8/16/23 The Number Of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Has Grown. But Drivers Are Dissatisfied. Electric car drivers are getting fed up with public charging. A new report from J.D. Power found customer satisfaction with public Level 2 charging is down 16 points to 617 on a 1,000-point scale, the lowest level since the study began in 2021. Satisfaction with fast chargers declined even further and is down 20 points to 654. Brent Gruber, executive director of the EV practice at J.D. Power, warns that low charging satisfaction scores that continue to fall could hinder EV acceptance rates. 8/17/23 Underage Tobacco Sales Common In NJ, Critics Blame Lax Enforcement Menthol-flavored products are a favorite of students, anti-tobacco advocates say. Historically marketed to the Black community by Big Tobacco, menthol-flavored products make up some 40% of tobacco sales in New Jersey. When an advocacy group sent underage members out around the state to see what they could buy, they logged 192 underage tobacco sales. “New Jersey banned flavored e-cigarettes a number of years ago. But these products were all bought by 18- 20-year-old underage buyers in New Jersey stores. So they should not be on the market in New Jersey. In addition, they don’t have FDA marketing authorization,” said Christine Delnevo, director of the Institute for Nicotine & Tobacco Studies. 8/17/23 NJ Auto Market ‘Getting Better’ For Buyers, Still Far From Ideal
It's still far from a buyer's market when you're looking to purchase a new or used vehicle in New Jersey. Lot inventories are at stronger levels than where they were at last year and in 2021, but the industry remains stuck in a cycle that never bodes well for consumers. The understanding is that vehicle prices will drop gradually as time goes on. Industry observers, though, are keeping their eye on an influx of electric vehicles into the market, and how that will impact the prices of traditional cars down the line. 8/18/23 Pair Of Garden State Parkway Gas Stations Robbed Minutes Apart Two Garden State Parkway service area gas stations a half-mile apart in Middlesex County were robbed at gunpoint early Friday, officials said. Four men separately held up the Shell and Exxon stations in the northbound and southbound Colonia Service Areas in Woodbridge around 12:45 a.m., State Police said. 8/18/23 Businesses Can’t Profit From Credit Card Surcharges, Must Tell Customers, Under New N.J. Law Restaurants and other businesses that levy credit card surcharges and pass them on to customers cannot profit from the charges in New Jersey under a new law Gov. Phil Murphy signed Friday. The law — which takes effect immediately — also requires businesses to post information about the charges before a consumer pays for a service. 8/19/23 California DMV Cuts Cruise’s Fleet After S.F. Crashes Involving Its Driverless Cars The California Department of Motor Vehicles asked Cruise on Friday to reduce its fleet of driverless taxis by half pending an investigation into recent crashes, including two in San Francisco on Thursday night. “Cruise has agreed to a 50% reduction and will have no more than 50 driverless vehicles in operation during the day and 150 driverless vehicles in operation at night,” a statement Friday evening from the DMV said. “The DMV reserves the right, following the investigation of the facts, to suspend or revoke testing and/or deployment permits if there is determined to be an unreasonable risk to public safety.” The DMV said the reduction in operations will remain in effect until its investigation is complete and Cruise “takes appropriate corrective actions to improve road safety.” 8/22/23 Is New Jersey Coming After Your (Non-EV) Car? 2 Sides Offer Insight, Opinion Eric DeGesero, on behalf of the Fuel Merchants Association of New Jersey and New Jersey Propane Gas Association, brought the issue back into the public debate Monday when he said Gov. Phil Murphy’s desire to create an EV-only new car market in 2035 will be devasting to the New Jersey economy. And not actually feasible. “The governor’s mandate on EVs will result in New Jerseyans paying more for their vehicles and fewer residents being able to afford a car at all,” he said. “Furthermore, there is no way our fragile energy grid is capable of handling the surge of electricity demand. “As a result, the California Clean Car mandate will ensure California-style rolling brownouts throughout the state.” 8/22/23 New Jersey Seeks Public Comment On Plan To Ban Sale Of Gas-Powered Cars New Jersey began accepting public comment on a controversial proposal to phase out car manufacturers’ gas-burning vehicle sales over the next dozen years. The proposal, which mirrors regulations adopted in California, would require zero-emission vehicles to account for 43% of vehicle manufacturers’ light-duty vehicle sales for 2027 cars, phasing up to 100% by 2035. Light-duty vehicles weigh less than 10,000 pounds, a category that captures most commuter cars, vans, and pickup trucks. 8/23/23 New Jersey’s ‘Back To School’ Sales Tax Holiday Begins Saturday New Jerseyans buying pens, notebooks, computers, and other school supplies will get a 10-day tax break starting Saturday when a sales tax holiday begins for the second straight year. First enacted last year in what state officials said was a bid to combat sharp inflation, the sales tax reprieve will waive the state’s 6.625% sales tax for a host of school materials, including art supplies and sports equipment, between Aug. 26 and Sept. 4. 8/23/23 NHTSA Now Approves Of Massachusetts Repair Law After Raising Hacking Concerns U.S. auto safety regulators said Tuesday automakers can comply with a Massachusetts law requiring them to share vehicle data with independent repair shops, reversing course after previously objecting that it could make vehicles vulnerable to hacking. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said automakers could safely share diagnostic data with independent shops using short-range wireless technology, but warned that using long-range wireless signals could potentially let hackers send dangerous commands to moving vehicles. Massachusetts voters in 2020 approved a ballot initiative that gives independent repair shops access to diagnostic data that newer cars can send directly to dealers and manufacturers, in order to allow consumers to seek repairs outside dealerships. |
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