PrairiePundit

  Fox Business: Following 25 years of what oil and gas executives categorize as hostility to the industry, the state is now making a play to keep those companies from leaving. Concerned with the exodus of oil and gas companies, refinery closures and the expensive price of gasoline in the state, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation last week that fast tracks the approval of 2,000 new wells per year over the next 10 years in Kern County, a significant oil-producing region. Andy Walz, Chevron's president of Americas products, said during an appearance on FOX Business, "I think it's been a tyranny of about 25 years to get the refining business to leave California." Walz told reporters last summer about Chevron's move from California to Texas, saying the company has "been doing that because California is a tough place to do business." "It's a tough place to recruit people," he said. "It's a tough place to move employees – a...

  Trending Politics: The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday shattered the dreams of California’s climate justice warriors in a decision that saw one of the three liberal justices side against them. In a 7-2 ruling, the high court allowed the state’s energy producers to pursue their lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as they seek to undo state laws regulating the number of electric vehicles that must be sold before 2035, the point at which California hopes to become carbon neutral. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, writing for the majority, suggested that the EV mandates are “stringent” and a potentially “unlawful” targeting of a specific industry by the government. “The government generally may not target a business or industry through stringent and allegedly unlawful regulation, and then evade the resulting lawsuits by claiming that the targets of its regulation should be locked out of court as unaffected bystanders,” said Kavanaugh. “In light of this Court’s precedents and...

 NPR: A slew of new tariffs, including some specific to vehicles, have many Americans reassessing their plans to buy a car — moving them up to take advantage of today's tariff-free pricing , or reevaluating whether they want a new car at all, given the economic uncertainty. President Trump has recently floated the idea of a temporary pause on the 25% tax on imported cars, as a reprieve for automakers. But even if he goes ahead with that idea, tariffs will still affect the auto industry. And deciding not to purchase a new car won't fully insulate drivers from price changes, either. That's because tariffs are pushing up the prices of parts — so the cost of maintenance and repairs are also poised to rise. And when repairing cars gets more expensive, so does something else: auto insurance. ... Right now, there's a 25% tariff on imported new cars . There's also a plan to impose a 25% tariff on at least some imported car parts, although the details aren't finalized ...

 Newsmax: Honda is considering switching some car production from Mexico and Canada to the United States, aiming for 90% of cars sold in the country to be made locally in response to new U.S. auto tariffs, the Nikkei newspaper reported Tuesday. Japan's second-biggest automaker by sales plans to increase U.S. vehicle production by as much as 30% over two to three years in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to put a 25% levy on imported vehicles, Nikkei said. ... I drove Hondas for several years until I moved to the country, where it became more inconvenient to get them serviced.  I found them very reliable and fun to drive.  Now I have Fords that I am happy with, and I can get them serviced locally and get a ride back to my house while they are being serviced.  I especially like my F-150, as does my spouse.  While the Honda dealer did nice work, I would sometimes have to spend most of the day in their waiting room to get the work done.

 DC Daily Journal: ... President Trump’s hefty new tariffs on over $1 trillion in foreign imports are already shaking things up, funneling investments and jobs back to American soil. Countries are scrambling to dodge the reciprocal tariffs set to kick in on April 2, negotiating deals to ease their own tariffs on U.S. goods. Meanwhile, carmakers like Rolls-Royce, Hyundai, and Honda are rerouting production to the U.S. to sidestep the 25% tariffs on imported autos and parts, which roll out next week. At least a dozen companies are following suit, betting on American-made over tariff headaches. Economists are nodding in agreement: Trump’s campaign pledge to bring back manufacturing jobs is taking shape. The United Auto Workers (UAW), despite backing Kamala Harris in 2024, is cheering the auto tariffs. UAW President Shawn Fain pointed to a dozen plants—think Ford, GM, and Stellantis brands like Jeep and Chrysler—that have bled production to Mexico and beyond over the years. “The econom...

 National Review: President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday he will impose new 25 percent tariffs on all imported cars not made in the U.S. beginning next week. The tariffs only apply to finished vehicles, not auto parts. They will take effect on April 2, the same day that his long-awaited reciprocal tariffs are expected to start. The current U.S. tariff on foreign cars is 2.5 percent, and about half of all cars sold in the U.S. are imported from other countries. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the auto tariffs were being signed later in the day. ... The math suggeset the cars will be 22.5% percent more.  That is a substantial difference that gives an advantage to domestic auto-makers.  Ford, GM, and Chrysler are likely to see increased sales because of the differential.  Tesla could also benefit.

