Electric vehicles

The sometimes shocking truth about EVs

Report: Lithium Americas Breaks Ground in Nevada Mining Operation

Lithium Americas has broken ground on its Thacker Pass mining operations, potentially opening the door to what some are calling the largest lithium deposit in the entire world. However, it’s estimated to be another three years before refinement takes place and the materials can be adapted for use in battery powered products — including all-electric vehicles.

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EV Sales Numbers are Growing, Just Slower Than Expected
Report: Fisker Hired a Bankruptcy Consultant Ahead of Possible Restructuring
QOTD: Which EV Startup Will Fail?

I've been in the automotive media since late in 2007, and over the course of all that time, I've seen EV-focused startups come and go. Some went and came back, even.

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Study Claims EVs Will Not Save the Environment, All Cars Are Bad

A recent study published in the Journal of Transport Geography has alleged that “car harm” cannot be undone by the world pivoting to all-electric vehicles. 

However, the paper doesn’t favor everyone running out to buy the largest diesel pickup they can afford. Instead, it adopts the same anti-driving nonsense we’ve seen from the Vision Zero Network and government regulators that have been caught up in its activism web. The issue, as framed in the study, isn’t that EVs still pose a problem. The complaint is that all vehicles are problematic and the paper recommends sweeping policy changes pertaining to how roads are managed to deal with the matter. 

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More EV Price Cuts in 2024, This Time From Nissan

A thesis will surely be written in the future about the yo-yo behavior of EV prices which are seeming to coincide with early adopters getting their fill while everyone else needs to be talked into the things. The latest? A round of cuts at Nissan on the tongue-twisting Ariya.

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Charged Up: The 2024 Dodge Charger is Finally Here

Muscle cars are going electric.

Well, maybe not across the board. The internal-combustion engine Mustang seems safe, at least in the short term. That said, there will be at least one muscle-car EV on the market soon: The 2024 Dodge Charger.

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Have We Reached Peak EV? (Part 1)

Electric vehicles are dominating the industry conversation, so we had a chat with someone who is a bit of an EV evangelist...as well as with a journalist who noted that his outlet elected seven electrified vehicles to its latest Top 10 list.

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Abandoned History: The Apple Electric Car Project, Rest in Peace (2014-2024)

After a decade-long project that saw changes in approach, multiple delays, staff changes, planning and replanning, and conflicting reports, Apple’s Titan autonomous electric car project is dead. The company made an internal announcement on February 27th, 2024 which leaked to the press immediately via several Apple employees. The project’s cancellation created our most recent Abandoned History subject matter to date. Let’s start at the beginning, in 2014.

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New Jersey Program Will Electrify School Buses Across the State

Love them or hate them, there are quite a few use cases in which an EV is the ideal vehicle. Public transportation, route deliveries, and school buses are great examples of vehicle types that would benefit from electrification, and New Jersey is putting money behind that thought to send electric school buses to 18 school districts.

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U.S. Rumored to Soften Emission Targets, Slow EV Adoption Push

Reports are circulating that the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will soften vehicle emissions targets against the stringent metrics proposed by the group in 2023. This follows lackluster EV adoption rates that run counter to the plan and pushback from dealer organizations, automakers, and consumer groups. But we need to take a closer look at the story, because things are rarely as simple as initially presented.

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This State Might Ban Gasoline Cars. Here’s Who’s Fighting Back

This week we speak with Mike Spagnola, president and CEO of the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA), about a proposed ban on internal-combustion engine (ICE) vehicles in Connecticut.

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Range Finder: Rivian Offers Smaller Battery on R1S and R1T

Hitting the powertrain of its pickup truck and SUV with a shrink ray has permitted Rivian to offer a new battery option – and a new price point – for its pair of all-electric models.

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BMW i3 Owner Quoted Over $70,000 for New Battery

Last year, the owner of a 2015 BMW i3 REx was reportedly quoted over $71,000 to have a new battery pack installed. For reference, that particular model would have retailed somewhere around $50,000 brand new. While we’ve seen some staggering high prices being entertained for EVs in need of a new battery pack this has to be one of more egregious examples on record.

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EV Pricing Could Go The Way Of Gasoline Pricing. In Other News, Sky is Blue

Many so-called “analysts” in this industry more than live up to the first four letters in their name, either crying foul over something obvious or failing to recognize the trainwreck of a situation until it’s far too late. The latest? A specter of EV charging prices eventually going the way of gasoline prices, complete with dynamic pricing and unpredictable costs.


You know – things with which drivers of ICE-powered vehicles have been dealing with for decades.

