#355 Solar Shakedown
- 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?
- 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.
- Hyundai released images of a concept vehicle that is supposed to serve as inspiration for their upcoming EV vehicles.
- 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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Car, concept, connected, Efficiency, EV, first, Ford, gigafactory, Hyundai, insurance, LE, LED, new york, oil, rv, solar, Tesla, Vehicles
#349 Whose Data is it, Anyway?
In this week’s show:
1) The current NTSB requirements for black box data is woefully short of all the data required to determine the actual situation of a modern-day crash. Manufacturers are not required to hand over additional data. Should owners be able to pull the data themselves to turn over to the police? Should they be able to pull data from a used car prior to purchasing it?
2) Tesla’s stock has soared recently to the point that the company is now valuated higher than GM and Ford, combined! It doesn’t help that Ford and GM have seen their own valuations dropping in the recent months.
3) The Boring Company’s 0.8 mile tunnel is completed under Las Vegas between convention centers. It’s likely not going to reach 140mph like previously advertised, it might use skates to move cars or not. Details are few and far between.
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autonomous, batteries, battery, boring company, bus, Car, CBC, Charging, concept, Convenience, Cyber Truck, Cybertruck, Diesel, Eco, Efficiency, electric, elon, elon musk, Employees, epa, EV, eVolution, FICA, Ford, FSD, fuel cell, Full Self Drive, General Motors, gm, Government, Gratification, hybrid, ID.3, id3, Incentives, las vegas, LE, Lexus, LimePod, lyft, Micromobility, mobility, Model S, model X, motorcycle, nissan, Oregon, Plug-in, porsche, Portland, Range Anxiety, RAV-4, RAV4, review, robots, rv, RVing, Software, solar, Starlink, tax, Tax Credit, Technology, Tesla, the boring company, Toyota, Tracking, TriMet, trump, tunnel, update, Updates, volkswagen
#348 Dieselgate Saves VW
This week:
1) States face roadblocks on path to lower tailpipe emissions.
2) BMW remains committed to ICE cars for at least 30 more years.
3) The Prius is no longer Toyota’s top-selling hybrid.
4) Sony shocks CES by unveiling a car.
5) The Fisker Ocean might actually be areal thing.
6) Tesla’s Gigafactory 4 has to tread lightly in the forest.
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autonomous, batteries, battery, BMW, bus, Car, CBC, Charging, concept, Convenience, Cyber Truck, Cybertruck, Diesel, dieselgate, Eco, Efficiency, electric, elon, elon musk, emissions, Employees, epa, EV, eVolution, FICA, FSD, fuel cell, Full Self Drive, General Motors, gigafactory, gm, Government, Gratification, hybrid, ID.3, id3, Incentives, LE, Lexus, LimePod, lyft, Micromobility, mobility, Model S, model X, motorcycle, nissan, Oregon, Plug-in, porsche, Portland, Prius, Range Anxiety, RAV-4, RAV4, review, robots, rv, RVing, Software, solar, Starlink, tax, Tax Credit, Technology, Tesla, Toyota, Tracking, TriMet, trump, update, Updates, volkswagen, VW, What Drives Us
audio only,What Drives Us episode
# 347 Robot Replacements
1) Tony reviewed the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. Be sure to check out his two separate reviews:
Ride-along review: https://youtu.be/ed4CUB73QWE
Walk-around review: https://youtu.be/hty_KFkWZMY
2) At the beginning of the 2010s, Lithium-Ion batteries were projected to herald in the era of the electric vehicle. We discuss accessibility of battery components and the drop in prices.
3) Volkswagen has released conceptual animations of very cute little battery charging robots. You park your car anywhere in a parking garage and the robots will not only bring a mobile battery pack, the pack will plug itself into your car.
4) December saw a flurry of Tesla software updates. We pick them apart.
