Tag Archives: electric-cars

Tesla-Free At Last

Posted on May 6, 2025 by jlredford

I first leased a Tesla Model 3 in Dec 2019. It was the fastest and smoothest car I had ever driven! It was so quiet and had so much zip. Its interior was elegantly sparse – it had just a … Continue reading →

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What Has the US EV Tax Credit Cost?

Posted on January 19, 2020 by jlredford

Last month the US EV tax credit expired completely for Tesla. I happened to get my Model 3 lease just under the wire, and actually saved something. The dealership was really busy in the credit’s last few days!  The credit … Continue reading →

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GM Abandons Green Cars, And Blue Staters

Posted on November 20, 2019 by jlredford

I’ve been a pretty satisfied customer of the Chevy Volt for three years now.  It’s a plug-in hybrid, meaning that it will go for about 50 miles on battery power and then switch over to a gas engine.   It’s quiet, … Continue reading →

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Peak Gas Cars Are Already Past

Posted on January 10, 2019 by jlredford

Here’s an extraordinary thing – the peak sales of gasoline-powered cars in the US was in 2016: This includes straight passenger cars, SUVs, and pickups, which are all lumped together as Light Vehicles. The data comes from the Bureau of … Continue reading →

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Google Is Getting Creepy

Posted on March 27, 2018 by jlredford

Facebook has always been creepy, of course, with its reliance on selling your personality to advertisers.  People are shocked, shocked, that this would be used for political ends by Cambridge Analytica and other manipulators, but that’s basic to what they … Continue reading →

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The Auto Industry Does Its Bit

Posted on January 11, 2017 by jlredford

I recently leased a 2017 Chevy Volt.   It’s a nice mid-range car with good interior space, a lot of zip, and is really quiet.   It’s even rather stylish: And it gets 75 miles per gallon in terms of CO2 emissions, … Continue reading →

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Solectria – Achieving Goals By Lowering Them

Posted on July 28, 2014 by jlredford

A few days ago some good news finally came to a guy who has been trying to save the world for a very long time.   James Worden is the founder of the Massachusetts company Solectria Renewables, and it just got  … Continue reading →

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Why Did Car Companies Cave on CAFE?

Posted on October 13, 2012 by jlredford

Car companies have been complaining about fuel economy standards ever since they began back in the 1970s.  All through the 80s, 90s and Zips they’ve managed to block increases in the standards, by spreading Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt about their … Continue reading →

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Boston Power becomes Beijing Power

Posted on October 20, 2011 by jlredford

Well here’s a depressing story – a local lithium-ion battery startup, Boston Power, has recently been bought out by Chinese investors and the Chinese government, and will be moving most of its R&D operations to Beijing.  The American execs are … Continue reading →

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Auto Automobiles

Posted on October 14, 2011 by jlredford

The consistently interesting Brian Hayes has a column in the latest issue of American Scientist speculating on the consequences of true self-driving automobiles.  He makes a number of valuable points: For liability reasons, they’ll only be present in large numbers … Continue reading →

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