Slowly but surely, electric vehicles (EVs) are breaking through into the mainstream. As much as I hate to give credit to Lord Manchild, his company has been a difference-maker in this area. Now we’re seeing the government get involved here in the US. The United States Postal Service (USPS) is making strides toward electrifying its…Continue readingStamping Out Emissions
Tag: cars
More Cars With More Subscriptions
I wish this wasn’t the first time I had to talk about cars with subscriptions to unlock technology already built into your car, but here we are. In the spotlight is once again BMW which is now forcing subscriptions to unlock the stuff in the (very expensive) car you already bought. Brad Anderson at Car…Continue readingMore Cars With More Subscriptions
California Platin’
It only took fifteen years for e-ink to find another use besides the driving technology behind the Kindle and other eBook readers. A bill was signed into law recently in California allowing this tech to do something that will make life easier for everyone: be a license plate. Jonathan Gitlin at Ars Technica has more.…Continue readingCalifornia Platin’
NJ Slows Car Subscription Ambitions
A subscription for features in your car is one of the worst “you don’t really own it” ideas of the modern subscription-heavy world we live in. I’ve previously written about how horrible of an idea this is. Now, New Jersey is doing something about it. Jonathan Gitlin at Ars Technica has more. In late September,…Continue readingNJ Slows Car Subscription Ambitions
Nissan Phases out Leaf EV
The Nissan Leaf was one of the first electric cars to sell en masse. The automaker made a big splash in 2011 with a car that was somewhat affordable, but also had decent styling. Now, the Nissan Leaf is no more. The company has announced they will be phasing out the car by 2025. Nathan…Continue readingNissan Phases out Leaf EV
NC Bill Demands Free Gas
I’m a big fan of electric vehicles (EVs). I used to talk about them extensively in my previous days as a podcaster. With the past decade ushering in actual EVs people can buy, some attention has been put on infrastructure. Some geniuses in North Carolina don’t like the idea of public charging. Now they are…Continue readingNC Bill Demands Free Gas
This Sucker’s Electrical
It’s impossible to write TimeMachiner and not talk about the reveal of the “New Delorean”. For a few months the Delorean Motor Company (no relation to the original DMC) has been teasing something new. A couple of silhouettes were put onto their homepage and that was it. Some rumors were floating around on whether it…Continue readingThis Sucker’s Electrical
Badass F-100
Ford’s F-100 pickup truck is pretty iconic. The design was one that was around for a long time. It was popular and has a retro-cool look to it that only few vehicles can achieve. Now, Ford is doing something awesome: putting a Mach-E motor into it. Umar Shakir at The Verge tells us more. Ford…Continue readingBadass F-100
GM’s Turn To Be Stupid
Yet again we are seeing a car company look to the world of recurring revenue to help boost sales. A GM subscription looks to be on the horizon. I hope like other attempts at a car subscription, it dies in a very large fire. Rob Stumpf at The Drive has more. General Motors expects consumers…Continue readingGM’s Turn To Be Stupid
Stupid Summon
For all the whiz-bang features Tesla keeps pumping into its cars via software updates, there are many that do not live up to the hype. Full self driving with AutoPilot has been shown to still be in its infancy regardless of what Elon Musk promises. Another feature that is quite rough around the edges is…Continue readingStupid Summon
Driverless Car Runs From Cops
You know you truly live in the future when robots are having encounters with police. Recently a Cruise driverless car was stopped by San Francisco police during the evening. Cue lots of walking around, trying to figure out what to do, and… the car driving off for a short distance to then stop again. Surely…Continue readingDriverless Car Runs From Cops
But Tesla Doesn’t Need a PR Dept
Tesla has been applauded for many things. They were the first to make a legit EV that is ‘sexy’. They had the foresight to know people wanted a reliable charging infrastructure and built one. Elon Musk has become a Founder / CEO visionary-type that uses charisma to get things done. But Tesla also has a…Continue readingBut Tesla Doesn’t Need a PR Dept
Electric Buzz
After a very public and very humiliating experience with trying to get around car emission requirements, Volkswagen promised to do better. They also promised to go all-in on building electric vehicles. The ID4 was released with a nice look to it and now VW has dipped into the nostalgia well with the ID Buzz, an…Continue readingElectric Buzz
Reinventing the Wheel
I always say that we’re living in the future, we just haven’t realized it yet. More proof comes out of this report by Steve DaSilva over at Jalopnik. It recounts Jón Schone’s attempts to 3D print a Mercedes wheel that would actually work on his car. He started it back in 2020 and only recently…Continue readingReinventing the Wheel
Hertz So Good
Katie Wedell and Laura Layden writing for USA Today with a bonkers story on how renting a car could literally turn you into a criminal. She’s [Paula Murray] now one of 230 plaintiffs suing Hertz for false arrest and in some cases prosecution. The lawyers for this cohort say they know there are more cases…Continue readingHertz So Good
Standing Still
Toyota has been a long-popular car manufacturer. However, lately, they’re in the news for the wrong reasons. The car company announced that they have once again had to halt production of their cars due to a supplier getting hacked. Jonathan Gitlin at ArsTechnica has more. Toyota is becoming quite the frequent target for hackers. It…Continue readingStanding Still
Burning Rubber
It’s no secret that buying a car right now is a complete nightmare. You have dealerships marking up cars by $5, $10, $15k because of the increased demand. On the used side, there’s never been a better time to sell your car. Even Carvana is buying cars from people for more than their original sticker…Continue readingBurning Rubber
Fifty And Charge
In a further push to get electric vehicles into more driveways comes a plan by the US government to set up charging stations at set intervals. The first iteration of predictable stops to charge a car is set to build chargers every 50 miles along interstate highways. When those stations are built, they must contain…Continue readingFifty And Charge
Not Quite a Flying DeLorean
We’re seven years past 2015 and we still don’t have flying cars. It’s been predicted for decades. One company, Klein Vision, out of Slovakia has been building a car that literally transforms into a small aircraft in under 2-minutes. The “AirCar” was awarded an official Certificate of Airworthiness by the Slovak Transport Authority after completing…Continue readingNot Quite a Flying DeLorean
Go, Ford Lightning
We seem to be reaching an inflection point for car manufacturers’ embracing of electric vehicles. Whether it’s for financial reasons, a response to customer’s embracing of Tesla, or other reasons we don’t exactly know, it’s great to see nearly every company make public statements. They are not designing prototype or “compliance” cars for California. They’re…Continue readingGo, Ford Lightning
Blinding Lights
Have you noticed lately that every single time you’re driving at night, you can’t see behind you? No it’s not from fog or heavy rain or even someone moving your mirrors out of alignment. I’m talking about cars with headlights so bright they nearly burn your retinas out of your skull. Finally, something is about…Continue readingBlinding Lights
People have praised Tesla’s buying experience for years. It’s unconventional and one the company isn’t even legally allowed to offer in every state. No dealerships, no haggling, no nonsense. You configure your car online and it’s ready for delivery or pickup when it’s ready. Unfortunately the dreaded supply chain / chip shortage has caused Tesla…Continue readingTesla Thinks Their Customers Are Stupid