WDU Special: “Happy 20th Birthday, Prius”
We spent almost two hours talking about the history and impact of Prius on the world. Current and former members of the Prius Team from Toyota join us for the first hour. It’s a great look back at one of the biggest impacts in cleaner vehicles. We’re all current and previous Prius owners and Prius enthusiasts. But when asking about previous decisions and future plans, that doesn’t mean we went easy on them.
Supercar article referenced by Tony: https://whatdrives.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/SuperCar.pdf
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#384 It’s All Downhill From Here
00:00 Show Start
06:10 Nikola investigated for Fraud
18:00 Cadillac Forces Dealers to Install Chargers
27:45 This Life in Tesla
40:40 California to End ICE New Car Sales
50:35 Ford Announces EV F-150
56:00 Lordstown Shows Interior
1:00:45 VW Reveals ID.4
1:11:50 – Shout Outs and Go Home
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cadillac, California, Car, EV, Ford, fraud, LE, reveal, Tesla, VW
Transport Treehouse #6
An amazing conversation with Michael Dunne of ZoZoGo.com. He’s an expert on China so we dig deep on what’s going on there and how our companies are doing in China as well as the future of Chinese car companies there and here. A fascinating look at a complex market with a genuine expert.
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Transport Treehouse #2
Infrastructure Week, part 1: Kitty Adams
Our first guest for Infrastructure week is Kitty Adams, She is the Executive Director and Founder of AdoptACharger.org. Ms. Adams has facilitated the installation of hundreds of EV chargers in 10 states, and has participated in a number of CEC and CARB workshops regarding alternative fuel vehicles and EV charging infrastructure. She was successfully awarded CEC grant funding to install EV charging at the California State Parks, and most recently a GFO as part of a team to design a micro grid in a disadvantaged community. She has presented at the Electric Power Research Institute Symposium, and has consulted on EV charging projects and policies nationwide.
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California, Car, CARB, Charging, electric, EV, first, funding, LE, van, Vehicles
#371 You Don’t Need To Be A Dick To Rule The World
This week:
00:00 Introductions
03:45 Best and Worst EV Battery Performance
18:53 Tesla Cancels Solar Roof Orders
41:48 “Transportation Fairness Alliance” is actually an anti-EV shill
48:00 Internal Emails indicate Carlos Ghosn was Set up and Forced Out
57:00 Rumble Motors moving Production to California
1:03:30 Shout-outs and Go Home
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#370 AutoStupid
- As though Sequester in Place wasn’t harming locally owned business enough, riots across the globe have indiscriminately crippled or fully shuttered small businesses. Please support your local businesses.
- A study (with a very small sample size using self-reporting) found that drivers with autonomous features tend to be less attentive and perform actions unrelated to driving.
- The Ford Escape Plug-in is expected to get 37 miles per charge before the ICE kicks in. It is expected to have a base MSRP of $5,000USD lower than the RAV4 Prime but, due to its smaller battery, will not qualify for higher incentived.
- Hyundai has reached a point where they are making great strides in market share for their EVs. Could this be their tipping point? Will we see even more Hyundai/Kia EVs and perhaps even a Genesis EV?
- Even with the drop in carbon emissions as a result of Sequester in Place, all major car manufacturers are expected to miss the Paris Agreement targets for emissions. As the targets and deadlines slip by, maintaining a habitable environment gets harder and harder.
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autonomous, battery, bus, Car, CARB, emissions, EV, Feat, feature, features, Ford, Hyundai, Kia, LE, LED, Plug-in, prime, RAV4
#368 Let’s Return to Better
- Russell spent some time with a Tesla Model Y and a Toyota Highlander Hybrid. Both reviews are available in our “Car Reviews” playlist. Make sure to check out “The Tesla Life” to get Russell’s full Model Y review.
- Toyota recently introduced the PROACE van, offering a warranty of 15 years or 1,000,000 miles, whichever comes first. After that time, they promise the battery will still have 75% or more capacity remaining.
- People will only return to riding the bus when they feel safe doing so. We spend some time discussing how buslines can maintain ridership by helping people feel safe.
- BloombergNEF predicts that by 2040 new car sales will favor EVs over ICEs. Interesting side topic, they also predict that ICE vehicles peaked in 2017.
- Volvo has taken the bold step of limiting the top speed of all new vehicles starting next year. This will be done in the name of safety, referencing the amount of vehicular fatalities attributed to high speeds.
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2017, battery, bus, Car, EV, first, hybrid, LE, Model Y, review, Tesla, Toyota, van, Vehicles, Volvo
#367 Tried and Died
- General Motors and LG Chem have formed a joint venture to create batteries for EVs. They are calling it Ultium. The factory will be in Lordstown, OH. It’s expected to employ more than 1,000 people. This could be a really big thing. Here’s hoping.
- Toyota introduced two new hybrids to their fleet: Venza and Sienna.
- Russell just finished spending a week with the 2020 Toyota Highlander Hybrid. There are things he really liked. And then there are other things.
- In case you didn’t know, Dyson (yes, the vacuum company) announced a while ago that they were developing an electric vehicle. After actually creating a very nice looking prototype, they have announced that they are abandoning the effort. Reportedly, Dyson realized there was no way to manufacture and price the car such that it would be even remotely profitable. Let’s hope they continue the idea and work on a lower-priced car they can bring to market.
- GM had created an e-Bike called the Ariv (pronounced ‘arrive’). They had a standard version and a folding version. Sure it looks a little quirky, but in a time when e-bikes are seeing a huge uptick in sales, GM kills theirs.
- We’re about more than just vehicles. We like the whole circular lifestyle of generating your own electricity, storing it in your own batteries, and using that electricity to power your house and/or charge your car. However, far too many utility companies few residents with solar panels as competition. They work very hard to make going solar difficult and fins ways to punish the homeowner after the panels are installed. We decided to take a little time and talk about how utilities companies can be real jerks.
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2020, batteries, Car, e-bike, electric, EV, General Motors, gm, hybrid, LE, LED, solar, Toyota, Vehicles
WDU Special – We Talk with Tom Bodett
You know him from Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me or maybe “We’ll leave the light on for you.” but we know Mr. Tom Bodett as a green energy advocate who walks the walk. His self-installed 37kW solar array, advanced heating pump system and his new Tesla Model Y all speak of someone who cares. Spend some time getting to know Tom better.
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WDU Special -Tesla Earnings Call with Montana Skeptic
A fantastic special show. We spend ninety minutes dissecting the Tesla earnings call with Kacey Green, Patrick Connor, Matthew Klippenstein and special guest Montana Skeptic. Details and arguments abound. It’s a contentious but very fascinating look at the most talked about car company on the planet.
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