2017 Tesla Model S on 2040-cars

Auto blog

New Jersey votes to allow direct Tesla sales

It's not quite the law that Tesla Motors can sell its car directly to customers in New Jersey, but the state has taken one step closer to that reality. Yesterday, New Jersey's Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee voted 4-0 to approve bill A3216, which would "Permits certain zero emission vehicle manufacturers to directly sell motor vehicles to consumers and requires them to operate service facilities." The EV automaker's ongoing dealer fight took a turn for the worse in New Jersey a few months ago, when the state legislature voted in mid-March to prevent Tesla stores from conducting their business. Tesla had been selling cars in the sate, but Governor Chris Christie said the ban was just an enforcement of a law that had been on the books for years, something Tesla said was an "affront to the very concept of a free market." If A3216 becomes law, then electric vehicle makers would be able to operate "no more than four places of business in the State" as well as one service center. The bill will let Tesla "conduct the business of educating the public about electric vehicles" – Diarmuid O'Connell Speaking to the committee, Tesla's vice president of business development, Diarmuid O'Connell, said, "This is a super important issue for us in New Jersey, and as some of you would know, nationally as well. ... [The bill would] allow us to in a modest way and a reasonable way conduct the business of educating the public about electric vehicles and getting as many of those vehicles on the road as quickly as possible." Speaking for the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers, president Jim Appleton said that this solution is fine for start-up EV automakers, but that the franchise model should still be the goal for anyone selling cars. This fight isn't nationwide yet, but the FTC has come out against what it called "protectionist" anti-direct sales mandates, so we expect to be hearing more as time goes by.

Tesla Model S track tested at Buttonwillow raceway

Many television viewers will know about the concept of a seven-second delay that allows producers to bleep any loose profanity during live shows before they make it to air. And we're imagining the driver of a Tesla Model S shooting down California's Buttonwillow Raceway may have cursed a bit once the electric vehicle's power limiter kicked in to keep the battery's heat down, because that added about seven seconds to the typical lap time around the 3.1-mile course, Teslarati says. Power-limiter not withstanding, the luxury EV appeared to do pretty well around that circuit, which is located near Bakersfield and about 130 miles north of Los Angeles. One happy dude at Teslarati turned in laps as low as 2:19 and change, beat out a Porsche 911 in acceleration and managed to keep the car on the track. The Tesla topped out at 113 miles per hour, but all that speed consumed electricity at about three times the typical rate. That means that, for the first 10 laps (which were the fastest), the 33 miles of actual distance used up 90 miles worth of range. And with the track's 240-volt outlets working to various degrees and Tesla's nearest Superchargers 50 miles away, there were some potential problems making sure the car could do all the driver wanted. But they're problems we'd love to have. Check out the 11-minute video of the escapade below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Recharge Wrap-up: Shell stops AK ocean drilling, Lego Tesla Model S

Shell says it will halt exploratory drilling near Alaska's coast. While the oil giant has found some oil and gas below the waters, the amount it is finding is not worth the high costs of drilling. Shell also cites "the challenging and unpredictable federal regulatory environment in offshore Alaska" as part of its decision to move on from drilling in the Chukchi Sea, but it is possible public protests had an impact, too. Read more at Treehugger, and in the press release from Shell below. The University of Central Florida's Electric Vehicle Transportation Center will host the EV Transportation and Technology Summit from October 20 to 22 in Cocoa, Florida. The summit is geared toward businesses and organizations with the goals of increasing EV awareness, reviewing current and near future technology, and pointing out deployment achievements and challenges. While its coverage will be more general, the event will focus especially on planning and infrastructure requirements. Learn more at Hybrid Cars, or at the event website. The Tesla Model S still looks good when scaled down for a Lego minifig. A man named Cole Edmonson created a tiny brick version of the iconic EV, and managed to retain the car's distinguishing good looks. Edmonson provides a write-up detailing the process of creating the small, plastic Tesla copy. It's considerably more complicated than one would think. Check out the whole process at Brick Replicas, and read more from The Brothers Brick. Renault and Donfeng will build an electric car in China based on the Fluence ZE. The joint venture between the two automakers - called Dongfeng Renault Automotive Company (DRAC) - will produce the car in its Wuhan plant in 2017. The car will be sold solely in the Chinese market under a local Dongfeng brand. "This EV agreement illustrates Renault's engagement as partner of COP 21," says DRAC CEO Jacques Daniel. Read more at Green Car Congress, or in the press release below. Dongfeng and Renault agree to produce electric vehicles in China On the occasion of the visit of ZHU Yangfeng, Chairman of Dongfeng Group, at the Renault R&D center, Dongfeng Renault Automotive Company (DRAC) announces the production of its first electric vehicle in China. As part of the Joint Venture between Dongfeng and Renault, DRAC will produce an electric vehicle that is based on the Fluence Z.E.