Wyoming Introduces Bill To Ban All New Electric Car Sales

One state is pushing back against California's ban on new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035. The ban was adopted by the state's one-party left-wing government.

The state senate of Wyoming has introduced a bill banning the sale of new electric vehicles by 2035. It is the exact opposite of California's law. The "Cowboy State" relies heavily on natural resource extraction and the energy sector for their economy.

No, this isn't from the Babylon Bee.

The California Globe reported:

A new bill introduced in the Wyoming Senate earlier this week proposes to ban the sale of new electric cars by 2035, serving as a direct opposite law, and push back against California’s own law to ban the sale of new gas powered vehicles starting in 2035.

First brought forward as an executive order by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2020, then later formally approved last year, the 2035 law aims to drastically cut back emissions in California as well other states that have passed near carbon-copy laws following California, including Washington State, Massachusetts, and New York. With a growing fleet of electric vehicles, along with more renewable energy sources to help power them, the overall goal is to phase out fossil fuel needs in the coming decades due to climate change and environmental issues.

However, in Wyoming, the state heavily relies on natural resource extraction and the energy sector for their economy. The bill is said to “ensure the stability” of its oil and gas industry.

15.7% of Wyoming’s workforce is tied to the energy sector, with a major disruption, such as California’s 2035 electric car phase out plan and lessening their reliance on fossil fuels, standing the severely cripple the state’s economy in the coming years. Even worse for Wyoming, 59% of Wyoming’s in-state revenue comes from fossil fuels, meaning that the 2035 law and ones similar to it can not only sink Wyoming’s economy, they can also potentially halve Wyoming’s sources of income.

Good for Wyoming! I hope the bill passes and is signed into law.

To read more, go here. 

10 Millionth Mustang To Roll Off Assembly Line Tomorrow

Above, my 1989 Mustang that I inherited from my father. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The iconic Ford Mustang, first introduced in 1964, will achieve a major milestone tomorrow.

France24.com reported:

CHICAGO (AFP) - The Ford Mustang -- an iconic American brand and a symbol of cool -- will reach a major milestone Wednesday as the 10 millionth vehicle rolls off an assembly line at a Detroit-area plant. 

The car celebrated in American song and film, and recognized the world over as an iconic American cultural export, will get a big party at Ford's Michigan headquarters. 

It's a turning point for the carmaker, which is banking on the Mustang's wide appeal to help it grow global market share.

To read more, go here.

Prestige Mustang

When a vehicle gets older, it generally gets harder and harder to find parts for it.

After several years, vehicle manufacturers cease to make replacement parts and they aren't available from aftermarket part makers or dealers either. If that happens to be a case with a part one needs, the next best route is to buy from an auto salvage business.

This is happening to me on a more frequent basis. I recently had to replace accelerator/cruise control combo cables for my 1989 Mustang. During this, I found that I also needed to replace the accelerator/cruise control servo "canister" that the cables attach to. Unfortunately, my mechanic was unable to find these parts locally.

One may wonder why I would continue to maintain a 1989 vehicle. Well, it is partly sentimental for me to maintain it as it was my dad's last car. Plus, it is a popular model. I have found several notes from people asking if I were interested in selling it.

Being retired and having plenty of time on my hands to do a search, I located a business who specializes in Fox Body Mustang parts.

What's a Fox Body?

From Dust Runners Automotive Journal:

A Fox Body Mustang is a Mustang produced anywhere from 1979 to 1993. It doesn’t matter if it’s a coupe, convertible, or a hatch. It also doesn’t matter what engine is has either, or transmission. As long as it’s between the ages of 1979 and 1993, it’s a Fox Body. 

Why is it called a “Fox Body”? I know, it’s a really weird name to give to a car. But, it’s called a Fox Body because it’s on the Ford Fox platform. Ford designed the Fox platform as a unibody chassis and used it across a wide range of Ford/Lincoln/Mercury vehicles. Ford’s main objective with the Fox platform was to downsize the massive cars they made in the ’70s.

Another reason to maintain it: It's a classic!

From Dust Runners Automotive Journal:

If it’s older than me, it’s probably a classic…. right? The Fox Body is now wandering into the 25+ year-old range depending on what year you own, which means it’s starting to become a “classic”. When cars start to be considered classics, their prices go up. CNN Money even mentioned the Fox Body Mustang in their “Top Ten Investment Cars under $5,000“. On top of it becoming a classic, it’s also facing a similar issue to the 240sx’s “Drift Tax”. Youngsters getting into hot rods are scooping up Fox Body Mustangs left and right, causing the prices to go up even more.

I called several Mustang parts suppliers and none of them had the parts I needed. Luckily, one of them recommended Prestige Mustang of Monroe, Georgia. I called them and found that they specialize in salvaged parts from Fox Body Mustangs (along with Mustangs from 1964 to 1973) and they had the parts I needed. Additionally, they were reasonable in price and were speedy in shipping.

So, if you happen to have a Fox Body Mustang and need parts for it, I would definitely recommend Prestige Mustang. Their website is at www.prestigemustang.com. 

Checking Out Mustangs

Above, a very tempting 2016 Mustang Coupe . Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Yesterday, I had to go into Woodland Hills to pick up something from Best Buy and decided to drop in at Vista Ford to check out their used Mustangs.

Unfortunately, there were none to look at. The salesman told me that due to the recall of mid-2000s cars of many makes, including Ford Mustangs up to 2014, their supply of used cars is a bit meager. The recall is related to the Japanese airbag company, Takata Corp. Airbags in vehicles during the mid-2000s have safety problems such as shrapnel being shot out when an airbag deploys. People have already been injured and killed because of this. There's an enormous back order of replacement airbags for the cars affected and it is taking a long time to get and install them.

As my 1989 Mustang is getting on in years, available parts is becoming more difficult to find. It is currently running fine, but that could change at any moment. So, I am considering buying a newer model. Since I bought The Beast new last year, a used vehicle is less painless for my wallet.

Since I was there, I decided to take a look at the 2016 Mustangs. The prices ranged from around $27,000 to $42,000, depending on the model and options.

I did like the 2016 Mustang Coupe (pictured at top) its sticker price was $28,000. I sent Denise the photo of it and said, "I am soooo tempted!" That was somewhat an understatement!

I'll decide what I am going to do once I get back home from Hawaii.