U.S. shale industry braced for bankruptcies
Falling oil prices put groups with high costs under a severe financial strain.
Archive for year: 2015
Is Tesla’s Model S the beginning of the end for oil?
The Tesla Model-S is one of the most beautiful and interesting automobiles to ever get made. It might also be one of the most dangerous.
California’s Brown, de Leon abandon push for 50 percent cut in gasoline use
In a major setback for Gov. Jerry Brown’s climate agenda, the governor and legislative leaders on Wednesday abandoned an effort to require a 50 percent reduction in petroleum use in motor vehicles by 2030.
U.S. regulators’ biofuels plan to cost at the pump: industry study
The U.S. government’s proposal for biofuels use will hit consumers at the pump, according a study prepared for an oil group, just months after regulators refuted similar claims and as pressure mounts ahead of a deadline to finalize the plan.
2016 Chevrolet Volt’s electric range pegged at 53 Miles, says EPA
The redesigned 2016 Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid car delivers a 53-mile range in electric mode, according to the EPA, an improvement that is expected to be a major selling point for car shoppers.
Tesla, Consumer Reports and another moment for the elites
… it appears that Consumer Reports risked its strong brand persona of thoroughness, objectivity and fairness when it gave the P85D its highest-ever vehicle rating.
People living near 60 Freeway in Ontario breathe the worst air in SoCal
People in one neighborhood near the 60 Freeway in Ontario have a dubious new distinction: They are breathing the dirtiest air in Southern California, according to new measurements by pollution regulators.
Myths and facts about California’s Senate Bill 350
Opponents of the bill, led by profit-driven oil companies and their lobbyists, have mobilized an aggressive misinformation campaign designed to intimidate lawmakers and diminish public support.
The next generation Prius revealed: Can it compete in a Tesla world?
The fourth-generation Prius, revealed to media in Las Vegas on September 9 and expected in showrooms early next year, is how Toyota hopes to get its hybrid’s reputation (and market share) back.
Tesla has to compete for customers. So should fuels
Americans love their freedom to choose. Someone invents something, and competitors rush in with their own similar products to fight for a market that didn’t exist before.
This is what Tesla has done with the electric vehicle: The Model S is making cold-eyed journalists swoon, and the next few months are huge: The company will soon release its eagerly awaited crossover SUV, the Model X, followed by its more-eagerly awaited “affordable” sedan, the Model 3.
But Tesla shouldn’t get too comfortable, because the established auto-makers want to steal some of its quiet, zero-emission thunder with EVs of their own: In the past week, Toyota unveiled the new Prius, trying to assure everyone it can be cool as well as get 10 percent more miles out of a battery charge; Edmunds gave its blessing for the 2016 Chevy Volt; there was a possible sighting of the 2016 Nissan Leaf, the best-selling EV in the U.S.; and there were rumors that Mercedes-Benz is working on an electric car than has a range of 311 miles.
It’s a basic rule of economics: Competitive markets are good for consumers. Which is why drivers should be demanding fuel choice as well.
Gasoline is cheap now, but it doesn’t take much to cause a price spike: The threat of a supply constriction overseas; a refinery going down (and staying down, in California’s case); output quotas in OPEC nations. Anything can cause volatility in the global market. Businesses don’t like uncertainty, and it’s bad for consumers as well.
The only way to reduce the cost structure of fuels over the long term is to create fuel choice, something the United States has never known. To quote former Shell Oil president John Hofmeister: “We will never get past the volatility of oil until we get to alternatives to oil.”
We’re not advocating an end to fossil fuels. We just want fuel choice: Ethanol, methanol, CNG, LNG, biodiesel, hydrogen and, yes, electric batteries. Anything that reduces our dependence on oil is good for America.
If gasoline, the same fuel we’ve been stuck with for more than a century, is the superior fuel for vehicles, let it compete with other choices at the pump. If oil companies don’t want competition, what are they afraid of?
Related posts:
- Pearson’s CA growth proves there’s demand for E85
- Tesla approaches a moment of truth
- Oil is cheap, so why is gas sky-high in some places?
- Hofmeister: Oil companies actually hate high prices
