Compliance cars are only produced to meet California mandate.

Let’s say you’re a Honda fan. Your father bought Hondas and you naturally followed. Now let’s say that you are interested in an electric vehicle (EV), and you know Honda has an electric version of the Fit hatchback. But, unless you live in California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York or Oregon you can’t just waltz into your local Honda dealer for a test drive. Here’s why. A California Mandate Yes, the Left Coast is the reason that some electric vehicles are only available in a few states, and in some cases just one or two states. In 2012, the California Air Resource Board (CARB) mandated that automakers that sell at least 60,000 vehicles a year in the state — Chrysler (now Fiat Chrysler), Ford, General Motors, Honda, Nissan, and Toyota — must sell zero emissions vehicles (ZEVs) using the formula of 0.79 percent of their total California sales. Next year the number is bumped to three percent. Under the regulation, failure to meet the numbers would result in losing the ability to sell any vehicle in California. Thus, the Chevrolet Spark EV, Ford Focus EV, Fiat 500e, Honda Fit EV and Toyota RAV4 EV were born. They are called compliance cars because they are designed and engineered specifically to comply with the CARB requirements and allow the automakers to continue selling cars in the state.   Of the six biggest car companies, Nissan avoided the â€Å"compliance car† moniker with its Leaf electric vehicle that debuted in late 2011. It not only meets the CARB sales number requirements, but it also exceeds it. Plus, the Leaf is the top selling battery-electric powered vehicle across the U.S. Tesla is relieved from the CARB mandate, even though it sells roughly 1,000 Model S electric cars per month in the U.S., because of its small overall California sales numbers. Other States Sign On Under federal law, other states are allowed to adopt California’s emissions rules even if they are more strict than federal regulations. At this point, the District of Columbia and ten states have signed on to follow the Golden State’s lead with ZEV requirements of their own. They are Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Now you know why Honda Fit EV availability is limited to seven states. And the other compliance cars? Chevrolet’s Spark EV and the Fiat 500e are both available in California and Oregon. The Toyota RAV4 EV, the lone electric sport-utility vehicle, is a California-only availability. RAV4 production will cease sometime this year as Toyota is betting on fuel cell vehicles. Lastly, sales of Ford’s Focus EV started in California but can be purchased at select dealers in 48 states. Oh, by the way, if you do live in a state where the Fit EV is available, you can’t buy one. Honda, for some reason, will only lease the car. And, like Toyota, Honda believes future ZEVs will be hydrogen fuel cell powered and will discontinue the compliance Fit EV next year. But Wait, There’s More As you might suspect, there’s more to this ZEV mandate thing than just engineering and hopefully selling enough compliance vehicles to satisfy CARB regulators. Since it’s not likely that Fiat Chrysler, Ford, GM, Honda, and Toyota can sell enough vehicles to meet the quotas, there is a way for these automakers to stay in the good graces of the state. Under the regulations, a certain number of credits are earned by every automaker for each zero emission vehicle they make. A ZEV is not limited to vehicles that use an electric-drive powertrain and rechargeable batteries. Included are electric-drive vehicles that employ a fuel cell to produce electricity onboard from compressed hydrogen gas fuel in an electrochemical process. A lesser credit amount is also given to plug-in gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles based on the amount of electric power provided. To date, the biggest winner in this credit derby is Tesla. How so? Well, credits awarded can be sold to carmakers that didn’t earn enough credits selling their compliance cars. Tesla has collected a very large number of ZEV credits, and in turn, has sold them for a very handsome sum of money. Buying these credits has allowed GM, Fiat Chrysler, and the others to continue to sell conventionally-fueled vehicles in the state. More Compliance Cars to Come In 2017, new requirements will be implemented. In addition to the six car companies affected by the current plan, BMW, Hyundai and its Kia subsidiary, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen along with its Audi unit also will be included under the new rules. But rather than waiting until 2017, these companies are getting a jump start. First out of the gate is BMW with its i3, the lightest and perhaps the quirkiest-looking electric vehicle. You can order one now in every state but expect at least a six-month wait for delivery. Electric vehicles coming later this year with limited distribution are the Kia Soul EV, the B-Class Electric Drive from Mercedes-Benz and the Volkswagen E-Golf. Hyundai is going a different route to meet the CARB mandate with its Tucson Fuel Cell.  It is arriving now at a select few California dealerships and is available with a lease only. There are also two EVs on the market that are not affected by California’s regulations. The Mitsubishi I-MiEV and the Smart Electric Drive have been on sale for a couple of years, although Smart has a small number of U.S. dealerships. And of course, Nissan’s Leaf and Tesla’s Model S are available nationwide. By the end of 2014, even with the addition of the cars from BMW, Mercedes, Kia and Volkswagen, the selection of electric vehicles will be very limited. Unless that is, you reside in California or one of the other states that have joined the CARB movement.