  Red State: On Tuesday, President Donald Trump made a public show of support for Elon Musk by having Musk, the co-founder and CEO of Tesla, help him pick out one of the several Tesla vehicles that were parked at the White House for purchase. As RedState reported, Trump told reporters that he would be buying one because "Number one, it's a great product — as good as it gets — and number two, because Elon Musk has devoted his energy and his life to doing this and I think he has been treated very unfairly by a very small group of people." Trump ended up buying a red Tesla Model S, which he said his staff will make use of since he doesn't drive (perhaps for security reasons?), and also indicated  he'd bought  a Tesla Cybertruck for his granddaughter, Kai. Musk, whose role at DOGE has sparked leftist protests and  violence , announced in turn that "as an act of faith in America" and as a show of support for the Trump administration that "Tesla is going ...

 Trending Politics: President Donald Trump’s looming tariffs are twisting the arms of auto manufacturers, including one that on Sunday announced it will be making a sizable investment in a key midwestern red state. Over the weekend, North American executives for Honda stated that the company’s next generation of Civic hybrids will be assembled inside an existing Indiana plant, shifting the Japanese company’s manufacturing from another location in Mexico to avoid the tariffs. The president intends to slap the southern neighbor with a 25% tariff on all imports by midnight Tuesday unless President Claudia Sheinbaum doubles down on her commitment to reducing the flow of deadly drugs and illegal immigrants. Previously, Honda had intended to build its newest fleet of Civics at a plant in Guadalajara starting in 2027. The change now means that the vehicles will almost certainly be built in Greensburg, home to the company’s sole manufacturing facility in Indiana. A company spokesperson dec...

 Newsmax: Trump: States Won't Be Allowed to Ban Gas-powered Cars If He's Elected This might set the hair of climate kooks on fire, but most people want to keep their gas-powered vehicles. 

  Daily Mail: Joe Biden has dealt another body blow to America's gas car manufacturers after his stuttering roll-out of EV charging points was slammed as 'pathetic'. The Transportation Department told automakers they have eight years to squeeze another 16 miles per gallon out of their cars if they want to stay in business - while the fuel efficiency of their trucks will have to double. Friday's edict came just weeks after the EPA slashed the limits on tailpipe emissions as part of the White House pledge to ensure that more than half of all new vehicles sold are electric by 2032. But the administration admitted last week that just seven EV charging stations have been built since a $5-billion program was signed off in 2021. 'That's just pathetic,' Sen Jeff Merkley (D-Ore) told a Senate hearing on Wednesday. 'Something is terribly wrong and it needs to be fixed.' The latest rules impose average miles per gallon limits across manufacturers' entire...

 Breitbart: A six-month investigation led to a series of raids on Mexican cartel-connected chop shops in the Houston metroplex this week. The raids led to the seizure of more than $1 million in stolen vehicles. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez posted photos on X showing the chop-shop operations located on Leago, Yale, and Gulf Bank streets. The auto-theft ring has “possible ties to a cartel,” the sheriff stated. ... The Cartel Jalisco New Generation also made news in Houston less than a week ago when the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas handed down a drug smuggling indictment against 41 people, Breitbart Texas’s Brandon Darby and Ildefonso Ortiz reported . The indictment identified 52-year-old Roque Zamudio Mendoza, from Michoacan, Mexico, as the ringleader. He is believed to be hiding in Mexico. ... They likely could find more cars that fit their needs in Houston.  See also: Illegal Immigrant Deported Several Times Charged With Murder in Ohio

 Daily Mail: Biden administration announces climate rules to phase out gas cars and make sure majority of vehicles sold by 2032 are electric or hybrid The market for EVs is not there at this time and may never be there.  By pushing something the consumers do not want Biden is creating a problem for car makers and for consumers. 

 PJ Media: "Sticker shock" has taken on a whole new meaning when new electric vehicle owners get their first repair bill following a simple fender bender. The Wall Street Journal reports that a San Francisco resident got in a minor accident with his electric truck. He thought that repairs would be "a couple-thousand-dollar bill from the repair shop and to be without his truck for a couple of weeks." Instead, the first-time EV owner was shocked to get a $22,000 bill for repairs that took 2 1/2 months. ... A bill that high for a traditional vehicle would likely lead to it being totaled.  See also: As demand for EVs plummets, Biden’s green fantasy is pummeling US auto dealers  From inflation to gas-stove bans, it’s clear President Biden and his top officials are living in an alternate reality. Perhaps no issue proves this point more than their unrealistic mandate for electric-vehicles, a multibillion-dollar effort to force Americans into cars they simply don’t want an...

