We Obsessively Cover the Green Scene…

Following bankruptcy proceedings over at Coda Automotive, we can't say we're surprised by talk of a WARN Act lawsuit. After all, US Worker Adjustment Retraining Notification (WARN) Act proceedings were taken against Fisker Automotive in April. So we kind of know the drill.

The WARN Act's purpose is to give workers and their families "some transition time to adjust to the prospective loss of employment, to seek and obtain other jobs, and, if necessary, to enter skill training or retraining that will allow these workers to compete successfully in the job market."

In Coda's case, a lawsuit was filed by former employee Tony Bulchack, and alleges that the mass layoffs that took place in December 2012 happened without giving the 125 workers laid off then the required 60-day notices. Discussions of a WARN act lawsuit against Coda has been in the works for a while over at Girard Gibbs law firm as well. Bulchack's complaint is embedded below.

Coda announced two weeks ago that it will no longer sell electric vehicles and will instead restructure as an energy storage business.

As A. Whitney Brown once said, "There's really no use in beating a dead horse. I mean, except for the pure joy of it." Well, if Tesla's recent string of successes is said horse, then we hope you enjoy the rest of this post.

Let's start with politics, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk's step back from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's new immigration reform political action group, Fwd.us. Musk is one of the big names that is taking his name off the supporter list because Fwd.us gave money for ads that supported US senators who also supported the Keystone XL pipeline and Alaskan oil drilling.

Then we have Tesla stock, TSLA, which has more than doubled so far this year. It was news when it crossed the $50 mark a few weeks ago but right now it's sitting at $83.75, up almost $7 from Friday. The reason for the rapid rise is clear to anyone who's paying attention, as you can see in the interactive widget below, but there is a trading history here that involves a lot of people betting against Tesla. There's a good rundown on the history of TSLA stock shorting here, and it includes these words of warning: there are a number of factors that "could drive the stock down in time. Probably will, say some analysts" and "If you own Tesla stock, enjoy the ride." We recommend the same if you own an actual Tesla.

Oil companies and other supporters of the fossil fuel status quo have been using a study by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to attack California's landmark clean energy bill AB32, particularly the bill's Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). Oil companies have been particularly irate that the LCFS requires them to reduce carbon pollution from gasoline and diesel 10 percent by 2020. But when the BCG report was roundly criticized, the Big Oil tried to come to the rescue. Now, an independent panel of scientists and academics has determined that the BCG study, the ammo being used to attack California's clean energy efforts, is packed with erroneous findings.

Oil companies have been particularly irate that the Low Carbon Fuel Standard requires them to reduce carbon pollution from gasoline and diesel 10 percent by 2020.

The BCG study had been under enough criticism and scrutiny that industry groups contracted with the UC Davis Policy Institute to assemble an expert independent review panel. The Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA, which originally funded the BCG report), the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers requested the BCG report evaluation. Instead of supporting Big Oil, the reviewers found the study flawed on a number of fronts. For example, the BCG report missed "positive effects on the health and welfare of the citizens of California that could result from the implementation of AB32." The review panel also said the BCG study understated the benefits of AB32 on the economy; overstated the cost of industry compliance; and overstated harmful impact on California's oil refining industry. You can read a more detailed break-down on the situation over at the National Resource Defense Council.

The California Air Resources Board created the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) to comply with AB32. CARB wants to reduce the amount of carbon in transportation fuels as a way to reduce the resulting greenhouse gas emissions. The BCG study and the resulting fallout isn't the first time oil companies have attempted to block LCFS and AB32. They also attempted to pass the Proposition 23 ballot initiative, which failed win voter approval in November 2010.

With US monthly sale figures headed back towards the double-digit range, Mitsubishi is once again trying to goose sales of its i electric vehicle (also known as the i-MiEV) with some heavy-duty rebates. The Japanese automaker enacted a $10,000 rebate towards the end of last month and is apparently doing so again, this time offering the rebate until the end of July. That means folks can get an i – dealer willing – for a smidgen under $20,000 before the $7,500 federal tax rebate kicks in.

Mitsubishi sold 588 units of the all-electric model last year and appeared to get a little momentum earlier this year, moving 594 i EVs through February. That may have been helped by lease deals for as low as $69 a month, and sales plummeted to 31 units in March and 127 vehicles in April.

We've asked Mitsubishi for more details on the new $10,000 promotion, but have not yet heard back. We will update this post if we get any more information.

Mitsubishi is looking to make up for lost ground from some fire-related issues by doubling production of its Outlander Plug-in Hybrid vehicle (PHEV) in Japan, Green Car Reports says.

