Podcasts about maven gig

Host Tom Appel and co-hosts Jill Ciminillo and Damon Bell start the show by discussing GM's recently announced plans to discontinue its Maven car-sharing services. Next, we talk about our test-drive experiences with the 2020 Genesis G90 luxury sedan. Brian Spohn, Vehicle Electrification Manager for FCA North America, calls in to discuss Fiat Chrysler's various electrification initiatives, including the eTorque mild-hybrid system. Tom has a tricky quiz on current Toyota vehicles for Damon and Jill, and Damon runs down the latest articles on the Consumer Guide Daily Drive blog--including a handy list of things to examine when test driving a new vehicle.

Show #452   Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Tuesday 23rd April 2019. It’s Martyn Lee here and I’ve been through every EV story I could find today to save you time.   Thank you to MYEV.com for helping make this show, they’ve built the first marketplace specifically for Electric Vehicles. It’s a totally free marketplace that simplifies the buying and selling process, and help you learn about EVs along the way too.   TESLA UNVEILS NEW CHIP, NEW COMPUTER So many outlets are talking about the Tesla Autonomy Day yesterday it's hard to know which comments to bring you, so lets start full nerd, as the presentation started with more gigahertz and teraflops than I ever wanted to know about. "Tesla has unveiled a new chip and computer for its cars custom designed by a team led by Apple veteran Pete Bannon. The hardware started full production in July 2018 and is already being retrofitted to employee vehicles, CEO Elon Musk said at the company’s first “Autonomy Day” – intended to showcase autonomous driving progress. Tesla has dropped NVIDIA’s products as a result." is the verdict of Computer Business Review: "The Tesla chip, built for the company by Samsung, is capable of 76 trillion operations per second (TOPS). It draws just 100 watts and includes what Bannon described as a “modest” GPU, with the aim being that as the neural net improves performance, the amount of post-processing the GPU does will shrink. The computer includes 12 A72 64-bit CPUs for general purpose processing that operate at 2.2. gigahertz."   Pete Bannon said: "“In 2016 there was no ground-up neural network accelerator; everyone was adding instructions to their CPU or GPU or DSP to make it better for inference. I was hired in Feb 2016. I asked Elon if he was willing to spend all the money it takes to do full custom system design.” He said ‘are we gonna win?’ and I said ‘of course’ so we got a bunch of people and got to work.”.   https://www.cbronline.com/news/tesla-chip-nvidia   Fred at Electrek points out the hardware is already on the road: "Today, the company clarified that it was in all new Model S and Model X since March (start around March 20th) and in all new Model 3 vehicles earlier this month (starting around April 12th). Musk said that Tesla will start offering retrofits to current Tesla owners who bought the ‘Full Self-Driving package’ in the next few months."   https://electrek.co/2019/04/22/tesla-full-self-driving-computer-details/   TESLA OUTLINES PLAN FOR ‘ROBOTAXI’ RIDE-SHARING SERVICE "Tesla owners who wish to use their vehicles for the Tesla Network will be able to manage their electric cars through their smartphone. Musk dropped several points of information that will be key to the Tesla Network’s Robotaxi service as well. " says Simon at Teslarati: "Among these is the vehicles’ longevity. The CEO noted that current-generation battery packs are good for about 300,000 to 500,000 miles, though Tesla’s upcoming batteries which will go on production next year will operate for twice as long, up to 1 million miles with minimal maintenance. Operating the Tesla Network will make the electric car maker a player in the highly-competitive ride-sharing market, which is dominated by giants such as Uber and Lyft. Thanks to their low operating costs as all-electric cars, Tesla’s electric cars hold an advantage. Tesla estimates that running a Robotaxi will cost around $0.18 or less per mile. This undercuts the $2-$3 cost per mile of ride-sharing."   In a separate Electrek article Fred said: "On the app, Tesla owners will be able to add their cars to the shared fleet to earn money or summon an autonomous Tesla vehicle to pick them up and bring them to a destination. Musk dove deep into the economics of such a fleet — both from Tesla’s perspective and from the perspective of a Tesla owner. As we previously reported, now all new Tesla vehicles are equipped with what Musk believes is all the hardware necessary to achieve full self-driving through future software updates. He estimates that Tesla will have over a million of those vehicles on the road by the end of next year — around the time they start activating full self-driving capability"   https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-autonomy-day-livestream-updates/   https://electrek.co/2019/04/22/tesla-robotaxi-network-self-driving-fleet-ride-sharing-cars/   One of the Electrek forum members MrXtraconservative said "People called Musk crazy when he said his rockets would fall from space, then safely land backwards. Impossible! Today is more of the same."   