G. David Felt

A Republican, a Democrat, and Bill Clinton are traveling in a car when a tornado picks up the car and tosses them miles into the air. When the car finally comes back down, the three men realize they’ve been transported to Oz. “I’m going to ask the Wizard for a brain,” says the Democrat. “I’m going to ask him for a heart,” says the Republican. Bill Clinton looks around and asks the two men, “Where do you think Dorothy is?” The following is a funny and true story shared with me by KC Williams who teaches AP Government at Santa Fe High School. In one of KC's classes, they were discussing the qualifications to be president of the United States . It was pretty simple. The candidate must be a natural born citizen of at least 35 years of age. However, one girl in the class immediately started in on how unfair was the requirement to be a natural born citizen. In short, her opinion was this requirement prevented many capable individuals from becoming president. KC and the class were just taking it in and letting her rant, but everyone's jaw hit the floor when she wrapped up her argument by stating .... "What makes a natural born citizen any more qualified to lead this country than one born by c-section?" And someday she'll vote!

Tesla FSD and GM Supercruise are both Level 2, but unlike FSD which only allows 3 minutes of hands off driving before it goes into panic mode about putting your hands back on the wheel, GM Supercruise is actually hands free driving. Mercedes is a LIMITED Level 3 driving up to 40 mph only in Nevada and California and both states have heavy stipulations. Mercedes-Benz Level 3 autonomous driving first to be US certified (electrek.co) Mercedes Preparing for Autonomous Driving in U.S. With Drive Pilot Level 3 (motortrend.com) Full paperwork for those two states are supposedly filed, but no confirmation and Mercedes says they hope to have all of the U.S. by the end of 2023 filed so 2024 the whole U.S. will have Level 3 self driving up to 40 MPH. Yet nothing is finalized yet, so right now Mercedes can only advertise as a SAE certified Level 2 with Level 3 coming. Mercedes might get there first, but it does not mean it will be the best. I would not say a level 3 self driving with speed limit of 40 mph is anything to brag about.

Very cool history about EVs https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jake-fox-materials_ev-activity-7119112143920058368-p3CJ?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_android

FSD is pure FUD with deaths and lawsuits to match. It will never happen with the camera only approach Musk has directed them to go as this cheapness is also what has caused the deaths and lawsuits. Until they get a real software/tech leader, Musk is a poison to the company now. He is too focused on his FUD X domain.

Thank you Drew, was not aware of the history here, very interesting.

Will be interesting to see if it ever gets done since they say they expect to have it built by 2030 but this is dependent on how many people volunteer and donations. As stated a $20 million dollar donation could allow them to build it in 5 to 6 years. Question why, why build something based on the 1940s and is old technology. To me it seems like people are trying to live in the past and as has been proven, stagnation causes death, so I just do not see any value in these old trains, but that is my personal view on it. Will be interesting to see where they are in a couple of years.

Guess it must be where I live as trains here have very little interest by society and Amtrak is rarely used here. So what was local trains has pretty much died out and even support for lite rail here is dropping which I believe is mostly due to the cost of the system and poor planning due to ignoring superior systems over seas. Politics clearly has played it hand here in limiting what rail can do and get done. Would be nice if they actually put rail in that serviced the community rather than select groups.

Make what you will of it, but I think Tesla is still way overpriced for what they do and GM and Ford are underpriced in a stock market.

Having taken one trip on a private coach at the back of Amtrak from Chicago to Seattle, I will say that it is very relaxing and a very slow pace of traveling the U.S. Not sure trains have much of a future unless we truly invest in highspeed trains as I think the generations that supported steam, coal or wood burning trains are all going 6 feet under, and the younger generations do not care as they have moved forward with the tech and high speed of society and the future. It will be interesting to see how train museums and private rail cars handle the next decade.

Yes, my wife and I do this with the Android Auto and the interpretation of the voice to text message is crazy funny.

