"The Relay" Online Newsletter
July 2024 Issue

This is the monthly online newsletter for the car club council. All car hobbyist events are listed on this site under "Calendar." Just click on the link above to view the list of car shows and other activities.

President's Message

Please note the letter below from Colin at Pamplin Park thanking us for the 5th Annual Breakthrough Show. The park made more money on this show than any previous one. Plus we get another council appreciation day at the park. That day will be Saturday September 14. We will have free coffee and donuts and free admission to the museum and park all day for car club council members only. If you belong to a club that is a council member you can get in free that day along with your spouse and kids. The coffee and donuts will be from 9 to 11at the cruise-in in the museum parking lot. At our August meeting we will talk about the show, go over the budget and how much money the park made and discuss next year's show.

We had a big event right in our backyard on June 15 - the AMC Convention at the Keystone Museum. It was a great show with lots of Ramblers and AMC vehicles and many spectators. One thing I heard several people say is this was the first time they had seen in person some of the vehicles - Rambler Rogue, Levi edition AMCs with real Levi blue jean material for seat covers, several "Machines" and Marlins and lots more. It was a great show and hopefully we will get more events like this in our area.

Here are the big news items you can find in this newsletter: The governor had declared us free from the California rules and RGGI, EV sales continue to tank, the climate isn't a big emergency and more good stuff. Virginia continues to be a great state for car hobbyists and the events keep on coming on the calendar. Be sure to check it out and put some miles on your special ride(s) this summer.

Next Meeting

The next meeting will be Monday, August 26th at 6:30 PM at a location that will be in the August newsletter.

Happy July 4th

5th Breakthrough Car Show Thank You

Dear Car Club Council of Central Virginia,

The Pamplin Historical Park staff and Foundation appreciate and thank your organization for partnering with us again on the 5th Annual Breakthrough Car Show. We continue to value the relationship and the sharing of automotive history to include; vehicles, personalities and engineering, on our historic Breakthrough Battlefield. It’s an opportunity to engage the Central Virginia community while welcoming participants from throughout the region and beyond. The weather was perfect this year with sun, low humidity and moderate temperatures, which was perfect for displaying amazing vehicles and socializing.

The show again saw a great variety of vehicles, owners, and volunteers who participated in this year’s show at Pamplin Historical Park. Some driving from over two hours away. Without your continuing partnership this show would not be possible and we recognize the Car Club Council of Central Virginia’s essential role in this show. Fred Fann, Ron Clark and Herbert Hudson have continued to donate their personal time and skills while serving on the car show committee. We also wish to thank all of the collector vehicle enthusiasts for their participation and support. Without yourselves and others, there would not be a show to enjoy and share with others.

2024 was the second best show out of the five years, in terms of show vehicles, but the first in generated revenues. These increased show revenues come at a time when the park is seeing significantly reduced contributions, from our benefactor, Dr. R. B. Pamplin Jr. and the R. B. Pamplin Foundation. So, your support as both the Car Club Council of Central Virginia and those of the event committee members and volunteers, are instrumental in the continuing education and preservation missions of the park.

There is no doubt that this unique partnership has raised regional community awareness for both Pamplin Historical Park and the Car Club Council of Central Virginia. We sincerely ask that you and the CCCCV continue to partner with us in this special annual event. Thank you all again for your support and we look forward to continuing to grow this show with you.

Sincerely,
Colin Romanick
Executive Director, Pamplin Historical Park

Richlands Cruise-in June 2 - See all the photos at Album - opens to a new window

Car Hobbyist News

National Report

The Biden administration continues its push for electric vehicles. In March new tailpipe rules were enacted by the EPA to drive people to buy electrics. As part of the climate change agenda the administration wants half of all new vehicles sold in the US in 2030 to be electric. The 50% sales figure would be a really big increase over the current EV sales, which were 7.6% of new vehicle sales in 2023, up slightly from 5.8% in 2022. Doing a little math and that means in 2023 92.4% of new vehicles sales were gas or diesel. Going from 7.6% to 50% is going to be an uphill battle. Plus Biden needs the United Auto Workers union to support his re-election bid but the union is worried about job losses as EVs have fewer (but more expensive) parts and fewer people are needed to assembly them. Contrast that to former President Trump vowing to roll back President Biden’s electric vehicle policies on his first day in office.

But there is a giant problem to the Biden administration’s EV push: people don’t want them: The KPMG American Perspectives Survey assessed the views of 1,100 adults nationwide to conclude that people would still prefer a gas car over a hybrid or EV even with the same price and features. Only one out of 5 respondents to the survey said they would prefer an EV with a whopping 38% opting for a standard gas vehicle. Another 34%, however, said they would like to buy a hybrid. The survey also found people want a 20 minute charge time, not hours. You can scroll down to an article on the survey below.

Then there is the 2024 McKinsey & Co. Mobility Consumer Global Survey: Forty-six percent of EV owners surveyed in the United States said they will likely return to driving gas-powered vehicles. Globally, the survey of 30,000 respondents in 15 countries found that 29 percent of EV owners are likely to go back to driving gas-powered cars. Australia topped the list, with 49 percent confirming that they want to return to driving gas-powered automobiles. The lack of public charging infrastructure was the chief reason respondents wanted to switch back to gas-powered vehicles, with 35 percent saying that it is “not yet good enough” for them. Thirty-four percent said that the total costs of EV ownership were “too high.”

The survey – there is an article below on it – discovered that people are informed about EVs: The other reasons for being disappointed in electric cars were the inability to charge at home (24 percent), too much worry and stress about charging (21 percent), changing mobility requirements (16 percent), and not enjoying the driving experience (13 percent).

Yes, Pandora ’s Box on EVs has been opened and people know about them. Plus a couple of EV makers have gone bankrupt, Ford and GM are losing money on every EV they sale, Tesla has made a couple of recalls on the new Cybertruck – the more people learn about EVs the closer we are to hitting the saturation point of EV sales.

IEA (The International Energy Agency works with countries around the world to shape energy policies for a secure and sustainable future) in its “2024 Oil” report states that a major oil surplus is coming and that production looks to ramp up in the next few years. That is not good news for EV sales as higher gas prices drive up EV sales while lower gas prices lower sales. The combination of lower gas prices and the reality of living with an EV mean lower EV sales.

Not helping is climate activists spraying Stonehenge orange and interrupting a golf tournament wearing shirts that say “No Golf On A Dead Planet” along with gluing themselves to paintings in museums and to roads and bridges displays to everyone that these people need mental help. Also not helping are climate lawsuits which are no longer just for oil companies but also food companies for producing greenhouse gases. This lawfare is an attempt to increase the price of gasoline by litigation – article is below.

My viewpoint is it looks like the more people learn about EVs the more no one wants them. And nearly half of the Americans that own them expect to go back to gasoline. Why are our governments – federal and many states – wasting so much money on this? The people rule because we are the majority and no matter how much of our taxpayer dollars get tossed at this we still will not buy EVs.

State Report

The big news: Governor Youngkin, based on a legal opinion by Attorney General Jason Miyares, announced that the Commonwealth will not be under the new (January 2025) mandates of the California electric vehicle regulations which require that 35 percent of new cars sold in Virginia have to be electric vehicles by 2026 and 100 percent by 2035 effectively banning the sale of gas-powered vehicles. But we are not out of it yet - expect lawsuits that will take time for the courts to sort out. But at least for now we are free. How long are freedom from California mandates last depends on what happens in the November 2025 state-wide election.