STUFF ELON MUSK SAID ABOUT TESLA AUTONOMOUS CARS ON MONDAY, RANKED Gizmodo ranks how outrageous some of the statements were, with more Elons awarded for anything out there. The new Tesla micro-chip is “the best chip in the world... objectively” (Gizmodo say: according to Bloomberg, even Nvidia—which Musk said Tesla had already transitioned away from as a chip supplier to begin installing the in-house chip—admitted that Tesla had “raised the bar for self-driving computers.”. One out of five Elons) Tesla will have level 5 autonomy in 2020 which means they will self-drive so well “no one needs to pay attention" (Gizmodo say: “Claiming that the Tesla cars have the hardware for full autonomy and only need the software is like saying that we have seeds, we just need to plow, plant, nurture, harvest and then eat,” Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Institute engineer Raj Rajkumar told the Verge. “Basically they are at the starting point—full autonomy is many years away.” Three out of Five Elons) “Probably two years from now we’ll make a car with no steering wheels or pedals.” (Five out of five Elons.)   https://gizmodo.com/stuff-elon-musk-said-about-tesla-autonomous-cars-on-mon-1834233680   GOOGLE MAPS HELPS YOU FIND OPEN EV CHARGING STATIONS IN REAL TIME "From now on, you just have to fire up Google Maps if you need to hunt for an open EV charging station." reports Engadget UK today: "The latest versions of Google Maps for Android, iOS and the web now show real-time availability for charging ports in the US and UK, giving you a better idea of when to go for a top-up -- you're no longer relegated to static info like before. The feature won't help you find a Tesla Supercharger (you don't really need that given Tesla's app), but it will cover the networks of Chargemaster, EVgo and SemaConnect, with Chargepoint coming soon."   https://www.engadget.com/2019/04/23/google-maps-real-time-ev-charging-station-info/   EVGO AND MAVEN GIG INTRODUCE FIRST IN THE NATION PUBLIC-RIDESHARE FAST EV CHARGING HUBS At a special ribbon cutting event today, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti joined LA-based EVgo, the nation’s largest public fast EV charging network, and Maven, General Motors’ car sharing platform, to celebrate the introduction of a new, innovative network of EV fast charging hubs that feature both public and dedicated fast chargers for Maven Gig’s shared-use vehicles. Los Angeles is home to EVgo’s first local network of these public-rideshare fast EV charging hubs, which will include three locations across the city, further demonstrating the city’s role as a leader in transportation electrification. Today’s event celebrated the official opening of the Venice Crossroads fast EV charging hub located at 8985 Venice Blvd in Los Angeles. Venice Crossroads is located six miles away from the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and adjacent to the 10 Freeway and the Metro Expo Line. The first hub in the network opened last month in the heart of Hollywood at the Hollywest Promenade Cathy Zoi, CEO of EVgo: "Our new network of public-rideshare fast charging hubs in Los Angeles is the first of its kind and will make charging quick and easy for Maven Gig members, while helping to improve access for all EV drivers across the city. "     COMMUNITY And thanks to MYEV.com they’ve set us another Question Of The Week. Keep your comments coming in on email and YouTube…   What’s the dumbest thing you’ve ever heard about EVs?   I want to say a heartfelt thank you to the 216 patrons of this podcast whose generosity means I get to keep making this show, which aims to entertain and inform thousands of listeners every day about a brighter future. By no means do you have to check out Patreon but if it’s something you’ve been thinking about, by all means look at patreon.com/evnewsdaily     PHIL ROBERTS / ELECTRIC FUTURE (PREMIUM PARTNER) BRAD CROSBY (PREMIUM PARTNER)   DAVID ALLEN (PARTNER) OEM AUDIO OF NEW ZEALAND AND EVPOWER.CO.NZ (PARTNER) SASCHA PALLENBERG (PARTNER) PAUL O’CONNER (PARTNER) ALAN ROBSON (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) ALEX BANAHENE (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) ALEXANDER FRANK @ https://www.youtube.com/c/alexsuniverse42 ANDERS HOVE (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) ARILD GEIR SKAALSVEEN (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) ASHLEY HILL (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) BÅRD FJUKSTAD (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) BARRY