New York Times (August 11)
“In a welcome development for the planet, the cars on American streets are becoming much more climate-friendly much sooner than many had expected. Consumers are increasingly buying fuel-efficient hybrid and electric vehicles thanks to breakthrough innovations and supportive government policies…. Increased fuel efficiency helped reduce carbon dioxide emissions from passengers cars by 16 percent from 2005 to 2012.”
Tags: Breakthrough, Cars, Climate-friendly, CO2, Consumers, Emissions, EVs, Fuel efficiency, Fuel-efficient, Government policies, HEVs, Innovations, Planet
The Economist (October 24)
There’s no end in sight to Europe’s “carmaking crisis.” Sales have fallen for 5 straight years in the EU. In September, year-on-year sales were down 11% across the EU, 18% in France, 26% in Italy and 37% in Spain. “Britain was the only significant market to enjoy a small rise.” With production capacity of 17 million cars a year, and current demand around 13 million units, “the overcapacity is glaring.”
Tags: Automakers, Cars, Crisis, EU, France, Italy, Overcapacity, Spain, UK
The Economist (March 24)
In China, “the desperate scramble for parking spots has been added to the problems of chronic congestion, rising petrol prices and choking pollution.” There just aren’t enough spaces. Scuffles and even protests are arising. In Beijing, things are particularly tight. With 5 million cars and only 740,000 parking spaces, the city attempted to deal with the problem by quadrupling parking fees overnight.
In China, “the desperate scramble for parking spots has been added to the problems of chronic congestion, rising petrol prices and choking pollution.” There just aren’t enough spaces. Scuffles and even protests are arising. In Beijing, things are particularly tight. With 5 million cars and only 740,000 parking spaces, the city attempted to deal with the problem by quadrupling parking fees overnight.
LA Times (December 11)
Moving “back to an electric future for cars” may take a decade, but it could again spell the end of smog, which arose with gasoline-powered cars. “In 1900, more battery-powered electric cars ran on the streets of New York City than cars with internal combustion engines…. But the arrival in 1908 of Henry Ford’s Model T turned the gasoline-powered car into an affordable mass-market product and made the electric car a historical curiosity.”
Tags: Cars, Electric, Gas, Henry Ford, Smog