While the federal gas tax has been 18.4 cents since 1993, the Virginia gas tax has gone up 150 percent in four years and is now over 40 cents. No elected officials or mainstream media taking heads are talking about this. This was passed by the General Assembly and signed by Governor Northam (D) in 2020 which increased and indexed the tax to inflation and we know where inflation has gone the last few years - which means as inflation increases the gas tax automatically will go up every July 1st. Of course the General Assembly could change this but that will require new and different people getting elected in 2025.

55th Annual AACA Richmond Collector Car Show and Swap Meet June 8 - See all the photos at Album - opens to a new window

Did You Know Gas Taxes Have Gone Up 150 Percent?

By Derrick Max, President & CEO Thomas Jefferson Institute
Did you know that gasoline and diesel taxes have gone up 150 percent in the last four years?

Thomas Jefferson Institute Senior Fellow Steve Haner wrote all about it in Bacon’s Rebellion last Saturday. You can read it here.

Four years ago, the tax was only 16.2 cents per gallon. But in 2020, then-Governor Ralph Northam pushed legislation through a supportive General Assembly to both raise the tax and automatically raise it for inflation – and with Bidenflation, that automatic hike has been massive.

So on July 1, the tax rises to 40.4 cents per gallon.

Almost as bad, the Division of Motor Vehicles hides the tax on its website and you have to look at three different web pages to put it all together. Fortunately, Steve does it for you in his commentary here.

This is the way the Left works: It imposes an inflation adjustment on a tax that is causing inflation.

But when it comes to protecting taxpayers from the ravages of that same inflation, the Left consistently blocks the Thomas Jefferson Institute proposal to index tax brackets and standard deductions. Our proposal would shield taxpayers from being taxed on increased income that is just trying to keep up with inflation, but now drives taxpayers into higher rates..

Yesterday (June 5), Governor Youngkin announced that Virginia will exit the mandate passed in 2021 requiring that Virginians conform to California's all-electric car requirement in just a few short years. The Thomas Jefferson Institute played a role in reversing the requirement, issuing early warnings about the implications of the EV Mandate, releasing a poll showing voters opposed the mandate 64-33%, and made the mandate the subject of our educational social media campaign. We played a similar role in reversing the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

So I just wanted to let you know this: We are going to continue fighting for inflation-adjustments for taxpayers. After all, if it's good enough for government, its good enough for the people who finance that government.

But for now, I wanted to call your attention to Steve’s fine alert of the gas tax increase facing you July 1.

Buckle up!

International Convention of the American Motors Owners Association June 15 - See all the photos at Album - opens to a new window

American Motors Owners Association Show

I volunteered with this show and I really enjoyed it. I was at the entrance and got to see (and hear) the vehicles enter. I got to hear 6-cylinder engines that were modified with cam and kit, intake for four barrel carburetor and headers with dual exhausts along with a couple of Ramblers with 390 engines on a dual four barrel cross ram intakes. There was an AMX that converted into a camper, a couple of Matador X cars including a custom one, a woody wagon, an old Nash from the 20s, the AMX 3 show car, several Marlins - Javelins - AMX cars and lots more. I saw car models I had never seen in person before plus a lot of models I hadn't seen in years. Plus the conversations were interesting because there were a lot of interesting people there. Yes, interesting people usually drive interesting vehicles. Everyone I talked with loved the show. The place was packed - people were parking all over the area to get into the show. Lots and lots of vendors selling lots and lots of parks - but where else would you find these parts? My advice - never miss a convention when it comes to the area - Fred.
See all the photos at Album - opens to a new window

Virginia Declares Independence from California EV Mandates

By Steve Haner, Senior Fellow for Environment and Energy Policy
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) and Attorney General Jason Miyares (R) announced today that Virginia will no longer comply with the California air regulations that will restrict and eventually eliminate the sale of gasoline and diesel vehicles. The announcement is sure to set off a political and legal firestorm as fierce as last year’s exit from a regional carbon tax compact.

“Once again, Virginia is declaring independence – this time from a misguided electric vehicle mandate imposed by unelected leaders nearly 3,000 miles away from the Commonwealth,” the release quotes Youngkin. “The idea that government should tell people what kind of car they can or can’t purchase is fundamentally wrong. Virginians deserve the freedom to choose which vehicles best fit the needs of their families and businesses. The law is clear, and I am proud to announce Virginians will no longer be forced to live under this out-of-touch policy.”

As with the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the decision to join in California’s vehicle regulatory scheme was implemented under former Governor Ralph Northam (D). The 2021 legislature, on mainly party-line votes with Democrats in the majority, authorized Northam and the Air Pollution Control Board to adopt the necessary regulations, which were agreed to at the end of that year.

The Thomas Jefferson Institute issued early warnings about the implications of the EV Mandate, which was opposed 64-33% in a poll conducted for the Institute by Mason-Dixon Polling, and was the subject of one of our educational social media campaigns.

The California regulatory scheme Virginia aligned itself with dates back to 2012 and was called Advanced Clean Cars I. During the first year of Youngkin’s and Miyares’ term, however, California deeply amended the regulatory scheme and adopted Advanced Clean Cars II. It was the ACC II rules that set the requirement that internal combustion vehicles would disappear from new car lots by 2035.

Unlike many other states, Virginia has not amended its current regulation to incorporate the new version, and the old ACC I rules expire at the end of 2024. Leaving the California regime returns Virginia to regulation under the federal Environmental Protection Act, which is also proposing to limit the sale of gas vehicles, but so far is not seeking to eliminate them.

Under the federal Clean Air Act, California is the only state allowed to set air emissions standards more stringent than federal rules, but all other states are allowed to choose whether to follow California or comply with the EPA. More than a dozen states are following California. Some have also adopted its rules for heavier vehicles, but Virginia never did.

In a formal advisory opinion, Miyares states that nothing in state law requires the Air Board to update the regulations it adopted in 2021 to remain aligned with California. As with the statute on RGGI, the operative verb in the key sentence is “may” and Miyares writes: “The use of the word “may” – as opposed to “shall” – in a law evinces discretionary intent.”

Perhaps the bill authors in 2020 and 2021 never contemplated that their party would lose the Governor’s Mansion, so they were comfortable leaving the discretion with the executive branch. The statute on adopting the California air rules does include more instances of the word “shall” and will lend itself to a sharper argument over mandate versus discretion.

As with the dispute over RGGI, the bottom line is this issue will be back in front of the voters when a new governor and new House of Delegates are chosen in 2025. The parallel, less restrictive EPA regulation will also likely go away with Republican success in federal elections in 2024. A second Biden Administration would push them through. As the saying goes, elections have consequences.

This decision will have major consequences for the nation’s automobile manufacturers and their Virginia dealers. The California regulatory scheme is another version of cap and trade, where manufacturers earn credits for electric vehicles that they sell in the various states aligned with California. How many gas-powered vehicles they can sell is determined by how many of those credits they earn.

If a lawsuit comes to challenge this decision, the automobile manufacturers may join with the environmental community to bring it. Tesla makes only electric vehicles and is thus able to sell its unused ACC II credits for major revenue. The pending lawsuit over RGGI was brought by a group making money off that scheme, and the manufacturers also have a big pecuniary interest.

The original 2021 bill to join ACC I was supported by the Virginia Auto Dealers Association, which cited concerns that its members would not be able to get as many EVs to sell if the state is not part of the California compact. That may prove to be the case, although in the three years since the projections of public demand for EVs have not been met. They were less than 10% of Virginia sales last year.

Early in the Youngkin Administration, the question of how Virginia would react to the adoption of ACC II was raised. Virginia Mercury reported at the time that the Attorney General’s Office was of the opinion the update would happen, apparently automatically. That is more grist for some courtroom mill.

