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The Ford F-150 Lightning has great headlights, but it has no fog lights, and here in the foothills of Oregon's Coast Range, fog is a fact of life for half the year.
Back in March, in Part 1, Nikki fitted a Ford headlight switch with front and rear fog buttons. Now, in Part 2, armed with a pair of used Diode Dynamics SSC2 Pro fog lights and some pages from Ford's wiring manual, she takes Ortegas apart to find out whether the truck's Body Control Module can actually drive them.
As is often the case with any project, this took a little longer than the day-project we'd set aside (one of the reasons Nikki was procrastinating on it for so long) - but after a failed attempt to pin the BCM plugs needed to bring the fog light control wiring out to a usable place (and some overnighted new pins) - things are looking pretty good.
The rear fog light circuit, which everyone said the North American F-150 simply doesn't have, works (although the telltale doesn't, and we don't know why). And while we initially hit a road block with the front fogs, an 11th-hour flip in FORScan seems to have fixed things... but that's for the NEXT video.
Full shownotes, links, and transcript at: https://www.transportevolved.com/2026/11/05/front-and-rear-fog-lights-on-our-f-150-lightning-its-possible/
โฑ๏ธ Chapter Breakdown:
00:00 - Introduction
๐บ More from Ortegas, our F-150 Lightning:
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๐๏ธ Credits:
Host, Producer: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield
Right now, the Volkswagen Group is recalling around 100,000 electric cars worldwide across Volkswagen, Cupra and Audi, all for battery cells that, in rare cases, can overheat and catch fire. And if that sounds familiar, it should: from the Hyundai Kona Electric and Chevrolet Bolt EV to the Jaguar I-Pace, Porsche Taycan and Mercedes-Benz EQB, cell-level manufacturing defects have been behind some of the most expensive recalls the EV world has seen.
So in today's video, Nikki asks a simple question: why are we still seeing battery recalls? From clean rooms and bunny suits to the tiny flaws that can take years to come to light, and how few companies make the cells (and the machines that make them), she explains why making a battery is so hard, why one bad batch can show up in several brands at once, and why things are slowly getting better.
Full shownotes, links, and script at: https://www.transportevolved.com/2026/11/03/why-are-we-still-seeing-battery-recalls/
โฑ๏ธ Chapter Breakdown:
00:00 - Introduction
๐บ Our earlier videos on EV batteries and recalls:
๐ Links
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๐๏ธ Credits:
Host, Script: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield
Disclaimer - comma.ai provided the comma four in this video free of charge for us to evaluate (they also sent a second unit, for our F-150 Lightning, which we'll cover in a future video). They had no editorial input, and we're not being paid for this review. YouTube labels this video "Sponsored" because FTC rules require us to disclose the material connection โ no money changed hands. The comma link below is a tracking link only โ we earn nothing if you buy.
comma four, openpilot and StarPilot are driver-assistance systems, not self-driving: you must stay alert, hands ready, and responsible for the car at all times. Our 2017 Bolt EV isn't on comma's official car list โ it runs comma four through a third-party pedal interceptor and StarPilot, an approved community fork of openpilot.
Back in 2023, Nikki installed a comma three in Orion, her wife's 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, as part of a series asking whether an older EV can be made to feel new again with modern features. Three years on, Orion is nearly ten years old and still a daily driver, and the community-built StarPilot fork of openpilot has gone from decent lane keeping to rock-solid steering on the twisty roads near home.
Now comma has sent Transport Evolved its new comma four to evaluate. It's much smaller than the comma three and 3X, with a redesigned circuit board and a big fan to keep it cool. So what's actually changed, what does it cost, and is it worth upgrading from a comma three? Nikki unboxes it, compares the two, then takes Orion out on the road with the brand-new, freshly rebased StarPilot 7.0.
Full shownotes, links, and transcript at: https://www.transportevolved.com/2026/10/29/we-upgrade-our-comma-3-to-a-comma-4-is-it-worth-it/
โฑ๏ธ Chapter Breakdown:
00:00 - Introduction
๐ Our earlier comma videos:
๐ Links
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โ Get Involved ๐ณ๏ธ https://indivisible.org/town-hall-resources
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๐๏ธ Credits:
Presenter: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield
CORRECTION: In this video, Nikki says the 2027 Bolt EV is built at GM's Fairfax plant in Virginia. It's actually built at GM's Fairfax Assembly plant in Kansas City, Kansas. Nikki knows this, but had a brain fart. She's sorry!
