The TechMobility Podcast

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“Eyes-off” driving sounds like the future, but trust is earned mile by mile. We dig into Ford’s plan to bring an eyes-off, hands-free driver-assistance system to its next universal EV platform by 2028, plus a near-term push to add an AI tool to the Ford and Lincoln app before it lands in vehicles. Along the way, we get candid about what it feels like when today’s hands-free tech works for a moment, then taps out without warning, and why that inconsistency matters more than any headline.

Then we shift from autonomy to a survival strategy: Ford Energy and the move into battery energy storage systems for data centers, utilities, and large commercial customers. With AI and data center growth driving electricity demand, stationary storage becomes a practical revenue stream and a way to retain hard-won battery manufacturing knowledge, battery management systems experience, and cost reductions. It’s the EV pivot story most people miss because it’s not flashy, but it’s foundational.

We also deliver a detailed 2026 Kia EV9 review covering trims, powertrains, range, towing, cargo space, and how a nearly three-ton, three-row electric SUV can still feel composed thanks to its low center of gravity. We talk creature comforts, what Kia nails, and what still frustrates us, including third-row realities, tire and spare concerns, and how cold weather can change the math. 

Finally, we connect mobility to public safety through International Roadcheck inspections and end with a mind-bending science story: printable artificial neurons that can stimulate living brain cells, pointing to future brain-machine interfaces and low-cost neuroprosthetics.

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A walkable city changes your brain for the better: you stop planning your day around parking and start noticing streets, storefronts, parks, and people. We kick things off by challenging a popular “walkable vacation” list and making a clear case for Boston as a place where you can truly ditch the car. From there, we size up what makes destinations like Key West, Savannah, Chicago, New Orleans, and New York City work on foot, and why smaller towns can deliver an even better walkable experience when you choose the right main street and the right stay.

Then the tone shifts to pedestrian safety, and the stakes get real. In 2024, 7,080 pedestrians died and 71,000 were injured in the United States. We break down a deceptively simple mobility technology: front brake lights mounted inside the windshield that show oncoming road users what a vehicle is about to do. Amber indicates braking, and white indicates maintaining or accelerating. If pedestrians and cyclists can read “vehicle intent” faster and more accurately, that gap could mean fewer tragedies at crosswalks and intersections. We also talk about the hard part: cost per vehicle, regulation, NHTSA testing, and why aftermarket adoption may be the bridge to wider change.

Freight gets its own spotlight with a “road in a lab” at Argonne National Laboratory, a giant treadmill for Class 7 and 8 trucks that lets engineers test engines, fuels, and drivetrains under repeatable conditions without risking lives on public roads. 

Finally, we look at the EV market after tax credits, why some automakers pivot to hybrids, and why Kia still bets on an affordable EV3-style entry point as gas prices remain painful and total cost of ownership matters more than ever.

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A 300-horsepower, three-cylinder hot hatch. A midsize-truck strategy built around “powertrain-agnostic” flexibility. An overdue trillion-dollar infrastructure bill hiding in plain sight. If you’ve been wondering why mobility and technology stories feel disconnected, this one ties them together with a single question: Who pays when we delay hard decisions? 

We start with Hyundai and the lessons from the Santa Cruz, then look ahead to a rumored midsize pickup for the U.S. market. I dig into why pricing and capability determine winners, why Nissan’s Titan story is a cautionary tale, and why Hyundai’s willingness to plan for gas, hybrid, and EV powertrains could be the smartest bet in a divided market. If you follow trucks, off-road trends, and how automakers do business, there’s plenty to read between the lines. 

Then I share my impressions of the 2026 Toyota GR Corolla, covering the history that made Corolla a legend and the Gazoo Racing mindset behind the GR badge. We break down the numbers, the driveline choices, GR-FOUR all-wheel drive, and what it’s like to live with a small, fast hatch that’s thrilling on a good road and punishing on a bad one. You’ll come away with a clear sense of who this car is for and who will regret the price tag. 

Finally, we zoom out to examine the hidden cost of municipal infrastructure and the growing crisis of deferred maintenance on bridges, transit, water, and sewers in cities across the United States. Next, we tackle Boston’s debate over AI tutors and reduced reliance on traditional teachers, including concerns about oversight, bias, screen time, safety, and the social skills kids build through real human interaction. 

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Spending close to $100,000 on a luxury SUV should buy peace of mind, not a higher tolerance for problems. We dig into why “premium” and “reliable” don’t always go hand in hand, using real-world impressions of the Range Rover Sport as a jumping-off point and then zooming in on what the latest dependability rankings really tell buyers. When J.D. Power puts Mini near the top while Land Rover stays near the bottom, it raises an uncomfortable question: how does an aspirational brand protect trust if quality never catches up to the price tag? 