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autonomous, batteries, battery, bus, Car, CBC, Charging, concept, Convenience, Cyber Truck, Cybertruck, Diesel, Eco, Efficiency, electric, elon, elon musk, Employees, epa, EV, eVolution, FICA, FSD, fuel cell, Full Self Drive, General Motors, gm, Government, Gratification, hybrid, ID.3, id3, Incentives, LE, Lexus, LimePod, lyft, Micromobility, mobility, Model S, model X, motorcycle, nissan, Oregon, Plug-in, porsche, Portland, Range Anxiety, RAV-4, RAV4, RAV4 Hybrid, review, robots, rv, RVing, Software, solar, Starlink, tax, Tax Credit, Technology, Tesla, Toyota, Tracking, TriMet, trump, update, Updates, volkswagen, What Drives Us
audio only,What Drives Us episode
#346 Last Episode of 2019
In this, the final episode of 2019, we discuss:
1) The environmental impact of our instant gratification economy. Is it better or worse when we can order almost any amount of almost anything online and have it delivered to our house?
2) The US House passed a new spending bill that extends credits for EV chargers, motorcycles, and fuel cells but fails to extend credits for EV cars. Also, coal plants owned by Native Americans are subsidized.
3) The E-RV is a pretty awesome 5th Wheel camper that has a huge battery for full off-the-grid living. The battery can be recharged by plugging in, solar on the roof, and/or regeneration while being towed.
4) Portland, Oregon, is really stepping up their mass transit game by implementing impressive measures with their Trimet system. From green buses to renewable diesel and free rides for minors, this is mass transit done right.
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autonomous, batteries, battery, bus, CBC, Convenience, Cyber Truck, Cybertruck, Diesel, Eco, Efficiency, electric, elon, elon musk, Employees, EV, eVolution, FICA, FSD, fuel cell, Full Self Drive, General Motors, gm, Government, Gratification, hybrid, ID.3, id3, Incentives, LE, Lexus, LimePod, lyft, Micromobility, mobility, Model S, model X, motorcycle, nissan, Oregon, Plug-in, porsche, Portland, Range Anxiety, RAV-4, rv, RVing, solar, Starlink, tax, Tax Credit, Technology, Toyota, Tracking, TriMet, trump, What Drives Us
audio only,What Drives Us episode
#346: Last Episode of 2019
In this, the final episode of 2019, we discuss:
1) The environmental impact of our instant gratification economy. Is it better or worse when we can order almost any amount of almost anything online and have it delivered to our house?
2) The US House passed a new spending bill that extends credits for EV chargers, motorcycles, and fuel cells but fails to extend credits for EV cars. Also, coal plants owned by Native Americans are subsidized.
3) The E-RV is a pretty awesome 5th Wheel camper that has a huge battery for full off-the-grid living. The battery can be recharged by plugging in, solar on the roof, and/or regeneration while being towed.
4) Portland, Oregon, is really stepping up their mass transit game by implementing impressive measures with their Trimet system. From green buses to renewable diesel and free rides for minors, this is mass transit done right.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (67.5MB)
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2019, autonomous, batteries, battery, bus, Car, CBC, Convenience, Cyber Truck, Cybertruck, Diesel, Eco, Efficiency, electric, elon, elon musk, Employees, EV, eVolution, FICA, FSD, fuel cell, Full Self Drive, General Motors, gm, Government, Gratification, hybrid, ID.3, id3, Incentives, LE, Lexus, LimePod, lyft, Micromobility, mobility, Model S, model X, motorcycle, nissan, Oregon, Plug-in, porsche, Portland, Range Anxiety, RAV-4, rv, RVing, solar, Starlink, tax, Tax Credit, Technology, Toyota, Tracking, TriMet, trump, What Drives Us
#337 Hydrogen, Superchargers and No Unicorns
1) Russell provides insight gained at Toyota’s eVolution event
2) If you haven’t yet watched Russell’s interview with Matthew Klippenstein, you should check it out