PENISTON (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) BOB MUIR / GINGERCOMPUTERS.COM IN DUNDEE (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) BORISLAV BORISOV (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) BRENT KINGSFORD (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) BRIAN THOMPSON (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) BRIAN WEATHERALL (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) CESAR TRUJILLO (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) CHRIS BENSON (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) CHRIS HOPKINS (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) CRAIG COLES (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) CRAIG ROGERS (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) DAMIEN DAVIS (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) DARREN BYRD (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) DARREN SANT FROM YORKSHIRE EV CLUB (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) DAVE DEWSON (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) DAVID BARKMAN (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) DAVID FINCH (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) DAVID PARTINGTON (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) DAVID PRESCOTT (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) DIRK RUTSATZ (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) DON MCALLISTER / SCREENCASTSONLINE.COM (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) ENRICO STEPHAN-SCHILOW (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) FREDRIK ROVIK (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) GEORGE CLARGO (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) JACK OAKLEY (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) JAMES STORR (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) JASON FAN (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) JEFF ERBES (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) JERRY ALLISON (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) JILL SMITH (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) JOHN BAILEY (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) JON AKA BEARDY MCBEARDFACE FROM KENT EVS (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) JON KNODEL (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) JON TIMMIS (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) JUAN GONZALEZ (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) KEN MORRIS (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) KEVIN MEYERSON (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) KIRIVAN YAM (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) LARS DAHLAGER (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) LAURENCE D ALLEN (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) LESZEK GRZYL (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) LOUIS HOPKIN (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) LUKE CULLEY (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) MARCEL LOHMANN (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) MARCEL WARD (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) MARTIN CROFT (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) MATT PISCIONE (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) MATTHEW ELLIS (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) MATTHEW GROOBY (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) MAZ SHAR (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) MIA OPPELSTRUP (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) MICHAEL PASTRONE (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) MIKE ROGERS (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) MIKE WINTER (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) NATHAN GORE-BROWN (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) NEIL E ROBERTS FROM SUSSEX EVS (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) OHAD ASTON (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) PAUL SEAGER-SMITH (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) PAUL STEPHENSON (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) PETE GLASS (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)  PHIL MOUCHET (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) PHILIPPE CALVE (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) RAJ BADWAL (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) RAJEEV NARAYAN (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) RALPH JENSON (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) RENÉ SCHNEIDER (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) ROB COOLING / HTTP://WWW.APPLEDRIVING.CO.UK/ (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) RUPERT MITCHELL (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) SARAH