From there, we broaden the lens to cover innovation, competitiveness, and the cost of short-term thinking. A hydrogen turboprop test flight in China sparks a broader conversation about alternative propulsion, aerospace technology, autonomy, and the knock-on benefits of sustained research and development. I connect that to what happens when companies cut R&D during recessions and to why the winners often keep investing even when it hurts. 

Then we dive into one of the most unexpected mobility-adjacent climate stories: beer carbonated with CO2 captured directly from the air at the brewery. We break down direct air capture, on-site carbon dioxide supply, purity standards, and why “commercially viable” matters more than flashy headlines. We close by balancing the energy transition debate with a grounded look at shale oil’s next wave, including AI-driven optimization, infrastructure bottlenecks, and what it could mean for energy markets.. 

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Car tech is moving fast, but I keep coming back to one question: can we trust it when it matters? I start with the auto industry’s most expensive promise, reliability, and explain why Stellantis hiring 2,000 engineers for a quality “deep reset” is a bigger story than it sounds. When the average vehicle price is near $50,000, nobody gets unlimited chances to “work the bugs out,” and Consumer Reports grades don’t stand still. I share why long-running platforms can score well, why complexity invites recalls, and why a single failure can push buyers to walk away for good. 

Then I shift into pure automotive indulgence with my impressions of the Land Rover Range Rover Sport plug-in hybrid. We talk real specs and real capability: the 454-horsepower hybrid setup, Terrain Response 2, serious off-road hardware, and the quiet, fluid feel that makes it a rolling sanctuary. I also get picky where it counts, because a $100K luxury SUV should not leave you shrugging at basic practicality. Land Rover’s quality reputation still lingers in the background. 

From there, we go beyond cars. Researchers are exploring solar-driven photoreforming, which uses sunlight to convert plastic waste into hydrogen fuel and valuable chemicals, potentially turning a pollution crisis into a clean energy supply chain. Finally, I unpack the FDA-cleared first U.S. trial of a wireless “over-brain” implant for treatment-resistant depression, including the promise, the safeguards I want to see, and the uncomfortable cybersecurity questions we can’t ignore. 

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The most interesting tech stories are the ones that collide with the real world: job sites, power grids, and your local gas station sign. We start with a refreshingly practical look at the Kenworth C580, a new severe service vocational truck built for the ugliest work environments where uptime is everything. We talk about why big diesel still dominates categories like construction, logging, mining, and heavy hauling, plus the modern features that fleets actually pay for, including a large digital driver display, advanced safety systems, and remote diagnostics that can catch problems before a failure leaves the truck parked.

From there, we shift to energy infrastructure with a headline that feels like a movie plot: a nuclear startup drilling in Kansas to support a first-of-its-kind underground nuclear power plant pilot. We walk through the small modular reactor idea, the promise of bedrock as natural containment, and the questions that immediately follow: what about the water table, underground cooling, maintenance access, operator training, and what happens when something goes wrong a mile beneath the surface? Curiosity is warranted, but so is scrutiny.

Next up, we chalk this one up to AI bots and remote employment scams.  Companies are realizing that in this world of virtual interviews across Zoom, any job candidate can talk the talk.  Now, a growing number of employers want candidates to come in and walk the walk.  It’s one way to put technology in check where it counts.  

We close with a clear-eyed breakdown of gasoline prices, because “we produce the most oil” is not the same as “we get cheap gas.” We unpack seasonal gasoline blends, why crude accounts for only about half of the retail cost, how refinery capacity and design matter, why pipeline geography creates regional pain, and how global markets and exports pull supply to where profits are highest. If you care about trucks, energy, AI in hiring, and the economics behind everyday mobility, you’ll find plenty to argue with and learn from here. 

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A driverless semi rolling through Michigan in winter is a different kind of test. Sunbelt miles are one thing, but snow, ice, road spray, lane shifts, and Detroit-area traffic pressure every sensor and every line of autonomy code. I dig into Torq Robotics, taking autonomous trucking north toward Ann Arbor, and ask the questions most people skip: who regulates this when federal law is still patchwork, will states require safety drivers, and what happens when a 60-ton tractor-trailer meets real Midwest weather at highway speed?

From there, I switch gears into a practical vehicle review of the 2026 Hyundai Santa Cruz, the unibody “sport adventure” pickup that tries to blend SUV comfort with an open bed. I break down what I like, what I don’t, and why pricing can make or break a clever niche vehicle, especially when shoppers can land in bigger family SUVs for similar money.