In most other states that are part of the California compact, the new version of the regulations have already been adopted or are in the process of being adopted. The National Caucus of Environmental Legislators has tracked that, and noted that “states will need to initiate rulemaking to adopt the new, more stringent regulations.” As for Virginia, it included a link to that Virginia Mercury article indicating Virginia didn’t need to.

As of earlier this week, the state Department of Environmental Quality website indicated that compliance was plugging along, with no reference to any complications caused by California’s new version.

Virginia Climate Data Shows No Crisis

By Steve Haner, Senior Fellow for Environment and Energy Policy at The Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy
One standard response when the Thomas Jefferson Institute challenges the wisdom of electricity carbon taxes or electric vehicle mandates is, are we not worried about the looming climate crisis? The simple answer is no. Data that undercuts the entire alarmist narrative are easy to find.

The premise for the 2020 Virginia Clean Economy Act, which the 2025 Virginia General Assembly may revisit, is the expressed concern over catastrophic climate change. It is a constant refrain with many of our political leaders from the current president down to county supervisors. But what if the entire premise is false or badly overblown?

This year, a major and constant media drumbeat has been that 2023 was the hottest year on record and that 2024 will be hotter. In Virginia, 2023 was unremarkable. Even the summer months, the focus of the fear-mongering about rising heat-related fatalities, showed no alarming trend. For the data just go to a website managed by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Here is the chart showing average summer temperatures in Virginia from 1895 to 2023, June through September. The trend line NOAA tracks is about 1 degree Fahrenheit of rise per century, but based on data elsewhere is between 1- and 2-degrees Fahrenheit. The data shows an overall slight warming trend, but multiple summers up to a century ago were as warm or warmer than the most recent.

The same 1–2-degree Fahrenheit per century rise shows up when you track the Virginia average for the full year, and the average highs and lows. With that website, you can pick any start date you want and get any trend line you want, up or down. For us, the longer the data set, the more reliable. That website does report more rapid temperature rises in a few other states, but most are in the 1-2 degrees F per century range, and most recent highs were matched by highs decades ago.

Another standard claim is that the slight warming underway, which may or may not be driven by using hydrocarbon fuels, is also leading to worsening rainfall. NOAA tracks that on the website, too, and there is a rise in the trend line reported at 3 inches per century. Rain is very much a beneficial aspect of the climate, especially for farmers.

Whether or not 3 inches per year more on average than a century ago is too much of a good thing for Virginia is something you need to decide, but to us it is not worrisome. That website shows nationwide rainfall rising from 1895-2023 at a rate of less than 2 inches per century.

NOAA also tracks the coastal tide gauges that report relative sea level rise. The word “relative” is important because the measurement includes changes in sea level and also any changes in the land beside the sea. In Hampton Roads, the shore is subsiding, and that makes the relative sea level rise appear much greater than the water level itself could account for. In Alaska, there are places where the land rises so much that the sea is receding.

The alarmist media usually ignores the impact of subsiding or rising land levels. It avoids actual tidal readings in reports and focuses on forward-looking models, with the models themselves based on the highest of the temperature rise predictions. Exaggeration feeds exaggeration.

The Virginia tidal gauge with the longest record is at Sewell’s Point in Norfolk, illustrated below. The combination of sea level rise and subsidence there produces a relative change of less than 5 millimeters (about 0.2 in) per year, or about 1.6 feet per century. Most of the scary predictions of future inundation are based on models showing massive acceleration, to multiple feet per year, but year after year the tide gauges fail to show it.

Look at some of the islands where NOAA is tracking the tides, places without subsidence, and the changes measured are quite slow. It is less than one foot per century in Hawaii, Midway, Guam, Puerto Rico, and Bermuda. Look at the per-century changes in places along California’s coast. The scary predictions of seas rising rapidly have been around for decades now but are not panning out in the data.

The seas have been rising for thousands of years and even at this actual slow rate, coastal vulnerabilities are growing. The next hurricane hitting Virginia will do significant damage. But weather is not climate change, and the mitigations and preparations needed to protect our coastal cities have nothing to do with the use of hydrocarbon fuels. (If you need to suddenly evacuate, take the gasoline car, and leave the EV in the driveway. Power may be out for a long time.)

There is no evidence of any climate-driven crisis, certainly not in Virginia. There is little evidence of any climate change at all. Drastic steps to rapidly eliminate use of hydrocarbon fuels in power plants, cars or homes are not justified by those fears.

Jewels Found On Ebay

Here are a couple of hot finds from Ebay Motors.

eBay item number: 226193686700
$2,950
eBay description: 1965 Buick Skylark Convertible
82,000 Original Miles
Very solid Waco Texas car that restoration was started years ago - then stopped and stored in a tent. I acquired it with a bunch of other vehicles, now up for grabs.
Mostly complete minus engine and transmission. Solid floors/frame, underneath, fenders, hood, etc.
Nice car to finish!
Texas vehicle with clear Texas Title.
Local Pickup Only

Good thing the seller has the year, make and model in the description or you might not know what this is. It's more like a puzzle than a car.

Next up is another "project".

eBay item number: 186493432122
$5,500
eBay description: 1978 Chevy C10 Shortbed. 350 Auto Runs and drives. Needs restoration. Comes with NOS front fenders, and new passenger door. Frame is solid, body has some rust. Clear NJ title in my name. I bought a year ago and just not getting around to work on it so letting it go.

The ever popular square body Chevy truck with plenty of rust and various colors. This would look good in front of a plant and flower store or if you live in a subdivision just park it in front of your house to annoy the snotty neighbors.

eBay item number: 315404492577
$7,999
eBay description: 1973 dodge challenger still wearing most of its original paint. 1/4 are dented floors trunk rockers frame are solid. Factory AC, Power steering , power disk brakes , vinyl top , bucket seats , console , Ralley gauges and more ! Comes with build sheet. Serious buyers private message me for more info. $7,999 OBO! Title in hand !

The also popular Dodge Challenger from the 70s and yes this one would be a real challenge! It is missing some parts, has been hit on the passenger side rear, driver front fender has had rust take a bite out of it and the interior is pretty rough. You'll need more fingers and toes to count all the dents. Be sure to message for that important "more info".

Nearly Half of US EV Drivers Consider Switching Back to Gas Vehicles: McKinsey Study

From The Epoch Times
Costs and lack of public charging infrastructure are top reasons.

More electric vehicle (EV) drivers are thinking about switching back to internal combustion engine automobiles, according to new findings from the 2024 McKinsey & Co. Mobility Consumer Global Survey.

Forty-six percent of EV owners surveyed in the United States said they will likely return to driving gas-powered vehicles.

Globally, the survey of 30,000 respondents in 15 countries found that 29 percent of EV owners are likely to go back to driving gas-powered cars.

Australia topped the list, with 49 percent confirming that they want to return to driving gas-powered automobiles.

The lack of public charging infrastructure was the chief reason respondents wanted to switch back to gas-powered vehicles, with 35 percent saying that it is “not yet good enough” for them.

Thirty-four percent said that the total costs of EV ownership were “too high.”

The other reasons for being disappointed in electric cars were the inability to charge at home (24 percent), too much worry and stress about charging (21 percent), changing mobility requirements (16 percent), and not enjoying the driving experience (13 percent).

Overall, 21 percent of global respondents said they would never want to switch to an EV, unchanged from 2022. By comparison, 18 percent said their next automobile will be an EV, up from 16 percent in 2022.

Twenty-nine percent said they want to replace their automobile with other forms of transportation in the next 10 years. They cited expensive car ownership costs, a desire to live a more sustainable lifestyle, and remote work.

Other studies have found similar trends in the United States.