MCCANN (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) SARI KANGASOJA (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) SEIKI PAYNE (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) STEVE JOHN (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) STUART HANNAH (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) THE LIMOUSINE LINE SYDNEY (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) TIM GUTTERIDGE (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) WALTER MACVANE (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) ZACK HURST (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)   You can listen to all 450 previous episodes of this this for free, where you get your podcasts from, plus the blog https://www.evnewsdaily.com/ – remember to subscribe, which means you don’t have to think about downloading the show each day, plus you get it first and free and automatically. 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Read today’s show notes on https://www.evnewsdaily.com   Well good morning, good afternoon and good evening, wherever you are in the world, hello and welcome to the Tuesday 24th July edition of EV News Daily. It’s Martyn Lee here with the news you need to know about electric cars and the move towards sustainable transport.   A quick note on show 190, ten until we reach 200. Your suggestions for improvements. Hi to TeslaBrian72 who asks “do you have a Patreon or some way I can support your channel? Every day I feel like I learn something new”.   U.S. TO PROPOSE REVOKING CALIFORNIA POWER TO SET AUTO EMISSIONS RULES We'll start with some news from Reuters: "The Trump administration is expected to propose revoking California’s ability to set state vehicle emissions rules and mandate electric vehicles as early as later this week, a government official briefed on the matter said. Proposed regulation that recommends freezing vehicle emissions requirements at 2020 levels through 2026, the official said on condition of anonymity because it has not yet been made public." Reuters go on to say: "The proposal is sure to spark a massive fight with California and a dozen other states that have adopted the rules. Eliminating the mandate could hurt automakers like Tesla Inc and General Motors that are investing billions in EVs. In January, California Governor Jerry Brown set a new target of 5 million zero-emission vehicles in California by 2030, up from a prior goal of 1.5 million by 2025. Automakers have announced plans to spend tens of billions of dollars to add dozens of new EV models." Ryan Beene at Bloomberg adds: "The state’s 2009 waiver under the Clean Air Act has allowed California to set emissions rules for cars and trucks that are more stringent than the federal government’s. But the state has aligned its rules with those set by the EPA and NHTSA in a so-called national program of clean-car rules. California, with more than 2 million new cars and light trucks sold last year, is the nation’s biggest state market -- on par with Canada. A dozen other states follow California’s vehicle rules, and together account for more than a third of U.S. auto sales. Colorado also plans to adopt California’s clean-car rules."   TESLA ASKS SUPPLIERS FOR CASH BACK TO HELP TURN A PROFIT "Tesla has asked some suppliers to refund a portion of what the electric-car company has spent previously, an appeal that reflects the auto maker’s urgency to sustain operations during a critical production period." according to Tim Higgins for the Wall Street Journal, who claims: "[Tesla] is asking its suppliers for cash back to help it become profitable, according to a memo reviewed by The Wall Street Journal that was sent to a supplier last week."   SUPERCHARGER NETWORK VS THIRD PARTY NETWORKS Tesla Tweet: @Tesla "11,352 charging locations across the world and growing daily" Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas said in a research note: ""There has been a flurry of OEM announcements regarding accelerating electric vehicle introductions, but most offer little detail on charging and battery manufacturing strategy, e see Tesla's rapidly growing infrastructure footprint as a key differentiator." Automotive News says: "Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Nissan, General Motors and others are plugging into third-party charging networks, such as EVgo, ChargePoint and Electrify America. In some cases, automakers have made strategic investments in the businesses. GM pays EVgo to develop an exclusive charger network for its Maven Gig car rentals. Daimler invested about $82 million in ChargePoint as part of a $125 million funding effort by the charging network last year." "Over a decade, Electrify America plans to invest $2 billion in a public fast-charger network open to customers of all automakers. The company, financed through Volkswagen's settlement over its diesel emissions cheating, will install or have under construction more than 4,800 EV charging stations by June 2019."   