News Opinion (Page 109)

The transportation bills being considered by the Senate and House are operating in different universes, with the Senate following the usual bi-partisan process to create good transportation policy, and the Republican-dominated House larding their bill with extreme right wing ideology that would doom mass transit systems, gut environmental review processes, and fundamentally change transportation system funding in a bad way.

Plan early to attend Telematics Detroit 2012 scheduled for June 6-7, because it’s the largest and most influential business focused conference for the entire telematics ecosystem, with over 1500 executive attendees and over 100 industry pioneer speakers.

While Bob Lutz writes ranting op-ed pieces at Forbes against so-called, right-wing Volt bashers, the auto industry sits there like a bump on a log, still behind in achieving the weight reductions via aluminum body structures necessary to make both EVs and IC engine cars fully efficient.

There is no denying the electric car, EV is a fundamental paradigm shift in an auto industry based on an unsustainable business model. The trick is to see how carmakers will make the jump successfully.

Mark Hulbert, founder of Hulbert Financial Digest, tracks more than 160 financial newsletters; and one of them involves Argus Research, which shows insiders selling at a ratio not seen since last summer’s sell-off. Should this be a cautionary note for auto sector stocks, too?

The other day we noted that some are comparing sales between the Toyota Prius V vs Chevy Volt, and deciding the Volt is coming up short even though there are a ream of differences between the Prius V and the Volt. The Prius that's most similar to the Volt is the Toyota Prius Plug-in, but that car has yet to go on sale meaning we don't know how it will fare in the public versus the Volt.

We can finally do away with the “range anxiety” non-sense over used by anxious carmakers caught unprepared after the last downturn. Price is what interests electric car buyers, range is secondary.

Defying the global economic recession, the Paris Retromobile and Arizona Auction Week close their doors bringing the first astronomical numbers. We can only imagine how some companies would dream of seeing such numbers in their balance sheets.

The recent announcement of the 2013 Tesla Model X did not shelter Tesla Motors, Inc. (Nasdaq:TSLA) stock from today’s early morning downdraft, but a late morning recovery seems to be in process. Note the long bottoming tail on that latest price bar of the updated daily chart.

The solutions we seek depend on the problem being solved, electric cars seem to largely be meant to solve environmental problems, but there are many other transportation problems to solve.

Four major events are on the social agendas of many Detroiters during winter: The North American International Auto Show, the Super Bowl, the annual SI Swimsuit Issue, and the Detroit Autorama featuring the Ridler Award, which opens Feb. 24th and runs through Sunday, Feb. 26th.

There were many automakers with smart and funny commercials on Super Bowl Sunday. Kia managed to be a cut above the rest with its commercial featuring the Motley Crue, Chuck Liddell, and Adriana Lima.

Fiat had the best Super Bowl commercial this year, compared to what other automaker showcased. The Fiat 500 commercial was smart, funny, sexy, and had perfect timing and length in my opinion.

The Jaguar Concept C-X75 will be a production vehicle and hints at the route Jaguar wants to take.

Revising upward its full-year earnings target, Toyota Motor Corp. (ADR: TM) demonstrated unexpected optimism about the remainder of the fiscal year; and the market’s reaction tends to agree.

If the recent article at Motley Fool is accurate, then look for lithium prices to rise; but you don’t have take their word for it. Simply look at the trend of the exchange traded fund for lithium stocks, which show the train has already left the station.

The third annual ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit will be held at the Gaylord Convention Center, February 27 - 29, 2012 in Washington, D.C. Included by invitation will be key players in the split-cycle engine technology.

Despite NADA's recent opposition to the proposed 54.5 mpg standards by 2025, Chrysler-Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne told the NADA convention in Las Vegas that the auto industry will still need to meet it; and can do so, including using natural-gas as a fuel.

If you haven't heard, President Barack Obama's 2005 Chrysler 300C went up for sale on an eBay auction. When the auction closed, surprisingly the car did not sell. You might think there are lots of people who would be interested in car Obama had driven. However, I think there are many reasons why the car could not find a buyer.

The price of gasoline can affect the outcome of the 2012 elections, the success or failure of alternatively fueled vehicles like electric cars, and the success or failure of efforts to mitigate climate change and other environmental goals.

The laudable goal, developing a gasoline powered car with 100 miles/gallon fuel efficiency, is being offered a $1 billion government prize as incentive, and would keep the U.S. addicted to oil.

Jeremy Clarkson, host of Top Gear, has topped a poll of British celebrities people would least like to share a driving adventure with. At least according to research done by Continental Tires.

In a TorqueNews exclusive interview, Steve Hellman, president of EOS Energy Storage, a fairly new entity in the grid storage arena with a viable zinc-air battery technology, is also proposing zinc-air as a viable solution to the four limitations that shackle today’s electrification of the automobile. Thus, the company is looking for strategic partners in 2012.

Stanford University researchers unveiled today theoretical results on a system for wirelessly charging, at up to 97% efficiency, electric cars as they drive down the road.

Axion Power International, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: AXPW) the developer of advanced lead­carbon PbC® batteries and energy storage systems, today announced that will offer shares of common stock for gross proceeds up to $10 million.

Hyundai today released additional details regarding its Lifetime Hybrid Battery Replacement Guarantee. Hyundai's one stipulation which it choose to omit, was quite an important one.

The Center for Automotive Research (CAR) today announced the launch of the Coalition of Automotive Lightweighting Materials (CALM) to support efforts by auto manufacturers to aggressively down-weight vehicles to improve performance, fuel economy and safety.

According to the NRDC, House Speaker Boehner wants to steer America onto a disastrous transportation policy path, that makes America's energy security and environmental problems worse, is financially dangerous, and leaves the nation's highway system subject to political manipulation akin to taking a road to nowhere.

With a double bottom already in place at the $19 area, General Motors (NYSE: GM) stock broke above a key technical downtrend line, but barely. It now seems GM stock needs a boost to higher ground to make traders believe that double bottom won’t get tested again.

The more electric car charging stations exist, the more useful will be electric cars, so long as the fees to use charging stations make sense.