According to the BloombergNEF 2024 Electric Vehicle Outlook, there has been growing consumer consternation surrounding the EV market.

“In the U.S., EV market jitters inflamed by the upcoming presidential election helped slow down adoption this year, and by 2027 only 29 percent of cars sold in the country [will be] electric,” the report reads, as concerns surrounding driving range, price, battery lifespan, and unreliable public charging become ubiquitous across the marketplace.

America’s EV Infrastructure
The White House aims to have 56 percent of all new vehicle sales be electric by 2032.

In order to boost EV sales across the country, President Joe Biden announced in March the strictest regulation on vehicle emissions to nudge the auto sector’s transition to electric cars.

President Biden’s recent measure plans to limit the annual amount of pollution allowed from car exhausts. Automakers that fail to meet these new standards will incur tough penalties.

But while the United States has been facilitating a market of more EV sales, the infrastructure has been lacking.

In the landmark 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, lawmakers approved $7.5 billion to construct 500,000 public charging stations for electric cars nationwide. The Inflation Reduction Act also boosts tax credits for EVs and charger installations.

To date, only eight public EV-charging stations have been deployed.

“That is pathetic. We’re now three years into this. That is a vast administrative failure,” Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) said at a June 5 Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works hearing. “Something is terribly wrong and it needs to be fixed.”

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has said that the administration plans to build 500,000 chargers by 2030.

“Now, in order to do a charger, it’s more than just plugging a small device into the ground,” Mr. Buttigieg told CBS’s “Face the Nation” last month. “There’s utility work, and this is also really a new category of federal investment. But we’ve been working with each of the 50 states.” When host Margaret Brennan asked why only seven or eight chargers had been built, he reiterated that a half-million chargers would be built in the next six years.

“And the very first handful of chargers are now already being physically built,” the secretary said.

Earlier this month, the Biden administration announced an extra $1.3 billion in funding to expand EV charging infrastructure in urban and rural communities.

“Doubling down on electrification is more important than ever to our economic prosperity and national security,” Joint Office Executive Director Gabe Klein said in a statement. “With the rest of the world pushing down on the accelerator; we are moving fast to position the United States as the global leader in the future that everyone is racing toward.”

State of the US EV Market
Over the past year, U.S. consumer demand for EVs has stalled, forcing automakers such as General Motors, Ford Motor, and Volkswagen to scale back or postpone their EV plans.

But while motorists’ appetites for electric cars have faded, EV prices have been falling, particularly for used ones.

Data from iSeeCars show that used EV prices were, on average, 8 percent lower than the average price for a used gas-powered car.

“There’s no denying the crash in used electric vehicle values over the past year,” said Karl Brauer, executive analyst at iSeeCars. “We’ve watched [EVs’] prices fall between 30 and 40 percent since June of last year, while the average gas car’s price has dropped by just 3 to 7 percent in that same timeframe.”

In January, Hertz revealed that it was selling off 20,000 EVs, representing about one-third of its entire EV fleet. The car rental company was even selling used Teslas at an average price of $25,000.

The decision came three years after announcing the largest EV rental fleet in North America.

New Electric Cars
Edmunds figures highlight that the cheapest new electric cars today are the 2024 Nissan Leaf ($28,140), 2024 Mini Electric Hardtop ($30,900), and 2024 Tesla Model 3 ($38,990).

EV market conditions are expected to stabilize in the next couple of years.

According to S&P Global Ratings, modest demand growth will range between 1 percent and 2 percent from 2024 to 2026.

“Softer sales growth in March (which equated to an annual sales rate of 15.5 million units) is consistent with our forecasts, which incorporate a delayed impact on consumer purchasing power from the contiguous macroeconomic shocks of high vehicle prices, ongoing inflation, and higher interest rates for longer,” the firm stated in an April report.

The Waverly Ruritan 2nd Annual Car and Bike Show June 15 - See all the photos at Album - opens to a new window

California EV Conversion Bill Doesn’t Quite Seem Fair

From The Auto Wire
Recently, the California legislature passed a bill which uses taxpayer dollars to incentivize the conversion of existing internal combustion engine vehicles to EVs. Some are celebrating what likely will be signed into law by Governor Newsom, but we're not so excited.

Originally, SB 301 was written so private citizens converting their ICE car to an EV would get at least $2,000 for the effort. That was changed so people can get up to $4,000. After all, EV conversions aren't exactly cheap and we don't think that's going to change anytime soon.

And that's the rub. These conversions are often being done by wealthy people. Can they not cough up the extra $4,000? Does the struggling single mom, the retired couple on a fixed income, the working class family of six need to help finance the playthings of the rich?

Well, the answer in the past has been yes. After all, the federal government and plenty of states were handing out tax incentives for anyone buying a new EV. It was well known at the time that the vast majority of people snatching up Teslas and such were some of the highest earners in society.

And yet people were cheering about this bill making EV conversions more accessible for Californians in general. Hilarious.

It's true that people in higher income brackets pay a higher tax rate. But does that justify financing their EV conversions? From what we've seen, there's been little to no discussion about this. Instead, the focus has been on climate change and air pollution. Hobby cars pollute little because they're driven little, so that's a silly focal point.

What we also take issue with is ruining the historicity of classic cars. We know purists can be annoyingly pedantic, but we can't help wonder how many engines from historically significant vehicles will be trashed as a result of this upcoming law. A similar thing happened with Cash For Clunkers, with a result which wasn't what was promised.

But those who stand to benefit from this – companies which sell EV conversions – are all excited. They stand to see an upswing in business, all thanks to a little help from taxpayers. It just doesn't sit well with us at all, and for the record neither do oil company subsidies or others.

British Night June 15 - See all the photos at Album - opens to a new window. Photo by Jeff Malo

Slowing Demand Growth And Surging Supply Put Global Oil Markets On Course For Major Surplus This Decade

From IEA
New IEA medium-term outlook sees comfortably supplied oil markets to 2030, though unwavering focus on energy security will remain crucial as powerful forces transform sector

Growth in the world’s demand for oil is expected to slow in the coming years as energy transitions advance. At the same time, global oil production is set to ramp up, easing market strains and pushing spare capacity towards levels unseen outside of the Covid crisis, according to the IEA’s new oil market outlook. Oil 2024, the latest edition of the IEA’s annual medium-term market report, examines the far-reaching implications of these dynamics for oil supply security, refining, trade and investment. Based on today’s policies and market trends, strong demand from fast-growing economies in Asia, as well as from the aviation and petrochemicals sectors, is set to drive oil use higher in the coming years, the report finds. But those gains will increasingly be offset by factors such as rising electric car sales, fuel efficiency improvements in conventional vehicles, declining use of oil for electricity generation in the Middle East, and structural economic shifts. As a result, the report forecasts that global oil demand, which including biofuels averaged just over 102 million barrels per day in 2023, will level off near 106 million barrels per day towards the end of this decade.

In parallel, a surge in global oil production capacity, led by the United States and other producers in the Americas, is expected to outstrip demand growth between now and 2030. Total supply capacity is forecast to rise to nearly 114 million barrels a day by 2030 – a staggering 8 million barrels per day above projected global demand, the report finds. This would result in levels of spare capacity never seen before other than at the height of the Covid-19 lockdowns in 2020. Spare capacity at such levels could have significant consequences for oil markets – including for producer economies in OPEC and beyond, as well as for the US shale industry.

“As the pandemic rebound loses steam, clean energy transitions advance, and the structure of China’s economy shifts, growth in global oil demand is slowing down and set to reach its peak by 2030. This year, we expect demand to rise by around 1 million barrels per day,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. “This report’s projections, based on the latest data, show a major supply surplus emerging this decade, suggesting that oil companies may want to make sure their business strategies and plans are prepared for the changes taking place.”

