TechMobility Topics

Eight days.  Eight months.  What is time when you are in outer space.  NASA decided that Boeing's Starliner was too risky to send the astronauts back in, so it will be sent back to Earth without a crew.  This also means an extended stay for the two as they will be shuttled back to Earth in a SpaceX ship.  

In 2007, Hyundai Group announced that they would be developing an upscale automotive nameplate.  I laughed.  Image the chutzpah of a previously modest purveyor of mass market vehicles to think they could compete at that level.  By 2015 when Genesis emerged from Hyundai's shadow, people stopped laughing.  Then there was this incident at the 2017 New York International Auto Show that brought the event to a full stop.  Listen to learn more. 

This is a performance car disguised as a compact crossover SUV.  This is what you should experience when you think of Alfa Romeo.  Ride with me to discover more. 

Imports of 25-year old cars from Japan and Europe have grown to nearly 20,000 per year, up from just a few hundred back in 2009.  The reason?  US law that allows vehicles to be imported into the country that are 25-years old or older that were never offered in the United States.  Its a new phenomenon. 

A number of commercial trucking advocacy groups are urging Congress to pass a $755 million truck parking bill that has been languishing for three years.  Driver security and public safety are just two of the major reasons why this bill needs to pass. 

EcoForge is a Rhode Island start up that is developing affordable and stainable building materials using agricultural residues such as corncobs and cannabis waste.  

The United States has some of the highest limits for drunk driving in the world.  While many countries have determined that a BAC of 0.05 is considered to be the limit with respect to measured alcohol in the blood, America has a national limit of 0.08.  Experts have determined that even a BAC as low as 0.01 can start driver impairment.  One state has bucked the trend, with surprising results. 

BYD, a major Chinese EV manufacturer that is part owned by Berkshire Hathaway,  has teamed up with Uber to bring 100,000 BYD electric vehicles to the Uber platform, starting in Europe and Latin America.  With expansion plans to include the Middle East, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, can the United States be next?

GM's autonomous vehicle subsidiary - Cruise Automation - is back on the road in several states, this time with human safety drivers.  Is this a set-back? 

Does measuring vehicle quality after 90 days of ownership matter to you?  J.D. Power has been issuing its Initial Quality Survey for 38 years.  Listen to this podcast to learn the results.