http://www.autonews.com/article/20180723/MOBILITY/180729957/ev-charging-network-us   VOLTA’S AD-SUPPORTED ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING SERVICE RAISES $35 MILLION San Francisco-based charging network Volta Charging has raised $35mn from investors. "[It] combines outdoor digital advertising with charging stations to give electric vehicle owners free power. It has already rolled out a network of 1,000 charging stations that are open for sponsorship, and hopes to reach 2,000 by the end of 2018, according to a statement from the company." according to Tech Crunch; "Volta rolled out its initial charging stations in Hawaii, but now has expanded its network to include the top 10 media markets in the U.S. (valuable real estate for any would-be advertiser). So far the company’s sponsored charging stations have given away 22 million miles worth of juice, or the equivalent of 9 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions."   https://techcrunch.com/2018/07/23/voltas-ad-supported-electric-vehicle-charging-service-raises-35-million/   UK ELECTRIC CAR DRIVERS FACE PAYING MORE TO CHARGE AT PEAK TIMES Adam Vaughan is always on the money on his articles for The Guardian here in the UK: "British electric car drivers face having to pay more to power their car if they refuse to shift their charging to off-peak times, in a move designed to lessen their burden on the electricity network. If enough drivers top up their cars when they get home from work, that would put extra pressure on power networks, which already face a peak in demand between 4pm and 6pm. Incentives to use cheaper charging could include energy tariffs that offered cheaper electricity at certain times, such as when solar and wind power are generating larger amounts of power, or when demand is low." Ofgem: "“If electric vehicle users choose to charge during peak times, under current arrangements they will impose considerable costs which will be borne by all consumers. Consumers should be rewarded for being flexible with their demand, but may pay a premium if their behaviour adds to peak demand or local congestion [on power networks]."   https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jul/23/uk-electric-car-drivers-charge-peak-times-ofgem-electricity   FINAL SMART CHARGER INSTALLED FOR ELECTRIC NATION The Electric Nation project has installed its final smart charger as part of its trial with electric vehicle (EV) owners. The project will now be assessing the smart charging technology and feedback from trial participants." reports FleetNews: "Electric Nation, one of Western Power Distribution’s (WPD) innovation projects, with collaboration partners EA Technology, Drive Electric, Lucy Electric Grid Key and TRL, has been successful in achieving its recruitment targets, with more than 40 different makes and models of EVs taking part, installing 673 domestic smart chargers. One of the final smart charger installs was for Sunny Vara, who had a charger fitted to coincide with taking delivery of a new Tesla." "Electric Nation’s initial findings show that on average, vehicles are plugged in for 12 hours, but they are rarely charging for the full time. This suggests that there is likely to be sufficient flexibility to manage charging away from peak electricity demand periods. This will be explored in more detail as the trial continues during the remainder of 2018."   https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/fleet-industry-news/2018/07/20/final-smart-charger-installed-for-electric-nation-project   WILL FCA CHANGE OF CEO AFFECT EV PLANS? "Fiat Chrysler Automobiles announced Saturday that Sergio Marchionne, who rescued Fiat from bankruptcy in 2004 and acquired Chrysler after the financial crisis in 2009, had to quit his job because of ill health. He had been scheduled to retire in April 2019" according to Neil Winton for Forbes.com, talking about the new CEO Mike Manley: "Critics said FCA’s sudden embrace of electric cars was too late, and Fiat’s lack of SUVs would together cripple any plans to succeed in China, the world’s biggest market. They also said if the plan failed, FCA would be ripe for a takeover."   https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilwinton/2018/07/22/departure-of-revered-ceo-marchionne-might-boost-fca-stock-price/   CAR OF THE DECADE: ‘SAVAGELY QUICK’ TESLA MODEL S Hagerty is the well-known insurer of classic cars and vehicles, and they've named their 12 Cars Of The Decade beginning with the Ford Model T and working their way through the 2010's. And the best car you can buy NOW? Electric. Specifically the Tesla Model S. "[T]he Tesla has gone in a more radically different direction than any other car in recent memory. More importantly, it has done so with great success, because instead of coming out with an all-electric car that people felt that they should drive or that they had to drive, Tesla came out with an electric car that people really want to drive. It will always be remembered as the one that made electric cars truly desirable, and that’s why it is one of the greats."   