Disclaimer - Transport Evolved borrowed this 2027 Chevrolet Bolt EV RS from General Motors' (Chevrolet) press fleet for one week in order to bring you this first-person review. No money exchanged hands for the review itself, and no editorial control was given or implied. GM sees this review the same time it goes live.
Nikki has owned a Chevrolet Bolt EV in one form or another since 2017 - first a brand-new Bolt LT, then a used Bolt EV Premier - and it's been one of her favorite cars ever since. So when GM brought the Bolt back for 2027, she was excited. Her first drives, around a movie backlot and then on GM's own test routes in California, suggested the spirit of the original was alive and well.
Now she's had a 2027 Bolt EV RS for a week on roads she knows far better: the daily commute around Portland, Oregon, Super Cruise in rush hour traffic, and the twisties of Skyline Boulevard. With a new LFP battery pack, the Equinox EV's motor, a heat pump, Google built-in in place of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and a body borrowed from the Bolt EUV, it's familiar - but is it still the comfy pair of shoes it used to be? Or has GM tweaked the mould just enough for something to feel off?
Full shownotes, links, and transcript at: https://www.transportevolved.com/2026/10/27/2027-chevrolet-bolt-ev-is-it-like-a-pair-of-comfy-shoes/
โฑ๏ธ Chapter Breakdown:
00:00 - Introduction
๐ Our earlier 2027 Bolt EV videos:
๐ Links
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โ Get Involved ๐ณ๏ธ https://indivisible.org/town-hall-resources
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๐๏ธ Credits:
Presenter: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield
Transport Evolved has always worked hard to make sure that every image, piece of music and video clip in our videos and thumbnails is properly licensed. But in the age of generative AI, that's getting harder. The stock photo, footage and music services we rely on are filling up with AI-generated content, steering us towards AI tools we don't want to use, and, after yet another email this week, pushing us to upgrade to plans we simply can't afford.
So in today's video, Nikki asks for your help. If you're a photographer, a videographer or a musician, we'd love to feature your work in our videos: always credited on screen and in the shownotes, and with a link back to you. Plus: a round-up of our current projects, from fog lights and an overhead console for Ortegas, our F-150 Lightning, to the Vectrix VX-1, Mellon, and a mysterious new charging station.
Help us fight AI slop! We're looking for photographers, videographers and musicians to share their own work with us: local footage from on the ground, photos and video of cleaner, greener, safer, smarter and more equitable transportation and energy, and everyday life too. If we use your work, we'll credit you on screen and in the shownotes, feature you in our list of contributors, and help promote what you make. Details and the form: https://www.transportevolved.com/contribute (or email [email protected]).
Full shownotes, links, and transcript at: https://www.transportevolved.com/2026/10/22/help-us-fight-ai-slop/
โฑ๏ธ Chapter Breakdown:
00:00 - Introduction
๐บ Our earlier videos on the projects we talk about today:
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โ Get Involved ๐ณ๏ธ https://indivisible.org/town-hall-resources
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๐๏ธ Credits:
Host, Editor, Producer: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield
In two weeks' time, Americans head to the polls in the 2026 midterms. And this election cycle, no known donor has spent more trying to sway the result than Elon Musk: more than $366 million so far, all of it helping Republicans win.
In today's (very political) video, Nikki explains how the man who once thought EVs could save the world went from Tesla CEO to DOGE, to backing the far right in Europe, and to bankrolling the very politicians behind the cuts to EV charging and clean energy. Because every time you buy into a Musk company, you're helping to fund them. Whether you're a U.S. voter or an EV buyer anywhere in the world, it's time to stop holding your nose, and to vote with your ballot and your wallet.
Full shownotes, links, and script at: https://www.transportevolved.com/2026/10/20/musk-helped-evs-now-hes-helping-attack-democracy/
โฑ๏ธ Chapter Breakdown:
00:00 - Introduction
๐บ Our earlier videos on Elon Musk:
๐ Links
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โ Get Involved ๐ณ๏ธ https://indivisible.org/town-hall-resources
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๐๏ธ Credits:
Host, Script, Editor: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield
Nikki's spent the last few weeks fighting off a cold. Now that she's finally feeling better, she's been taking her HMP Lightning MK II, Diร nmว (็ตๆฏ), out on weekly errands and trips. First, though, Diร nmว's battery pack had to go to HMP Bikes' San Francisco headquarters for a swap, after it suddenly decided to play possum. The pack read a healthy 84.7 V, but its BMS? Dead to the world.
