Free Republic

People get nostalgic about their first set of wheels, but those fond memories probably miss an important detail—they were often pieces of junk. Auto dealers didn’t mind. Back in 1976, when cars on American roads were just 6.2 years old on average, new car sales accounted for nearly 10% of car registrations. As of 2019, when the average car age had doubled, more consumers were able to hold on to their cars longer or opt for used ones. By then, the share of new vehicle sales had fallen to 6.4% of registrations. Could electric vehicles bring back those glory days...

Suffice to say, all is not well for the Electric Vehicle (EV) industry these days. Despite ample subsidies from the federal government, EV sales are slumping. ... there have been numerous reports of people being trapped inside EVs due to dead batteries. In some of these cases, toddlers have been locked inside of sweltering cars. In one example, on June 20, Renee Sanchez was eager to take her two-year-old granddaughter to the Phoenix Zoo. Early that morning, Sanchez strapped the toddler into the backseat of her Model Y Tesla. After closing the rear door, Sanchez attempted to open the front...

The Biden Energy Department on Thursday announced nearly $2 billion will be released to save at-risk or shuttered plants if they convert to electric vehicles across swing states such as Michigan or Pennsylvania. The Biden administration is using $2 billion that came from the Inflation Reduction Act, which is commonly referred to as a climate change bill, as it attempts to combine manufacturing and climate change policies. The funds will be used to help with conversions and retooling projects across eight states to make electric vehicles and other related parts. “This announcement is a hallmark of the Biden administration’s industrial...

A significant share of Americans who own an electric vehicle have buyer's remorse, according to new data. McKinsey & Co.'s Mobility Consumer Pulse for 2024, released this month, found that 46% of EV owners in the U.S. said they were "very" likely to switch back to owning a gas-powered vehicle in their next purchase. The high percentage of Americans who want to make a switch even surprised the consulting firm. "I didn't expect that," the head of McKinsey's Center for Future Mobility, Philipp Kampshoff, told Automotive News. "I thought, 'Once an EV buyer, always an EV buyer.'" In the poll...

In just the last twelve months, how many electric vehicle-related corporate financial disasters have there been? I count no fewer than seven, depending on how meticulous you want to be, so let’s do quick rundown of all the E.V. woes, not in any particular order or importance. 💩 First disaster: This is the headliner and hot off the presses, from Stephen Council’s new report at SFGate:California carmaker Fisker, once worth $2.9 billion, finally goes belly-upFisker, an electric vehicle company based in Southern California, has finally declared bankruptcy.After months of brutal news — a bankruptcy warning, hundreds of layoffs, a massive...

While most ebikes on the road today will come with a battery pack, some are riding down the hydrogen fuel-cell cycle path. HydroRide not only has fuel-cell ebikes available, but also a compact refill station to top up H2 canisters. The global ebike market is estimated to grow in value to almost US$120 billion by 2030, and it's not surprising. Whether commuting or leisure riding, pedal-assist bikes take some of the strain out of the journey while also opening up routes for older riders. The vast majority of ebikes on the street roll with Li-ion batteries, but they can spend...

Were one to listen to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, or Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, one might come away with the impression that electric vehicles (EVs) are so popular, the government’s intention of mostly replacing internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles with EVs by 2030 was a foregone conclusion. After all, the Mummified Meat Puppet Administration (MMPA) tells us they’ll build a half million fast chargers across America by then to handle the load, and they’ve allocated $7.5 billion we don’t have to that noble endeavor. Confronting Secretary Pete with the fact that in two years his bureaucracy has managed to build...

Study reveals nearly half of US EV drivers want to return to ICE cars and nearly one-third, globally. The media is baffled.

New vehicles sold in the US will have to average about 38 miles per gallon of gasoline in 2031 in real-world driving, up from about 29 mpg this year, under new federal rules unveiled Friday by the Biden administration. The final rule will increase fuel economy by 2% per year for model years 2027 to 2031 for passenger cars, while SUVs and other light trucks will increase by 2% per year for model years 2029 to 2031, according to requirements released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The final figures are below a proposal released last year. Administration officials...

25 refrigerators. That’s how much the additional electricity consumption per household would be if the average US home adopted electric vehicles (EVs). Congressman Thomas Massie—an electrical engineer—revealed this information while discussing with Pete Buttigieg, the Secretary of Transportation, President Biden’s plan to have 50% of cars sold in the US be electric by 2030. The current and future grid in most places will not be able to support each home running 25 refrigerators—not even close. Just look at California, where the grid is already buckling under the existing load. Massie claims, correctly, in my view, that the notion of widespread...

Maryland will become the latest state to adopt the clean-car rules that originated in California, phasing out new gas-powered car sales by 2035, Gov. Wes Moore (D) announced Monday. The Advanced Clean Cars II rule, first implemented in California in 2022 under a provision of the Clean Air Act, allows states to impose stricter car standards than their federal counterparts. The standards are not retroactive to existing cars or to used car sales. “Today, we’re talking about a major transformation that is going to define this administration—and that’s how we turn Maryland from a state powered by oil and gas...