https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/keyword/the-greatest-cars   AN ELECTRIC MOTORCYCLE FOR $1,995 IN THE US Micah Toll has been a long time subscription on my YouTube channel, i love his videos, and i love that recently he's been writing more for Electrek. Another one of those sites which sits in my favourites list. He says: "CSC Motorcycles has recently announced the new 2018 City Slicker electric motorcycle. As its name indicates, this two-wheeled EV is meant more for urban streets than for highway speeds. With a top speed of 46 mph. At 37 mph (60 km/h), the range is estimated at 37 miles (60 km). Slow down even further to 20 mph (32 km/h) and you’ll get a whopping 62 miles (100 km) of range." The bike has a 2.16kWh battery. Their CEO Steve Seidner says: "After the initial shipment, the City Slicker’s price will be $2495. That’s still many thousands of dollars less than any other electric motorcycle offered in America. We are taking deposits now and the motorcycles will be here this fall."   https://electrek.co/2018/07/23/electric-motorcycle-for-2000-usd/   PEUGEOT 508 PLUG-IN HYBRID ARRIVING NEXT YEAR "The radically revamped Peugeot 508 will be available as a plug-in hybrid version in 2019, according to a report by Autocar UK. First revealed back in February, the sedan debuted with conventional petrol and diesel internal combustion engines only." writes Garard Tye for Paultag.org: "The 508 PHEV is said to employ a 1.6 litre turbocharged petrol engine that boasts mild hybrid capability thanks to an integrated starter-generator motor." However it will also have a battery which you can plug in to charge, which is good for 50km.   COMMUNITY Emails   You can listen to all previous 189 episodes of this podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, YouTube, TuneIn, Stitcher, and the blog https://www.evnewsdaily.com/ – remember to subscribe, which means you don’t have to think about downloading the show each day, plus you get it first and free and automatically. It would mean a lot if you could take 2mins to leave a quick review on whichever platform you download the podcast. And if you have an Amazon Echo, download our Alexa Skill, search for EV News Daily and add it as a flash briefing. Come and say hi on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter just search EV News Daily, have a wonderful day, and I'll catch you tomorrow.   CONNECT WITH ME! evne.ws/itunes evne.ws/tunein evne.ws/googleplay evne.ws/stitcher evne.ws/youtube evne.ws/soundcloud evne.ws/blog  

Friday 23rd March 2018. RIGHT HAND DRIVE MODEL 3s Firstly I can see from the podcast stats there’s a 2:1 chance you’re listening North America. This show has about twice as many listeners in the USA compared to everywhere else. Second by the is the UK, and then it’s Europe. So a note from any Model 3 reservation holders hoping for a right hand drive car – Elon Musk tweeted at 10:22am on Thursday morning in reply to a question. Tom on Twitter said: “What I really want to know is some info on the roadmap for Model 3 in the UK. How long do I have to watch and cry at amazing YouTube reviews?”. Well Elon saw it, from all the thousands of mentions he gets each day, and replied: “Probably mid next year before we are able to make RHD. Wish it could be sooner. Maybe try a Model S, used or new in the meantime? Used is better than a new 3 imo, unless you want a smaller car”. And that’s the problem Elon…you’ve been to the UK, you know everything is smaller here from hotel rooms to parking spaces. American’s come to Europe, book a hotel room, and go “where’s the rest of it?”. A Model S is biiig. However, I agree. I’ve been looking on the approved used Tesla website for a while now and £50,000 buys a great car, with warranty, direct from Tesla. My monthly train ticket from down here by the beach in Poole to London is £800 a month, the same price for finance on a used Tesla Model S. I can’t tell you, as I sit on a crowded train 5 days a week, how much I’d rather be driving a Model S instead.   DAIMLER TRUCKS HIT THE ROAD Everyone is talking about the Tesla Semi Truck but Daimler Trucks handed over the first all-electric trucks to customers this week. They are smaller, 7.5tonne trucks with 100km range for urban, last mile use. Trucks destined for the Europe and the USA are made in Portugal. And this model is already being used since last September in New York, Japan and Germany.   