What if a coat of paint could keep your car cooler? [Weekly Car News Round Up]

This weeks news features some surprising developments like economical EV’s beating out Tesla and a coat of pain that may transform battery usage.

 

A future coat of paint may help battery efficiency in the EV market.

 

A simple coat of paint may help future EV drivers conserve their batteries. At least this may be a vision that is being explored through a special heat-reflecting paint named Heliosilver. This new paint technology was debut on the new A6 E-Tron at the Shanghai Auto Show this year. The idea behind the paint is to reflect sunlight and thermal radiation away from the car, and potentially then decreasing AC use. This could potentially lead to more battery conservation and efficiency. There is no news about if and when this paint will go on production cars, and at the moment it may just be an example of how big results can come from small and simple technologies like paint.

 

 

You can buy about 8 of these best selling Chinese EVs for the price of a Tesla 3.

 

State-owned Chinese company SAIC Motor and General Motors created the Hong Gang Mini EV, an electric car that’s giving the Tesla 3 a run for its money in China. The compact car has a battery that allows it to run only 75 miles and its top speed is only 62 mph. However, these modest figures have not kept it from outpacing Tesla Model 3 sales in China landing it in the second best-selling spot (right behind the model 3) worldwide. The best part is that this top-selling, wallet-friendly EV will set you back only $4500.

 

 

A part shortage may cause car delays for 2022 car models.

 

Michigan-based automotive supplier JVIS-USA cannot get its hands on a semiconductor chip that it needs to manufacture its parts. They have gone as far as requesting an emergency order which was shot down by the US District Court Judge on the premise that others may follow suit with emergency orders. This could cause a line at the courthouse. Unfortunately, this parts drought may cause car release delays for companies like Jeep. At this point, the 2021 Grand Cherokee L may face a delay and this may cause a domino effect of other delays in other launches like the one of the 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee. 

 

Washington is next to cease sales of ICE vehicles.

 

Washington state has announced that it plans to cease the sale, purchase, and registration of ICE vehicles starting in 2030. It is not the only state to may an announcement about the end of ICE cars in their states; states like California and Massachusetts have put in place some of their own plans as well. The Clean Cars 2030 bill still has to be approved by Washington State Governor Jay Inslee. This plan is crafted more as a goal plan rather than an enforceable one, so at the moment it doesn’t appear there would be any reason to veto it.

 

Tesla is not the ‘best EV’ according to U.S. News awards.

 

It appears that the winner of the ‘best EV’ must strike a balance in all three categories: price, charging time, and range. And, the one to do this was the 2021 Chevy Bolt. It beat out Tesla (the brand won best luxury EV) with a 259 mile-range, a 9.5 hour recharge time, and a price tag of just $36,500 compared to Tesla’s $50k price tag.