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Parc Fermé: Paris Triples Parking Rates for SUVs

Don’t expect to see many SUVs in the background of future photos of the Eiffel Tower. Results of a weekend referendum have tripled parking rates for some types of vehicles in Paris, France. Based on weight, the new rules target out-of-towners who bring SUVs into the City of Light.

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Survey Shows Auto Dealers Still Annoyed With Biden EV Strategy

A recent survey, conducted by Automotive News, has indicated that automotive dealerships are still broadly dissatisfied with the Biden administration’s strategy to force the United States to pivot toward all-electric vehicles. According to the 2024 Dealer Outlook Survey, 83 percent of respondents said the government was pushing the transition toward EVs too quickly and mucking up the auto market.

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Investigation Faults Ford Battery Supply Over National Security Issues

Following fears that Ford’s electric vehicle supply chain may represent a national security issue, concerned legislators are doubling down by outlining the path battery components are required to take in order to get here. On Monday, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) accused the automaker of having plans that required contracting technology and software firms with close ties to both the Chinese and North Korean governments. 

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Porsche Casts Doubt Upon Combustion Ban Timeline

While we’re constantly hearing about tightening emissions regulations, the relevant timelines issued by government actors are rarely adhered to. Electric vehicle subsidies went from temporary to indefinite and combustion bans have gone from right around the corner to anyone’s guess. This is also true of the industry itself, which often makes bold promises designed to appease a subset of the public only to repeatedly move the target date back a few years. 

With this in mind, Porsche’s CFO was recently quoted as saying European combustion bans will probably need to be delayed and there’s good reason to believe him. 

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Opinion: Stop Subsidizing Electric Vehicle Programs

Hoping to increase the United States’ electric vehicle charging infrastructure, the White House has announced $623 million in grants to build more charging stations. This plays into the Biden administration's goal of having 500,000 public chargers in the U.S., and see 50 percent of all new vehicle sales become electric, by 2030. However, the federal government has already poured billions into the cause and it’s looking like an incredible waste of money during a period where citizens are growing increasingly concerned about the economy.

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Rivian Shines as Ford Slashes Production: A 2023 EV Industry Snapshot

A leading electric vehicle manufacturer, recently shared its production and delivery figures for the fourth quarter and the entire year of 2023, reflecting a noteworthy accomplishment in the electric vehicle industry. The company, based in Normal, Illinois, reported producing 17,541 vehicles in the last quarter, culminating in a total of 57,232 vehicles for the year, thus surpassing the company's forecast of 54,000 vehicles for 2023.

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Novel Sodium-Ion Battery-Powered EVs To Hit Chinese Streets in January

Today, most EVs use lithium-ion batteries, just like the phone in your pocket. While the battery chemistry is well-known and thoroughly tested at this point in time, the setup has weaknesses that could be addressed by alternative designs. A Volkswagen-funded Chinese automaker has a new type of battery that offers some benefits over lithium-ion batteries, namely cost and cold weather performance, but it’s unclear if we’ll see them in the United States.

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EV Supply Chains May Be Dirtier Than You Think

Most of us know that even the most efficient, long-range EVs generate emissions during the raw materials extraction and production phases, and that’s before we count the logistics required to move everything around the world a few times in the process. The Washington Post recently reported on some of the “dirty parts” of EV manufacturing, and it paints a picture of challenges ahead as more people look to make the shift to electrics.

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Stop-Sale Issued for 2024 Chevy Blazer EV

General Motors has issued a stop-sale order for the all-electric Chevrolet Blazer. As previously reported, the model has been criticized for presenting reviewers with electrical problems. That’s not what you want to see from any vehicle and absolutely intolerable on an EV. Even worse is the fact that the Blazer EV uses the Ultium platform GM claims is about to underpin its future lineup.

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Q-Tip: Cadillac Introduces 2026 Vistiq

The onslaught of all-electric vehicles into the Cadillac lineup continues unabated with the introduction of this, the three-row Vistiq.

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Honda E Ending Sales in Europe

It may have been cuter than a first-generation Civic but Honda’s entirely electric supermini didn’t last very long. Introduced in 2020, the Honda e is being pulled from the European market just one year after it was discontinued in its native Japan.

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Report: Rural California Doesn't Want Electric Buses

California Governor Gavin Newsom has frequently mentioned his desire to see the region pivot to all-electric buses as quickly as possible. The Golden State already has a couple thousand on hand and leadership has issued a mandate that all newly purchased school buses need to be zero-emission vehicles by 2035. However, the plan hasn’t gone over well with rural communities and some are starting to make a lot of noise.

