Jameson Dow

The EPA has finalized its proposed 2027-2032 emissions rule, which is expected to result in a large increase in zero emission vehicle sales as vehicle exhaust limits rise rapidly through the end of the decade, on top of a separate rule yesterday from DoE about EV mpg-equivalents. Both rules were softened from their original proposals just like automakers asked for, but the largest automaker lobbyist is still complaining.

Honda invited us out to its US R&D Center in Torrance, California to drive the new fuel cell plug-in hybrid version of the CR-V, which gets released later this year. Is this first-ever hybrid between a battery EV and fuel cell EV the future of electric cars?

Fisker has reportedly hired “restructuring advisers to assist with a possible bankruptcy filing,” according to the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.

Update: Fisker responded with a statement, included below.

Waymo has announced that it will start offering fully autonomous ride-hailing services to the general public in Los Angeles starting tomorrow, March 14th, and that Austin, Texas will open up “later this year.”

Rivian’s newly-unveiled R2 will make use of a heat pump to help with efficiency in cold weather, which should be a boon to those in the Northern parts of North America, and in Europe.

The Biden Administration has released the first-ever strategy document detailing its plan to target specific freight corridors for infrastructure improvement, with the intent of helping to reach its goal of 100% zero-emission new truck sales by 2040.

Tesla has put up a webpage allowing TSLA shareholders to register for early Cybertruck delivery, as long as they fit certain criteria. It could give us a hint as to how Cybertruck deliveries are going.

Rivian launched the much-anticipated R2 – and the surprise R3 – on Thursday, but at the time we only saw the cars on stage, in isolation. Now video has emerged showing these cars driving on public roads, next to other cars, offering a better visual size comparison, and a look at the cars in motion in the sunlight.

Rivian unveiled the R2 – and the surprise R3 – yesterday, and after getting back and having some time to digest the event, I’m here to talk about a lot of smaller details that I learned which didn’t get mentioned on the livestream.

Ford is updating the E-Transit with a larger 89kWh battery, increasing range by roughly 30% depending on configuration, and faster charging on both DC and AC.

Hyundai has updated its Korean website with details about the expected refresh of its popular Ioniq 5 EV, with only minor changes from the original design but a lot of new features on the inside.

We got the chance to drive the new 2024 ID.4 and found an impressive amount of changes from last model year – at least on the 82kWh version.

A new 38 port electric truck charging depot and maintenance hub is coming online to service Southern California’s ports and logistics centers, along with 50 new electric trucks from Volvo and Daimler.

Type One energy has announced its intention to use a retired TVA coal plant site, the Bull Run Fossil Plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, as the site for a prototype fusion reactor with the hope to eventually commercialize fusion power – and maybe even find a neat way to use old EV batteries to help power the process.

Rivian’s new app update has been datamined, leaking some details about how the upcoming NACS connector will look and how it will interface with Tesla’s charging networks.

The Dawn Project, a group that runs ads attacking Tesla’s full self-driving system, has received a letter from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) demanding that it cease using its logo in advertising, which Dawn Project did in contravention of US federal law in its Super Bowl ad aired this weekend.

The EPA is currently finalizing new rules to limit truck emissions, and a group of manufacturers including Ford, Cummins, BorgWarner and Eaton has broken with the industry to support the upcoming “Phase 3” heavy duty emissions rules, while the rest of the industry, led by Volvo and Daimler, continues to lobby against them.

Mercedes invited us out to drive the new eSprinter, the electric version of Mercedes’ cargo van, and if there’s one thing I want you to understand about it is: it’s a van, but it’s electric.

Consumer Reports is out with its annual owner satisfaction survey, showing Rivian to be far and away the most-loved car brand according to owners. The rating comes soon after a couple of Consumer Reports’ reviewers strangely listed the R1S as one of their “least favorite cars we tested in 2023.”

Polestar’s online configurator is no longer accepting new custom Polestar 2 orders, and Polestar says that the reason is because demand is too high for its best-selling vehicle.

Tesla Cybertrucks are now being delivered without aerodynamic wheel covers installed, due to the covers causing excessive wear and tear to tires. Tesla is currently redesigning the covers, with a fix coming soon™.

California hit a new record last year with 21.4% of new cars being all-electric, and once again Tesla led the pack with the two best-selling cars in the state, the Tesla Model Y and Tesla Model 3. But Toyota narrowly maintained its leadership as the top-selling brand in the state, with Tesla nipping at its heels.

Rivian has filed plans for a “global product launch” on March 7th at its new flagship store in Laguna Beach, and documents reveal that the launch is of its much-anticipated smaller, more affordable R2 platform.

“Toyota” announced a new eco-conscious AI copilot at the DC Auto Show yesterday, which promises to reduce environmental impact by up to 10% – but it turns out the whole thing was a prank, and the prank makes a real point about Toyota’s tendency towards greenwashing.