What Drives Us episode

#348 Dieselgate Saves VW

14 Jan , 2020   Video

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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audio only,What Drives Us episode

# 347 Robot Replacements

3 Jan , 2020   Video

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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audio only,What Drives Us episode

#346 Last Episode of 2019

3 Jan , 2020   Video

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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audio only,What Drives Us episode

#346: Last Episode of 2019

23 Dec , 2019   Video

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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What Drives Us episode

#337 Hydrogen, Superchargers and No Unicorns

27 Oct , 2019   Video

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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What Drives Us episode

#336 Hydrogen Double Take

5 Oct , 2019   Video

  1. Florida Power & Light committed to 1,000 new EV chargershttps://insideevs.com/news/373803/florida-1000-charging-points/
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. 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/
  5. 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
  6. 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/
  7. 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
  8. 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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What Drives Us episode

#335 Dunk Dunk Dink-Dunk Dunk

1 Oct , 2019   Video

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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Article,Featured,Features,Review

One View Of The Faraday Future Reveal

4 Jan , 2017  

I wanted to write this while my impressions were still fresh because the one thing I felt that I never explicitly said during our special episode was…anger. It made me mad. I felt used. Faraday Future, from here on, FF, used me for a sucker and I had to sit there and take it. Why? Well, let’s talk about it.

More…

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