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Report: Chinese Export Rule Changes Could Impact EV Battery Production

China has reportedly decided to place restrictions on exports of graphite, which could spell trouble for American EV manufacturers. Starting this month, the Chinese government requires permits for certain graphite products being exported. This includes synthetic and natural graphite meeting the necessary thresholds to be used on electric vehicle batteries. 

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Consumer Reports: Many EVs Fall Short of Range Estimates

EV battery technology has progressed to the point that range anxiety is becoming a thing of the past – at least on paper. A new study from Consumer Reports found that real-world driving ranges often fall way short of automakers’ advertised range estimates, but some exceed their on-paper numbers.

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Detroit’s Inductive EV Charging Roads: Boon or Boondoggle?

Detroit now has a quarter-mile length of roadway with the ability to charge properly equipped electric vehicles as they drive. While similar programs have been pioneered in Europe, Detroit is the first and only city to do so in the United States. Governor Gretchen Whitmer offered her support when the plan was announced in 2021

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Report: Auto Dealers Ask Biden Admin to Slow Down EV Mandates

Roughly 4,000 U.S. dealerships are asking President Joe Biden to reconsider proposed federal regulations they’ve alleged would mandate an unrealistic national shift toward battery-electric vehicles consumers simply aren’t buying.

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Consumer Reports Says EVs Less Reliable Than Traditional Automobiles

Consumer Reports has concluded its annual car reliability survey and the resulting data for 2023 has not been kind to all-electric vehicles. For 2023, CR reported that EVs had 79 percent more problems than automobiles that use internal combustion. Plug-in hybrids were even worse with 146 percent more issues. However, standard hybrids actually outperformed every other group with 26 percent fewer problems than vehicles wholly reliant on gasoline.

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Ford Scales Back Michigan Battery Plant Investments

Ford has said it will restart construction on the electric vehicle battery facility it’s building in Marshall, Michigan, after pausing work when the UAW strike kicked off a couple months ago. But the company has also announced that it would be “re-timing and resizing some investments.”

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Ford Revises Dealer EV Requirements

In what could be a tacit admission the transition to electric vehicles is going approximately as smoothly as a Michigan secondary road, it is being reported that suits at the Blue Oval are rolling back some of the requirements demanded of dealers in order to shill EVs to customers.

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Chinese Smartphone Company Previews First EV

Despite years of talk that Apple would eventually start building all-electric vehicles, China’s Xiaomi looks to have beaten the American brand to the punch by previewing the first production EV designed by an established consumer technology company. Though designed might be the wrong word to use as the front of the SU7 sedan appears to have been lifted off the McLaren 750 S while the back is pure Porsche Panamera.

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Survey Breaks Down EV Preferences By Politics and Ethnicity

A recent opinion survey has attempted to break down the public interest in all-electric vehicles based on key demographics. While the results were largely predictable, there were some novel takeaways that could be of interest to automakers hoping to market the vehicles. The data also shows how trends may be shifting, with the prognosis being less than ideal for EVs.

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Report: Future BMW I3 Will Be Less Weird Than Original

As BMW’s first mass-produced “zero emissions” vehicle, the i3 boasted a predictably quirky design that seemed to underpin most manufacturers early attempts at fielding an electric car. But the model fell short in terms of range and luxury, especially in relation to MSRP, resulting in a de facto city car for those who liked the idea of owning a BMW-badged EV.

While the vehicle implemented some novel features, the model has aged rather poorly due to advancements in battery technology. It could be argued that the i3 ended up a failure due to the fact that BMW never figured out how to produce them cheaply enough to be a volume vehicle. However, it may have also been too odd to garner true mainstream appeal — something the brand says it doesn’t want to happen for the i3’s successor.

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Report: Mercedes Having Tough Time Selling EVs

Like most government agencies, NGOs, and publicly traded companies, Mercedes-Benz has made a promise to be all-electric by 2030. The automaker intends to have every newly launched vehicle architecture be electric-only after 2024 and to gradually wean itself off combustion engines.

Unfortunately, the brand’s sales trajectory doesn’t appear to be cooperating. Despite seeing a surge of interest in its electrified EQ products initially, Mercedes has started having trouble moving EVs.

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Former Lordstown CEO Given Permission to Buy Back Company Assets for $10 Million

Ohio-based Lordstown Motors has received approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to sell its remaining manufacturing assets to a company owned by its founder and former CEO Stephen Burns for roughly $10 million.

