Tesla Supercharger site in Vacaville, California, before expansion [photo: George Parrott]Enlarge PhotoPredictions range all over the map on when electric-car sales are going to take off, depending on whether you're talking to a Wall Street bull or bear, what happens to gas prices, and even who's in office. With that in mind, we thought we'd ask our Twitter followers with an interest in electric cars how soon they think electric cars might become mainstream. Perhaps predictably, a majority of participants thought that electric cars are likely to come faster than most people think. LEARN MORE: Plug-in electric car sales fall in Jan after year-end surge Only a little more than a quarter of poll respondents thought electric-car adoption may lag most people's expectations by a little or a lot. In large part, whether you think electric cars are coming faster or more slowly than most people think depends on how global your outlook may be. If you're talking to people who look at … [Read more...] about Your predictions for electric-car growth: Twitter poll results
How you could be BANNED from driving and fined up to £1,000 for posting a selfie on Instagram or Twitter
YOUNG British drivers are risking an instant ban and a hefty fine by snapping selfies while behind the wheel and uploading them to social media. More than 31,000 motorists have posted photos on Instagram under #drivingselfie - and thousands more appear on Twitter and Snapchat. But by keeping their social media following updated on their driving habits, motorists now face immediate disqualification. If you're caught within the first two years of passing your test, you'll have your licence taken off you. And even for drivers who are outside of this time limit, the penalty is quite severe. Simply touching the screen on your smartphone while driving can land you with six penalty points and a £200 fine, so trying to take a picture will surely see you penalised. And if you happen to get caught twice, you'll be be hit with a ban along with a second fine. In some serious cases that go to court, just being pulled over once is enough for a ban and a £1,000 fine. … [Read more...] about How you could be BANNED from driving and fined up to £1,000 for posting a selfie on Instagram or Twitter
‘Made me sick’: Twitter outraged after ‘tasteless’ Dodge Super Bowl ad uses MLK speech to sell trucks
Dodge has triggered a wave of furious backlash over its Super Bowl ad that used a speech by civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr "to sell trucks". The minute-long ad that aired during Super Bowl LII on Sunday featured an audio clip of King's "Drum Major Instinct" sermon that focused on the idea of seeking "greatness" through service.The audio clip was played over dramatic shots of people working in various service-oriented professions including fishermen, students, firemen, football players and soldiers."If you want to be important, wonderful. If you want to be recognized, wonderful. If you want to be great, wonderful," King's voice says. "But recognise that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That's a new definition of greatness."The ad then cuts to a Dodge Ram truck plowing through the mud and water. It ends with a still that reads: "Built to serve: Ram."King's sermon was delivered 50 years ago to the day on 4 February, 1968, two months before he was … [Read more...] about ‘Made me sick’: Twitter outraged after ‘tasteless’ Dodge Super Bowl ad uses MLK speech to sell trucks
Will electric cars grow faster or slower than expected? Take our Twitter poll
2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric cars outside dealership [photo: Patrick Reid]Enlarge PhotoInnovative technology in the auto industry—turbochargers or catalytic converters or disc brakes, say—tends to launch in high-end vehicles and filter down to the mass market over many years, often decades. Technology tipping points in society happen more rapidly and become indispensable within only a few years: think the Internet and mobile phones. So which are plug-in electric cars? DON'T MISS: When do you expect to buy your first battery-electric car? Twitter poll results Some say that battery-powered vehicles will filter into the world's vehicle fleet slowly, over decades. Today, seven years after the first mass-market electric car launched, plug-in vehicles are only about 1 percent of total global sales. Others suggest that because electric cars are better to drive and cheaper per mile, their adoption will soar once battery costs fall enough to make long-range models competitive on … [Read more...] about Will electric cars grow faster or slower than expected? Take our Twitter poll
When do you expect to buy your first battery-electric car? Twitter poll results
Chevrolet Bolt EV being charged outside Go Forth electric-car showroom, Portland [photo: Forth]Enlarge PhotoIt's called walking the talk. Also, putting your money where your mouth is. Either way, when we polled our Twitter followers to ask when they intended to buy their first battery-electric car, we didn't expect the distribution of responses we got. DON'T MISS: Plug-in electric car sales in Feb better than Jan lows Cars with plugs represented just a tiny fraction of last year's U.S. new-vehicle market: 195,000 or so out of 17.5 million light-duty vehicles sold. That's just slightly more than 1 percent. Conventional hybrids made up no more than another 2 percent. Among respondents to our Twitter poll, however, the numbers were radically, rip-roaringly different. When do you expect to buy your first battery-electric car? — Green Car Reports (@GreenCarReports) March 19, 2018 Fully 44 percent of the close to 500 followers who responded to the poll said they already own a … [Read more...] about When do you expect to buy your first battery-electric car? Twitter poll results