Despite the slowdown in growth, global oil demand is still forecast to be 3.2 million barrels per day higher in 2030 than in 2023 unless stronger policy measures are implemented or changes in behaviour take hold. The increase is set to be driven by emerging economies in Asia – especially higher oil use for transport in India – and by greater use of jet fuel and feedstocks from the booming petrochemicals industry, notably in China. By contrast, oil demand in advanced economies is expected to continue its decades-long decline, falling from close to 46 million barrels per day in 2023 to less than 43 million barrels per day by 2030. Apart from during the pandemic, the last time oil demand from advanced economies was that low was 1991.

Producers outside of OPEC+ are leading the expansion of global production capacity to meet this anticipated demand, accounting for three-quarters of the expected increase to 2030. The United States alone is poised to account for 2.1 million barrels per day of non-OPEC+ gains, while Argentina, Brazil, Canada and Guyana contribute a further 2.7 million barrels per day.

The report’s forecast finds that as the flow of approved projects fizzles out towards the end of this decade, capacity growth slows and then stalls among the leading non-OPEC+ producers. However, if companies continue to approve additional projects already on the drawing board, a further 1.3 million barrels per day of non-OPEC+ capacity could become operational by 2030.

According to the report, global refining capacity is on track to expand by 3.3 million barrels per day between 2023 and 2030, well below historical trends. However, this should be sufficient to meet demand for refined oil products during this period, given a concurrent surge in the supply of non-refined fuels such as biofuels and natural gas liquids (NGLs). This raises the prospect of refinery closures towards the end of the outlook period, as well as a slowdown in capacity growth in Asia after 2027.

Richmond Metropolitan Antique Automobile Car Club of Virginia Auto Show June 22
See all the photos at Album - opens to a new window

The Briefs

In a surprising reversal, New York Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul has reportedly announced an indefinite delay on the new and controversial congestion pricing plan for drivers accessing Manhattan’s central business district. This decision was made in response to concerns that it could impact the Democrats’ election prospects as well as further damage the economy of New York City. Hochul announced on Wednesday that she had instructed the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to postpone the commencement of the new toll until after June 30. The congestion pricing proposal of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) would impose a minimum charge of $15 on drivers who enter Midtown Manhattan south of 60th Street. The rush hour fare would be charged to drivers for nearly the entire day, with weekdays spanning from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. and weekends from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Cars would be assessed $3.75 for the remaining hours.

Oakland removes traffic lights because thieves were stealing the wires. Oakland is allowing a massive homeless encampment. Some homeless people rip down the copper wiring from the traffic lights, then reroute the electricity to an RV or camper. The solution from the city of Oakland is to replace the traffic lights with stop signs.

A nationwide crime trend plaguing car owners has gained renewed focus amid the unsolved killing of "General Hospital" actor Johnny Wactor who was gunned down when he caught thieves in Los Angeles ripping off the catalytic converter of his Toyota Prius. The automotive part meant to reduce smog caused by combustion engines has become a preferred target for criminals as the prices of the precious metals inside the component -- rhodium, platinum and palladium -- have skyrocketed in recent years. Rhodium, for instance, currently goes for $4,750 a troy ounce, the measurement for precious metals, or about twice the cost of gold, according to Trading Economics, a website that tracks economic indicators. Platinum is currently priced at $1,046 per troy ounce, while palladium is going for $957. According to the National Automobile Dealers Association, a stolen catalytic converter can fetch between $20 and $350 on the black market.

Stellantis plans to sell a $25,000, fully-electric Jeep in the United States “very soon” to boost sales, according to CEO Carlos Tavares. Tavares, speaking at a Bernstein investor conference in New York on Wednesday, said the new electric vehicle would be feasible because the company already sells low-price EVs at a profit in other markets. He pointed to the Citroën e-C3, an electric hatchback that goes for about $25,200 in Europe. “We are using the same expertise because we are a global company, and this is totally fluid across the engineering world of Stellantis,” Tavares said. Automakers have focused on producing cheaper cars and EVs in recent months, as high prices remain a barrier to entry for many consumers. Several companies — including Ford Motor Co., Tesla, and Volkswagen — aim to put out EVs that cost less than $30,000 over the next few years. In the U.S. last month, the average selling price of a new EV was $55,242, per Cox Automotive.

Corey Harris, 44, attended his pre-trial hearing on driving with a suspended license remotely, over Zoom, on May 15, The New York Times reported. No problem with that, but as Harris checked into the meeting with the Washtenaw County District Court in Michigan, he told the judge, "I'm pulling into my doctor's office, actually, so just give me one second, I'm parking right now." Huh. Video showed Harris in the driver's seat and turning the wheel as he located a parking spot. "So maybe I don't understand something," Judge J. Cedric Simpson said. "This is a driver with a license suspended?" Harris' attorney, Natalie Pate, confirmed the charge. "And he was just driving?" Simpson asked. Seconds of silence went by, with Harris appearing to realize his mistake. "That is correct, your honor," Pate said. "I don't know why he would do that," the judge answered, right before he revoked Harris' bond and ordered him to turn himself in by 6 p.m. His next hearing is on June 5.

Ulysses Whitfield, 85, retired this week from driving a school bus for Suffolk (Virginia) Public Schools, WAVY-TV reported. Over his 70-year career (yep, you read that right), he took only two half-days off. "During that time, students could drive," Whitfield said of the beginning of his career in 1954. He delivered students through changes in technology and racial upheaval, he said, "But it was smooth with me, though. I didn't have any problems with the kids at all. Respect the kids, and you will receive respect from them." Whitfield plans to come back part-time in the fall to train his replacement "to make sure the run is done nice and smooth, like I was doing it. I have good kids. I'm going to miss them, I know it."

Sandra Rogers, 80, of Dunedin, Florida, lives on Peaceful Lane, but it may be time to rename the street. On May 17, The Smoking Gun reported, Rogers left her home and walked over to a neighbor's house, where John Faraone, 72, was washing his motorcycle. Police said Rogers first "engaged in a verbal argument regarding his water usage" and took pictures of Faraone with her phone. Then things escalated: Rogers allegedly spit on Faraone and "pulled on the victim's beard." A witness confirmed that Rogers was the "primary aggressor." Rogers was arrested on May 20 with a third-degree felony charge. She was freed on $100 bond and ordered to have no contact with Faraone.

Joel Solorzano Villeda, 33, of Little Rock, Iowa, was pulled over on May 12 after being "all over the road" in Rock Rapids. The Smoking Gun reported that Villeda showed signs of intoxication, had an open beer can and also had methamphetamine. When asked for ID, Villeda produced a Minnesota driver's license, which described him as 8 feet tall. Villeda is actually 5 feet, 8 inches tall; he was charged with narcotics possession, operating a vehicle while intoxicated and providing a false ID. Cops also learned he had an outstanding warrant in another Iowa county.

