More and more Ohio teenagers wait until their 18th birthday to get their driver’s license, and the state plans to spend $4.5 million in taxpayer funds to try and change that.
Gov. Mike DeWine announced 34 grants through the Creating Opportunities for Driver Education program to increase driver training capacity at nearly 100 locations around the state.
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The Mozilla Foundation recently investigated the privacy practices of 25 major car brands through its ongoing series, *Privacy Not Included. The research uncovered the automotive industry as the worst category the group has looked into yet when it comes to protecting consumer privacy. Across all manufacturers reviewed, excessive collection and misuse of personal data was rampant, with car brands systematically ignoring driver consent. Vehicles now contain numerous sensors and constant connectivity, enabling persistent tracking of location, driving habits, in-car activities, and more. Data collected encompasses highly sensitive details like medical history, sexual activity, and music taste. Car manufacturers claim to use this trove of information internally for purposes like research and marketing. However, most also admit to sharing or selling data to third parties such as data brokers. Despite industry principles advocating “data minimization” and “choice,” the report claims car companies act in blatant disregard of users’ privacy. Compounding the risks, an alarming majority of brands had a history of security failures, with hacks and breaches exposing driver data. The researchers investigating the privacy practices of auto makers were unable to confirm even basic functions like full encryption of personal information on vehicles. The most disturbing findings the report lists…
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Governor Tony Evers turned to his veto pen once again last week, this time killing consumer protection bills that interfered with his far-left climate change agenda, according to the state’s largest business lobby.
The Democrat vetoed Assembly Bills 141 and 142, and Senate Bill 49, among 10 Republican-led bills killed by a governor who has used the state’s powerful veto pen more liberally than any governor in Badger State history.
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Arizona Free Enterprise Club released a new report criticizing the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) proposed plan for the Prop. 400 half-cent tax.
The Prop. 400 half-cent tax, which started in 1985 to pay for public transit and then light rail in Maricopa County, faces strong opposition every time it comes up for renewal.
The report said the MAG’s proposal fails to consider the permanent transformation of society due to COVID-19, which significantly reduced the number of workers using public transit as people shifted to working from home and remained there.
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In a bid to make electric vehicle (EV) prices more affordable, carmakers are switching to iron-based batteries that are weaker and more reliant on Chinese supply chains, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
Transitioning to lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery cells ultimately reduces the effective range of electric vehicles compared to more advanced cobalt and nickel-based cells, according to the WSJ. LFP cells, which are roughly 30% cheaper than their more effective counterparts, are more reliant on Chinese supplies, limiting carmakers’ ability to access tax breaks and other subsidies offered under the Inflation Reduction Act.
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A homeless encampment in the Phillips neighborhood of Minneapolis was cleared Wednesday, only to return a few days later.
Residents in the neighborhood told Alpha News that the camp moved near the intersection of 29th Street and Bloomington Avenue. It was previously located near 29th Street and 14th Avenue.
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The next time you’re in traffic, stop and look at the cars surrounding you. If on a city street, also look at the cars passing you as they go in the opposite direction. In a sense it’s fascinating.
Doing this the other day on the Key Bridge (it connects Washington, D.C. and Arlington, VA), the variety of cars was really something. Mostly foreign cars. Lots of Mercedes and BMWs, numerous Toyota, Honda and Nissan vehicles, and somewhat surprisingly, countless Kia and Hyundai models. About the surprise expressed, it’s remarkable how quickly the twin Korean brands have built enormous market share in the world’s greatest car market.
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Buying a used car in the Midwest got a little more affordable in May over the previous month.
The good news is that year-over-year price increases in used vehicles in May dropped seven percentage points from the year-over-year April price increases, from April’s 23.9% to May’s 16.9%. The bad news is a used car and truck in May 2022 still cost 16.9% more than a comparable used vehicle cost in May 2021.
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Renting out cars on Turo allowed Bill Huffhine of Rochester Hills to retire early.
But a bill package in the Michigan House could “triple-tax” the emerging peer-to-peer car-sharing industry, Huffhine said, and squash the thin margins that let him accelerate a one-vehicle side-hustle in 2018 into a 20-vehicle fleet.
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The theft of catalytic converters has become a big problem in Arizona, and State Rep. Diego Espinoza (D-Tolleson) is sponsoring legislation to expand the law against it. Current law only prohibits buying or selling a used catalytic converter outside of regular transactions; HB 2652 goes beyond that to make it illegal to possess, solicit, or advertise a used catalytic converter outside of regular transactions. It would also mandate reporting sales to DPS and tracking.
HB 2652 looks very likely to pass, as 49 members of the House voted for it and only 10 Republicans voted against it. It passed the Senate Committee on Transportation and Technology 9-0, and is now headed for the Senate Rules Committee.
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After gradually reducing requirements for automobiles to pass a mechanic’s inspection before obtaining a registration, a bill in the Missouri state legislature would eventually end the program.
Currently, motor vehicles with more than 150,000 miles and 10 years from their manufacturing model year must pass a biennial safety inspection. House Bill 2499, sponsored by Rep. J. Eggleston, R-Maysville, changes the law to exempt motor vehicles with less than 150,000 miles and manufactured after Jan. 1, 2012.
During testimony on Wednesday before the House Downsizing State Government Committee, Eggleston said legislators in 2019 considered eliminating the inspection program but compromised instead and loosened requirements.
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More than 80 charging outlets for electric vehicles will be installed across Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced last week.
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It’s safe to say that when Ohio Governor Mike DeWine appointed his “Governor’s Advisory Committee on Transportation” to develop solutions for paying for road and bridge repairs, citizens were hoping they’d come up was some creative answers. Instead, the committee reached a consensus last week that the primary means by which road repairs would need to be funded would be through raising gas taxes. During a meeting with the Canton Repository Editorial Board, Governor DeWine made it clear that he would be taking their advice. He noted that not only was raising the gas taxes essential to fixing the problem but that he couldn’t put a number on how high the hike would be. When asked how much the raise could be per gallon, he stated: Well I’m not going to talk about it yet. I’m not going to put a number on it…Just to maintain status quo, we’ve got to come up with $1.5 billion a year. So how we do that? I’ve been in discussions with the members of the leadership of the legislature of how to do that. Just doing the numbers, significant amount of that has to come from the gas tax. Many advocates note that there will never…
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Thursday, December 20th, Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, gave his first public response to Governor John Kasich’s multiple attempts to reach him in the hope of saving the Lordstown Assembly complex in Warren, Ohio. On November 26th, General Motors announced that the 6.2 million square foot auto manufacturing facility, along with four additional plants nationwide, will be closing in 2019. The plant currently employs over 1,500 Ohioans who would all be laid off, should the factory cease operations. Following the decision, a coalition of union leaders, factory workers, and community members, known as Drive it Home, formed almost immediately to challenge the move. In 1998, when GM announced plans the close the plant, a similar coalition called Bring it Home successfully arranged for GM to keep the plant open, albeit at a more modest production level. While many are hopeful that GM can be convinced once again, in a November 29th statement (copied below) Governor Kasich announced that he, the GM Team, and JobsOhio would “explore alternatives” for the plant’s future, implying that GM was not likely to reopen the plant and if the plant had a future, it would be with another company. In a December 7th teaser for a full segment…
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