Analysis Of Brezhnev s Policies During The Soviet Union

†¢ Brezhnev’s policies, although initially stemming as negative towards easing relations and tensions both at home and at the international level, they usually ended up benefiting in one way or another. †¢ And even though the USSR invested heavily in agricultural production and failed to increase production proportionately, the standard of living for those living on the country side improved greatly. †¢ The same equation could be applied to Brezhnev’s biggest international policy which, although wanting to aid Arab wars and fund communist movements while holding down movements against communism, eventually brought to Russia an agreement with the US to limit arms and later on with the rest of the powers to finalize the border adjustments†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ The â€Å"Perestroika† policy was announced in 1986 and was another attempt to reorganize the economy. †¢ For the first time in Soviet history, the word â€Å"Glasnost† was spelled out to the nation. †¢ Gorbachev wanted to bring freedom to the people, ease the Party’s control over the media and release thousands of political prisoners. †¢ This was a radical change since control of speech and suppression of any government criticism had previously been the foundation of the Soviet regime. †¢ In 1988 the Law on Cooperatives became among the most radical economic reforms Gorbachev started. †¢ For the first time since Vladimir Lenin’s â€Å"New Economic Policy† in the 1920s, the bill permitted private business in the country. †¢ As a result, private restaurants, shops and other businesses were introduced to the Soviet public, while several major â€Å"All-Union† companies fell into restructuring. †¢ Air giant Aeroflot was split up, eventually becoming several independent airlines that were encouraged to seek foreign investment. †¢ In his strive to reduce the Party’s control over the government, Gorbachev proposed a change to a presidential system and created a new political body known as the Congress of People’s Deputies which was formed in the Soviet Union’s first free democratic election. †¢ On 15 March 1990, following another vote, Mikhail Gorbachev became President of the USSR. †¢ By the end of Perestroika more Soviet republics wanted to

Questions For “Spotted Again In America Textile Jobs.” Free Essays

Explain how each of the factors caused the Kerr Group (this Chinese company) to mom to the US? A. Labor? Even, in U. S. We will write a custom essay sample on Questions For â€Å"Spotted Again In America: Textile Jobs.† or any similar topic only for you Order Now The labor cost will raise, but the difference will shrink as Chinese salaries keep rising. And it will be compensated for by other savings. B. Regulations? Manufactures In Central America can send finished clothes duty-free to the U. S. Unlike companies In China. C. Proximity to? To Charlotte banks and the port in Charleston, S. C. To Central America, where it can send yarn to manufactures there and take advantage of clothes makers there. . Other infrastructure? Industrial land prices have soared, making expansion difficult in China, since the textile industry is plagued by overcapacity; the local governments are reluctant to sell land to producers. 4. How does NONFAT (The North America Free Trade Agreement between Canada, Mexico and the US) matter in this case? U. S. Duties on imported yarn and clothing have existed for decades. But trade pacts such as the North American Free Trade Agreement created duty-free zones between the U. S. And several trade partners. In those agreements, the U. S. Imposed a â€Å"yarn forward† requirement, meaning that sixties Imported from partner countries have to be made completely from material produced In those countries or the U. S. If not, they face duties, usually ranging from 5% to for yarns, 10% and 12% for fabrics and 15% to 20% for clothing, according to the National Council of Textile Organizations, a U. S. Textile trade group. For years Asian clothing producers Just swallowed the duties because production and transport costs were so low. Now they are reassessing that practice. Brian Hamiltonians study on Global production costs for textiles in 2003 vs.. 013 for the US and China? Hamilton, who wrote his Ph. D. Dissertation on the global textile industry, said â€Å"The rising costs have made it more expensive to spin yarn in China than in the U. S. † He found that in 2003, a kilogram of yarn spun in the U. S. Cost $2. 86 to produce, while it cost $2. 76 to produce a kilogram in China. By 2010, however, it cost $3. 45 to produce a kilogram in the U. S. And the cost in China had Jumped to $4. 13 per kilogram. U. S. Production costs were lower than Turkey, Korea and Brazil. How to cite Questions For â€Å"Spotted Again In America: Textile Jobs.†, Papers

