Free Republic

A flying car company made history this week by taking the world’s first car flight with a passenger in what could be the future of transportation. Legendary French electronic musician Jean-Michel Jarre became the first to hitch such a ride, soaring twice through the Slovakian skies in KleinVision’s AirCar in front of captivated onlookers. “One second you speak to the driver, and next, you are up there in the air. An amazing experience,” Jarre, 75, told Sky News. Video released by the company shows the sleek, winged sportscar speeding down the runway on four wheels before suddenly, like something out...

Three years ago, 28-year-old Blaisey Arnold entered a local auto dealership and came away with the keys to an $84,000 Chevy Tahoe. But this month, the wedding photographer and mother shared a video to TikTok describing how she was forced to sell her dream car.

So why am I telling this story? Because there is a tax benefit if you have an accident that is a total loss, and you receive an insurance payout for said loss. It’s called a “sales tax affidavit” and is available by law in all 50 states. There are some variations depending on the state, the model year of the vehicle, damage assessment, etc., but it is still the law of the land.

ROME, March 12 (Reuters) - An Italian company has conducted what it says is the first test of magnetic levitation (maglev) transport on an existing railway track, a technology that has the potential to reduce costs and energy use as the industry seeks more efficient systems. IronLev, a high-tech firm headquartered in the northern Italian town of Treviso, showcased a video of the test at the LetExpo2024 trade fair in the Veneto region on Tuesday

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WISH) — Indiana plans to rebuild a small section of highway that by next summer could charge electric vehicles being driven. Purdue University and Indiana government’s Department of Transportation, in separate news releases issued Wednesday, touted the construction project as the first highway segment in the nation with wireless charging. Construction could begin as soon as April 1. Neither Purdue or the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) reported how much the project will cost. Indianapolis-based White Construction was awarded a contract to build the wireless power-transfer technology in a quarter-mile of U.S. 231/U.S. 52 between Cumberland Avenue...

If you pay for car insurance, you’ve probably noticed that rates are really high lately. You’re not alone. Last week’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) report — the government’s method for tracking what people are paying for goods and services and how that’s changing over time — noted that the price of car insurance was up more than 20 percent over the same time last year. What’s particularly painful is that rates were already rising: CPI reports have shown that, overall, car insurance rates are up more than 38 percent since January 2020. What’s going on? The big insurance companies have...

The startup electric car company Fisker said this week that it is halting the production of its vehicles to raise $150 million in emergency funds as it grapples with a cash crunch spurred by a low demand for electric vehicles. The California-based company, which says its mission is to “create the world’s most emotional and sustainable electric vehicles,” has barely produced over a thousand electric vehicles worldwide for the year. “The company has approximately 4,700 vehicles in its currently inventory, carried over from 2023 and including 2024 production,” the company said. “While it has not completed an NRV analysis for...

Two Orthodox Jewish men were pelted with unknown objects while walking on the Upper West Side on Sunday, cops and a city councilman say — the third possible antisemitic incident in the neighborhood over the weekend. The two Jewish men, ages 65 and 19, were wearing “traditional garb including a headscarf and hat” while waiting to cross the north crosswalk at West 100th Street and West End Avenue in Manhattan when a passing car tossed the objects at them a little after 9 p.m., according to police. The men told cops that the objects caused temporary pain but did not...

The Biden administration is expected this week to finalize highly anticipated regulations targeting gas-powered vehicle tailpipe emissions, considered the tip of the spear in its efforts to electrify the transportation sector. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is slated to issue the final rulemaking — which officials have boasted will incentivize greater adoption of electric vehicles (EV), but which opponents have criticized as a de facto mandate — as soon as Wednesday, industry sources told Fox News Digital. The regulations, a key part of President Biden's climate agenda, would ultimately force automakers to more rapidly expand electric options in their fleets...

I drive an older car--a Lexus LS430 from 2005, so I can rest assured of two things: an amazingly comfortable ride and that the tech in my vehicle is way too old to collect data to be sold online. You, however, may not be so lucky. Some late-model cars are secretly collecting data on your driving habits, and selling the results for profit. Full Story: https://t.co/2vmg92Q3Yw— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) March 13, 2024Not only is this practice super creepy, but it could be costing you money and, if what I suspect is the case, giving the government a window into your...