Chaos erupted on Tuesday, when an Atlanta bus was hijacked by a gunman who led police on a 20-mile chase that resulted in the death of one person. The incident began around 4:30 p.m. when Atlanta police received multiple 911 calls about a man holding 17 hostages on a Gwinnett County Transit bus and reports of shots fired. As the bus sped through traffic, one 911 call was abruptly disconnected, while another came from a relative of a passenger, who reported receiving alarming text messages. An open line from someone on the bus also provided critical information to police. One of the victims called her husband while the bus was speeding down I-85, and he was able use the GPS tracker on her cell phone to see where the bus was going. The man told his wife to hang up the phone, because the suspect shot someone during the call and the husband was afraid that he “might think she was calling the police.” Responding officers identified the suspect as 39-year-old Joseph Grier, who was seen holding a gun to the bus driver’s head, and forcing him to put the pedal to the metal as multiple law enforcement agencies followed in pursuit. The bus collided with several vehicles, including a Gwinnett County patrol car, as it weaved through traffic. Chopper footage captured the bus flying down the highway, with other drivers desperately trying to get out of its way. At one point, all lanes of the interstate were shut down as officers attempted various tactics to stop the bus, including an unsuccessful “PIT” maneuver. Ultimately, the bus was brought to a halt around 20 miles away in Tucker, Georgia, thanks to the well placed deployment of spike strips.

One of Joe Biden’s biggest allies has come under investigation by a federal watchdog. Elected in 2023, Shawn Fain the president of the United Auto Workers union, has served as a leftwing apparatchik the Joe Biden, trying to help him undermine Donald Trump’s growing appeal with union workers. The Detroit News reported that Fain has come under investigation for abusing his power as union president.

A California administrative judge rejected Tesla's bid to dismiss claims by a top state regulator accusing the automaker led by billionaire Elon Musk of overstating its vehicles' self-driving capabilities. In a decision on Monday, Judge Juliet Cox of the state Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) said the accusations by California's Department of Motor Vehicles would if true support an enforcement action against Tesla. The DMV had in July 2022 accused Tesla of misleading consumers about vehicles with Autopilot and Full Self-Driving technology, saying they "could not at the time of those advertisements, and cannot now, operate as autonomous vehicles." It sought remedies that could include suspending Tesla's license to sell vehicles in California, and requiring Tesla to make restitution to vehicle owners.

A Florida woman who dialed 9-1-1 on herself during an attempted car theft claimed she wanted to commit the crime “legally.” Because all crime is seemingly stranger in Florida, law enforcement officers responded to a call from a woman at a car dealership who said she was trying to steal a vehicle, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) announced. Christy Lee Turman, 37, reportedly informed the police that she was in the parking lot and wanted to report her criminal intentions to ensure she could “do it legally,” a spokesperson from the department stated. “I’m trying to steal a car that’s not legally mine,” Turman told a 9-1-1 dispatcher on the phone. “So y’all gotta come make a report. I’m reporting this.” Upon arrival, deputies discovered Turman getting out of the driver’s seat of a stolen Toyota Corolla. Body cam footage from one of the responding officers shows the female suspect standing in the car dealership parking lot with her hands behind her back. Turman explained to the police that she was “being trained in a game of Black Ops to steal a car, but called 9-1-1 in attempt to make her carjacking legal,” the spokesperson added. The would-be carjacker was subsequently arrested and charged with trespassing, according. Truman has long criminal record, including charges for petty theft, disorderly conduct, battery, and drug possession.

The age of the average car on American roads is now 12.6 years.

Fisker, a much-hyped startup that sought to mimic Tesla’s success, has filed for bankruptcy, roughly a year after releasing its first electric-vehicle model. The filing marks the second time an automotive venture by car designer Henrik Fisker has gone bust and follows weeks of quietly winding down its operations. The seven-year-old California-based company sought a cheaper and faster entry into the auto industry by outsourcing manufacturing but struggled with the complexities of running a publicly held company. Fisker is the latest among a crop of once-highflying EV startups that looked to upend the traditional auto industry but have run out of charge. Pickup maker Lordstown Motors and bus manufacturer Arrival both filed for bankruptcy protection. Others are cutting costs or delaying investments, in an effort to conserve their remaining cash.

Repair Mistakes & Blunders

From Rock Auto
I was a teenager in the 1970s, and my pride and joy was a spotless light blue 1967 Ford Fairlane.

One day, during a regular washing of the car, my dad told me that spraying the tires with silicone spray would make them shine like brand new tires. I sprayed the tires and was amazed at how good they looked!

My friends commented on them and asked what I had done to the tires to make them look so good. I was excited about the newfound "trick" that no one else seemed to know about. The "trick" progressed to also spraying the weatherstripping, door panels, dashboard, sun visors, etc.

The car never looked better, but I went too far when I sprayed the clutch, brake, and accelerator pedals. The silicone spray made everything very shiny and nice looking but also very slippery! My foot would slip off of the clutch pedal resulting in the pedal raking my ankle and the inside of my left leg causing some serious pain. Trying to stop the car with a slippery brake pedal was a scary ordeal to say the least and keeping my foot on the accelerator pedal was a constant chore! I quickly resolved to only putting silicone spray on the tires.

Aaron in Georgia

This is a 1967 Rambler Rogue at the AMO convention. It is the first one I've seen in person - there were only 58 built. It was special ordered when new and believed to be the first Rambler from the factory with a Hurst shifter.

Sky Vacuums May Not Reduce Carbon, But They Sure Are Good At Sucking Up Billions

Website The Hustle
The controversial environment-saving tech that sounds like it was pitched by a stoned teenager — “You should, like, suck all the carbon stuff out of the sky or whatever” — is suddenly a very real thing.

Direct air capture (DAC) is the emerging atmosphere-restoring process of sucking in large quantities of air, stripping out carbon dioxide molecules, then transferring that carbon into underground storage.

Could that really work?

Nobody knows for sure, but 2024 has been DAC’s multibillion-dollar coming-out party anyway, with sky-sucking plants multiplying fast.

This week, a new DAC facility officially opened in Oregon.

Earlier this month, the “world’s largest” carbon-yoinker went on line in Iceland.

Last month, another massive plant went operational in Colorado.

While the tech is starting to be deployed at scale, that doesn’t mean we’re about to find out how effective it actually is, per Heatmap.

As more plants open, proponents will start a yearslong process of amassing actionable data. Only then can they determine if carbon removal can ever be sustainable, scaleable, or economically viable enough to actually affect atmospheric change.

Critics, who have called the tech “a dangerous distraction” and “a scam,” aren’t holding their breath.

They have a point: when the three newly-operational plants are fully scaled up, they will combine to remove 42k metric tons of CO2 per year; the world continues to annually emit 40B+ metric tons.

Why is DAC scoring billions then?

The tech’s impact is speculative, but this isn’t: The money will keep flowing and the DAC plants will keep coming fast.

Oil companies love the optics of carbon capture — it’s cheaper to throw hundreds of millions at an unproven solution that makes them appear climate-conscious than to lose billions on a proven solution: slowing fossil fuel production.

Another deep-pocketed, optics-loving crowd (politicians) dig it, too: US and European governments combined to toss ~$20B at advancing carbon capture last year.

FOMO-avoidant VCs can’t resist DAC either, pouring in ~$13B to date.

Anyway, in solidarity with carbon-capturing scientists, we will now go try to remove all the salt from the Pacific Ocean with a colander. Wish us luck.

This SC/Rambler was the most rusty vehicle at the show - and also the loudest with its 390 engine and dual carburetor cross ram intake - but it still has the original paint and more.

Americans Cling To Gas Cars Over EVs Even At Equal Prices, Survey Reveals: What's The Biggest Factor?

From MSN
Americans prefer to buy a standard gas vehicle over a hybrid or electric vehicle even within the same price range, a new study showed on Thursday.

What Happened: The KPMG American Perspectives Survey assessed the views of 1,100 adults nationwide to conclude that people would still prefer a gas car over a hybrid or EV even with the same price and features.

Only one out of 5 respondents to the survey said they would prefer an EV with a whopping 38% opting for a standard gas vehicle. Another 34%, however, said they would like to buy a hybrid.

