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Recharge Wrap-up: Chevy Volt class action suit proposed, Tesla stock could outperform in 2015

A class action suit has been proposed against General Motors for a steering problem in the Chevrolet Volt. The plaintiffs claim that a defect can cause the steering to freeze intermittently, and that General Motors either knows or should have known about the problem. The case, filed in New Jersey, also claims that defective parts are replaced with the same or similar parts, which are also defective. The plaintiffs say that claims for the 100-plus-member class exceed $5 million. Read more at Law360 or at BigClassAction. Tesla Motors stock (TSLA) has risen after weeks of losses. It gained 5.4 percent during the week ending December 19, when it closed at $219.29 per share. Since then, it rose slightly more, closing at $222.26 on December 24. Morgan Stanley lowered its target price on Tesla stock from $320 to $290, predicting lower sales on the upcoming Model III than expected before, but still called Tesla a good long-term investment. Analysts at CNBC predicted Tesla to be the best performing stock of 2015. Read more at ETF Daily News. Oslo- and New York-based architecture firm Snohetta has designed a zero-emissions house that also charges an electric car. The ZEB Pilot House, built in Larvik, Norway, uses a solar panel on the roof to power the house, which also provides enough excess energy to charge an EV. To make the most of energy most efficiently, the house uses smart technology to use as much energy as it can once it's harvested. This means one can turn on appliances like the washing machine remotely while the sun is at the optimum angle in the sky - perhaps during mid-day when the residents are at work. The house also uses organic materials and is designed to save as much energy as possible. Read more at Wired.

Carmakers, NHTSA to unveil auto-emergency braking agreement tomorrow

Happy St. Patrick's Day Eve. Tomorrow, there will be green beer, corned beef and cabbage, and automatic emergency braking for all. Weird combo, we know. But on St. Patty's we can expect an official announcement from a pact of automakers making auto-braking systems standard equipment by 2022. That's per a report from Reuters, which cites three sources familiar with the plans. Originally announced in September 2015 by 10 automakers and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the agreement is expected to be even larger when the details are unveiled tomorrow. According to Reuters, the manufacturers of 99 percent of the US domestic market's vehicles will be represented by the new agreement. It's believed that standard AEB systems could prevent thousands of accidents across the country. Expect more on the official announcement when it's made. Related Video:

Tesla's ZEV credit allotment changing under new CARB rules

Could the California Air Resources Board (CARB) be taking a $55-million bite out of Tesla Motors' profits? The state regulator, which grants zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) credits for automakers making plug-in vehicles, is planning to reduce the number of credits generated by each Model S battery-electric sedan from seven to four, Bloomberg News reports. That means the California-based automaker will have fewer credits to sell to big buyers such as General Motors and Chrysler, who don't make enough ZEVs on their own to comply with state mandates. While the selling price for these credits isn't disclosed (they're private transactions), the market was a lucrative one for Tesla, which generated $129.8 million in revenue from California zero-emissions credit sales and about another $65 million selling US Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) credits last year. All told, California and federal zero-emissions credit sales accounted for about 10 percent of Tesla's sales last year. A Tesla representative didn't immediately respond to a request from AutoblogGreen for comment. This issue first came up last year when CARB hinted that it wouldn't give Tesla credit for having a battery-swapping option as it's method for quick-fueling compliance. Tesla, which appears to have been preparing for just this scenario, has been collecting revenue on credits since 2010 and achieved its first-ever profitable quarter in the first quarter of 2013 because of such credits. While the maximum number of zero-emissions credits a vehicle could garner was increased from seven to nine in the new rules, Tesla can't take advantage of that because it meets neither of the most stringent criteria: that the car in question is rated to go more than 300 miles on a full tank or battery and be able to be "filled up" (or fully charged, in this case) within 15 minutes. Those are more hydrogen fuel-cell-like targets, but Tesla has the EVs that come closest to meeting them.