Will be exciting to see when the builder comes out on the kia web site as to play with the options. Kia EV9 | Introducing The All-New All-Electric SUV | Kia I think Kia, Hyundai and Genesis are hitting on all cylinders in moving to EV and leaving ICE in the past where it belongs.

@oldshurst442 @smk4565 Cyber truck is still NOT in production yet, the ones seen are preproduction. No delivery to actual customers yet. A few to employees they are calling customers, but I would say more like internal beta testing. Tesla Cybertruck fleet spotted ahead of delivery event announcement | Electrek 9hrs ago people are spotting small groups of the trucks covered up. I doubt these are production as production are never covered up like this but test mules are. As per the comments from the Tesla Fans, 9 covered trucks is not D-Day of mass production but maybe a stunt for Q3 earnings since Tesla could very well miss their forecast numbers. Oct 18th is Earnings day. Expect a cybertruck announcement then, but Musk has already said retail deliveries this year will be minimal, 2024 will be the ramp up year.

Kia EV day covered the EV 3 and EV4 concepts but according to other news outlets, the CEO has stated that Kia will have an EV2 out globally that will also be in the U.S. for far less than $30,000 2023 Kia EV Day | The revolution begins KIA EV Day to be Held on October 12th - Korean Car Blog (thekoreancarblog.com)

Stock price of Tesla is a future glimps of where the company is going. Hyundai, Kia, Genesis is hitting EV far better than Tesla and has newer tech and models. Tesla is going to be hurting by 2025 at the rate Musk is destroying the company due to his distractions. Even stockholders are now calling for a new CEO to run Tesla. Tesla Investor Calls for a New CEO As As Musk Shift Focus to Twitter (businessinsider.com) Ford clearly has mis-read their own buyers which is mainly blue-collar workers and have not bought into the EV thing. GM sells to higher income folks and those more tech savvy. Ford is going to have issues over the next few years as they have not properly planned for EVs and battery production, so costs remain very high unlike GM which did plan. At least they are not Toyota that bet on Hydrogen and lost. Korea is going to eat the Japanese auto business for EVs.

Do not forget that she was close friends with the late Micheal Jackson. Elizabeth Taylor was to me far more lovely than Marlyn Manroe, but again that is person preference for brunettes over blondes, I guess. Course @oldshurst442 knows what I was really meaning by my comment. I find her very lovely and a nice watch to boot!

Woman and Snakes, what are you trying to really say olds?

Just as fire departments have learned how to use gasoline foam to put out an auto fire, I have read that the fire departments are working with suppliers to understand the updated foam needs to deal with EVs. My take is that like anything, we learn how best to deal with the new type of fires. Just like in the early 1900's when an auto did catch on fire, water did not always put it out and as such investment into new processes had to be done to find a better way to deal with a gas fire. I believe the same is here with batteries, new ways will be figured out. Course like Mercedes, even GM is working to ensure that the battery cells have minimal ability to ignite. Solid-state batteries will remove this fire issue all together I believe.

This cracks me up, Toyota is trying to rewrite history about their focus on EVs and battery development. Supposedly been doing battery research on Solid-states since 2006. Love the writers comment on how Toyota is smelling it's own Hydrogen Farts since that was the focus on the now retired CEO and chariman of the company. The new CEO has pretty much brought the Gas thing to a close as he focuses on the world change to EVs. Toyota is in last place now, but has the deep money pockets to catch up if they do it right. Right now Toyota / Subaru EVs suck. Toyota joins race to bring solid-state batteries to mass production (electrek.co) Agree, just like me test fitting my large frame in the Kia EV9, I need to drive, test fit and check out the auto before I will buy. Jeep Grand Cherokee Hybrid would be good for you maybe! I would check to see if there are any IRA rebates on it too.

So true, it is amazing that people think because it is ICE it is powered differently on all the internal electronics from an EV. Plenty of lemmings in the world for sure compared to us auto nuts.