Czech company UDX is flying scale prototypes of a tandem 2-up eVTOL it calls Airwolf. With individually-tilting ducted fan propulsion, it's got enough wing surface for efficient cruise flight as well as agile movement from a hover. Imagine waking early Sunday morning to ride the twisty coastal mountains of beautiful southern California. It's going to be a perfect day and you expect exactly zero traffic, because you're leaving the Hayabusa in the garage and taking your UDX Airwolf hoverbike. You don your lid, crank up your favorite tunes, spin up the ducted fans, lift off and hover out of your...

Charge up to 80% in just 9.8 minutes! Gotion High-tech showcases its latest battery technology innovations Gotion High-Tech, is a leading global player in battery technology and energy solutions, specialising in the research, development, and production of lithium-ion batteries and energy storage systems. The company, which Volkswagen holds a significant stake in, focuses on innovation and sustainability, Gotion aims to advance the EV industry and renewable energy sectors through cutting-edge battery solutions that not only enhance performance but also reduce carbon footprint, contributing to a greener future. Gotion hosted its 13th Technology Conference on 17 May, during which it unveiled...

High purchase prices are a major barrier to the wider adoption of electric vehicles. A significant portion of this cost comes from expensive batteries. However, in recent years, automakers have been employing an advanced manufacturing technique known as gigacasting. This method helps offset the high cost of batteries, simplifies production, and reduces the weight of EVs. Nissan will follow Tesla, and several other carmakers like Toyota, Hyundai, and Ford, in adopting this technology. The brand aims to reduce the costs of EV parts by 10% and slash weight by 20%, Automotive News reported. Nissan's EVs using gigacasting are expected to...

Recent reports reveal that the celebrated “all-electric” or “zero emissions” fire trucks, being lauded from San Diego to Portland to Albuquerque, are not as environmentally friendly as advertised. Each of these new fire trucks, purchased with the assistance of federal funding, is equipped with a diesel engine to ensure functionality when the electric battery is depleted. This revelation highlights a significant discrepancy between the marketed image of these trucks and their actual operational design. The report indicates that each of these supposedly zero-emission trucks includes a diesel engine to guarantee that it can still pump water or drive if the...

President Joe Biden suggested Tuesday it is false that his administration is restricting consumer choice in the automobile market, but his administration recently finalized a rule that will force electric vehicles (EVs) to make up a much larger share of overall auto sales over the next decade. Biden made the remark during a Tuesday speech about his administration’s decision to significantly bolster tariffs against Chinese products including steel, semiconductor chips and EV batteries. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a rule in March that requires manufacturers to make EVs constitute between 35% and 56% of new cars sold in 2032,...

The Zigy electric quadricycle for one is a concept study at the moment, but its designers are seeking industry partners to move to prototyping - Andrea Mocellin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The design collaboration that brought us the Revolve wheelchair in 2021 has now turned its attention to the problem of inner-city mobility. Noting that many SUV-sized vehicles around town only have a single occupant, the team has designed a compact EV for one. The collaboration in question is between German mobility designer Andrea Mocellin and engineering consultancy Dexet Technologies. The Zigy concept was inspired by the narrow and congested roads of London,...

A new type of hybrid sodium-ion battery that offers both high capacity and rapid-charging capabilities could power mobile devices, electric vehicles and space tech. Researchers have developed a new coin-type sodium-based battery that can charge rapidly “in seconds” and could potentially power everything from smartphones to electric vehicles (EVs) in the future. By combining anode materials used in conventional batteries with cathodes from supercapacitors — batteries that can store and deliver energy at very high rates –– the scientists created a new type of sodium-ion battery that offers both high capacity and rapid-charging capabilities. They were looking for a way...

EVs may be safer for the environment but owners claim the vehicles are causing harm to their health. There are growing reports of electric car drivers suffering motion sickness, dizziness and nausea from the vehicles' braking and acceleration systems. And a former Tesla owner has claimed that she experienced nosebleeds, hair loss and 'debilitating' body pains while using the vehicle she purchased in 2021. While she was not entirely sure the Tesla was at fault, the Georgia resident and said her symptoms disappeared after selling the car. Tesla owners have had to trade in some models because the air conditioning...

California Democrats are frustrated by many of their consumers. No matter how much they plead, whine, and cajole, people simply aren't buying electric vehicles in the numbers the state is demanding. And progress in getting charging stations up and running is far behind schedule. Also, all of the electrical power being flushed into these systems is expensive. But don't worry about any of that. Gavin Newsom and the Democrats have a plan to address all of these woes. In order to subsidize the cost of electric vehicles and encourage more people to buy them, they're going to tack on a...