James Ayre 's background is predominantly in geopolitics and history, but he has an obsessive interest in pretty much everything. After an early life spent in the Imperial Free City of Dortmund, James followed the river Ruhr to Cofbuokheim, where he attended the University of Astnide. And where he also briefly considered entering the coal mining business. He currently writes for a living, on a broad variety of subjects, ranging from science, to politics, to military history, to renewable energy. You can follow his work on Google+.
September 20th, 2017 | by James Ayre
The largest union in Germany, IG Metall, has along with the car industry association VDA now called on Germany's politicians and government to aid in the shift to electric vehicles — but also to not "force" the phaseout of internal combustion engine vehicles — according to recent reports
September 20th, 2017 | by James Ayre
Chinese firms now control more than 75% of the electrolyte solution market, according to the Tokyo-based Yano Research Institute. Electrolyte solution is a key component in the manufacture of lithium-ion battery cells
September 20th, 2017 | by James Ayre
The eradication of the world's remaining wildlife seems to be continuing at pace, going by the most recent IUCN Endangered Species List — with numerous species that were until recently common now "disappearing faster than they can be counted."
September 19th, 2017 | by James Ayre
There has been more than $2 billion spent on fire suppression efforts so far this budget year in the US (the budget year runs from October 1 through September 30), according to the US Forest Service
September 19th, 2017 | by James Ayre
Despite Intel's recent acquisition of the self-driving tech pioneer Mobileye, the company is apparently still (or perhaps actually because of that) working with other firms on related projects
September 19th, 2017 | by James Ayre
The government of France is reportedly now planning a series of tax and incentive implementations meant to get some of the oldest and/or most heavily polluting cars off the country's roads
September 19th, 2017 | by James Ayre
Volvo Buses recently took its largest order to date for electric buses, an order for 25 Volvo 7900 Electric buses from the city of Trondheim in Norway
September 19th, 2017 | by James Ayre
Is it now already too late to adequately respond to or prevent extreme anthropogenic climate change? That possibility was noted by the noted public figure Neil deGrasse Tyson in a recent interview with Fareed Zakaria
September 18th, 2017 | by James Ayre
The US Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration has announced a new $55 million grant program that will see funding provided to various regional transit organizations for the purchase of low- and no-emissions buses and associated infrastructure
September 18th, 2017 | by James Ayre
We reported in June 2016 and then again December 2016 that Tesla Supercharger stations would be installed at various Sheetz locations throughout the US East Coast, we but didn't follow up on the matter since then for want of official updates. It appears, though, that installations are well underway now and those wanting to charge their Tesla while getting something to eat at a Sheetz can now do so
September 18th, 2017 | by James Ayre
The tech that would allow for fully autonomous semi truck travel in limited circumstances, such as on highways, should arrive on “this side of 2025” — though, commercial adoption may have to wait, depending upon regulatory actions — according to the CEO of truck manufacturer Navistar International
September 18th, 2017 | by James Ayre
A very interesting discussion relating to the eventual resale value differences between different Tesla Model 3 battery pack configurations was recently begun on the Model 3 Owners Club forum. I hadn't personally thought about the subject much at all before reading the discussion, but it makes for a worthwhile line of enquiry. Will early Model 3s with the larger battery pack retain their value notably better than the base level options will
September 17th, 2017 | by James Ayre
What do Tesla Model 3 reservation holders have in mind as regards eventual upgrades or changes to their cars? Jump into the poll to chime in
September 17th, 2017 | by James Ayre
The California New Car Dealers Association has expanded its complaint against Tesla in relation to the modern electric car pioneer's use of customer referral programs. The California New Car Dealers Association has sent yet another letter to the state's Department of Motor Vehicles explaining how cruel and unfair Tesla's approach is
September 17th, 2017 | by James Ayre
While many have been assuming that Tesla Model 3 buyers/owners will be granted 400 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of free Supercharger use a year, as is the case for Model S and Model X owners, the reality is that nothing solid is known as of yet. It may well end up being the case that Model 3 owners have to pay for every single kWh of Supercharging that they do
September 16th, 2017 | by James Ayre
Home charging of electric vehicles uses considerably less energy annually in a typical household in the US than home heating or water heating, according to new data from the US Department of Energy (DOE)
September 16th, 2017 | by James Ayre
While this video is probably not the most important thing that most people will see in their lives ... it may well prove interesting and useful to those who will be acquiring a Tesla Model 3 at some point, don't want the base aero wheels, and don't want to pay $1500 more for the sport wheels. Enjoy!
September 16th, 2017 | by James Ayre
The parent company of Google, Alphabet, has now spent more than $1.1 billion on the development of self-driving vehicle tech — with that figure relating to funding from the start of the moonshot program's Project Chauffeur in 2009 through the end of 2015 — according to a deposition recently given by Waymo's Shawn Bananzadeh in relation to the firm's lawsuit against Uber
September 14th, 2017 | by James Ayre
The electric vehicle charging infrastructure firm EV-Box recently achieved a notable milestone. The company has now installed more than 50,000 charging points around the world, according to an email sent to CleanTechnica
September 14th, 2017 | by James Ayre
One of the points made by those skeptical of self-driving vehicles is that since such systems aren't human, they may make assumptions and follow through with actions at the expense of individual humans. In other words, what makes the most sense to a self-driving car may lead to people being injured unnecessarily