Smurfette

What happens when you take a CALSTART Advanced Transportation graduate with a marketing and product development leader and connect them with Lee Iacocca, many others who are specialists in the EV industry and a connection to NASA? EV FOR EVERYONE (orbiselectric.com) You get a brain trust of individuals who have access to funding and additional folks that have helped set Bonneville Salt Flats speed records with a passion to help people convert to electric vehicles in minimal time. ORBIS ELECTRIC believes if there is a better way to allow folks to convert their vehicles to electric vehicles in minimal time, that the adding of gigatons of CO2 to the atmosphere can be slowed down and eventually stopped. Orbis Cofounder Marcus Hays and Chance Claxton believe that the hurdle to EV adoption is not the vehicles, but the parts. Orbis electric has reinvented the wheel to deliver EV for EVERYONE! They are the designer and creator of automotive parts engineered to radically accelerate the global conversion to electric vehicles. Their guiding principle is hyper-efficiency, resulting in affordable solutions that bring immediate and lasting benefits to consumers, OEMs, and the planet. How does this work you ask, simple, Orbis patented ring-wheel and disk brake assembly re-engineered the architecture of conventional internal combustion engines (ICE) by distributing the power and weight across 2-4 in-wheel motorized spindle inserts. The two current packages offered are the EV IN A BOX/160 (120kW/160hp) EV IN A BOX/560 (420kW/560hp) Revolutionary by Design Ready to go assembly for rapid EV conversion of passenger and Class 1-8 vehicles 40%-70% fuel mileage gain Instantaneous torque Runs on 110V, can charge anywhere; LDVs require no more than household current Innovative battery design, allows stacks and swaps Proven 10% more efficient, 25% lighter, which equate to 35% better range over current EVs Architecture frees up space and weight for cargo or passengers Smaller mass and lighter weight, no unsprung weight penalty Transform fleets and solo ICE vehicles into fuel efficient, emissions compliant EVs and Hybrids for pennies on the dollar Environmentally Driven Performance ORBIS Products are positioned to meet the new EURO 7 regulations on emissions which are the toughest in the world. We have covered their EV in a box conversion package that Orbis has stated can be done by company certified installation experts in 3hrs or less at a starting cost of $7,500. Orbis also has what they call their ECOWAVE brake. The Orbis hyper-efficient ECOWAVE brake operates as a freestanding brake, providing lighter, cooler, safer and greener alternative to traditional brakes. EcoWave is the first in a line of Orbis Brakes designed for each market segment, covering EVs, PHEVs and traditional ICE vehicles. 50% reduction in brake assembly mass, reducing overall weight and manufacturing costs 50% smaller brake pad yields 50% fewer brake dust particles 25% reduction in brake temperatures prevents additional brake dust and Non-Exhaust emissions ZERO dangerous brake fade June 5th 2022 was when Orbis Electric and NASA announced the EVOWAVE, but now the products are finally shipping. 6522-Orbis-Brakes-Debut-Press-Release.pdf (orbisbrakes.com) According to the financials about Orbis Electric, the company is a private company, founded in 2014 by 3 private investors and has 20 employees. They are located in Santa Rosa, California. The company has 39 patents filed, with 7 granted to date and has stated the following 4 things is what drives the company. Orbis approach is to be a lighter EV package compared to today's heavy solutions, be cooler for the environment while producing less brake dust, greener by supplying longer range, lower emissions, and a smaller carbon footprint and smarter by offering the first comprehensive EV solution that fits in a box. Are you ready to join the EV revolution and consider possibly converting your current ICE to EV with EV IN A BOX? Many folks that have thought about converting their favorite auto to EV have hit the same wall as just about everyone else. A complete solution that makes it easy to undertake this project as till today, there has been no real boxed solution, just various EV resellers of parts and while they have tried their best to direct you to all one needs, there has always been what have I forgotten to have a complete EV conversion solution. View full article

Thank you for posting this, great video! Should be watched by all.

Olive Oil