The Japanese automaker will ramp up to 4,000 Outlander PHEVs a month, up from the 2,000-unit target it set last September. Mitsubishi will consolidate the Outlander PHEV motor and battery installation operations to help speed things up.

The company plans to start selling the Outlander PHEV in the US next year. In March, the company halted Outlander PHEV production because of a melted battery at a Yokohama dealership. Mitsubishi since discovered that the batteries, which are produced by Lithium Energy Japan, are short circuiting from a screening process (since discontinued) that infected the batteries with contaminants.

Lithium Energy Japan is a Mitsubishi joint-venture with GS Yuasa, which makes batteries for the Boeing Dreamliner. That airline model was recently affected by a number of fires recently.

As if one of the world's largest automakers needed additional advertisement, General Motors now is getting big-time support from biodiesel advocates for being the first US automaker to have made one of its light-duty models be able to run on diesel with a 20 percent biodiesel mix, i.e. B20. The National Biodiesel Board calls GM "proactive and progressive" for making its 2014 Chevrolet Cruze Diesel B20-ready. Biodiesel Magazine even goes so far as to instruct its readers to "tell GM thanks."

Marking a long-awaited return to diesel powertrains for its cars, GM said last month that the Chevy Cruze Diesel would get an EPA-rated 46 miles per gallon highway, the best of "any non-hybrid passenger car in America." GM says the car will be able to go as far as 700 miles on a tank. Another way to look at that number is up to 140 biodiesel miles per tank.

Toyota, looking to further boost the "shiny, happy" quotient of the model eco-district it's built in Japan's Toyota City, has installed a charging station specifically to be used for its single-passenger electro-mobility vehicles.

The Smart Mobility Park charging station, located in Toyota Ecoful Town (yep, that's what it's called), will be used as a Ha:mo1 Ride2 ("Harmonious Mobility" Network) station starting in the fall, allowing folks to rent EVs to speed their voyage to the nearest public-transport station. Specifically, the station will serve three single-passenger COMS vehicles and five Yamaha PAS electric bikes.

The station will also have solar panels so the vehicles draw less (or, in some cases, no) juice from the grid, and will come equipped with general household outlets, making it potentially useful on blackouts by homes in this shiny, happy land. Check out Toyota's press release below.

Hyundai's green-cred future's so bright, its factory roof's gotta wear shades. The South Korean automaker will install that country's largest solar-panel system when it deploys about 40,000 solar voltaic panels on the roof of its Asan plant later this year.

The system will cover about 2.2 million square feet, or about 50 acres, of rooftop and will supply 11.5 million kilowatt hours, or the equivalent the power consumed by about 3,200 households. Hyundai makes the Sonata Hybrid at the plant, further bolstering the car's treehugging credentials.

Hyundai says the solar system will eliminate about 5,600 tons worth of CO2 emissions. Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) will purchase the electricity and redistribute it throughout the factory. Check out Hyundai's press release below.

If it can go in your gas tank, it's potentially controversial up in Maine. A few years ago, out-of-spec gas pumps were a problem. Today, the issue is the corn-based biofuel ethanol, which the state legislature is taking a strong stand against. Citing potential engine and environmental damages, Maine's state legislature has taken another step to potential rid itself of ethanol blends into its gasoline inventory.

Legislators have approved a bill by more than a 3-to-1 margin that would ban ethanol blends in Maine – as long as two other nearby states do the same, the Bangor Daily News reports. State leaders also supported a resolution urging the government to ban gasoline with a 15 percent ethanol blend (known as E15), altogether. Most gasoline in the US contains up to 10 percent ethanol blend.

Maine regulators started talking about a statewide E15 ban early this year. The state said at the time that at least two other New England states would have to go along so that Maine refiners wouldn't have to make a custom blend for the state only, which would cause the state's fuel prices to jump.

On the federal level, the word is that E15 is fine. Last June, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officially allowed for public sales of E15 as part of an effort to cut foreign-oil dependency. Groups such as AAA have since been critical of the EPA's decision, saying that E15 would cause engine damage as well as food shortages. E15 has been sold in some states since the middle of 2012, starting in Kansas, and there have not been any widespread reports of problems with the biofuel but it's not being sold just like any other fuel.

Consumers now have some real choices for deals on electric vehicle chargers, whether exploring options through Home Depot, setting up an all-in-one package when buying their EV or going with Bosch for the cheapest Level 2 home charging station on the market.

Bosch Automotive Service Solutions is now offering Power Max, the automotive industry's first EV charging station that costs less than $450, about half the cost of other 240-volt units currently on the market.

