Toyota will invest over $8 billion in North Carolina, expanding its battery manufacturing capability. It will create additional 3,000 jobs and allow Toyota to significantly expand its production of batteries for EVs and for Plug-in Hybrid vehicles. Estimates are that by 2030 that plant will be able to manufacture around 600,000 EV battery packs every year. Considering that Toyota has made large bets on hydrogen powered vehicles, and that it continues to improve hydrogen technology, it speaks to its financial prowess that it can invest billions into EV technology that it plans to make obsolete with its hydrogen cars. But then, given Toyota’s position in the automotive industry, it is not surprising that it can invest in two very different technologies simultaneously. It projects yearly profits at 26 billion dollars. Even though Toyota currently offers only two purely electric vehicles - bZ4X SUV and its twin, the Lexus RZ, it also offers plenty of hybrids and plug-in hybrids tha ... read more

Yes, you heard it right, Tesla service at independent auto repair shops. We can now provide Tesla owners not only with new OE tires, but also wheel alignment, brake pads replacement, and suspension work. Tesla finally recognized that the long wait times at the Tesla service centers are not going away, particularly when they are ramping up production at the Texas Giga Factory. So for the first time independent auto repair shops are getting access to Tesla OE parts, and we are also getting more technical information flow. Naturally independent shops  can also provide Michelin OE Tesla tires, as well as Tesla tires from Continental and other well-known brand names. These tires have the special foam inserts to keep the ride quiet. Naturally along with new tires we can provide wheel alignment for Tesla vehicles. We anticipate that over time Tesla will provide more technical information, more parts, and will rely on independent auto repair shops to provide the services that Tesla vehi ... read more

About 4 months ago we noticed that the parking lot at the Tesla factory in Fremont, CA was full of Tesla vehicles - something we never noticed before. In January Tesla lowered prices of their vehicles amid the news that they were not selling as briskly as they used to. That was good news for consumers. Now for the latest bad news - in Q4 2022 fuel expense to drive 100 miles in a typical electric vehicle cost more than driving a typical internal combustion engine car. Anderson Economic Group( AEG) reported that in Q4 2022 typical mid-priced internal combustion engine vehicle drivers paid $11.29 for fuel to drive 100 miles. That was 31 cents cheaper than mid-priced electric vehicle drivers had to pay to travel 100 miles - if they charged at home. If the EV drivers charged their vehicles at a commercial facility, they paid $3 more per 100 miles. With continuing inflation, the cost of electricity is up, while the seasonal drop in demand for gasoline has caused the prices to come down ... read more

A while back we wrote about California’s plan to ban sale of internal combustion engine vehicles by 2035. Well… Wyoming legislators introduced a resolution to ban sale of electric vehicles by 2035. Sponsors mentioned that there is no infrastructure in the state to support electric vehicles, and that electric vehicles do not contribute to state’s economy – whereas fossil fuels are a major industry in Wyoming. One of the sponsors pointed out that his goal was not to ban electric vehicles, but rather to bring attention to other state governments banning gasoline powered cars. Wyoming is known for its laissez-faire attitude and free market inclinations. Wyoming government is one of the few state governments that are truly fiscally conservative and runs a budget surplus, even though Wyoming does not collect state individual income tax or state corporate tax. The resolution is unlikely to become a law but it did bring attention to the heavy handed behavior of many ... read more

Electric Vehicles - Challenges Ahead   Since California Governor Newsome mandated that by 2035 all new cars and passenger trucks sold in California are to be zero-emission vehicles, we are facing a few challenges.    First of all, no vehicle is “zero emissions” – the emissions just happen to occur far away from California towns and cities – in somebody else’s backyard.    Electric vehicles, as the name implies, require electricity. Most of our electric energy is generated by burning fossil fuels. There is about 30% loss (energy value of the fuel vs generated electricity) during generation of electricity in a power plant. Then electricity has to be sent across vast distances from power plants to the end users – according to the Energy Information Administration, that’s additional 9% power loss for California. And most of the electricity comes from fossil fuels ... read more