EDITOR'S CHOICE

Hydrogen Cars Are Turning Out To Be A Flop. Why?

29 Aug 2024 | Synopsis

"Sales of hydrogen-powered cars are sluggish all over the world, mainly due to an impoverished product selection and scant charging infrastructure. Only 5,621 hydrogen-powered vehicles were sold worldwide in the first half of 2024, according to SNE Research, a drop of over 34% compared to the same period last year.

The most spectacular drop was in the USA, with just 322 sales in 6 months, compared with 1,825 a year earlier."

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Restored 1917 Rauch & Lang JX7 Electric Is A Remarkable Homage To The Origins of Electric Cars

29 Aug 2024 | Synopsis

"In the early 1900s, electric cars were quite popular, accounting for around a third of all vehicles on US roads, and many manufacturers at that time thought electric vehicles were superior technology....This early pioneer in green energy is powered by a DC electric motor delivering five forward speeds to the rear wheels via a shaft drive and worm-drive axle.

"This rare and seldom-seen example is a valuable piece of automotive history hat paved the way for the electric revolution we're witnessing today. It will go under the hammer with Worldwide Auctioneers in late August."

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Crash: Electric Vehicles Involved In The Most Accidents Revealed

27 Aug 2024 | Synopsis

A new study has researched the most popular electric vehicles (EVs) in the U.S. in order to identify which are the most accident-prone ones. This reveals that the Lucid Air leads the list with 51.95 crashes per 10,000 cars.

"In contrast, the safest EV is the Porsche Taycan, with a crash rate of 0.06 per 10,000 vehicles.

"The Tesla Model 3, while having the highest number of total fatal accidents totalling 147, has a crash rate of 4.87..."

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China To Launch World's First Thorium Molten Salt Nuclear Power Station In 2025

27 Aug 2024 | Synopsis

"The innovative facility, which China claims will start operating by 2025, intends to reshape global energy with its high-end technology and prospects for a safer and greener nuclear power industry...Its reactor does not need water for cooling because it utilizes liquid salt or carbon dioxide to transfer heat and make electricity...thorium reactors generating less toxic and short-lived radioactive waste than uranium-fueled ones..."

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Over 50 Rivian EVs Damaged In Factory Parking Lot Fire. Here’s What Happened

27 Aug 2024 | Synopsis

"A fire that broke out in the parking lot of Rivian's electric vehicle factory in Normal, Illinois damaged over 50 R1S and R1T models that were reportedly waiting to be shipped out to customers...The cause is still unknown. NFD spokesperson Swaney said an investigation has been started to find out what started the blaze...

Editor's Note: Rivian experienced a fire that damaged three of its Amazon delivery vehicles in Houston, but noted it did not involve the vehicles high voltage traction battery."

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Tesla's 'Cortex' Supercomputer Is What Its Robotaxi Hopes Ride On

27 Aug 2024 | Synopsis

"Tesla's solution for staying ahead in the future is to focus on autonomous vehicles...It involves gathering colossal amounts of video footage from millions of its electric cars worldwide...with the goal of making Teslas drive like humans.

"The system at this complex is called Cortex, a "supercomputer cluster"...for video training of the Optimus humanoid robots and the Full-Self Driving (FSD) system...the Texas supercomputer will apparently require 500 megawatts of power in the future."

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France's Arrest Of Telegram's CEO Feels Like A Warm-Up For A Much Bigger Target: Elon Musk

27 Aug 2024 | Synopsis

"...France took the billionaire into custody in response to widespread criminality that was enabled via his encrypted messaging app..free speech advocates on the other side...have blasted [the] move as an attempt to enjoy some measure of control over a digital bastion of free speech...the First Amendment didn't create the freedom of speech; it simply promises that the government will stay out of your way"

EDITOR'S NOTE: "Observers have noted that due to the lack of a modern battlefield management system, Russian troops have come to rely heavily on Telegram to coordinate their activities."

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Why Some Car Companies Expected A Faster Switch To EVs

25 Aug 2024 | Synopsis

"To a Super Bowl TV audience of over 100 million, the auto industry appeared to be saying: Electric vehicles are here

"Making exclusively electric vehicles, Tesla turned its first profit in 2020, and that profit margin shot up in 2021. Other automakers found themselves playing catch-up.

"...pandemic relief money in hand...government tax credits for EVs. All of that made the electric vehicle market's trajectory look bright..."

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Air Pollution Stripes: Making The Invisible Visible

25 Aug 2024 | Synopsis

A coalition [of UK and US universities] has devised a graphical representation of historic air quality for every capital city in the World. The illustrations…reveal the steady improvement of air quality across Europe and North America, in stark contrast with the obvious deterioration in parts of Africa and Central Asia

”…it’’s all about that lightbulb moment when someone understands it; that sudden 'oh yeah now I get it'.

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Can You Lose Weight With An E-bike? We Asked An Expert

25 Aug 2024 | Synopsis

"A study published in the Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives...looked at over 10,000 participants in seven European countries and found that e-bike users would have significantly longer trips, compared to regular cyclists, resulting in more overall physical activity.

"While a traditional bike will burn more, according to the National Accident Help Line, a study has shown there’s only roughly a 20% difference between the two

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