Free Republic

Ford CEO Jim Farley explained to Automotive News that not all of its customers are ready to make the transition, due to their specific needs. "We have a lot of rural customers at Ford that a lot of other brands don't have. We have Super Duty customers who do heavy-duty towing: horse trailers, people in the energy business who are towing big-time loads over very long distances. It's hard for me to imagine that all those customers will go electric in the next 10 years," Farley said. "They're actually as interested in the technology as anyone, it's just their use...

"......The California car firm yesterday revealed plans for the factory that would employ up to 6,500 people , cover 1,000 acres, and cost $5 billion, said the Wall Street Journal, Solar and wind farms would at least in part supply the huge power needs of the plant in either Nevada, New Mexico, or Arizona. Reno is thought to be a favorite. Tesla needs its own production to hit its cost target for a more affordable car. Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk's idea is a "Gigafactory" that takes in raw materials and produces finished lithium-ion batteries. He has said he intends...

The Chicago Transit Authority has received a $1.5 million federal grant from the U.S. Dept. of Transportation to construct electrified vehicle stalls that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and unnecessary fuel consumption. The stalls will deliver electrical power for up to 80 vehicles and provide services such as heating and air-conditioning to vehicles that would otherwise be left idling during overnight cleaning, said a press release from Sen. Dick Durbin's office. The electricity would also help to reduce diesel consumption and emissions from parked buses in Chicago and suburban areas. "The funding announced...will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Chicago,"...