However, things are different in San Francisco, where 73% of respondents said they would pick an electric or hybrid vehicle over a gas one if prices and features equaled.

Possible Reasons: A major hindrance to EV adoption is seemingly charging time. While an 80% charge on an EV currently takes 20 to 60 minutes on a fast charger and 4 to 10 hours on a level 2 charger, 60% of consumers want it in 20 minutes or less, the survey noted.

Furthermore, fewer consumers said they are likely to pay for self-driving features on their cars when compared to safety features like lane keep assist, in-vehicle Wi-Fi, and charging locator, dimming hopes for companies including EV giant Tesla, Inc. which is now laser-focussing on enabling vehicle autonomy and expects it to be a huge driver of value.

The consumer perspective survey comes amidst a global slowdown in EV demand. While some industry specialists have often pinned the slow transition to EVs on the higher costs of EVs as compared to gas vehicles, the survey refutes it.

As Climate Lawsuits Ramp Up Against Oil and Gas, So Could Energy Costs

From The Epoch Times
States are not just suing oil and gas companies; they are also lodging climate-related lawsuits against food companies.

As U.S. oil, gas, and coal companies struggle under an array of regulations and permitting roadblocks, they also face new challenges from climate activists in the form of lawsuits, fines, taxes, and shareholder activism from blue-state pension funds.

Meanwhile, U.S. states increasingly are set against each other, with liberal states leading the charge against fossil fuel companies, while red states attempt to defend them.

Starting in 2018, states including New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Delaware, Connecticut, and California, as well as the District of Columbia, began filing lawsuits against energy giants ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Sunoco, BP, and others.

Oil companies also face legal action from dozens of cities, including Honolulu; Chicago; Baltimore; New York City; Charleston, South Carolina; San Francisco; Oakland, California; and Boulder, Colorado.

Analysts say there are multiple goals driving these suits.

“It’s partly ideological, trying to drive these companies out of business,” Kenny Stein, policy vice president at the Institute for Energy Research, told The Epoch Times. He also said he believes it has to do with consumers’ use of fossil fuels.

“These governments are trying to mandate that people use less oil and less natural gas, but people want to heat their homes as much as they want, they want to drive as far as they want,” Mr. Stein said. “If the state banned the sale of oil, the population would revolt, so this is their backdoor way of trying to impose their will.”

Many of the climate lawsuits assert that pollution caused by oil companies creates a “public nuisance” and the companies intentionally deceived the public about the harmful effects when they caused global temperatures to rise.

The activist organization Climate Analytics tried to calculate the alleged damages.

“Between 1985 and 2018, we estimate partial damages of the combined CO2 emissions from 25 companies—oil and gas carbon majors—of about $20 trillion USD,” Climate Analytics states.

Meanwhile, on May 30, Vermont became the first state to pass a law that forces oil companies to pay for damage caused by “extreme weather events,” such as floods. According to this law, Vermont will tally the cost to residents of extreme weather events over the past 30 years; any company that has released more than 1 billion metric tons of CO2 from 1995 to 2024 will be forced to pay its share of that cost into a state climate superfund.

But it’s not just about money.

“This is simply a strategy for the left to accomplish what they’ve been unable to do in Congress through the ballot box, and that is to implement a nationwide climate policy that’s consistent with their green agenda,” Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall told The Epoch Times.

Mr. Marshall and 18 other attorneys general—all from red states—appealed to the Supreme Court on May 22, asking the justices to rule on whether individual states and cities can “assert the power to dictate the future of the American energy industry. “Their actions imperil access to affordable energy everywhere and inculpate every State and indeed every person on the planet,” the attorneys general wrote. “Consequently, [they] threaten not only our system of federalism and equal sovereignty among States, but our basic way of life.”

States are not just suing oil and gas companies; they are also lodging climate-related lawsuits against food companies.

In February, New York Attorney General Letitia James sued JBS USA Food Co., a U.S. subsidiary of the Brazil-based JBS Group, the world’s largest meat processor, alleging that the firm misled the public about its environmental impact and that “beef production emits the most greenhouse gasses of any major food commodity.”

The Climate Litigation Industry

The potential for enormous payouts from these lawsuits has attracted not only a seemingly endless supply of plaintiffs, but also numerous law firms and even wealthy investors who are placing bets that the lawsuits will succeed.

The plan to potentially wrest trillions of dollars out of energy companies has been developing for more than a decade. A 2012 workshop hosted by the Climate Accountability Institute sought to draw on prior successes that states had in suing tobacco companies.

A post-conference recap of the workshop stated that the group had fostered “an exploratory, open-ended dialogue“ about whether it might ”use the lessons from tobacco-related education, laws, and litigation to address climate change.”

Under the tobacco settlement, the companies agreed to make annual payments to states in perpetuity, summing to at least $200 billion within the first 25 years, as long as cigarettes are sold in the United States. Over the past decade, an entire industry has emerged to bring the climate litigation plan to fruition on multiple fronts, and to raise millions of dollars to fund it.

A tug of war over jurisdiction has ensued between the states and the oil companies, with the companies pressing to defend themselves in federal courts and states fighting to have the cases remain within their borders.

“If you’re the state of California, you want a liberal judge hearing your argument about these cases,” Mr. Marshall said. He argued that federal courts are the appropriate forum to decide on national issues and to provide “a fair opportunity for both sides to be heard.”

In a victory for blue states, however, the U.S. Supreme Court in April 2023 declined appeals by oil companies seeking to move the cases to federal court from the states.

According to Mr. Stein, these lawsuits are unlikely to survive in federal courts, given the paucity of evidence tying specific weather events affecting states, such as floods, to CO2 emissions, but also the challenge of quantifying the specific contributions of energy companies, given all the other sources of CO2 emissions, such as farming, animals, and human respiration.

“When you’re using political slogans to try and blame a company for something, you can talk in generalities, but when you’re going to try to charge somebody money in a court of law, you have to be able to defend that charge,” he said.

“The actual attribution of trying to claim that a certain amount of damages were caused by a certain oil company, the evidence just doesn’t exist for that.”

Whether the majority of these cases succeed on their merits could prove to be beside the point, however. A report on climate litigation published by Yale Law School states that “the litigants are hoping to find one judge in one state in one courtroom that sees a path to allowing these cases to go to trial.”

“Once you get to that point—where you’re past preliminary motions and you’re heading toward discovery and trial—it’s a very different balance of power between the litigants,” the report states. “The plaintiffs can start asking for documents and can start constructing a narrative about what the industry knew and how it acted in the face of that knowledge.”

Teaching Judges About Climate

Climate activists also have developed an advocacy network to instruct judges on the merits of climate lawsuits. One such effort is the Climate Judiciary Project (CJP), founded in 2018 by the Environmental Law Institute (ELI).

The project “provides unbiased, objective continuing education courses to judges about climate science and the law,” ELI spokesman Nick Collins told The Epoch Times.

The ELI says that it has trained more than 3,000 judges across 28 countries since 1990. The CJP trained more than 400 judges in 2022 alone, according to its annual report, and developed a program for select judges to play a leadership role within the judiciary system. “The judges came away [from the Judicial Leaders in Climate Science program] steeped in facts about the science of climate change, deeply impressed with their consequences, and committed to working together and reaching out to fellow judges to convey what they had learned,” the report stated.

If climate litigation succeeds, the expense will most likely be borne by everyday consumers in the form of higher prices for gasoline, electricity, and home heating. While the skyrocketing cost of cigarettes may have encouraged people to quit smoking, a viable alternative to oil, gas, and coal, which currently supply about 80 percent of Americans’ energy needs, hasn’t yet emerged.

