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California is offering drivers $400 gift cards to test its alternative to the gas tax
California officials are still trying to figure out how to pay for road repairs and maintenance in the not-so-distant future, when electric vehicles dominate the roadways and gas tax revenue dries up.
So they're offering drivers up to $400 to test a couple of alternatives for six months, starting in August.
Road improvements are financed ...Read more
Stellantis teams with China's Leapmotor to sell EVs in Europe, Mideast, South America
Stellantis NV said Tuesday that a new partnership with Chinese electric vehicle maker Leapmotor will allow it to quickly grow sales in Europe, the Middle East, South America and elsewhere starting later this year.
Stellantis, the transatlantic automaker with brands such as Jeep, Chrysler, Ram, Peugeot and Fiat, will take 51% ownership in the ...Read more
EV truck maker Rivian warns the state of more layoffs
Rivian Automotive Inc., at one time considered the darling of the electric vehicle market, has informed state officials that it plans more layoffs in California.
In an April 24 letter to the state's Employment Development Department, the company's vice president of people, Scott Griffin, said Rivian planned to lay off more than 120 employees, ...Read more
Eric's Autos: 2024 Genesis GV70
Crossovers have become like belly buttons in that it looks like everyone -- just about -- has one.
Probably because everyone sells one. And because so many of them look (and drive) so much alike.
The Genesis G70 is less like them.
How so?
Well, for one thing, it's available with a six-cylinder engine. Ten years ago, that would have been as ...Read more
Motormouth: Fob batteries
Q: I have a 2014 Honda and I am curious as to the key fob. The batteries must be at least 10 years old, and it doesn’t look like they can be replaced. I’m curious as to how long the batteries are gonna last. I hope it does not die sometime when I’m out somewhere else and trying to get started.
D.B., Cheshire, Connecticut
A: There is ...Read more
Elon Musk pledges to grow supercharger business he just decimated
Elon Musk touted plans to expand Tesla Inc.’s Supercharger network just over a week after firing almost all of the roughly 500 people who ran the business.
Tesla will spend “well over” $500 million on growing its network this year, Musk said on X, the social media network he owns. Ten days ago, the automaker’s chief executive officer ...Read more
Auto review: Behind the wheel of the Acura ZDX Type S, a high-powered, GM-charged EV
SANTA BARBARA, California — I pulled to the brief left passing lane on California Route 154 and — ZOT! — my 2024 Acura ZDX Type S tester exploded past a line of slower traffic down the Santa Ynez Mountains north of Santa Barbara. Merging into heavy Route 101 traffic along the coast, the ZDX’s Hands-Free Cruise system took over and I ...Read more
Auto review: 2024 Cadillac XT4 Sport is a crowd pleaser
Cloaked in Radiant Red Tintcoat, the Cadillac XT4 Sport AWD effortlessly pleases drivers, as it stands ready to tackle nearly any task. Whether it's grocery shopping or daily commuting, the XT4 meets a wide array of consumer needs and desires. Its comfort, design and commanding presence continue to stand out, upholding Cadillac's substantial ...Read more
Auto review: 2024 Hyundai Palisade is a worthy family conveyance
If you’re a parent, I don’t need to tell you that raising children is demanding. It’s a job that constantly surprises, stresses and — occasionally — delights. It also demands a spacious vehicle, as the hectare of baby gear, grade school friends and their piles of sports gear or, for that matter, high-schoolers with their gaggle of ...Read more
With production of the Chevy Malibu ending, long era ends for ol' Detroit sedans
DETROIT — In another case of Detroit automakers surrendering car sales to foreign competition, General Motors Co. this fall will retire its last mainstream gas-powered sedan when production of the Chevrolet Malibu ends after nine generations.
The Detroit automaker confirmed Wednesday it will stop producing the mid-size sedan in November at ...Read more
GM to end production of the Chevy Malibu this fall, will prep Fairfax for Bolt production
General Motors Co. will halt production of the Chevrolet Malibu sedan this fall at its Fairfax Assembly plant in Kansas to prep for production of the new Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle, the automaker confirmed Wednesday.
Production of the Cadillac XT4 small SUV will continue until the plant is shut down next year to retool for production of ...Read more
Lower car prices bring better deals, but high interest rates deter some buyers
Consumers that delayed buying a car between 2020 and 2023 are in a much better spot to buy in 2024, experts say, as sticker prices drop due to recovering inventory levels.
High interest rates on auto loans, however, remain a barrier despite car manufacturers' upping incentives for potential buyers.
Still, it's a good time to buy a car, and it'...Read more
Tesla Autopilot probe escalates as US agency demands data
Tesla Inc. is facing increased federal scrutiny of Autopilot, with the top U.S. auto-safety regulator seeking data that will help determine whether the company’s biggest-ever recall made its driver-assistance system safer.
In a letter posted on its website Tuesday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration presses Tesla on how much ...Read more
Motormouth: Fuel cells?
Q: About a century ago, the term "fuel cell" described exotic wafers that allow hydrogen and oxygen to combine across a membrane, somehow producing electricity and water. Maybe 25 years ago, the car dudes began to use the same term for a fancy gas tank. Why did the car dudes do this? What makes the gas tank version of a fuel cell different from ...Read more
Stellantis car-sharing service Free2move is rebooting after a bumpy American start
In recent years, the company Free2move set up free-floating car rental operations in such major American cities as Denver, Portland, Oregon, and Columbus, Ohio.
Like scooter rentals but for cars, the vehicles were spread out around each city, and drivers could book them from their phones at a moment's notice for a few minutes or a few days. The...Read more
Sales of zero-emission vehicles in California up slightly
After two consecutive quarters of declines, the number of zero-emission vehicles sold in California ticked up slightly in the first three months of this year.
According to data compiled by the California Energy Commission, the combined number of battery electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles came to 102,507 in the ...Read more
Foreign automakers look to leverage strengths as Chinese brands dominate home market
Once attracting great numbers of sales and plenty of investment from global automakers, China is now increasingly being dominated by its own domestic manufacturers — leaving foreign rivals there mostly on the outside looking in.
General Motors Co. is losing money in China. Ford Motor Co. isn’t spending on capital expenditures there. Tesla ...Read more
Not even Elon Musk can doom the EV charger network
Elon Musk may not like to talk about this, but Tesla Inc. probably wouldn’t be one of the world’s biggest automakers today if not for a $465 million U.S. government loan at a make-or-break phase in the company’s development. Tesla went on to repay the loan nine years early on the way to briefly having a market value of more than $1 ...Read more
Waymo to begin testing driverless cars in the San Francisco Peninsula, South Bay in coming weeks
Drivers navigating traffic on El Camino Real in the Bay Area could soon have new cars to contend with, but no one to direct their road rage at: Driverless cars are coming to the Peninsula.
Autonomous vehicle company Waymo is set to begin testing its robotaxis along the Peninsula in the next few weeks, the first step in the company’s plans to ...Read more
Are Tesla Superchargers really open to other EVs in California? It's complicated
If you visited Elon Musk’s X last Saturday and clicked on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office account, you could watch him pull up to a Tesla charging station, step out of an electric Ford Mustang Mach-E, and announce that Tesla Superchargers were now open to non-Tesla EVs.
It’s a questionable assertion. Owners of electric Fords, Chevys, ...Read more