained modules. Apple may already have exclusive rights to the technology, and use this as leverage to partner with an auto manufacturer such as BMW. By now, the weight of the evidence that Apple is working on a car has become overwhelming, but an announcement out of the UK of a hydrogen fuel cell powered iPhone may shed the most light yet on Apple's automobile project. The technology...

It's crunch time for Tesla Motors. The Silicon Valley automaker is losing more than $4,000 on every Model S electric sedan it sells, using its reckoning of operating losses, and it burned $359 million in cash last quarter in a bull market for luxury vehicles. The company on Wednesday cut its production targets for this year and next. Chief Executive Elon Musk said he's considering options to raise more capital and didn't rule out selling more stock. Musk has taken investors on a thrill ride since taking Tesla public in 2010. Now he's given himself a deadline, promising that by...

The age of electrification across the transportation sector, the solar panel revolution, and Tesla’s battery gigafactory are igniting a battle for the cheapest battery. That will transform lithium into a boom-time mineral and the hottest commodity on the energy investor’s radar. It has been easy to take lithium for granted. This wonder mineral is the backbone of our everyday lives, popping up in everything from the glass in our windows to our mountains of electronics. And while investors have long appreciated the steady rise in demand for this preferred mineral, the number of new applications continues to multiply. Smart phones,...

The problem of limited range has been an important factor curbing the wide-spread adoption of electric cars. But scientists in South Korea have developed a new technology which could solve the problem. The lithium-ion batteries used in most of the current generation of electric cars have limitations. They are expensive and store insufficient power for the needs of many drivers, requiring frequent top-ups. And when they have to be recharged the charging process is time consuming. The technological breakthrough could solve these problems. And in the process, Dr Lu Wu of the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology in South...

Are electric cars damaging YOUR region? Maps reveal how EVs can be WORSE for the environment than gas-guzzling vehicles In some areas, mostly in the east of the US, the impact of charging up EVs does more harm to the environment In monetary terms, electric cars are about half-a-cent worse per mile for the environment than gas-powered cars With gas cars, the worst damage to the environment, shown in red, took place in highly-populated urban areas They have been hailed as the environmentally-friendly solution to getting around towns and cities. But new research has found electric cars have an overall...

Slow sales and falling gasoline prices have prompted Honda to stop selling gas-electric hybrid and natural gas-powered versions of its Civic compact car. The company also said that it will discontinue a plug-in rechargeable version of the midsize Accord. But it plans to roll out a new, more efficient version of the Accord hybrid early next year. And a new plug-in Accord will come later. Executive Vice President John Mendel said Monday in a statement that production of the natural gas Civic already has been halted, and hybrid Civic production will end after the 2015 model year.

Bishop Hill points us to this video of the Tesla Supercharging station at the Harris Ranch exit of Interstate 5 in California. He writes: “How can one resist posting a video of Tesla electric cars being recharged (so it is claimed) using a diesel generator? These people love the environment you see.” The video shows a portable diesel generator next to the charging station and some Tesla automobiles. Watch this short video:

Tesla Motors Inc: Gigafactory To Be A Major Turning Point In Auto Market Posted By: Michelle JonesPosted date: May 26, 2015 08:08:59 PMIn: TechnologyNo Comments Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) is leading the way in electric vehicle technology, especially in batteries, and this is a good time to be in Tesla’s position. Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) estimates that “electrified vehicles” will be one-quarter of the car sales in the world in the next ten years. The analysts define “electrified vehicles” as those with an electric powertrain, which include not only EVs but also hybrids and fuel cell vehicles.Tesla is taking one of...

The federal government and many states have offered car buyers incentives to venture into the electric car market. But now some states are going in a different direction -- they’re charging owners more. Idaho recently approved one of the country’s highest fees for electric cars. Here’s the problem: states traditionally fund highways with a gas tax. But you only pay that if you buy gas. Last week, Idaho lawmakers voted to charge electric vehicle owners an extra $140 annual registration fee. … which was news to Cleve Buttars. "Wow. Well, um ..." Buttars lives in Twin Falls and drives a...