“These companies aren’t going out of business; both oil and natural gas are going to continue to be used for a very long time,” Mr. Stein said. “What will ultimately happen is that these companies are just going to have to raise prices to account for the legal costs.”

‘Shrinking’ Exxon

Beyond the courtroom, climate activists are also seeking to leverage the corporate shares owned by state pension funds to force changes within oil and gas companies.

The most recent example of this was an effort at the end of May by blue-state pension funds, led by the California Public Employment Retirement System (CalPERS), and joined by the states of New York and Illinois.

The states demanded to replace the entire board of Exxon Mobil after its management blocked a proposal by climate activists, such as Arjuna Capital and Follow This, that would have committed the oil and gas company to curbing greenhouse gas emissions and shrinking the size of the company.

CalPERS, which is the United States’ largest state pension fund, has been known to throw its weight behind progressive causes when voting its corporate shares. Alabama State Auditor Andrew Sorrell wrote in an op-ed, “While it is unfortunate for Exxon to continually deal with political shareholders uninterested in the future growth of the company, the biggest losers are the pensioners who rely on their public officials to make investment decisions that will yield good returns to fund their retirements.”

Nineteen red-state financial officers also expressed opposition, in some cases getting their own state funds to cast votes against CalPERS.

“This is really an unprecedented and ridiculous move to attack the core business of Exxon, which, by the way, provides $145 million of revenue to the state of Louisiana through taxes,” Louisiana State Treasurer John Fleming, who led the movement against CalPERS, told The Epoch Times. “This would be damaging to households all across the country.”

Shareholders ultimately rejected CalPERS’s attempt, but the battle is far from over.

“If they continue efforts like this, they could begin to reach critical mass, or even if they only have a sizable minority, they can influence positions on these boards and leadership,“ Mr. Fleming said. ”I think it’s a very dangerous and destructive thing.”

The owner is standing beside his Rambler American. The car has the 232-6 with a cam and kit, Holley four-barrel carburetor on an aluminum intake with headers that go into loud dual exhaust that exits just behind the doors. Car also has a Mustang II rack and pinion style steering. He intends to upgrade to electric power steering.

Virginia Beach’s Infamous ‘no cursing’ Signs Being Donated To Police Charity

From The Hill
In the 1990s Virginia Beach put up “no cursing” signs.

Critics say the signs weren’t effective or welcoming to visitors.

The signs were taken down in May of 2019, and the Virginia Beach City Council unanimously approved a resolution on Tuesday to donate the signs to the Virginia Beach Police Foundation, which will auction them off.

No, not in the technical sense, but they’ll be auctioned off later this year to help raise funds for a local police charity.

The Virginia Beach City Council unanimously approved a resolution on Tuesday to donate the signs to the Virginia Beach Police Foundation, a nonprofit separate from the police force that funds several initiatives, including helping families of injured and sick officers.

About 30 signs remain in the city’s possession after they were taken down in May of 2019, just after the first Something in the Water festival.

The Atlantic Avenue Association said Virginia Beach’s signs, put up in the 1990s as part of a larger effort to encourage a family-friendly atmosphere and control crowds, clearly weren’t effective, and weren’t welcoming to visitors.

A year after they came down in 2019, Virginia legislators finally voted to repeal the commonwealth’s 1792 law that made cursing in public a crime.

Ironically, the city code of Virginia Beach still lists cursing as a misdemeanor punishable with a $250 fine.

Colorblind: “Grayscale Palette” Applies to Most Car Color Preferences, With Exceptions

Kitchen appliance colors for cars: black, white, gray and silver from Hagerty
If any car deserves a cheerful color palette, it’s the Mazda Miata, introduced in the U.S. for 1990 in your choice of bright red, white, or blue.

Now, muted variations on that original red, white, and blue are still offered, but so are four additional colors: black, two shades of gray, and Zircon Sand Metallic, which Mazda says is an “earthy tone.”

It’s kind of a funeral, this trend toward neutral car colors. That was not overlooked in our review last week of a 2024 Mazda Miata Club that Andrew Newton drove: The Miata’s color options are “bland as a bowl of sawdust,” he wrote. “If you’ve been praying for a handsome British Racing Green or a nice bright blue, keep praying, because Mazda has ignored you yet again. There is a new shade for 2024 but it’s… another shade of gray.” His test car was Zircon Sand, which he described as a “sort of muddy sand color, with some green in it.”

Turns out that it isn’t just the Miata—the entire industry has been steering away from colorful cars, according to a study by the website iSeeCars.com. Grayscale colors (white, black, gray, and silver) made up 80 percent of cars in 2023 compared to 60.3 percent in 2004, the study said. This despite the fact that there were nearly the same number of colors offered in 2023 as there were in 2004, with an average of 6.7 colors per model today compared to 7.1 colors per model 20 years ago.

iSeeCars analyzed the colors of over 20 million used cars from model years 2004 to 2023 sold from January 2023 to April 2024. The share of each color within each model year was calculated, as was the difference in share between model years 2004 and 2023.

“Colorful cars appear to be an endangered species,” said Karl Brauer, iSeeCars executive analyst. “Despite a diverse palette being offered by automakers, there are far fewer non-grayscale cars sold today. They’ve lost half their market share over the past 20 years, and they could become even rarer in another 20 years.”

Colors like gold, purple, brown, and beige have each lost more than 80 percent of their share over this period, and even mainstream colors like green, red, and blue gave up some ground. Interestingly, green has made a small comeback in the last few years as the only non-grayscale color to gain some market share back since 2020.

And it isn’t just cars. “Trucks followed the overall market trend, though some primary colors, like red, lost far more share than others, like blue,” said Brauer. Red is down 57 percent in the truck segment, while blue lost less than one percent.

“If drivers think they’re seeing less color on the roads these days, they are,” he said. “Every non-grayscale color lost ground over the past 20 years.”

It should not come as a surprise, then, that color affects resale value, but it doesn’t necessarily follow the grayscale-dominant formula. Hagerty Valuation Analytics Director John Wiley wrote a year ago that cars “slathered in eye-catching colors never fail to garner attention. The degree to which those colors impact value, however, can vary wildly from model to model.”

For vehicles with relatively few trim choices or minimal differences, color can be a much more important consideration, Wiley said. The 2012–13 Ford Mustang Boss 302 didn’t offer a lot of options, but it did allow buyers to select from 10 colors: Black, Competition Orange, Gotta Have It Green, Grabber Blue, High Performance White, Ingot Silver, Kona Blue, Race Red, School Bus Yellow, and Yellow Blaze.

Three of those colors—Black, Kona Blue, and Yellow Blaze—can mean a discount of up to 11 percent (sorry, Yellow Blaze) on the average value, while three other colors, High Performance White, Competition Orange, and Gotta Have It Green can provide owners a premium of about 17 percent.

Wiley wrote another story in 2021 about how color affects the value of Chevrolet Corvettes. Comparing apples to apples, the research was applied to 1700 sales. “The median premium for each major color group reveals white as the most valuable [adding 8.9 percent], followed by yellow, purple, and red. At the other extreme are earth tones like copper, green, bronze, and brown [down 10.2 percent].”

Still another story from that year explored what color does to Porsche 911 values. “The winner? Yellow. Porsches painted that color tended to sell for nearly $3000 more than average.” At the other end of the (color) spectrum, “black Porsches tended to earn $1385 below average.”

If you’re talking about a pure, mainstream, just-transportation car like a Toyota Camry or Honda Accord, the exclusively-grayscale palette may be a good rule of thumb to help bring solid resale values. But for sportier cars, the answer may lie somewhere over the rainbow.

4th of July at Nantasket Beach Massachusetts

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