LAS Capital, owned by Stephen Burns, will reportedly receive Lordstown's intellectual property, business data, and any machinery used for manufacturing. However, Taiwan’s Foxconn will retain the factory itself after a financial dispute which ultimately left Lordstown filing for bankruptcy last June. 

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Is Rivian Still Spending Billions Now to Make Billions Later?

Rivian lost an estimated $33,000 on every pickup it sold in the second quarter of this year, which is kind of impressive considering the cheapest model it sells still goes for a sizable $73,000. Considering its lofty initial public offering (IPO) and enviable product specifications, some are wondering why the company isn’t in better shape.

Though Rivian is hardly alone in selling cash-hemorrhaging electric pickups and SUVs. Ford is on track to lose $4.5 billion on EVs by year's end and is supposed to be underwater by more than $32,000 per average all-electric transaction. Frankly, it doesn’t look like any brand other than Tesla has managed to find a way to make volume electrification work in its favor.

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GM Returns to Europe With Electric Crossovers

In 2017, General Motors sold Opel and Vauxhall to Frances PSA Group — which later merged with Fiat Chrysler to form Stellantis — basically ending its involvement with the European market. However, the company vowed a return in 2023 and that’s now taking place in Switzerland.

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Hyundai Latest to Jump on NACS Bandwagon

In what must surely be some of the least surprising automotive news you’ll read today, the corporate duo of Hyundai and Genesis have announced they will be adopting the North American Charging Standard for its EVs. This change will debut in the final quarter of next year.

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Volkswagen Temporarily Cutting Production of European EVs

Volkswagen intends to temporarily limit production of the SEAT Cupra Born and its very own ID.3 EV in October. The company has cited market forces as the cause, noting that its Zwickau and Dresden plants in Germany would be throttled down for a couple of weeks.

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Report: Dealers Worried About Getting EV Refunds From the Government

Nobody likes bureaucratic red tape or waiting on payment and this seems to have become a sticking point for retailers nervously waiting to see how the United States’ updated EV tax credit scheme plays out.

According to a report from Automotive News, dealers are getting worked up about the prospect of not receiving money swiftly enough — mimicking some of the hardships endured during the Cash-for-Clunkers period.

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Hyundai Offering Free Chargers to EV Buyers, Swelling Industry Incentives

Hyundai is offering customers willing to buy an all-electric vehicle a Level 2 home charger for no extra cost. While the ChargePoint device is framed as being free, it does require the purchase of a new automobile through the automaker’s captive finance arm Hyundai Capital America.

That makes the $33,550 (before any federal tax credits or state incentives) Kona Electric the most affordable way to take advantage of the deal. But you’ll still have to find someone to install the unit into your home, to which the manufacturer has offered a $600 credit toward installation.

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U.K. Government Pushes Gasoline Car Ban to 2035

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced on Wednesday that he’s delaying bans the government had previously made for gasoline-powered vehicles. The scheme was to have the United Kingdom restrict citizens from purchasing new combustion vehicles by 2030. But Sunak has questioned the previous timeline’s viability, opting to push things out to 2035.

This probably isn’t a huge surprise for anyone with at least one foot planted in reality. EV mandates have frequently been accompanied by target dates that are wholly ridiculous. Manufacturers aren’t producing these vehicles in sufficient quantities, the supportive infrastructure isn’t in place, and there's a significant portion of consumers that appear disinterested in buying non-traditional powertrains.

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New EV Registrations Grew Significantly, Driven By Tesla

Listening to pundits and some media outlets, it’d be easy to believe that EVs are nowhere near as popular as their gas-powered counterparts. But, while it’s true that electric vehicles still make up a tiny portion of the overall market, their numbers are growing. The latest data from Experian shows that EV registrations rose 67 percent over 2022’s numbers to an impressive 655,986 vehicles.

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Gas War: U.S. House Suggests Ending California Emissions Authority, White House Says Nope

On Tuesday, the White House voiced its opposition to a Republican bill scheduled to be voted on by the U.S. House of Representatives that would prevent California from receiving federal waivers to set standards limiting the sale of gasoline-driven automobiles.

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Electric Vehicle Adoption Divide Mapped

Like everything else in the modern era, vehicles have become another polarizing issue. The populace is split between gasoline-loving Luddites, endlessly bemoaning the current regulatory landscape and smug EV adopters who proselytize battery-powered vehicles with all the zealotry of a religious fanatic.

There’s plenty of overlap between the two groups. However, they tend to diverge in terms of disposable income, political preferences, and even geography. J.D. Power looked into the latter issue, hoping to identify purchasing trends around the United States. It found that, while EV adoption rates were increasing nationwide, there are plenty of places in America that now appear to be shunning electrified automobiles. 