CAR RAMS INTO XI JINPING’S HOME Footage shows the driver being carried away by Chinese securityservices after the car plowed into the main entrance to the RoyalPalace, where Xi’s main office and residence are located. It’s unknown if it was an intentional attack or an accident. (30 second video in link below)https://twitter.com/MarioNawfal/status/1766739014453715208

Identical twins from Minnesota are accused of swapping places after one of them, allegedly driving high on a rural highway, rear-ended an Amish horse-drawn carriage and killed two children. Police spent months building the case before announcing charges. But, according to one expert, the damning evidence might not be as strong as it appears. Prosecutors now allege Samantha Jo Petersen was behind the wheel Sept. 25, 2023, when a motor vehicle slammed into a horse-drawn carriage, killing two children and injuring their two siblings. It was not her identical twin sister, Sarah Beth Petersen, who took responsibility at the scene,...

A woman has been indicted after being accused of intentionally hitting a policeman with her car in New York City on January 17, breaking his leg. In a press release Friday, Manhattan District Attorney (DA) Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. (D) announced the indictment against 24-year-old Sahara Dula, who was reportedly high on marijuana when the incident happened. The suspect was charged with one count of attempted assault in the first degree, one count of attempted aggravated assault upon a police officer, two counts of assault in the second degree, one count of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of...

The Biden administration is poised to soon finalize gas-powered car tailpipe emissions standards that consumer advocates and energy industry groups have dubbed a "de facto electric vehicle mandate." The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposed tailpipe emissions – which were in recent weeks submitted to the White House Office of Management and Budget for final review – are designed to ensure a staggering 67% of new car sales are electric by 2032. Over the weekend, the New York Times and Washington Post reported the White House is set to double down on that lofty goal while loosening earlier targets. "The President...

Actor and director Sean Penn rescued Variety’s Marc Malkin, the pre-show host of the Golden Globes, after he was left stranded with an electric car that wouldn’t charge .. Penn ran into Malkin when he was left stranded on the way to Los Angeles from the Palm Springs Film Festival... Malkin’s electric car ran out of juice and needed a recharge, so he called a tow truck to get him to a charging station in Cabazon, California... Unfortunately, he ran into even more trouble when it failed to charge properly and he was officially stranded. That’s when Penn swooped in...

Car thefts in the Big Apple have surged a staggering 191% since before the COVID pandemic took hold, new NYPD data shows — as Mayor Eric Adams declared Wednesday that “crime is down.” A total of 15,802 vehicles were ripped off across the five boroughs through Dec. 31 — an alarming uptick from the 5,438 stolen back in 2019, according to the year-end review of crime statistics. In the last year alone, auto thefts recorded the biggest spike of any major crime category in New York City — with the number of stolen vehicles up 15% more than the 13,741...

The vehicle that exploded as it was entering the U.S. from Canada on a checkpoint in Niagara Falls “serves as a wake-up call,” presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said, asserting that the country must “finally address the crisis happening on our Northern border.” “We dodged a potential catastrophe today. I hope it serves as the wake-up call America needs to finally address the crisis happening on our Northern border, which has gone unreported by the media and unaddressed by our political leaders,” Ramaswamy said, listing a series of events that have occurred on the northern border in the last four months,...

The Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim civil rights and advocacy group, has called on US President Joe Biden to pressure the Israeli government to release Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi. Tamimi, 22, was arrested by Israel on Monday after she posted on Instagram that Palestinians would slaughter Israeli “settlers.” “Come on settlers, we will slaughter you. We are waiting for you in all the cities of the West Bank. What Hitler did to you was a picnic. We will drink your blood and eat your skulls,” the post read in both Arabic and Hebrew…. “The Council on American-Islamic Relations...

Link to another article, on the VinFast 3, which may be heading to America in one year. Cheap.

In accordance with section 506A(a)(3)(B) of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C. 2466a(a)(3)(B)), I am providing advance notification of my intent to terminate the designation of the Central African Republic, the Gabonese Republic (Gabon), Niger, and the Republic of Uganda (Uganda) as beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). I am taking this step because I have determined that the Central African Republic, Gabon, Niger, and Uganda do not meet the eligibility requirements of section 104 of the AGOA. Specifically, the Government of the Central African Republic has engaged in gross violations...