FASTER FAST CHARGING AT HOME American EVSE maker ClipperCreek just launched the new 64amp EV charger for $969, the cheapest 64amp system around, which can deliver 15.4kW of power. If you want to charge your EV at home with this, whilst it’s a great price, you’ll probably need to beef up your home power installation a bit. They say they’re launching this Level 2 charger because more EVs are on the market which can charge at faster speeds.   SEAT ANNOUNCES NEW EV The 4th Gen SEAT Leon will go into production in 2019, and confirmed to be a Plug In Hybrid, which could mean there is hybrid tech in the rather rapid, and very hot, Cupra variant. And actually rather than being badged Seat, could be badged Cupra under it’s own name rather than a sub brand. Chances are they might do what their owner, VW, do with the Golf GTE. It will be on sale in 2020. Also in 2020 will be their first full Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) built on VW’s MEB platform. 311 miles is the range given, so this basically the VW I.D. but in SEAT form. Only 15% of SEAT sales are outside Europe so if you’re listening to this and a bit in the dark as to who they are, they’re the Spanish, slightly less premium and and slightly cheaper bit of VW.   MAINSTREAM VIEW OF NISSAN LEAF Here in the UK the Huffington Post has reviewed the new Nissan LEAF. Youtube videos and reviews of the new leaf are now quite common, but let’s see what a mainstream, non-EV focussed publication has to say. Highlights include: “Nissan leaf: it now has a range of 235-miles, can be charged to 80% in just 40mins, and can drive itself even in slow-moving city centres” So just to stop there – 235 miles? You’ll be lucky. Self-driving? I think Nissan would like you to call it driving assist. And as for rapid charging, Nissan PR are doing a good job of addressing complaints from people whose LEAF gets grumpy on a rapid. Let’s continue: “The interior looks and feels about as futuristic as Windows 95, which is a real shame. Considering the industry’s desire to actively move people over to electric cars, this feels like a missed opportunity.” That’s interesting because every review of the every EV which has even slightly different styling, inside or outside, is critical. Look at every review of the i3 and someone is bound to say something about it’s looks. Onwards: “There is half a digital screen behind the wheel which offers a glimmer of technological hope, but is actually quite confusing to navigate. And the screen in the centre console is not great. Car manufacturers who won’t use high-resolution touchscreen displays for their cars are frustrating: it’s not technically difficult, yet so many skimp on the display. The result is something that’s low-resolution and really slow to respond.” Here I do agree. Look at the display even on a cheap £200 tablet and it shames most cars apart from a Tesla. Why are car makers so behind with screen technology? Finally: “The e-Pedal, which turns the accelerator into a brake when you pull your foot back, feels deeply odd to begin with. But you do get used to it, and the premise is that you can do everything with one foot.”   MORE BOLTS FOR AUSTIN 20 Chevrolet Bolt EV’s are heading to Texas for the Maven service. You can have a car for $229 per week for unlimited miles, insurance and maintenance. Maven Gig drivers get access to Maven Charging and you can reserve and do everything through the app. Maven Gig is the rideshare platform also used for deliveries. They say: “Maven now offers its first all-electric fleet of cars for use in the gig economy, making it easier for Austinites who want to get the most out of their side hustle. Today 20 Chevrolet Bolt EVs became available for freelance drivers in Austin to earn money on their own schedules. The city’s passion for tech start-ups, combined with its high concentration of college students, makes it the ideal location for Maven Gig. Maven is working with Austin Energy, the Austin Transportation Department, and Rocky Mountain Institute to create infrastructure solutions leading to an all-electric future. Maven will leverage Austin’s Plug-in EVerywhere™ network of EV chargers, including Electric Drive, Austin’s downtown smart mobility showcase complete with a DC Fast Charger and solar kiosk.”   ZERO EMISSION MILES MORE IMPORTANT For those of you not familiar with Tony Seba from RethinkX, depending on which twitter comment you read, he’s either a visionary who is more accurate about future transport than anyone else, or a salesman who relies on the oxygen of publicity created by making wild claims. You should read his thoughts and watch him on Youtube, do some critical thinking and make your own mind up. A new article on the RethinkX website says those who are leading climate policy change are getting it wrong by focussing on Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV) and it’s the zero emission miles which matter. He says countries and States such as California are all about setting sales targets for vehicles by certain dates, and focussed on the