Free Republic

When will they learn? Making pointless Net Zero gestures is apparently more important than wasting hard-earned taxpayer money on ridiculous electric buses that DON'T WORK when it gets cold..

Jaguar Land Rover could soon develop a part-petrol road car despite planning to go completely electric, according to reports. The British brand is reportedly drawing up plans for a vehicle powered partly by a combustion engine, which will be known as a “range-extended electric vehicle”. This is likely to have a small petrol engine fitted to charge the main battery. But the component could be fitted to ease drivers' concerns about running out of power. According to experts, an additional petrol engine could extend the range of new Jaguar cars by around 400km, rising from 700km to 1,100km. The iconic...

Alphabet-owned Waymo has informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that one of its driverless vehicles “struck a child near an elementary school” in Santa Monica, California The Jan. 23 incident is now being investigated by the U.S. vehicle safety authority. According to records posted to the NHTSA website, the child sustained minor injuries. The Waymo collision occurred within two blocks of an elementary school during normal school drop-off hours, while other children, a crossing guard and several double-parked vehicles were nearby. “The child ran across the street from behind a double-parked SUV towards the school and was struck by...

Key Points On Tesla’s fourth-quarter earnings call, CEO Elon Musk said the company is ending production of its Model S and X vehicles. “It’s time to basically bring the Model S and X programs to an end with an honorable discharge,” Musk said. Tesla beat estimates for the quarter but still wrapped up its first annual sales decline on record. SNIP Tesla is developing Optimus with the aim of someday selling it as a bipedal, intelligent robot capable of everything from factory work to babysitting. The company said in the release that it plans to unveil the third generation of...

Tesla has landed a massive deal to expand its charging infrastructure for heavy-duty electric trucks — and not just theirs, but all manufacturers. Tesla entered an agreement with Pilot Travel Centers, the largest operator of travel centers in the United States. Tesla’s Semi Chargers, which are used to charge Class 8 electric trucks, will be responsible for providing energy to various vehicles from a variety of manufacturers. The first sites are expected to open later this Summer, and will be built at select locations along I-5 and I-10, major routes for commercial vehicles and significant logistics companies. The chargers will...

A little-noticed federal mandate could take control of your car in the name of safety — and lawmakers in both parties have declined to block it. The federal government is moving closer to giving your car the authority to decide whether you are allowed to drive — without a warrant, without due process, and with no guaranteed way to reverse the decision once it is made. And it is happening not because of one party alone, but because Congress, across party lines, has failed to stop it. It's no accident that all this happened quietly. It was written into law...

Tesla has officially launched public Robotaxi rides in Austin, Texas, without a Safety Monitor in the vehicle, marking the first time the company has removed anyone from the vehicle other than the rider. The Safety Monitor has been present in Tesla Robotaxis in Austin since its launch last June, maintaining safety for passengers and other vehicles, and was placed in the passenger’s seat. Tesla planned to remove the Safety Monitor at the end of 2025, but it was not quite ready to do so. Now, in January, riders are officially reporting that they are able to hail a ride from...

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Rt6sU00_Mak

General Motors has announced that production of the newly updated 2027 Chevrolet Bolt EV will end after approximately 18 months to make way for a gas-powered Buick crossover at its Kansas manufacturing facility. Inside EVs reports that General Motors has confirmed plans to discontinue production of the heavily updated 2027 Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle after a limited production run of about one and a half years. The decision will allow the automaker to repurpose its Fairfax, Kansas, factory for manufacturing the Buick Envision, a gas-powered crossover currently built in China that will be reshored to the United States. A Chevrolet...

Over the past couple of years, I have had several posts here expressing skepticism about whether electric vehicles (EVs) were really the wave of the future. Most recently, I had a post on December 17 noting the rapid decline of EV sales in the U.S. during the fourth quarter of 2025, following the expiration of certain tax credits on September 30. Overall, my take has been that the EV market has been propped up by government subsidies and benefits and, like all businesses dependent on government handouts, would likely shrink drastically (if not completely disappear) without them. For a different...

This is more advanced than you think Tesla’s Texas lithium refinery is the first in North America to convert raw spodumene ore directly into battery-grade lithium hydroxide, skipping the intermediate steps the rest of the industry relies on It went from groundbreaking to first production in just 19 months, an unheard-of timeline at this scale The process is cleaner too: no hazardous sodium sulfate waste, and a useful byproduct that can be turned into concrete This single refinery can supply lithium for over 500,000 EVs per year and directly challenges China’s ~60% grip on global lithium refining One of the...

