Cars
California Might Ban the Sale of Non-Electric Cars

Gas-powered cars might soon be a thing of the past in California, at least if Governor Jerry Brown and chairman of the California Air Resources Board Mary Nichols have any say on the matter.
According to Bloomberg, Nichols claimed Brown is interested in banning the sale of cars (and other vehicles) that use an internal-combustion engine within the state of California. This ban is not just a response to similar proposed bans in foreign countries, including China and France; it is also designed to help California meet climate goals set by Global Automakers, which hope to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 80% from 1990 levels. According to Nichols, the best way to reach this goal is to “pretty much replace all combustion with some form of renewable energy by 2040 or 2050.” Replacing internal-combustion engines with electric engines just might do the trick.
While the ban won’t take effect for at least a decade, Nichols believes it might run into several legal problems. While California can create pollution laws thanks to the Clean Air Act, these laws need to be supported by waivers from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). However, the EPA has been under attack from the Trump administration, which, according to Nichols, means California likely won’t receive an EPA waiver to enforce the ban. However, Nichols has suggested several alternatives, such as controlling of vehicle registration rules and deciding which vehicles can or can’t access state highways.
Another possible wrench in Brown and Nichols’ ban plan is if it’s feasible. Global Automakers has purportedly claimed that China’s internal-combustion engine car ban would be impossible, although, to be fair, China’s plan is much more ambitious. Instead of replacing all internal-combustion cars by 2050, China hopes to replace one-fifth of their cars by 2025, create quotas in 2018 to facilitate the replacements, and to enforce severe penalties on those who doesn’t comply. At first glance, this plan doesn’t look more ambitious, but reports indicate the number of people who own cars in China eclipses the population of California. Depending on how California plans to enforce the ban, Global Automakers might oppose it.
Nichols believes a ban on selling non-electric cars could happen as early as 2030, but we will have to wait much longer to see if the ban effectively cuts down on carbon dioxide emissions. Or if California car-owners accept the ban.
Cars
BMW predicts a drop in sales as rising prices reduce consumers’ purchasing power

FRANKFURT — BMW’s quarterly net profit increased 23 percent to 3.18 billion euros ($3.1 billion), largely due to high car prices, but the company cautioned that rising inflation and interest rates will start to impact on sales in the coming months.
Increased profits are being seen despite decreased sales volumes caused by problems in the supply chain, such as the lack of semiconductor chips, which has slowed production for automakers throughout the world.
CEO Oliver Zipse stated in a statement that the company was on track to reach its annual goals because “our outstanding third quarter results highlight that flexibility fosters resilience.”
BMW and other automakers have been able to hike prices because to robust demand and low inventories, but economists believe that consumers will begin to rein down significant purchases as recession chances increase and central banks raise interest rates.
BMW predicted that its above-average order books will “normalize, especially in Europe” in the coming months as a result of rising inflation and interest rates, which would reduce the purchasing power of consumers.
BMW’s finance director Nicolas Peter, though, said the company anticipates its “good momentum” to carry over into 2023, despite full-year sales being somewhat lower than in 2021 and sales of full-electric vehicles expected to treble.
The company said that it expects an operating margin of between 7% and 9% for the full year.
However, the manufacturer saw a 35% increase in revenue to 37.18 billion euros ($36.49 billion) in the third quarter despite global sales falling 9.5% from the same period last year.
BMW’s pretax profit of €4.1 billion was higher than the consensus estimate of €3.4 billion.
Higher costs for raw materials and energy, as well as the price of gaining control of the Chinese joint venture Brilliance, contributed to the 2.7 billion euro increase in costs reported by the firm compared to the same time in the previous year.
Cars
By 2035, all new car sales in New York and California will be hybrid or electric vehicles.

According to Governor Kathy Hochul, New York will follow California’s lead and require that all new automobiles, trucks, and SUVs sold in the state be either electric vehicles (EVs) or plug-in hybrids. By 2026, 35% of new cars must be zero-emission vehicles, and by 2030, 60% must be. By 2035, all new school buses must have zero emissions. The rules won’t go into effect until after a public hearing. According to Governor Kathy Hochul, New York will follow California’s lead and require that all new automobiles, trucks, and SUVs sold in the state be either electric vehicles (EVs) or plug-in hybrids. By 2026, 35% of new cars must be zero-emission vehicles, and by 2030, 60% must be. By 2035, all new school buses must have zero emissions. The rules won’t go into effect until after a public hearing.
Hochul directed the state’s environmental agency to establish regulations resembling those imposed by California, which bans the sale of all vehicles powered only by fossil fuels by the year 2035. These regulations, which went into effect this month, with the goal of selling 9.5 fewer internal combustion engine (ICE) only vehicles by 2035 while reducing passenger vehicle pollution by 25% by 2037.
“We had to wait for California to take a step because there’s some federal requirements that California had to go first — that’s the only time we’re letting them go first,” in a press conference yesterday, the governor said.
Cars
Self-Driving To Be Standard In The 2020’s

Technology in vehicles has seen amazing leaps in the past several years. Only eight years ago things like Bluetooth or WiFi in vehicles were not standard. These amenities were only reserved for luxurious vehicles are standard in even the most economical model of cars now. Companies like GM and Ford purchasing self-driving startups and expecting to release new vehicles in the next few years with self-driving capability.
Companies like Tesla have had self-driving vehicles for a few years. And even Google has experimented with self-driving technology. There have been some hiccups and a few other misuses of the technology. This should not stop the progress of the technology. The technology is still in its early stages but I would expect the minor things to be fixed within the next few years. Many other major car manufacturing companies are predicting to have a self-driving vehicle within the next few years.
While its too soon to tell how this technology will affect future traffic laws, it is likely to make some marvelous changes in the future. Road trips will definitely change with such advances. It can only be hoped that it positively affects us more than any harm it might cause in the future.
- Gadgets8 years ago
Why the Nexus 7 is still a good tablet in 2015
- Mobile Devices8 years ago
Samsung Galaxy Note 4 vs Galaxy Note 5: is there room for improvement?
- Editorials8 years ago
Samsung Galaxy Note 4 – How bad updates prevent people from enjoying their phones
- Mobile Devices8 years ago
Nexus 5 2015 and Android M born to be together
- Gaming8 years ago
New Teaser For Five Nights At Freddy’s 4
- Mobile Devices8 years ago
Google not releasing Android M to Nexus 7
- Gadgets8 years ago
Moto G Android 5.0.2 Lollipop still has a memory leak bug
- Mobile Devices8 years ago
Nexus 7 2015: Huawei and Google changing the game