2020 Tesla Model 3 Long Range on 2040-cars

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Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla is for Mistresses; Yo, free Smart ED rides!

Smart used the Yo app to give free test rides to San Franciscans last week. Yo is a free app wherein users tap a username to send a notification that simply says "Yo" to the recipient. Signs at locations in the Mission and SoMa neighborhoods gave instructions to send a Yo to SmartUSA for a free ride anywhere in the city. Three of the eight Smart vehicles used for the promotion were the Smart Fortwo Electric Drive. The event allowed people to see how well suited the cars are to the city, particularly when it comes to San Francisco's parking problems. It also saved users the fare of an Uber or Lyft hire. Read more at TechCrunch. Zipcar has added the 2014 Honda Fit EV to its UC Davis fleet near Sacramento, California. The cars will go to the school's West Village, a planned zero net energy community, which plans to generate as much energy as it uses within a year. "Innovations like solar power to help generate the electricity needed to charge the EV," says Dan Sperling, founding director of the school's Institute of Transportation Studies, "and fully zero emission car sharing moves us aggressively toward a sustainable future." The addition of the Fit EVs will also give cash-strapped students access to affordable emissions-free driving. Read more in the press release, below. California is one step closer to adding 15,000 new green HOV stickers after a bill was approved by the state Senate. Now the bill must go up before the California State Assembly for approval before it can be signed by Governor Jerry Brown. The bill will raise the total number of the green HOV stickers for plug-in hybrids to 70,000. Raising the cap on the green decals, which allow owners use of the carpool lanes, could encourage more California drivers to buy a PHEV. Read more at Inside EVs. The Tesla Model S made a star appearance on the ABC television show Mistresses. In the episode "Choices," the character Joss receives the car as a gift from her fiance, but is not all too happy about it, seeing it as putting her in a position of dependency. "I could never in a million years afford that Tesla," Joss complains to her friend. "How am I ever supposed to get mad at him when he can hold a Tesla over my head?" The luxury EV makes an on-screen appearance in the episode complete with an interior shot of the car's touchscreen display. See a clip from the episode below or read more at Green Car Reports. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences.

NY Gov. Cuomo in favor of revived anti-Tesla store legislation

When we last left the New York auto dealers and their fight against Tesla Motors, there scene was an uneasy ceasefire. The New York State Assembly and its backers from the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association said last summer that they would allow the three currently operating Tesla stores to continue operating but would pick up the issue again when the legislature reconvened in early 2014. Well, guess what? That time has come a new bill is being promoted that tries once again to stop the California automaker from selling its electric vehicles in its non-traditional way. The dealers say the bill doesn't target EV companies unfairly. Capital New York says representatives of the state's dealers have met with Governor Andrew Cuomo about the new bill and he apparently said he would sign it if it reaches his desk. The dealers say the bill doesn't target EV companies unfairly and just asks them to play by the same rules as everyone else, which means selling cars through traditional dealerships. Tesla says that traditional dealerships don't work for EVs and currently sells its Model S out of small stores in places like shopping malls. Actor Mark Ruffalo (best known as the Hulk in the recent Avengers movie) tweeted his support, saying that EVs are good for New York and that what the bill is trying to do is akin to stopping Apple from selling its products directly to customers. He also asked his many, many Twitter followers to call and oppose the bills. Tesla is fighting against similar laws and proposals in many other states, including Texas and Ohio. We have asked Tesla for a comment on the new New York legislation and will update this post if we hear back.

Autoblog editors come clean about their controversial automotive beliefs

We all have controversial opinions. Be it whether you think the Nissan Juke is actually pretty attractive, manual transmissions aren't always better, or you honestly didn't hate the Pontiac Aztek, we all harbor some persuasion, be it big or small, for which we catch copious flak upon expression.
In recognizing that all of us here at Autoblog harbor at least one viewpoint that stubbornly goes against the grain of popular opinion among auto enthusiasts, we've decided to come clean with them right here, proudly speaking our minds in a mature, structured manner - a striking contrast to how these things tend to come up while debated in the office.
We'd also like to invite you to share your unpopular and controversial opinions with us and the Autoblog faithful down in Comments. Don't be ashamed - this is a safe place.