By 2035, all new vehicles sold in California must be zero-emission, according to a new executive order Gov. Gavin Newsom signed on Wednesday.
“Cars shouldn’t give our kids asthma,” he tweeted. “Make wildfires worse. Melt glaciers. Or raise sea levels.” The order applies only to new vehicles, so residents would still be able to drive and sell their existing cars.
The state is having its worst fire season, and Newsom cites greenhouse gas emissions as a major contributing factor. California has long been a leader on environmental policies, often setting stricter emissions standards than those at the federal level.
The Trump administration rolled back fuel economy standards implemented under President Barack Obama, and California reached an agreement with Ford, Volkswagen, BMW, and Honda to maintain the Obama-era standards.
Banning the sale of new gas-powered vehicles would achieve a 35 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and an 80 percent improvement in oxides of nitrogen emissions in the state, according to the governor’s office. The state’s Air Resources Board will also work on regulations for making larger vehicles 100-percent zero-emission by 2045 “where feasible.”
State agencies will also need to partner with private companies to help build out needed infrastructure for fueling and charging options.
While electric vehicles don’t emit greenhouse gases, the electricity used to charge them relies on the grid, which may be powered by fossil fuels.
Norway, France, the U.K., and Canada have all recently taken steps to end the sale of vehicles with internal combustion engines. Some countries are aiming for 2040, while Norway’s goal is 2025.
BYD has launched the third-generation Qin Plus DM-i in China, and the first thing that caught my eye is its price. According to CarNewsChina, the plug-in hybrid sedan starts at 79,900 yuan, which is about $11,980. That’s an incredibly low price for a brand-new car, especially by US standards.
What’s even more impressive is the range. The Qin Plus DM-i can drive up to 137 miles on electricity alone, which should cover most people’s daily commutes without using a drop of gas. Once the battery runs out, the 1.5-liter engine takes over. Thanks to its 17-gallon tank and roughly 91 mpg with a drained battery, the combined range reaches up to 1,423 miles.
Apple won the PC market’s worst quarter, but that’s not the entire story. It won the race by stumbling less than everyone else.
PC makers shipped just 57 million computers worldwide in Q3, which might look good, but it’s a 21% year-over-year plunge (via Counterpoint Research). And despite Apple’s Mac shipments falling by 11%, to 5.6 million, its market share rose from 8.7% to 9.8%. How did that happen?
Update (October 22 23:54 PT): In response to our query, GM clarified that offline recording support is already available on eligible vehicles. Like Tesla's Sentry Mode, it requires owners to connect a USB drive to save incident recordings, which can be viewed on the vehicle's infotainment screen. The upcoming Connected Cameras feature will build on this by giving owners remote access to these recordings via the revamped OnStar app, allowing them to check footage without walking out to their car.
General Motors has announced plans to add a new Connected Cameras feature to its OnStar service starting next year, giving drivers a way to monitor parked vehicles remotely and capture footage of certain incidents.