HYBRID CARS REVISITED
IT’S LOOKING LIKE I MIGHT HAVE BEEN RIGHT (if premature) fourteen months ago when I wrote “Why Not Hybrids?” A recent Automotive News, March 4, 2024, is brimming with accounts … Continue reading
CES AND THE AUTOMOBILE
THE CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW is typically a whiz-bang of silicon-based wonders, so it’s no surprise that Artificial Intelligence pokes its way under the edge of the tent. On the other … Continue reading
SERIES HYBRIDS: GOOD ENOUGH FOR LOCOMOTIVES; PICKUP TRUCKS TOO?
THOUGH WE CALL THEM “DIESELS,” railway locomotive wheels are actually spun by electricity produced by diesel-powered generators. That is, they’re “series” hybrids. This is contrasted with automotive “parallel” hybrids like … Continue reading
TOYOTA ENTHUSIASMS
WHEN A GUY IS A CAR NUT—and his name, sorta, is on the building—enthusiasm filters down. And so it seems with Akio Toyoda, current chairman of the board and past … Continue reading
A REALLY SOLID IDEA NEARING FRUITION
BACK IN APRIL 2022, SIMANAITISSAYS wrote “Solid-state Batteries” When? If? Whose?” Today, only 18 months later we can forgo the “if,” give the “when” a 2027-2028, and, as suggested, associate … Continue reading
CALIFORNIA: AN AV LUDDITE OR JUST CAUTIOUS?
MY HOME STATE IS OFTEN criticized for being overly progressive (about things like human rights, y’know). But lately California has adopted less than enthusiasm for AVs, Autonomous Vehicles. Despite being … Continue reading
WILL E-FUEL OR H-FUEL EXTEND THE ICE AGE?
THAT IS, ICE AS IN “internal combustion engine,” h- as in hydrogen, and e- as in the latest research efforts for a carbon-neutral replacement for gasoline and diesel. Richard Truett … Continue reading
LISTEN UP! BUT TO WHAT? AND HOW?
THERE’S CONTROVERSY GALORE about old fashioned AM radio these days. At first thought, I would have said this is akin to arguing the merits of floppy discs or BetaMax or … Continue reading
SHANGHAI MOTOR SHOW 2023 PART 2
YESTERDAY, KEITH BRADSHER DESCRIBED Chinese BEV popularity at this year’s Shanghai Motor Show. Today, he continues with news of a lady’s car, a carmaker’s vote for hybrids, and a battery … Continue reading
SHANGHAI MOTOR SHOW 2023 PART 1
THIS IS THE SECOND Shanghai Motor Show that I’m reporting on without actually having attended. (Justification is that I’ve been to Shanghai only once; and, besides, the show hasn’t been … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 