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QOTD: Ready to Rent an EV?

We covered Hertz expanding its EV offerings yesterday. As I think it over, I have a couple of questions.

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Hertz to Buy Cadillac Lyriqs and Chevy Silverado EVs to Bolster Electric Rental Fleet

Automakers are going electric, which means that all the companies that rely on them will have to adapt. Car rental companies have long pledged to make the transition alongside their auto industry partners, and Hertz recently announced that it would be adding the Cadillac Lyriq and Chevy Silverado EV

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QOTD: What Does Electrification Mean for Muscle, American or Not?

Earlier this week, Matt wrote about Dodge's take on how American muscle will evolve as cars become more electrified.

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Nokian Creates EV Stamp of Approval for Tires

Those four black circles at each corner of yer car are technically the only parts of the machine that literally touch the pavement. All the modern safety or efficiency gear in the world is useless if an owner has cheaped out with off-brand rubber or simply runs the wrong set.


Those of us in the Snow Belt know this, explaining the rise of that three-peak mountain snowflake symbol that certifies the tire for winter duty. But the rise of electric vehicles comes with a new set of considerations – and Nokian thinks they have an answer.

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Surprise: Faraday Future Still Exists and Just Delivered Its First Vehicle

Here’s something likely very few people had on their 2023 Bingo cards: Faraday Future has delivered a vehicle. To a customer. Who paid money. The first FF91 EV delivery took place over the weekend, finally putting an end to the will they, won’t they conversation surrounding the brand.

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Are Rising EV Inventories Proof Nobody Wants Them?

Those who follow the automotive industry will have undoubtedly noticed that dealer inventories are slowly approaching levels that would have been considered normal before the pandemic. While this is presumably good news for people who have absolutely had it with dealerships marking up their products, some are growing concerned by how much electric vehicle inventories are outpacing their gasoline-reliant counterparts.

Despite elevated fuel prices, aggressive marketing, and most companies vowing to transition toward building electrified automobiles exclusively, America has an EV supply of more than 100 days on dealer lots. That’s about double the average for gasoline vehicles. While it would seem that people are losing interest in battery-driven automobiles, industry experts are claiming that all is not as it seems.

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Aussies Drive EV Land Cruiser 7km Underwater, Set Records

A group of gearheads from Down Under have apparently set a new world record for driving a car underwater, taking a specially prepped old-school Land Cruiser about 7 kilometers (approximately 4.5 miles) across the floor of Darwin Harbour.


After emerging from the briny deep, one onlooker told the team to “drive this thing straight to the pub.” It doesn’t get more Oz than that.

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GM Says Updated U.S. Emissions Rules Will Cost Auto Industry Billions in Fines

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will soon release its proposal to increase Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) requirements and General Motors has signaled its concerns regarding how much more money it will cost the automotive industry. GM is estimating that the new rules could result in manufacturers paying $100-300 billion in emission fines between 2027 and 2031.

However, the Biden administration has reportedly said it’s highly dependent on which plan is implemented — suggesting industry penalties would vary heavily between companies and average out to be far lower than GM has claimed.

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Flaming Cargo Ship Contains Many More EVs Than First Reported

An enormous vehicle carrier that caught fire at sea earlier this week appears to have far more electric vehicles on board than first suggested.

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Automakers Band Together To Form Tesla Supercharger Competitor

Tesla’s Supercharger network seems to have taken over the world, with several major automakers recently announcing a shift to the standard in the coming years. However, that hasn’t stopped many others from banding together to form their own charging network, including some who signed on with Tesla.

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QOTD: Who's Next for NACS?

Myself and a few other journalists were talking shop over lunch today and one of us wondered which automaker would be next to adopt the North American Charging Standard for electric vehicles. The same standard developed and used by Tesla.

Nissan jumped on the bandwagon last week.

So, B and B, who's next?

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  • B-BodyBuick84 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport of course, a 7 seater, 2.4 turbo-diesel I4 BOF SUV with Super-Select 4WD, centre and rear locking diffs standard of course.
  • Corey Lewis Think how dated this 80s design was by 1995!
  • Tassos Jong-iL Communist America Rises!
  • Merc190 A CB7 Accord with the 5 cylinder
  • MRF 95 T-Bird Daihatsu Copen- A fun Kei sized roadster. Equipped with a 660cc three, a five speed manual and a retractable roof it’s all you need. Subaru Levorg wagon-because not everyone needs a lifted Outback.