While the U.S. is still the 2nd largest vehicle market (behind China)…Americans probably most known for their thirst for choice. Last year that thirst for choice produced a 25% increase in the number of EV models available to  North American consumers.

Here are the 3 broad categories:

1. Battery-Powered
2. Plug-in Hybrid
3. Fuel Cell Vehicle

The chart below shows the growth and changes in vehicle model mix available in the US and Canada for the past nine years.  U.S. Consumers can now choose from 54 different electric car models, while in 2008, only four were available for purchase.

The number of car models with electric batteries, such as the Tesla Model S, continues to grow. But the biggest increase has been the availability of plug-in hybrid vehicles, which now account for the largest category of electric vehicles in North America.

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You will find more infographics at Statista

 

The Agony of Few Choices

At the end of 2010, a meager 6 electric vehicle models (incl. plug-in hybrids and fuel cell vehicles) were available to consumers in North America.

Here’s the latest from Bloomberg New Energy Finance for 2017 year end: 54 electric vehicle models…

1. 25 battery electric vehicles
2. 26 plug-in hybrids
3. 3 fuel cell vehicles

Tesla, one of the very early movers in the market, is still the best-selling EV brand in the United States. In 2017, the company sold roughly 50,000 electric cars in the U.S., beating traditional carmakers like Chevrolet (43,669), Toyota (20,936), BMW (20,733) and Ford (19,589) by a significant margin.

Still accounting for little more than 1 percent of total passenger car sales, electric vehicles still have a long way to go in terms of mass adoption. However, the growing number of consumer choices combined with the steadily improving charging infrastructure will certain help move electric mobility forward.

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Video: Make Sober Driving Your Lucky Charm This St. Patrick’s Day – Cars.com

St. Patrick’s Day is March 17, lasses and lads. For many, it’s a day to don some green garb, eat a Rueben sandwich — and maybe get a weeee bit tipsy drinking green beer.  Beyond turning your teeth weird colors, there are far more serious risks to consider.

St. Patrick’s Day DUI fatalities are nearly double the daily average, with more than 50 in the U.S. Moreover, the holiday falls on a Saturday this year, and instances of drunken driving are already higher on weekends.  Studies have shown that roughly three quarters of fatal St. Patrick’s Day car crashes involve a driver whose blood alcohol content is twice the legal limit of 0.08.

A man of average weight will reach the legal BAC limit after three drinks in an hour; for a woman, it’s two drinks.

Just because you’re under the legal limit doesn’t mean you should assume you’re “OK to drive.” Even one drink can impair a driver’s judgment and reaction times.

Here’s a plan to get through your St. Patrick’s Day celebration.

• If you plan on drinking, plan on not driving. Designate a sober driver before the revelry kicks off.
• If you have been drinking, do not drive, even for a short distance. Seriously, you have options: Just call a taxi … or an Uber … or a Lyft … or take public transportation; many cities have ride programs available.
• Look out for others. If you see someone about to drive while impaired, confiscate their keys and help them arrange a safe way home.
• If you see a driver on the road who appears to be intoxicated, pull over to a safe location and notify police. You could be saving someone’s life.

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St. Patrick’s Day DUI Patrols Planned In Sonoma County – Patch

“Police, sheriff and the CHP will be looking for signs of alcohol and/or drug impairment,” Santa Rosa police stated in a news release.

The California Highway Patrol, the Santa Rosa Police Department and the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office are among law enforcement agencies planning to be on the lookout for drunk and/or drugged drivers this St. Patrick’s Day weekend in the county.

From 7 p.m. Saturday to 3 a.m. Sunday, Santa Rosa police will deploy additional officers on special DUI saturation patrols specifically to stop and arrest drivers showing signs of alcohol or drug impairment.

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St. Patrick’s Day DUI Patrols Planned by La Mesa and Chula Vista Police – TimesOfSanDiego

The La Mesa and Chula Vista police departments plan DUI saturation patrols throughout the St. Patrick’s Day weekend beginning Friday evening.

Both departments announced extra patrols from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. the next morning on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

“St. Patrick’s Day is one of the most popular holidays in the United States…heavily celebrated by most Americans with friendly pinches, bangers n’ mash, and green beer galore,” said La Mesa Police Chief Walt Vasquez. “Sadly, all this merry-making can lead to dangerous driving conditions as party-goers head
home.”

Officer Richardson stands ready to offer drive drunk drivers a ride to the police station this #StPatricksDay, but somehow we’re guessing you’d rather choose a safe ride home. #dontgetpinched pic.twitter.com/aPBVCyYkcX

— WVC Police (@WVCPD) March 15, 2018

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Consumer Reports seems almost synonymous with trust.  Still, almost like a football team, everyone seems to have a favorite car brand…and their own idea of what makes a reliable vehicle. For some, a car that starts every morning and just needs basic repairs every year will do. Drivers expect more out of expensive vehicles known for rapid-fire acceleration or high-performance towing. Then there are those who say a vehicle’s not reliable unless it tops 200,000 miles.

For the nonprofit organization Consumer Reports, the most reliable vehicles must pass (or ace) 17 different tests. Even if an automobile runs like a dream, testers will knock it down a few pegs if the electronics system is hard to use or the interior scratches easily. Likewise, a vehicle’s owners report problems they experienced every year, which factors into the equation.

In other words, getting a top reliability rating from Consumer Reports takes some doing. Those that land the top scores a few consecutive years deserve the fans and buyers they get.

