What Drives Us episode

#405 Battery Arms Race

28 Feb , 2021   Video

Timeline:
00:00 Intros
04:30 Uber still the most crooked company possible
10:55 Hyundai says it will replace the battery packs in ~82,000 EVs globally 20:40 This Week in Tesla
32:45 Mercedes testing new EV truck
36:25 China and Europe are Winning the EV Battery “Arms Race”
49:05 Shout-outs and Go Home

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What Drives Us episode

#395 Robots Displace Humans

29 Jan , 2021   Video

5:15 Toyota Mirai
10:30 Rivian Amazon van undercover
18:05 Hyundai buys Boston Dynamics
24:20 Tesla News – Giga Berlin – China superchargers – Tesla Parade
30:20 Bollinger strangely still rendering
33:33 EV West crate motor
37:00 Zoox autonomous shuttle vehicles
44:30 Personal deliveries are an environmental nightmare and so is packaging / recycling
58:40 Kandi EV cheapest in America
1:00:45 Shoutouts!

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What Drives Us episode

# 379 Isn’t it Ionic?

14 Aug , 2020   Video

00:00 Intros

06:00 A Little Self-Promotion

11:15 Hyundai Launches Ionic Brand of EVs

20:55 The Politics of Saving the Environment

29:40 This Week in Tesla

36:15 California Court Rules Uber and Lyft Must Call Drivers “Employees”

50:45 GM’s SuperCruise is a Subscription Service

1:05:20 Shout-outs and Go Home

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What Drives Us episode

#377 Tonka Toy Van Down By The River

30 Jul , 2020   Video

00:00 Intros

07:40 Hybrid Fleets Would Reduce Emissions Now

15:55 Electric Brands Introduces Module EV Bus

22:00 Tesla Willing to License Software and Technology

26:00 Hyundai Ramps up EV Production Plans

37:40 The Real Cost of “Public” Parking

43:15 Community Solar for Those Who Can’t Solar

49: 30 Fossil Fuel Companies Funding the Police

1:01:15 Shout-outs and Go Home

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What Drives Us episode

#373 Body Bags are Extra

2 Jul , 2020   Video

  1. American Airlines has started filling their planes to capacity during a pandemic.
  2. Toyota is severely limiting the supply of the RAV4 Prime for some reason.
  3. California is mandating that all commercial trucks be fully-electric by 2045.
  4. 2-sided solar panels that track the sun can increase energy production up to 30%.
  5. Minnesota is suing ExxonMobile and Koch Brothers for damages caused by their disregard of their own research.
  6. All Americans need to support the “Moving Forward” act.
  7. Hyundai has introduced an all-electric shuttle bus.
  8. Oslo is testing inductive charging for taxis.
  9. Electrify American has completed their first cross-country charging network.

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What Drives Us episode

#370 AutoStupid

11 Jun , 2020   Video

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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?
  5. 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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What Drives Us episode

#355 Solar Shakedown

26 Feb , 2020   Video

  1. The guys get into a tussle over Tesla’s Gigafactory in Buffalo New York now that Panasonic has pulled out of the location. Will there ever be Solar glass?
  2. After 40 years of trying to figure it out, scientists have finally figured out why solar panels experience a 2% efficiency drop within the first hour of operation.
  3. Hyundai released images of a concept vehicle that is supposed to serve as inspiration for their upcoming EV vehicles.
  4. Ford allows drivers to sign up for insurance and use their connected cars to track their driving habits. Spoiler: if you’re being paid, you’re the product.

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audio only,What Drives Us episode

#352 EVs Everywhere!

7 Feb , 2020   Video

1) Russell teases that he’s been invited to a Toyota AWD event. More details in a future show.

2) Simon Wecker, a guy in Berlin, Germany, pulled 90 cell phones – all with Google Maps active – through empty streets. Why? Because Google interpreted all that data to mean that the streets were congested with 90 cars, all barely moving along. The result was empty streets thanks to Google routing everyone around Wecker and his wagon of phones.

3) Hyundai is doubling their Kona EV production be adding a second factory. This is in response to the Kona’s massive demand, which Hyundai is not able to keep up with.

4) The new US Building Codes will call for new homes in the US to be manufactured “EV Ready”.

5) Rivian and Amazon are designing and building a custom EV Amazon delivery van. It’s kind of cute.

6) We’re relatively excited to see that there are EV trucks coming to market. Americans love their trucks so if we want to win them over we’re going to need electric trucks.

7) Toyota is introducing new technology to safe stupid people from themselves. This new software will detect when someone mashes the accelerator rather than the brake and make sure the car doesn’t surge forward. Because, let’s face it, unexpected acceleration was really human error all along.

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audio only,What Drives Us episode

#343: Selling Out of EVs that Nobody Wants

30 Nov , 2019   Video

1) At the LA Auto Show, a Toyota spokesman told a roomful of reporters that there is no demand for EVs. This certainly clears things up in terms of Tesla, the Leaf, Volt/Bolt, Rivian, etc.

2) Ford has reported that the 2021 Mustang Mack E is already sold out.

3) It’s our turn to provide our impression of the Tesla Cybertruck.

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