3) The founder of Faraday Future files bankruptcy
4) Dyson declares they are giving up on developing an electric vehicle
5) All the non-Tesla owners need a supercharger network
6) The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was recently awarded to three men credited for the Lithium Ion battery
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Aptera, battery, electric, elon, elon musk, EV, faraday future, future, hybrid, hydrogen, id3, interview, las vegas, LE, Lexus, lyft, mobility, model 3, Model S, model X, nissan, Plug-in, Politics, porsche, Range Anxiety, rv, Taycan, Technology, Tesla, the boring company, Toyota, trump, tunnel, uber, VW, What Drives Us
#336 Hydrogen Double Take
- Florida Power & Light committed to 1,000 new EV chargershttps://insideevs.com/news/373803/florida-1000-charging-points/
- From Yahoo! Finance: Solar and Wind are now Cheaper than Coal in Most of the World:https://finance.yahoo.com/news/solar-wind-now-cheaper-coal-210000650.html
- Truly a new take or just flogging an old trope one more time?https://www.thedrive.com/tech/26050/exclusive-toyota-hydrogen-boss-explains-how-fuel-cells-can-achieve-corolla-costs
- This is going to be fun: The 2nd Gen Mirai will be out in 2020. They’re actually making a 2nd Gen:https://www.autoblog.com/2019/09/26/toyota-mirai-hydrogen-fuel-cell-car-second-generation/
- And speaking of Hydrogen:Engineers in Alberta think the’ve found a way for the oilseeds to produce clean fuel:https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/alberta-hydrogen-innovation-1.5290297
- Lane tape might be a cheap fix to help AV developmenthttps://www.on-sitemag.com/roads/marking-the-way-to-driverless-cars-ontarios-407-etr-3m-team-up-to-test-novel-road-tape/1003965295/
- Between 1990-2016, despite a sizable 35% increase in the overall fuel efficiency of our vehicle fleet, national emissions rose by 21%. Why? Because those improvements were accompanied by a 50% increase in driving.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/Open-Forum-Electric-cars-won-t-save-us-but-a-14462534.php - Some people love car dealers (service)
https://www.autonews.com/fixed-ops-journal/survey-3-out-4-vehicle-owners-prefer-dealership-service
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2016, Aptera, bus, Charging, Corolla, Eco, electric, elon, elon musk, emissions, EV, hybrid, hydrogen, id3, las vegas, LE, Lexus, lyft, mirai, mobility, model 3, Model S, model X, nissan, oil, Plug-in, Politics, porsche, Range Anxiety, rv, solar, Taycan, Technology, Tesla, the boring company, Toyota, truck, trump, tunnel, uber, VW, What Drives Us
#335 Dunk Dunk Dink-Dunk Dunk
1) VW ID.3 would not sell enough in the US, or would it sell too much?
https://insideevs.com/news/371779/vw-canada-considering-sales-id3/
2) Amazon orders 100K delivery vans from Rivian
https://techcrunch.com/2019/09/19/amazon-orders-100k-electric-delivery-trucks-from-rivian-as-part-of-going-carbon-neutral-by-2040/
3) Lime shuts down car rental service, Limepod
http://mail01.tinyletterappcom/transportation/trucks-fot-wunder-farmwise-oslo/15282170-techcrunch.com/2019/09/19/lime-is-shutting-down-car-rental-service-limepod/
4) Waiting for Godot
https://www.teslarati.com/elon-musk-boring-company-las-vegas-loop-tunnel-update-pictures/
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2170, Aptera, Canada, CARB, electric, elon, elon musk, EV, hybrid, id3, las vegas, LE, Lexus, lyft, mobility, model 3, Model S, model X, musk, nissan, Plug-in, Politics, porsche, Range Anxiety, rv, Taycan, Technology, Tesla, the boring company, Toyota, truck, trump, tunnel, uber, update, van, VW, What Drives Us
audio and video,What Drives Us episode
#227 Elon, Get Your Thumb Out Of Trump’s Ass
Patrick Connor’s feature; Russell’s Rant:
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2017, apple, articles, Chevrolet, Chevy, china, concept, electric, EV, feature, featured, features, gm, LE, Model S, Patrick Connor, rv, semi, Tesla, truck, trump, van