charging infrastructure. The problem, says Tony, is that personal cars aren’t driven enough, with ride sharing like Uber and Lyft using cars 10 times more. Private cars are driven on average 4% of the time. He says those who build the models which policymakers use are basing it all on private ownership. Take an ICE car and turn it into a battery electric car. This is aided in places like America with tax rebates and here in Europe with a direct subsidy. Tony’s whole philosophy is Transport As A Service, where EV’s, autonomous vehicels and on-demand transport come together. His theory is that, if Level 4 autonomous electric vehicles were licenced in 2020, by 2030 95% of miles driven would be driven by them. My take is that we shouldn’t abandon the focus on EV’s but combine both approaches. I think it’s the best way to decarbonize cities and population dense areas. I work in the capital, London, and used to live there. I owned a car and a motorhome both parked on street – don’t laugh. It makes total sense for fewer cars to drive more miles. It eases congestion, is safer, quicker and cheaper. All those EVs can drive themselves back to ‘base’ during quiet times and feed power back to the grid when we’re cooking our dinner. But I also live outside London in a small town, and I come from a country village. The idea of losing personal mobility isn’t so attractive. Being in an area where a car is minutes away is fine, having a car 20 minutes away from driving all the way to your house to take you to the shop for milk and eggs? I’m not bought into that yet even if it’s cheaper. Economics are powerful, but so are habits. Out in the country personal mobility is a way of life very different to a city with a great bus system, mass transit, tube, and Uber. Where I live we’re a long way from every having Uber licenced to operate here. Either way Tony makes you think and I followed with interest his speech which opened the day at the recent rEVolution conference. Please do ready more.   MODEL 3 AND SIRI MAKE FRIENDS Tesla’s software engineers have been pulling more than a few long shifts recently. Along with vastly improved Autopilot which, according to all the YouTube reviews cropping up this week, seems to have almost magical abilities. Model 3 owners have something else to cheer. The Model 3 now works with Apple’s Siri. You can ask Siri to check if you locked it, and even where you left it. Although if you don’t know where you left your car, you probably need more help than a virtual assistant.   NEW VOLVO ENGINE FOR PHEVs I told you on a previous podcast about Volvo, and in turn parent company Geely, calling time on investing in R&D for new combustion engines. So given their life cycle, the new crop of Volvo engines are the last ones we’ll see, and they’ll probably last to the mid 2020’s. For the first time they’ve made a 3 cylinder engine for their electrified XC40, with the Drive-E powertrain making up 10% of sales. Volvo say: “the new three-cylinder powertrain has been deliberately designed for integration into Twin Engine plug-in hybrid cars. A hybridised as well as a pure electric powertrain option for the XC40 will be added later.”     I’d love to spread the word about electric cars so, if you can, share this somebody who might be interested. You can listen to every previous episode of this podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, YouTube, TuneIn, and the blog https://www.evnewsdaily.com/ – subscribe for free and get every new episode automatically and first. It would really mean a lot if you could take 2mins to leave a quick review on iTunes which will help us spread the word to a wider audience about electric cars. And if you have an Amazon Echo, download our Alexa Skill, search for EV News Daily and add it as a flash briefing. Come and say hi on Twitter @EVNewsDaily, have a wonderful day, and I'll catch you tomorrow.   CONNECT WITH ME! evne.ws/itunes evne.ws/tunein evne.ws/googleplay evne.ws/youtube evne.ws/blog

Back in January 2016, GM saw that it needed to make a move; actually several of them if it wanted to remain viable for the future. Since it already had the cars it started with a Zipcar-like rental service called Maven and now has graduated to something called Maven Gig. Joining John McElroy to explain the story of Maven and how GM plans to expand it is Rachel Bhattacharya, Maven’s director of Commercial Mobility Strategy.

Back in January 2016, GM saw that it needed to make a move; actually several of them if it wanted to remain viable for the future. Since it already had the cars it started with a Zipcar-like rental service called Maven and now has graduated to something called Maven Gig. Joining John McElroy to explain the story of Maven and how GM plans to expand it is Rachel Bhattacharya, Maven’s director of Commercial Mobility Strategy.

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