NASCAR fans, get ready. Tony Stewart, three-time Cup Series champion and motorsports icon, is officially returning to the NASCAR stage at Daytona in 2026. Stewart will team up with Ram Truck and Kaulig Racing as the first competitor in Ram’s groundbreaking Free Agent program within the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. Stewart, known to fans as “Smoke,” last competed in the NASCAR Truck Series in 2005 and in the Cup Series in 2016 before shifting his focus to NHRA drag racing with Dodge. His return marks a monumental moment for the sport, blending Stewart’s legendary competitive spirit with Ram’s bold re-entry...

In yet another major blow to the German automobile labor market, Mercedes has announced it will be relocating production of its A-Class from Rastatt, Germany, to Kecskemét, Hungary. While Hungary’s foreign minister is taking a victory lap, Germany’s largest opposition party is sharply crticizing the government as signs grow that Germany’s automobile market is faltering. Trade Minister Péter Szijjártó has officially confirmed Mercedes move, writes Budapester. Szijjártó credited the success to “an economic policy based on sound common sense and a stable government that continually attracts new investment projects from global companies in America, Asia, and even Germany.” However, the...

Orlando Speed World Dragway, an NHRA member track, has decided to ban fully electric vehicles from competition, including test and tune days. The Dragway says they’re making this decision for safety reasons. After reviewing emergency response procedures for its track, for specific full electric vehicles the venue decided the risks fully outweighed the rewards. The mid-Florida track enumerated its rationale for banning full electric vehicles, with the ban taking effect immediately, applying solely to full electric vehicles but allowing hybrid vehicles to continue to compete, as well as to test & tune. The risks include the following: The battery may...

Key Points * Headlight brightness has doubled in a decade, with widespread driver complaints and frustration. * Regulatory loopholes allow manufacturers to increase brightness because of outdated federal standards. * Regulations capping maximum brightness for LED headlights have still not been formulated. ============================================================= Illuminated headlights on an urban street at night The Bright Headlights Crisis Is Far From Over If you find yourself squinting while driving at night, you’re not alone. The IIHS reports that average headlight brightness has roughly doubled in the last decade. The NHTSA receives growing consumer complaints regarding headlight brightness. There’s a real, widespread anger out...

One Big Beautiful Bill Act – car loan interest tax deduction is a groundbreaking new tax benefit that allows taxpayers to deduct up to $10,000 per year in interest on loans for new U.S. assembled vehicles from 2025–2028. This provision, part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025, aims to support American manufacturing and provide significant tax savings for vehicle owners. Below, you’ll find a comprehensive list of qualifying vehicles and all the key requirements you need to know to claim this deduction. To qualify for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act car loan interest tax deduction, your...

DETROIT — General Motors is on pace to be the top U.S.-traded automaker stock of 2025, as shares of GM are having their best year since the Detroit company’s reemergence from bankruptcy in 2009. GM stock is up over 55% to a record of more than $80 per share, as of Friday’s close, topping the company’s previous annual increase of 48.3% last year. That includes a nearly 13% rise so far in December, adding to five consecutive months of share gains, according to FactSet. Several factors have been driving the share increase. But GM CEO Mary Barra and other executives...

Waymo is shipping a software update to help its robotaxis navigate disabled traffic lights during power outages “more decisively,” the company said Tuesday in a blog post that explains why its self-driving vehicles got stuck at intersections during a blackout in San Francisco this past weekend. Waymo said the self-driving system in its robotaxis treats dead stop lights as four-way stops, just like humans are supposed to. That should have allowed the robotaxis to operate normally in spite of the massive outage. Instead, many of the vehicles requested a “confirmation check” from Waymo’s fleet response team to make sure what...

The electric vehicle industry has taken a pummeling this year. The Trump administration, as expected, reversed a whole suite of federal policies that promoted or encouraged EVs. California's ability to require the sale of EVs: gone. Federal rules about emissions and fuel economy — being rewritten. Federal penalties for car companies that sell too many gas guzzlers: zeroed out. The $7,500 federal tax credit? Kaput. Meanwhile, automakers delayed or canceled a host of unprofitable EV plans. The all-electric Ram 1500 REV was canceled before a single one was built. The all-electric Ford Lightning was discontinued despite some glowing reviews. (Both...

One of the first things I did when I moved to Dubai was buy a Dodge Challenger. Not the volcanic Hellcat or the feral Scat Pack — the SXT, the V6 base model. Nevertheless, for those nine months in 2023, the car carried itself like it had seen things it couldn’t legally discuss. I miss it the way a grounded teenager misses his phone — painfully and often. The car was, in many ways, gloriously pointless. But to me, it was absolutely perfect. Nobody buys a Dodge for practicality. You buy one because fun is a dying art and driving...