 Engadget: Consumer Reports has published an extensive ranking of vehicle reliability, and the results pour cold water on the dependability of EVs and plug-in hybrids . The survey says electric vehicles suffer from 79 percent more maintenance issues than gas- or diesel-powered ones, while plug-in hybrids have 146 percent more problems. The troubles portray the industry’s growing pains with the relatively new technology as the planet sets record temperatures , and scientists warn of rapidly approaching deadlines to thwart global climate catastrophe. ... If only plug-in hybrids (PHEV) could enjoy those ratings. Instead, their longer list of trouble spots led to 146 percent more problems than traditional gas-powered vehicles. Lowlights include the Chrysler Pacifica , which scored an abysmal 14 out of 100, and Audi Q5 . However, several PHEVs defied the category’s expectations, including “standouts” like the Toyota RAV4 Prime and Kia Sportage . Several others, including the BMW X5 ...

 Washington Times: Auto dealers are struggling to sell a backlog of electric vehicles pushed onto their lots by manufacturers that have been forced to ramp up production by President Biden’s quest to end the use of fossil fuels. Along the way, the government and utilities have shifted the cost to taxpayers through billions of dollars in subsidies. A new study calculates taxpayers are on the hook for a staggering $50,000 for every electric vehicle sold, or $22 billion annually. That number excludes a recently extended $7,500 tax credit for certain electric vehicle purchases. ... Fossil fuel cars are still in demand because of several factors including the fact that they are easier to fuel and there is significantly more infrastructure to serve them.  They are also cheaper to repair. 

 Reuters: The Biden administration proposal to hike fuel economy standards through 2032 is not feasible and could cost automakers a total of more than $14 billion in fines, an automotive group said Friday. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents General Motors, Toyota Motor, Volkswagen, Hyundai and others, said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Corporate Average Fuel Economy proposal "exceeds maximum feasibility" and that the agency projects "manufacturers will pay over $14 billion in non-compliance penalties between 2027 and 2032". The fines would impact one in every two light trucks and one in every three passenger cars in 2027-2032, the group added. A separate document viewed by Reuters said the Detroit Three - GM, Ford Motor and Chrysler-parent Stellantis - would face about $10 billion in CAFE fines in that period. Across the world, efforts to reduce vehicle emissions and shift to electric vehicles are meeting resistance for rea...

 National Review: California EV Rules ‘Totally Impractical,’ Truckers Say; May as Well ‘Build a Spaceship and Go to Mars’ New regulations will force trucking companies to add only electric trucks to their fleets starting in January. This is a totally unrealistic idea.  It will likely result in keeping older trucks on the road just to supply current operations. 

 PJ Media: Soon after a World Economic Forum partner was caught calling for an “ end” to private car ownership , a climate expert is warning that the push to cancel gas-powered cars is just a ploy to end private transport. The climate crisis is a hoax, but it’s such a darn useful hoax for authoritarian globalists. Climate Depot’s Marc Morano  went on Fox Business Thursday and discussed how the Democrat and globalist push to replace gas cars with electric vehicles (EVs) isn’t about helping the environment but restricting Americans’ freedom of movement. “This really isn’t about them driving an electric car,” Morano said, highlighting how this is a top-down decision not based on popular demand. “This literally is — the banning of gas-powered cars — is being done just like a COVID lockdown without a vote,” he added. From California to the Biden Environmental Protection Agency to Australia, leftists are trying to force ordinary citizens into a corner with their gas car restrictions...

 Fox Business: Georgia thieves busted by cops when they stopped to charge getaway Tesla The stolen items, several guns and suspected marijuana were recovered by police Who knew that could be a problem? 

 Powerline: The mania for electric vehicles is a fad that is driven 100% by government regulation. The consumer verdict on EVs has been in for a century. Some of the earliest cars were battery-powered, but they lost out to gasoline-powered cars because gasoline-powered vehicles are better. Those who have been paying attention understand that there is zero chance that our existing motor vehicle fleet will be converted to EVs.  Mark Tapscott  sums up some of the reasons. I want to focus on just one of his points, the fact that the lithium batteries needed to replace our current vehicle fleet would require ridiculous amounts of mining of minerals, particularly lithium, the price of which is already sky-high. How do liberals intend to accomplish this unprecedented global mining project? Answer: they don’t. Mark quotes from a  report  by an environmental organization: This report finds that the United States can achieve zero emissions transportation while limiting th...