Uncanny, but some automobiles seem to manage to post near-perfect scores for many years in a row.  Here is the beginning of the top performing brands since 2010…starting with the 2018 Nissan Leaf.  You’ve gotta click through to see the entire list of 20 most reliable vehicles of the decade.

Nissan Leaf #20 – Among electric cars, Leaf’s 4 perfect reliability scores in 5 years stand above the pack.

While Tesla has mixed reviews for reliability, Nissan Leaf proved long ago that electric vehicles could stay on the road with the best of them. The first-generation Leaf landed the top Consumer Reports rating for four of its first five years on the market from 2011 to 2016. As the new-for-2018 model makes its way to the market, it also comes with above-average predicted reliability.

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So far, electric vehicles (EVs) have tended toward high-tech, high speed electronic capsules that almost substitute for your office or a day at the spa.  But what about the needs of people outside of urban areas or downright rural areas that have more utilitarian needs…something along the lines of a low-maintenance workhorse that doesn’t need a saddle or a hay and water trough.

Bollinger Motors recently announced “the world’s first fully electric sport utility truck”…the Bollinger B1…a highly practical pickup truck that traverses the roughest terrain…with zero carbon footprint.  A totally USA centric vehicle that’s designed, engineered and, one day soon, built right here in the United States.

Built on a…

… aluminum chassis that weighs just 295 pounds and incorporates the complete powertrain system as well as off-road suspension. It sports a wheelbase of 105 inches, front and rear tracks of 68 inches, an approach angle of 56 degrees, departure angle of 53 degrees, and break over angle of 33 degrees.

Want more specs?

The bad news:

1. You can’t get one till “early 2018” says Bollinger
2. Pricing is “to be determined” …and only then will..
3. $1,000 deposits accepted in early 2018
4. Once a production site is nailed down, deliveries could commence in 19 months.

The good news:

1. 0-60 mph time is about 4.5 seconds and
2. Top speed is 127 mph
3. The B1 qualifies as a Class 3 commercial truck which considerably reduces regulatory requirements compared to vehicles intended purely for passenger use.
4. Bollinger hopes to beat Tesla to market with an EV sport utility vehicle

 

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Ever watch a documentary on sea life that showed schools of smaller fish swimming in unison?  Honda has…and they’ve invented a new safe driving technology based on that “bio-mimicry” concept that may one day affect the way vehicles communicate and interact on the highway.  Unveiled at the 2017 CES show…it’s called Safe Swarm and uses vehicle-to-vehicle communication to help human drivers.

The Safe Swarm concept basically takes information received by one vehicle equipped with the technology…and passes it on to others close by (also equipped)…allowing vehicle reactions way before a human driver would be able to react on his own.  So, for example, the same bit of information can actually be propagated in almost real-time to following cars…miles behind, potentially…so drivers have ample reaction time to avoid problems and collisions.

To be fair…similar technology is being developed by other car companies.  And though this tech will probably not manifest in vehicles produced within the next year or two…it highlights how big of a concept connectivity between vehicles as a safety feature…will be in the near future.

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The Small Business Saturday Story

• 2010 – Day One –  The first-ever Small Business Saturday took place on Nov 27.  It encouraged people across the country to support small, local businesses.
• 2011 – The Day Became Official – The United States Senate unanimously passed a resolution of support for Small Business Saturday.
• 2012 – EVERY STATE IN THE UNION – From Washington D.C., to Washington State, governors, mayors, and even President Obama championed Small Business Saturday.
• 2013 – Neighborhoods Celebrated The Day – The day continued to grow, with more individuals and local organizations pledging to support the day as Neighborhood Champions.
• 2014 – SMALL BUSINESSES OWNED THE DAY – American Express encouraged small business owners to take charge of the day, helping them promote their businesses with free personalized ads, which appeared millions of times across the web.
• 2015 – ONE FOR THE BOOKS – Shoppers supported their neighborhood businesses like never before, continuing to embrace the day as a holiday shopping tradition.

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Ever received a traffic citation in the mail with a photo that shows your car running a red light?  Suddenly finding out that you need to pay a fine is probably never a nice surprise…but if you live in one of the almost 500 US cities that utilize red-light cameras that that automatically doll out tickets for violators…a new study just might make you a bit more grateful.

The effects of red-light camera programs have been hotly debated since they began in many municipalities years ago. For the first time, we’re learning that they’re actually saving lives…measurably.

 

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) recently reviewed what results when cities that formerly used red-light photo enforced traffic cameras…and, for whatever reason…decided to terminate their program (click this map to check if your city uses red-light cameras. Spoiler Alert: Gilroy has two [2]).  Each of the cities studied had populations greater than 200,000 people…so there’s a statistically sound basis for legitimacy of the study’s results.

The IIHS study was done in two separate parts from differing perspectives:

• Part 1:  57 cities that started and continued programs from 1992 to 2014 were compared with 33 cities that don’t have any.  Ultimately…cities with red-light cameras had 21 percent fewer deaths related to collisions with red light runners and 14 percent fewer deaths from other crashes than cities without cameras.
• Part 2:  14 cities were reviewed that ended their red-light camera programs between the years 2010 and 2014.  Those 14 cities were then compared with 29 others that had similar populations and regions.

The bottom line: terminating the red-light camera programs resulted in a 30 percent increase in deaths due to crashes with red-light runners and a 16 percent increase in deaths from other types of collisions.

“Debates over automated enforcement often center on the hassle of getting a ticket and paying a fine. It’s important to remember that there are hundreds of people walking around who wouldn’t be here if not for red light cameras.” ~ Adrian Lund – IIHS President

But, for the sake of equality…here’s a video that considers the opposing view:

 

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