Free Republic

When Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and her staff of clowns bungled a four-day ramble in 2023 to show off the wonder of electric vehicles, the lasting impression would be the report of her advance team blocking an open charger so she wouldn’t have to wait for one. A federal report, however, reveals details that cast the entire charade in an even worse light. The Granholm tour was to take her from Charlotte, N.C., to Memphis, Tenn., and was intended to justify the billions of taxpayers’ dollars the Biden administration was pouring into green energy initiatives. The message was lost when...

Welcome to Germany’s green economic miracle. The year is 2025! Germany’s so-called Energiewende (transition to renewable energies) has had one unmistakable result: Germany now finds itself rapidly nearing the brink of a third world country where the power supply is no longer reliable and brownouts becoming more and more a daily routine. What’s happening is the opposite of what was once promised by the know-it-all climate wisemen: “Green energies would lead to a clean and prosperous country that would be the envy of the world. So much for their fantasies. The reality, as reported yesterday by Germany’s leading daily, Bild...

COVID-19: It’s all we talk about, on the cable news, and in our 6-foot socially-distanced prison walks around our silent neighborhoods. And in nearly every conversation comes the intellectual shrug, “who could have seen this coming?” A single phrase that neatly absolves governments and experts alike of any responsibility of predicting the pandemic and, if not being able to stop it, at least cushioning its blow........ But is it unfair to engage in so much 20-20 hindsight? After all, who could see COVID coming? Well, we did. We — as in nodes within the U.S. Government tasked with tracking critical...

Mazda is defying industry trends with surging sales of its gas-powered SUVs. Can it keep the momentum going without a fully electric vehicle in its lineup? While many automakers are racing toward electrification, Mazda is proving that there’s still room for gas-powered success. The Japanese automaker is set to break its U.S. sales record from 1986, with over 420,000 vehicles expected to be sold in 2024—a 16% increase from the previous year. Mazda’s president of North American operations, Tom Donnelly, credited the popularity of its compact crossovers and mid-size SUVs for this growth, with a target of 450,000 vehicles for...

Elon Musk@elonmuskThe whole Tesla senior team is investigating this matter right now. Will post more information as soon as we learn anything. We’ve never seen anything like this. ------- 🚨🇺🇸CYBERTRUCK THAT DETONATED OUTSIDE TRUMP HOTEL WAS PACKED WITH FIREWORK-STYLE MORTARS Investigators confirm the Cybertruck that exploded outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas was filled with “fireworks-style mortars.” Authorities are treating the incident as a potential act of terror and continue to investigate the motive behind the blast. Source: ABC

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - Police activity has shut down roads near Trump Tower on the Las Vegas Strip Wednesday morning. Las Vegas police shared that they are investigating a car fire at the entrance to Trump Tower, though the fire has been put out. Smoke could be seen coming from the tower in viewer video obtained by FOX5. Multiple police vehicles and ambulances were also seen in the area. Fashion Show Drive is currently closed from Las Vegas Boulevard to Sammy Davis Jr. Drive.

(Partially translated from French via Brave) Islamist terrorist attack in New Orleans: 10 dead, 35 wounded, including 2 policemen wounded by bullets; the suspect is Shamsud Din Jabbar, 42, he was carrying a flag of the’ Islamic State (MaJ) The suspect accused of having driven a truck into the crowd on Bourbon Street is Shamsud Din Jabbar, 42, according to a source from’ordering. The source said’he was carrying an ISIS flag in the truck. New Orleans City Council President Helena Moreno said the suspect in the incident that claimed many lives was wearing full military equipment and apparently was not...

Hertz is culling its portfolio of EVs in response to the sharp depreciation affecting some of its most popular models, including the Tesla Model 3. In what appears to be an aggressive effort to offload these vehicles, the rental giant has begun reaching out directly to customers currently renting them, offering an opportunity to purchase the cars outright on the spot. While we haven’t been able to find an announcement from Hertz directly regarding the scheme, a Reddit user recently shared a screenshot of an email they received from Hertz while renting a 2023 Tesla Model 3. In the email,...

The Biden administration has been an unmitigated disaster since day one, with an endless list of extreme failures. Its horrific handling of the COVID-19 pandemic caused immense harm with zero benefits. The Afghanistan withdrawal was a nightmare. Its incompetent handling of the economy led to runaway inflation and mass layoffs. It's been a catastrophe from start to finish, which is why Biden's vice president lost so soundly in the 2024 election. But with just more than a month to go for one of the worst administrations in US history, those "in charge" aren't done making dumb decisions yet. The New...

