EDITOR'S PICK

Banning Chinese Cars Is Dangerous And Self-Defeating

14 Oct 2024 | Synopsis

"The Biden administration issued the new rule citing national security concerns without providing any evidence

"American leaders are identifying genuine problems that do require changes in U.S. laws, regulations, and even governing philosophy...exclusionary U.S. response reinforces a world of a zero-sum competition in which all sides lose.

"U.S. automakers are largely responsible for their own uncompetitive position..."

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Two California Police Chiefs Share Concerns About Teslas As Patrol Vehicles

13 Oct 2024 | Synopsis

"Ukiah Police Department chief Cedric Crook and Menlo Park Police Department chief David Norris agree "the Model 3 or Model Y, have cramped interior spaces for police work, especially after being outfitted for the task....officers reported issues with 'autopilot interference,' plus a lot more problems with the vehicle being too smart and having its controls in one place...

"This isn't the first time that police departments have reported dissatisfaction with their Tesla police vehicles..."

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New Report Shows More EV Buyers Are Embracing Affordability

13 Oct 2024 | Synopsis

"[Experian's] report found that non-luxury EVs are slowly making up more of the market, growing from 22.7% last year to 26.6% in Q2 2024. Nearly 60% of EV buyers cited affordability as a key factor in their decision-making...the percentage of exotic and luxury models declined from 77.3% to 73.4% year-over-year

"EVs continued to make significant gains...accounted for more than 3.5 million, an increase from approximately 2.7 million..."

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The Master Plan To End EV "Range Anxiety" Forever

13 Oct 2024 | Synopsis

"...an estimated 33% of US drivers live in places that aren't conducive to home charging EVs...US now has nearly 72,000 public charging stations, the vast majority are in urban areas...36% of Americans live more than two miles away from a charging station, and a recent Pew survey found..US built 704 new fast charging stations in the second quarter of 2024 - an increase of 9% in just three months.

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Tesla Offers Little Information On Robotaxi, Here's The Deeper Scoop

12 Oct 2024 | Synopsis

"In reality Tesla FSD is still in very primitive shape. It’s at about the safety level that Waymo was in 2016...the transit replacement vision of the robovan - it's a real message...Today's transit vehicles are too large to be efficient, as counter-intuitive as that seems. The most efficient vehicles in U.S. transit are vanpools...

"The robovan, combined with 1 or 2 seater last/first mile vehicle can provide a door-to-door transit experience...making transit people really want to use."

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I've Driven The New Renault 5 - And It's Finally The First Small, Fun EV For The Masses

12 Oct 2024 | Synopsis

"...the original Renault 5 went on to sell 5.5 million units across five continents from 1972 to 1985...the world was crying out for a more affordable electric vehicle...one that would sell in big numbers...It will arrive in Europe with the choice of two powertrains and battery capacities...The more potent motor comes with a 52kWh battery pack, meaning it is capable of traveling around 250 miles on a single charge.

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New Invention Can Turn Seawater Into Hydrogen Fuel

12 Oct 2024 | Synopsis

"...this new method, researchers are able to generate clean fuel using electrolysis, while also removing the need to have pure water to do so cleanly...[normally] the electrical charge used to separate the salt in the seawater attracts oxygen, it also creates toxic chlorine gas

"Equatic''s co-founder Xin Chen and his colleagues designed an anode that can selectively split the water molecules from the oxygen without splitting the salt."

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Judge Approves Fisker Bankruptcy Plan Favored By Car Owners

12 Oct 2024 | Synopsis

"... a bankruptcy plan approved Friday that should allow car owners to drive their cars for years...Leadership of the Fisker Owners Assn. came out last week in favor of the proposed plan...vehicle maker had made progress in addressing open recalls Fisker had issued for its Ocean SUV and had engaged in "constructive dialogue" over maintenance issues...access to Fisker's cloud server for over-the-air software updates the Ocean must receive to operate."

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Alpine's First Fastback Debuts At The Paris Motor Show 2024

11 Oct 2024 | Synopsis

"...a showcar heralding the second step of the brand's zero-emission Dream Garage...The sports fastback will be equipped with three electric motors developed by Alpine: one at the front and two at the rear. It will also be able to count on a non-permanent all-wheel drive system...the 3 refers to the size of the car and the 90 to the brand's cars designed for everyday use..."

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Aerospace Firm Wright Releases White Paper On Potential C-130 'Hercules' Electrification

11 Oct 2024 | Synopsis

"C-130 would be an ideal aircraft to study sequential electrification, for commercial cargo and US Department of Defense (DoD) applications...2024 NASA study...found that potential block fuel savings could be as high as 27-44 percent. In real-life terms, this could mean an increase in airline profit margins of up to 6x.

"WM2500 is a 2.5 MW electric propulsion unit targeted to achieve industry leading power and power density."

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Rivian's Mistake Just Cost It 10,000 Cars

11 Oct 2024 | Synopsis

"...Rivian announced that it was slashing the targeted output of its vehicles by as much as 18%...The carmaker miscalculated when communicating supply and demand needs with Essex, Rivian's sole supplier of what are essentially copper wires that carry the electric current inside the EV motors... subsequently committed its machines to support other customers

"... now the automaker is short critical components needed to build not just its R1-series pickup and SUV, but also its electric delivery vans (EDVs) for Amazon."

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Tesla Reveals 20 Cybercabs At We, Robot Event, Says You'll Be Able To Buy One For Less Than $30,000

11 Oct 2024 | Synopsis

Tesla has finally revealed its Cybercab, and it looks like a smaller, sleeker Cybertruck...average operating cost of the Cybercab will be over time around $0.20 per mile...Cybercab to be in production by 2026 or 'before 2027'...The robotaxi also doesn't have a plug in, and instead has “inductive charging

"...Tesla's ride-hailing app to make extra money when the cars are not in use, and Tesla will take 25% to 30% of the revenue."

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