Django Bensimon Tree Essay Example For Students

Django Bensimon Tree Essay English 1AEssay #4: Jorge Luis BorgesIn Ficciones, Jorge Luis Borges attempts to skew the fundamental principlesby which most people govern their lives. He constructs roughly allegoricalworlds that reflect reality in their complexity and scope. By pulling thereader deeper into these labyrinths, Borges stories subtly and without mal-intent, demand a reexamination of the way we collectively relate to theworld. Specifically, Borges questions the reliability of the past something by which individuals, ethnicities and nations define themselves. In the first story of the collection, Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius, Borgessets the precedent for later stories, by describing a completelyfictionalized world that becomes a reality. By writing, we know nothingabout it with any certainty, not even that it is false, Borges comments onthe futility of attempting to determine that something is either true offalse, when confronting it through writing. Therefore, the moment an act isrecorded, it becomes an entity of its own neither fact nor fiction. InPierre Menard, Author of Don Quixote, Borges writes, historical truth,for Menard, is not what took place; it is what we think took place.History, as Menard understands it, resists commonplace phraseology liketruth and fact altogether instead, it becomes merely a widelyaccepted account of a lost moment in time. In Theme of the Traitor and theHero and Three Versions of Judas, Borges presents two individualsstruggling with the realization that our present-day conceptions of thepast may be inconsi stent with the actual truth. By undermining thetraditional concepts of hero and traitor, as they are presented inhistorical and religious narratives, Borges calls into question theabsolute faith with which people place their trust in what may amount tojust another story. picIn Theme of the Traitor and the Hero, Borges assembles a collectionof storytellers, whose variations on the theme of betrayal cast doubt onthe reliability of both literal and literary accounts of history. Thenarrative begins suspiciously, setting the scene as Poland, Ireland, orthe Republic of Venice. The generalizing technique immediatelyuniversalizes both the story of Kilpatrick and the experience of Ryan thebiographer. The narrator quickly explains that although Ryan iscontemporary, the narrative related by him occurred toward the middle orthe beginning of the nineteenth century. This comment serves as a subtlereminder that even Ryans version of Kilpatricks fall is subject to thesame skeptical scrutiny as any historical account. The list of storytellerswithin the historical narrative includes: the historical biographers ofKilpatrick, Shakespeare and the writer/producer/director of Kilpatrickselaborately staged assassination James Alexander Nolan. Borges notion offalse history reveals itself through these three storytellers: asShakespeare fictionalizes the death of Julius Caesar; Nolan plagiarizes theplays of Shakespeare in orchestrating his plan, and finally, as thegatekeepers of history record only the superficially relevant events of adeeply involved labyrinth of historical value. The interaction between thestorytellers produces a tangled web of correspondences where truth and liesmeld inextricably and the fiction of Shakespeare becomes as factuallyaccurate or inaccurate as a history textbook. Borges illustrates theblurring of literary and historical value by writing, that history shouldhave imitated history was already sufficiently marvelous; that historyshould imitate literature is inconceivable. Borges draws his conclusionson the unreliability of history through this recurring theme of writing asstorytelling. Borges seems to suggest that the act of touching pen to paperimmediately abstracts the conventional notions of fiction and nonfiction to the p oint where a conceivable work of fiction exists more tangibly thanan extraordinary account of historical fact. My Extraordinary Adventures EssaypicRunebergs regression into unyielding assertions creates new problemsfor examining Borgess theory of truth and untruth in historicalnarratives. Runeberg begins rationally, with impressive, generalcomparisons between Judas and Jesus, and Heaven and Earth. It requires acommendable sort of mental reprogramming to regard Judas and Kilpatrick asboth traitors and heroes in equal parts. However, his logic leads him toconclude definitively that Jesus was Judas. This single declarativesentence pulls Runeberg from the abstract world of textual interpretationinto Ryans world of narration. In three words, he succeeds in writing hisown narrative of the life of Christ. Seamlessly, Runeberg traverses theline between positive rethinking of history and a rewriting of history. Bythis, Borges seems to suggest that, within the reader/writer organicrelationship, the reader inevitably forces an interpretation to the pointwhere that interpretation reinvents the details of the narrative. Theimpassioned memory of Ireland, in Themes of the Traitor and the Hero,now acts more like a critical reader of Shakespeare than the collectiveminds of a town taking in the scenes, hearing the actors, interpretingand drawing concrete meanings. As readers becomes narrators, the cyclecontinues with the infinite revising and rewriting of the same events,none of which being more true or untrue than any other. picThis intentional undermining of conventional truth emphasizes thevalue found in the story, rather than the storys basis in fact. Borgesseems to find merit in the notion that a single event in history, much likeboth of these stories, can be manipulated and contorted to fit a dozeninterpretations. The craft of writing, historical or literary, carries withit the intimate relationship between writer and reader, which facilitatesthe cyclic morphing of reader into narrator. As Pierre Menard teaches us,history serves well as the mother of truth, rather than a truth untoitself. Through the progression of history, the readings, interpretationsand rewritings of narratives create a thousand different meanings wherehistory, religion and literature twist and turn in Borges labyrinth andeverything becomes just another story.