General Motors is selling its stake in a large-scale electric vehicle battery factory that company officials once promised would help make Michigan the “epicenter” of the EV industry. The Detroit automaker announced Monday that it has reached a non-binding agreement to sell its share of the nearly completed Ultium Cells LLC battery plant in Delta Township, just west of Lansing. When the deal concludes, the factory will be owned and operated by GM’s joint venture partner in the property, South Korea-based LG Energy Solution.

A groundbreaking lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas accuses financial giants BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street of colluding to manipulate the U.S. coal market. The case, spearheaded by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and supported by 10 other state attorneys general, alleges that these firms have used their substantial ownership stakes in major coal producers to suppress competition and artificially raise energy prices. The states listed as plaintiffs are” Texas Alabama Arkansas Indiana Iowa Kansas Missouri Montana Nebraska West Virginia Wyoming According to the 108-page complaint, BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street collectively...

The three largest American automakers, Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis, are, according to a recent New York Times report, planning a coordinated lobbying push to convince President-elect Donald Trump to maintain a suite of climate rules forcing electric vehicle purchases. The Thursday report—titled "Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles"—cites unnamed "lobbyists and officials from several car companies" who say manufacturers want Trump to keep the Biden administration's tailpipe emissions regulations, fuel economy standards, and generous tax credits for electric vehicle purchases. But at least one of the referenced automakers, the multinational automaker Stellantis, is pushing back...

KEY POINTS * A rebrand unveiled by classic British car brand Jaguar drew the ire of many on social media this week, as the company prepares to relaunch in 2026 with only electric models. * Jaguar, part of Tata Motors subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover, said the redesigns “preserved iconic symbols while taking a dramatic leap forward.” * Gary Jenkins, managing director of content agency No Brainer, said that if the automaker’s intention was to garner as much attention as possible, “they’ve certainly succeeded.”

...The RV industry saw it coming. Since 2020 it’s been working with CARB (the California Air Resources Board—creator of ACT) on how these regulations would affect the industry and RVers. Industry had hoped CARB would work in an exemption for recreational vehicles. That didn’t happen. The situation is further complicated by more than just the ACT regulation. It also involves a trio of regulations passed in the last two to three years: the ACT, the Omnibus Low NOx rule, and the Advanced Clean Fleets rule. Together, these regulations are designed to transition medium- and heavy-duty vehicles to zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs)...

Three days ago, word of an alleged whistleblower from ABC News emerged following the Trump-Harris debate who claimed, among other things, that Harris was given questions in advanced. While unverified – and should therefore be taken with a grain of salt for now, the whistleblower also claims there are three topics that were off-limits. President Biden’s health. Kamala’s tenure as Attorney General and District Attorney “her brother-in-law, Tony West, who faces allegations of embezzling billions of dollars in taxpayer funds and who may be involved in her administration if elections.” To that end, Edward R. Szall via Died Suddenly News...

During an interview with the Fox News Channel aired on Friday’s “Special Report,” Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) responded to arguments that electric vehicle adoption should be determined by consumer demand by saying “Okay, but can I also remind you that the companies didn’t like catalytic converters? They didn’t like seat belts.” And that while companies should see what consumers want, “we also need to make sure that we are ready for the vehicles of the future and global climate change is real.” Dingell said, [relevant exchange begins around 4:45] “We are not banning the production of internal combustion engines. People...

(The Center Square) – Medicare premiums and senior citizens' prescription drug costs have surged since passage of the $891 billion Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, according to data compiled by an advocate for seniors on the federal health care program. The legislation promised financial relief for millions of people with Medicare by expanding benefits, lowering drug costs, and strengthening Medicare for future seniors. Medicare Is for Seniors' "Misery Index," as the report is known, says prescription drug costs instead have risen nationally by 31%, leaving seniors with new expenses and fewer options. Those costs will rise again under the new...

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General Motors CEO Mary Barra said there are so many companies trying to sell EVs in China right now that it's driving a price war that isn't sustainable. Barra made the comments at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in San Francisco on Tuesday, responding to a question about the explosion of EV sales in China. More than 120 brands sold EVs in China in 2023 compared to around 60 in the US — putting into perspective just how much competition there is for GM and other manufacturers. The EV market in the country is oversaturated, Barra said Tuesday, echoing comments she's...

General Motors CEO Mary Barra is still committing to taking the automaker fully electric by 2035, even as third-quarter earnings show Electric Vehicles (EVs) are still not profitable. “That is the plan we’re still executing,” Barra told the New York Times of GM’s plans to fully transition to EVs by 2035 regardless of who is in the White House. Barra first made the commitment in 2021 after President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took office. The commitment, though, has not made EVs any more profitable.