Transportation
Today’s Headlines – 4/7/11
Last night’s meeting between Speaker Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Reid failed to produce a budget deal. (The Hill) The House will vote today on yet another one-week stop measure with $12 billion in cuts, despite opposition from President Obama and Democrats. (The Hill) Representative Paul Ryan’s proposed 2012 budget would cut transportation funding by [...]
Continue reading...Will the Tea Party unplug the car?
6 April 2011 – 11:29 am PDT
Comments Off
The Tea Party should embrace US foreign oil independence Do plug-in cars offer enough bang for the buck? What is the Tea Party? As an Independent, anti-incumbent voter for almost 2 decades, my politics are pretty simple. Consequently, something like the Tea Party just hasn’t been on my radar. Nevertheless, the Tea Party has become [...]
Continue reading...Today’s Headlines – 4/6/11
6 April 2011 – 7:23 am PDT
Comments Off
President Obama and Congressional leaders made no progress in budget talks yesterday, while Speaker Boehner said Democrats would “win” in a shutdown. (WP, Politico) The ongoing spending debate has fueled doubt about financing for a new transportation bill. (NYT) Rising gas prices are starting to hinder the fragile economic recovery. (AP) Twenty-two Republican senators, including [...]
Continue reading...Even more problems for hybrid buyers looming?
5 April 2011 – 10:39 am PDT
Comments Off
Fewer hybrids and higher gas prices Is the Japanese situation quietly getting worse? Tesla Motors could one day be worth $70 a share? At least that’s the long term view of Morgan Stanley, as long as gas prices remain high and continue to rise, and battery costs decline significantly and regularly over the next 15 [...]
Continue reading...Efficiency: Ford’s kaizen-like focus paying off
4 April 2011 – 10:35 am PDT
Comments Off
Ford's hybrid program is the next benchmark of success Ford’s $26 million man comes through Not long after replacing Bill Ford Jr. as the CEO of Ford, Alan Mulally gave the keynote speech to the automotive press at the LA Auto Show. There Mulally covered current auto industry trends while providing a roadmap for Ford’s [...]
Continue reading...Newspaper editorial boards urge action on repairing bridges
4 April 2011 – 9:19 am PDT
Comments Off
Pittsburgh Bridge Originally uploaded by mikeyexists to Flickr. In the days since our comprehensive bridge report (The Fix We’re In For) was released, at least one governor has promised action and several newspaper editorials have urged their states to prioritize repair and address the growing backlog of deficient bridges. In Pennsylvania, with the worst bridges [...]
Continue reading...Today’s Headlines – 4/4/11
4 April 2011 – 8:09 am PDT
Comments Off
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett must seeks creative ways to finance bridge repair, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorialized. (Post-Gazette) Louisiana’s largest newspaper also weighed in on bridges, urging action on safety and repair. (News Orleans Times-Picayune) President Obama officially kicked off his 2012 re-election bid with a video announcement to supporters. (National Journal) The Hill identified ten [...]
Continue reading...Plug-in hybrids, like large trucks, only for America?
1 April 2011 – 2:25 pm PDT
Comments Off
Is a plug + an engine just not cost-effective? Do pure battery electric cars have a scalable advantage? When it comes to battery-powered technologies, I’m a big fan of hybrid cars. They simply offer the most bang for the buck and; therefore, the greatest market penetration. Considering the impact of the 2 decade+ legacy effect [...]
Continue reading...Are the Feds a good driver of US energy independence?
1 April 2011 – 12:18 pm PDT
Comments Off
Are you making America better? Is the DOE technologically incompetent? Over the last few days there has been a good bit of press regarding the General Accountability Office’s assessment of the Department of Energy’s monitoring of the $25 billion Advanced Technology Vehicle loan program – a program created to help automakers become more fuel efficient. [...]
Continue reading...Hybrid buyers – Toyota hybrid prices set to rise in May
1 April 2011 – 9:04 am PDT
Comments Off
Prius prices set to increase 1.2 – 2.2 percent hybrid price increases set for Spring Toyota is increasing the prices of all its vehicles heading into a summer, a relatively normal practice for automakers, by 1.2 – 2.2 percent on all vehicles. As a result, in May the base price for a Prius will increase [...]
Continue reading...
7 April 2011 – 7:44 am PDT
Comments Off