The 21 Best Cyber Monday Deals on Amazon: Up to 70% OFF

We’ve been on Amazon all morning to find the best Cyber Monday Deals on TVs, tools, toys, home furnishings and more.

Here they all are—up to 70% OFF.

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Electric Vehicles Could Short Governments $92 Billion in Taxes by 2030

As governments across the globe push for the proliferation of electric vehicles, they’re creating a new problem for themselves. While EVs may be helpful in mitigating pollution in and around city centers, they’re not going to be nearly as friendly on the infrastructure.

A report from the International Energy Agency suggests the ramp-up of battery powered automobiles could result in a $92 billion tax shortfall by 2030, assuming everything goes according to plan. But even if global governments only manage to get halfway to their intended electrification goals, they’re still missing out on an estimated $47 billion in fuel duties.

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GM Preparing to Rent Your Car: Report

Only if you choose to, it seems. After launching its Maven ride-sharing service in numerous U.S. cities, as well as Canada’s largest population center, sources claim General Motors wants to expand the service to privately owned vehicles.

In other words, you’ll be able to make your own GM car available via the automaker’s app-based Maven service, generate income from short-term renters, while GM takes part of the cut. If the plan goes ahead, let’s hope your renters aren’t as slovenly as these ones.

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Tumbling Profits Force Toyota CEO Into Crisis Mode

Even as it develops efficient new platforms and streamlines its operation where it can, Toyota finds itself against the ropes as a falling yen and rising costs sends profits tumbling. Its end-of-fiscal-year financial statements, released today, are enough to send bean counters to the medicine cabinet in search of antacid, while the company’s president warns of more trouble ahead.

To Akio Toyoda, the increasingly gloomy picture has all the hallmarks of a failing sports team.

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Volkswagen Brand Profit Sinks 86 Percent; Company Thanks God for All Those Other Brands

First-quarter earnings just released by Volkswagen Group show a massive hit to the company’s namesake brand, all thanks to fallout from the diesel emissions scandal.

Profit at Volkswagen passenger cars fell 86 percent to 73 million euros ($81 million), down from 514 million euros last year. That plunge leaves the brand with a nano particle-thin operating margin of 0.3 percent.

Still, the scandal isn’t a killing blow for the company. Why? Investment advisers aren’t lying when they say diversity is key to weathering shocks.

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Tesla Q4 Sees $16 Million In Losses, Annual Revenue Climbs To $2 Billion

Tesla announced their Q4 2013 earnings saw a total net loss of $16 million while pulling in an annual revenue of $2 billion on the strength of higher sales and more efficient manufacturing methods.

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Delphi Doubles Net Income In Q4 2013
One-Time Tax Gain Nets Chrysler $1.6 Billion In Q4 2013
Tennessee Legislature Moves to Legitimize Traffic Cameras

The Tennessee House Transportation Committee yesterday drafted a legislative proposal that will solidify the legal standing for the use of both speed cameras and red light cameras in the state. After a lengthy markup process, committee members approved a two-year moratorium on new cameras while ensuring that there is no disruption in ticketing for cities like Chattanooga, Clarksville, Jonesborough and Knoxville that already have programs in place. In 2008, the state legislature quietly gave the green light to jurisdictions interested in installing red light cameras and speed cameras, but even the lawmakers most in favor of the use of cameras have been pressured by the public to take some action to reign in their use.

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Texas: Accidents Increase at Controversial Red Light Camera Intersection

Accidents rose after the installation of a red light camera at one major intersection in Baytown, Texas. The private company American Traffic Solutions began issuing automated tickets at the intersection of Garth and Baker Roads on March 21, 2008. Since then, safety has not improved at the controversial camera location.

According to a brochure published by the city, “red light safety cameras” were installed because, “There have been more than 1,000,000 accidents and more than 1000 deaths attributed to red light runners that occur each year in the United States.” Presumably, the cameras are meant to reduce the number of collisions and deaths at Baytown intersections.

This has not happened according to accident reports from all three monitored approaches of the Garth and Baker intersection from eighteen months before the installation of cameras compared to the same period afterward. Instead, the total number of collisions grew by 11 percent. Although proponents of cameras frequently suggest that the increase in rear end collisions (31 percent in this case) is offset by the reduction in “more serious” collisions, the data show, to the contrary, that there was no reduction at all in the number of serious injury accidents.

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College Station, Texas Red Light Cameras to Come Down

A judge yesterday forced the settlement of a traffic camera company-backed lawsuit with the city of College Station, Texas over the public’s November 3 vote to ban red light cameras. Although terms of the deal have not been released, the city council voted 4-0 on November 11 to abide by the results of the election, leaving American Traffic Solutions (ATS) with no hope of continuing its ticketing program without a costly legal battle.

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GM's 3Q Results Press Conference
Check out GM’s complete video of the conference here.
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New NY License Plates: Empire Gold For The Empire State
Though New York’s new “Empire Gold” license plates aren’t opening the same constitutional can of worms as South Carolina’s rece…
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  • TheMrFreeze So basically no manual transmissions in US cars after 2029.I just raised one finger in the general direction of NHTSB's main office. Guess which finger it is!
  • TheMrFreeze Wife drives a Fiat 500 Turbo 5-speed (135hp vs. 160 in the Abarth), it's a lot of fun to drive and hasn't given us any headaches. Maintenance on it is not as bad as you'd think for such a cramped engine compartment...Fiat did put some thought into it in that regard. Back seat is...cramped...but the front is surprisingly roomy for what it is.I honestly wouldn't mind having one myself, but yeah, gotta have a manual trans.
  • Bkojote Tesla's in a death spiral right now. The closest analog would be Motorola circa 2007.The formula is the exact same. -Vocal CEO who came in and took credit for the foundation their predecessor while cutting said efforts behind successful projects.-A heavy reliance on price/margin cuts and heavy subsidies to keep existing stock moving. The RAZR became a $99 phone after starting out as a $399 phone, the same way a Model 3 is now a $25k car.-Increasing focus on BS projects over shipping something working and functional to distract shareholders from the failures of current products. Replace "iTunes Phone" (remember that?) with "Cybertruck" and when that's a dud focus on "Java-Linux" the same way they're now focusing "Robotaxis".-Increasingly cut away investment in quality-of-ownership things. Like Motorola, Tesla's cut cut cut away their development, engineering, and support teams. If you ever had the misfortune of using a Motorola Q you're familiar with just how miserable Tesla Autopilot is these days.-Ship less and less completed products as a preview of something new. Time and time again at CES/Trade Shows Motorola was showing half-working 'concept' devices. The Cybertruck was announced 5 years ago yet functionally is missing most of its features- and the ones it has don't work. And I mean basic stuff- the AWD logic is embarrassingly primitive. A lot of Tesla hyperbole focuses on either he's a 4D-chess playing genius visionary or all of Tesla's being propped up by gov't mandates. But the reality is this company hasn't delivered any meaningful product evolution in the better half of this past decade.
  • Pig_Iron Stellantis is looking for excuses to close plants. Shawn Fain just gave them one. 🐹
  • SCE to AUX Unresolved safety issues are a good reason to strike.