Debt ceiling negotiations could lead to deeper transportation cuts. (Streetsblog Capitol Hill) Aiming to quell criticism, the California State Senate approved an overhaul to state’s high-speed rail authority. (Sacramento Bee) Senator Max Baucus called for a swift federal response to Montana’s flooded roads and bridges. (Yellowstone Public Radio) Reducing dependence on foreign oil and increasing [...]
Continue reading...1 June 2011 10:09 am PST
Comments Off
Can the Leaf overcome its range? Why should you buy a Leaf? So, a new Nissan Leaf ad campaign is going to attack the Chevy Volt because it still uses some gasoline. Why? Based on the comments to a MotorTrend article regarding these ads, these new Leaf ads could be counter-productive. Moreover, is Nissan only [...]
Continue reading...1 June 2011 9:48 am PST
Comments Off
Consider a couple of eye-popping statistics: From 2004-2008, states spent 57 percent of available highway dollars to add a little over 1 percent to our already vast highway network, and only 43 percent to maintain the other 99 percent of highway lanes. Keeping our existing highway network in “good†condition would require spending $43 billion [...]
Continue reading...1 June 2011 9:36 am PST
Comments Off
Consider a couple of eye-popping statistics: From 2004-2008, states spent 57 percent of available highway dollars to add a little over 1 percent to our already vast highway network, and only 43 percent to maintain the other 99 percent of highway lanes. Keeping our existing highway network in “good†condition would require spending $43 billion [...]
Continue reading...1 June 2011 8:00 am PST
Comments Off
Key Senate Republican Jim Inhofe predicted that Congress will fall short of passing a six-year transportation bill. (Tulsa World) Speaker John Boehner pushed President Obama on spending cuts after the House voted down a debt limit increase. (The Hill) Florida Governor Rick Scott included federal Recovery Act dollars in his state budget, despite bashing the [...]
Continue reading...31 May 2011 2:17 pm PST
Comments Off
Shop around. No tax credit, no Volt purchase! Some dealerships taking plug-in tax credits for themselves? Updated 15:46 – Sometimes it’s hard to buy into supply and demand economics. It’s even worse when supply and demand fundamentals favor car dealerships that have rigged the financing game to squeeze every bit of extra money out of [...]
Continue reading...31 May 2011 12:53 pm PST
Comments Off
Shop around. No tax credit, no Volt purchase! Some dealerships taking plug-in tax credits for themselves Sometimes it’s hard to buy into supply and demand economics. It’s even worse when supply and demand fundamentals favor car dealerships that have rigged the financing game to squeeze every bit of extra money out of typically unsuspecting car [...]
Continue reading...31 May 2011 11:15 am PST
Comments Off
Challenging the economics of hybrids and the psychology of electrification Small cars are hot, or at least a lot hotter compared to historical norms. With high rent and gas prices coupled with low housing prices and wages, the cheaper costs of small cars are beginning to make financial sense. However, while hybrid cars also resonate [...]
Continue reading...31 May 2011 8:27 am PST
Comments Off
A freight industry group hailed the Senate transportation bill outline as an “encouraging development.” (Transport Topics) The House today is expected to vote — and reject — a measure to raise the U.S. debt ceiling, with Republicans calling for deeper spending cuts. (Washington Post) Despite heightening domestic criticism, Spanish trade officials are interested in helping [...]
Continue reading...27 May 2011 11:35 am PST
Comments Off
Jackson, Mississippi Credit: Dr. Scott Crawford. This week’s release of Dangerous by Design has prompted several newspapers to editorialize in favor of tough pedestrian safety measures that address the urgency of the 47,000 killed and 688,000 injured on unsafe streets between 2000 and 2009. The report generated ample coverage in Florida, home to the nation’s four [...]
Continue reading...
2 June 2011 8:41 am PST
Comments Off