National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Archives

26 States Sue Biden Admin over Rule Pushing Electric Vehicles on Americans

June 28, 2024 Virginia Star Staff

A 26-state coalition is suing the Biden administration over a new rule that increases the average fuel economy of passenger cars and light trucks.

The states filed a legal challenge in the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals against the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to block the agency’s new fuel economy requirements for passenger cars and light trucks, which the agency finalized on June 7. Provided it withstands legal challenges, the rule will require auto manufacturers to adhere to an industry-wide fleet average of approximately 50.4 miles per gallon for passenger cars and light trucks by 2031 – a move that, critics say, would force car companies to drastically increase the share of their fleets that are electric vehicles (EVs), and, in turn, would negatively impact consumer pocketbooks and American energy independence.

Huge Percentage of EV Owners Want to Go Back to Normal Cars, Study Finds

June 21, 2024 Virginia Star Staff

Nearly half of American electric vehicle (EV) owners want to buy an internal combustion engine model the next time they buy a car, according to a new study from McKinsey and Company, a leading consulting firm.

Approximately 46 percent of Americans who own an EV want to go back to a standard vehicle for their next purchase, citing issues like inadequate charging infrastructure and affordability, according to McKinsey’s study, which was obtained and reviewed by the Daily Caller News Foundation. The study’s findings further suggest that the Biden administration’s EV push is struggling to land with American consumers, after 46 percent of respondents indicated that they are unlikely or very unlikely to purchase an EV in a June poll conducted by The Associated Press and the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute.

Biden Says Americans Can Buy Any Car Despite His Administration Forcing EVs to Be Huge Share of Sales by 2032

May 16, 2024 Virginia Star Staff

President Joe Biden suggested Tuesday it is false that his administration is restricting consumer choice in the automobile market, but his administration recently finalized a rule that will force electric vehicles (EVs) to make up a much larger share of overall auto sales over the next decade.

Biden made the remark during a Tuesday speech about his administration’s decision to significantly bolster tariffs against Chinese products including steel, semiconductor chips and EV batteries. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a rule in March that requires manufacturers to make EVs constitute between 35 percent and 56 percent of new cars sold in 2032, according to CNN.

Foreign Billionaire-Backed ‘Climate Power’ Pressuring Broadcasters to Censor Ads Critical of Biden’s EV Mandate

February 19, 2024 Virginia Star Staff

A green nonprofit that is indirectly funded by a foreign billionaire is pressuring broadcasters to drop advertisements that criticize the Biden administration’s massive electric vehicle (EV) agenda.

Climate Power wrote to numerous broadcasters this week demanding that they stop airing American Fuel and Petrochemicals Manufacturers (AFPM)-funded advertisements in swing state markets that rail against President Joe Biden’s plans to impose widespread EV adoption in the coming years. The charitable organization affiliated with Hansjorg Wyss, a Swiss health care mogul and billionaire philanthropist, donates millions of dollars to the Fund for a Better Future, which was the fiscal sponsor for Climate Power until 2023, a spokesperson for Climate Power previously told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Tesla Issues Recall for Almost All U.S. Vehicles After Government Probe

December 14, 2023 Virginia Star Staff

Electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla filed a safety recall for over 2 million vehicles with federal regulators following a two-year investigation into the company’s autopilot feature, according to an announcement from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on Wednesday.

The Tesla recall covers 2.03 million vehicles, including the Model 3, Model Y, Model X and Model S, made between Oct. 5, 2012 and Dec. 7, 2023, over concerns with their autopilot feature enabling driver misuse through a lack of engagement while operating the vehicle, according to a document from the NHTSA. The recall covers nearly all Tesla vehicles in the U.S. and is one of many actions taken by the NHTSA around Tesla’s autopilot feature, with the agency contending that the feature’s name is misleading as drivers still have to be engaged during its use, according to The Associated Press.

Tesla Recalls Nearly 600,000 Vehicles, One of Five Recalls in 8 Months

February 14, 2022February 13, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

Tesla recalled nearly 600,000 vehicles on Thursday, the electric car maker’s fifth major recall in the past several months.

The recall, which affects all 2020-2022 Tesla Model S, X and Y cars and as well as certain 2017–2022 Tesla Model 3s, a total of 578,607 vehicles, is due to safety issues raised by the vehicles’ “Boombox” feature that plays music outside the vehicle, according to Bloomberg. The Boombox feature impairs the vehicles’ “pedestrian warning system,” an auditory feature that alerts pedestrians to the vehicles’ presence.

Tesla Recalls 475,000 Cars over Safety Concerns

January 3, 2022 Admin

Tesla issued recalls for nearly half a million Model S and Model 3 vehicles over potential safety concerns resulting from malfunctioning trunk technology, Barron’s reported.

The recalls, submitted on Dec. 21 to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), are for issues related to opening and closing the trunk in around 355,000 Model 3 cars and for a misaligned front trunk latch assembly in roughly 120,000 Model S vehicles, Barron’s reported.

Virginia Testing In-Car Drunk Driving Prevention Technology, Could Serve as National Model

December 21, 2021December 20, 2021 Admin

The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles is working with the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) and the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety (ACTS) on testing drunk driving prevention technology, which could serve as a national model.

The public-private partnership is starting its testing of the system in trucks.

The $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that Congress passed last month requires drunk and impaired driving prevention technology as standard technology in vehicles as early as 2026. President Biden has signed the bill into law.