Then we go global on EV battery technology. CATL’s 621-mile battery announcement and a separate sub-seven-minute fast-charging claim show how quickly EV range and charging speed are improving, with lithium iron phosphate, nickel manganese cobalt, and sodium-ion development, as well as battery swapping, shaping the future. I also explain why CATL and BYD’s scale matters to US drivers, even if you never plan to buy a Chinese EV.

Finally, we tackle a trend that’s bigger than cars: housing as the gateway for commerce. When a rent app wants to become an AI concierge for everything you buy and do, is that convenience or dependency? Subscribe to The TechMobility Show, share this with a friend, and leave a review with your take: where should we draw the line on autonomy and friction-free living?

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EV fatigue is real, but the market is not behaving the way the loudest voices would have you believe. We dig into what happened after federal EV tax credits shifted and why the “EV sales will crater” storyline misses what consumers actually do when a product hits the mark. The anchor example is Volvo’s EX60, a premium electric SUV seeing stronger-than-forecast demand in Europe, strong enough to force production ramp-ups and unusual capacity moves. I also share what stood out from driving it, including the trade-off between a control layout that makes you relearn habits and a performance experience that sticks with you for months. 

Then we widen the lens to mobility’s backbone: the maritime supply chain. Ocean shipping affects nearly everything you buy, yet U.S. shipbuilding capacity and maritime focus have eroded, creating risk during strikes, pandemics, and geopolitical shocks. We talk through why ports are fragmented, why solutions vary city to city, and why policies like the Jones Act sit within a much bigger challenge involving ships, crews, and long lead times. If you’ve ever wondered why global shipping disruptions hit your wallet so quickly, this section connects the dots. 

Finally, we jump from roads and oceans to the future of work and the tech reshaping how we live. RVs are becoming energy platforms built around off-grid capability, with batteries, solar, and smarter systems that treat “freedom” as an engineering problem. And when AI makes work more automated and more chaotic, we argue that one of the most undervalued advantages is talent: women over 50, who bring judgment, emotional intelligence, and crisis resilience that teams desperately need. 

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A trucker takes a wrong turn with a 40-foot trailer and backs out as if it never happened, thanks to the cab layout and screens that finally make the job easier. That story kicks off a deeper look at the Tesla Semi and why electric Class 8 trucking is suddenly getting something close to genuine respect from people who live in diesel miles and tight schedules. We dig into what actually matters to fleet operators: range that fits real routes, fast charging, service differences, and the unglamorous truth that fuel prices can rewrite the entire business case overnight.

Then we swing hard into pure American performance with my impressions of the 2026 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat Jailbreak. It’s a 710-horsepower three-row SUV that blends muscle-car attitude with towing and cargo utility, plus a wild customization menu that defies decades of automaker simplification. I walk through what I love about how it drives, what I wish Dodge had included, and why this kind of effortless speed demands plenty of self-control.

Finally, we zoom out to the broader forces shaping mobility and industry. Japan’s move toward physical AI robots is driven by demographics, not hype, and it raises uncomfortable questions about labor, elder care, and how societies fund retirement as workforces shrink. We close with ExxonMobil’s long-running algae biofuel effort, where promises met hard limits on yield, land, water, and cost, a useful case study in how “green” narratives can unravel on a spreadsheet.

If you like sharp takes on EV infrastructure, performance vehicles, robotics, and energy transitions, subscribe to The TechMobility Podcast, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show.

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A $1,500 cordless robotic pool cleaner that claims it can scrub the waterline, climb walls, clean the floor, and even skim the surface sounds like the future of pool ownership. We dig into what that kind of home automation really replaces and what it doesn’t, because “fully automated” is a big promise when you’re staring at leaves, pollen, and debris on a hot Saturday. I also want to know where you land on the trade-off: do you trust a pool robot like the Beatbot Sora 70, or would you rather stick with manual work or a pool-cleaning service?

Then we jump from backyard tech to a completely different kind of mobility upgrade: ultra-luxury air travel. Air France first class is described as a privacy-first experience designed to remove friction, including limo pickup, private processing, and avoiding the usual airport crowds. It’s a fascinating look at how “luxury travel” is increasingly defined by exclusivity and by how much you’re willing to pay to stay inside a premium bubble.

From there, we get blunt about a trend that hits every driver: driver-assistance subscriptions. Tesla, Rivian, and Lucid are chasing recurring revenue, but I push back hard on the idea that core vehicle safety features should be an extra cost on top of THE ORIGINAL VEHICLE PURCHASE! We also talk about the realities of hands-free driving, why systems can feel quirky, and why the “value” varies by location and by the laws in place. Finally, we tackle the uncomfortable family conversation around older drivers: when do you take away the car keys, and what happens when rural mobility leaves no good alternatives?

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