Bosch used its expertise and experience in home appliances and automotive solutions when designing the Bosh Power Max, which is UL-certified in both the US and Canada. Formerly called SPX Service Solutions, Bosch Automotive Service Solutions has supplied more than 16,000 EV charging stations and had made more than 6,000 installations including the SPX Power Xpress.

Power Max has been designed to work with all the EVs on the market, and comes in 16 amp and 30 amp configurations. Features include no-touch operation to simply the process from plugging in to walking away; NEMA 3R enclosure for both indoor and outdoor applications; visible LED indicator for gauging charging status; and a hardwired on/off switch to completely shut off power to the unit when needed. Bosch is taking orders now and will begin shipping in early June.

Tell a hip-hop fan you've got a vehicle with three-wheel motion and they'll think of low-riders, '64 Impalas and hydraulics. Michigan-based Elio Motors has another idea, and the Detroit News says it's a few beats closer to reality.

Elio, which a few months ago made news when it agreed to buy an old General Motors plant in Shreveport, LA, has just announced 20 key suppliers – groups like IAV, Altair Engineering and Comau - for its upcoming three-wheeled vehicle. Elio is sticking with its previous estimate of starting production on the vehicle by next summer with the help of about 1,500 workers at the Louisiana factory. The company says the vehicle will have a $6,800 base price, get 84 miles per gallon, come with an eight-gallon gas tank and will be able to go from 0-60 miles per hour in less than 10 seconds. Pulled by the two front wheels, of course. Power will be supplied by a 1.0-liter, three-cylinder engine that delivers 70 horsepower.

Earlier this year, the company started taking $100 reservations on the car, which will come with a three-year, 36,000 mile warranty. Elio also said it expects the vehicle to receive five-star crash ratings.

Babies and cars go together like screaming blobs of insomnia and sleep machines. New parents quickly find that nothing soothes an irritable newborn quite like a quick drive around the block, and Volkswagen employed that truth in the company's newest ad for its stop/start technology. The spot follows one new dad as he tries to lull his child to sleep with the burble and purr of his Tiguan TDI. Unfortunately, his efforts are thwarted by the machine's start/stop system at each stop light.

While the clip does a great job of explaining how the start/stop system works and what it does for the buyer, Volkswagen took a bit of a gamble by having the system wake a sleeping babe. Automakers spend plenty of time trying to convince the world that their stop/start gear is as smooth as possible, and while this wee Volkswagen enthusiast falls asleep the moment the diesel engine wakes up, the implication is that the system isn't exactly imperceptible. Check out the
for yourself.

The last time we spoke with Renault-Nissan head Carlos Ghosn, at the Geneva Motor Show, he spoke about the 70,000 all-electric vehicles his company's have sold to happy customers and how these vehicles are just the beginning of the EV era. Speaking at the New York Auto Show a little over a month ago, Ghosn went into detail about how building electric cars around the world will make them cheaper – and thus more prevalent – for just about everyone. He said:

When we started this effort on electric cars, the first challenge for us was to build credibility for the car itself. Because in the minds of many consumers, the electric car was a golf cart. Zero emission, yes, but everything else was wrong. This first challenge is over today. People driving the Leaf today know it's a real car. Acceleration, driving performance, silence – everything – it's a real car. They still complain. So, all the people who bought the Leaf are very happy. But a lot of people are testing the Leaf and not buying it. We asked them, why are you not buying the car?

There were two main answers: high price and worries about charging infrastructure. In the US, Nissan dropped the base price of the 2013 Leaf by $6,400 earlier this year and Ghosn said Nissan will "continue to reduce the price as a function of the cost." This will happen not just because of reduced shipping costs and less reliance on currency fluctuations, but because there are still efficiency gains to be had in the new production locations, Ghosn said. "It's not finished."

In 1946, Bobby Troup penned the ultimate road-trip tune (Get Your Kicks on) Route 66. Almost 70 years later, a group of ambitious electric-vehicle enthusiasts are putting their own spin on the prototypical east-to-west US voyage with the Ride The Future Tour.

Kicking off July 4 (how American), Ride The Future will feature a gaggle of electric cars, bikes and motorcycles making a very quiet, gasoline-free convoy 3,000 miles west. The group says it will set a number of Guinness World Records, including the longest ride on both an electric motorcycle and scooter, the Christian Science Monitor reports. In all, the tour will hit 43 cities (and many more charging stations) in 43 days as it winds from North Carolina and finishes up at the Google headquarters near San Francisco. Check out the group's website for further details.