So today, with the sun out, she heads into Portland, does battle with a terribly incompetent AI phone assistant at OpConnect, and has her day saved by the very thing that made the repair so quick and easy: a swappable, removable battery pack.
Full shownotes, links, and transcript at: https://www.transportevolved.com/2026/10/15/possum-battery-our-hmp-lightning-mk-ii-played-dead-heres-our-fix/
โฑ๏ธ Chapter Breakdown:
00:00 - Introduction
๐๏ธ Diร nmว's story so far:
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๐๏ธ Credits:
Host, Editor: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield
Disclaimer - Pebble covered our hotel costs on the way down to Costanoa and back, provided us with overnight accommodation and meals at Costanoa, and provided hospitality during the 2027 Pebble Flow launch. Transport Evolved paid for its own charging on the trip. No money exchanged hands for the video itself, and no editorial control was given or implied. Pebble sees this video the same time it goes live.
Towing a big travel trailer with an electric truck usually means two things: you feel every pound of it through the hitch, and your range drops by around two-thirds. The 2027 Pebble Flow is designed to change both, with in-wheel motors that push the trailer along as you tow it and a new Boost Mode that adds up to 40 kilowatts of assistive power.
So while we were at Costanoa for the 2027 Pebble Flow launch, we hitched one up to our own Ford F-150 Lightning and went for a drive, with Pebble CTO Stefan Solyom riding shotgun. We tried it with the assist off and on, buried the throttle, watched the efficiency figures climb, and asked Stefan how it works, why it doesn't plug into the tow vehicle, and whether a European version could ever happen.
Honestly? It left us almost speechless.
Full shownotes, links, and transcript at: https://www.transportevolved.com/2026/10/13/we-towed-the-pebble-flow-it-felt-like-nothing-wed-towed-before/
โฑ๏ธ Chapter Breakdown:
00:00 - Introduction
๐๏ธ Watch first: our night in the Pebble Flow
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โ Get Involved ๐ณ๏ธ https://indivisible.org/town-hall-resources
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๐๏ธ Credits:
Presenter: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield
Disclaimer - Pebble covered our hotel costs on the way down to Costanoa and back, provided us with overnight accommodation in a 2025 Pebble Flow at Costanoa, and provided hospitality during the 2027 Pebble Flow launch. Transport Evolved paid for its own charging on the trip. No money exchanged hands for the video itself, and no editorial control was given or implied. Pebble sees this video the same time it goes live.
More and more EVs come from the factory ready to tow - but hitch up a big, boxy travel trailer and that 300-mile EPA range can slip to 100 miles or less. If the whole point of a camping trip is getting away from it all, stopping every 100 miles to recharge is kind of a buzzkill.
Pebble thinks it has the answer. The Pebble Flow is an all-electric, self-propelled travel trailer with a 45 kWh LFP battery and two motors that help push it along as you tow - plus party tricks like Magic Hitch, remote-control maneuvering, one-touch setup from an iPad, and a NEMA 14-50 outlet that can charge your EV at camp.
Pebble first showed the Flow to the world in late 2023, and the first 2025 model year trailers reached customers in June 2025. Now, after more than 300 running improvements, it's launched the 2027 model year - and invited us down to Costanoa on the California coast to see it. So we spent the night in a 2025 Pebble Flow to find out what it's like to live with, and dug into what's new for 2027: a twin-bed layout, up to 4 kW of solar (thanks to Jackery), a new Boost Mode and Pebble OS 2.
It's certainly impressive. But there's one thing we do need to talk about. That price...
โฑ๏ธ Chapter Breakdown:
00:00 - Introduction
๐ Filmed on the way down:
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๐๏ธ Credits:
Presenter: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield
We're no strangers to long-distance EV travel on the channel. Over the past 20 years of EV ownership, we've driven the length and breadth of the UK. We've gone coast-to-coast in the U.S., and sometimes, we've even towed.
But one thing we - as many of you - are noticing is that the cost to fast charge is substantially more than it once was. And on our way down to the San Francisco Bay Area to attend a press event, we saw first hand what that looks like.
$41.68 for 100 kWh. On our latest I-5 road trip in the F-150 Lightning, fast charging cost two and a half to three times what a full charge at home does - and Electrify America's price has jumped from 43ยข per kWh in 2022 to as much as 69ยข today.
So today, we're examining why those changes have happened. Yes, electricity is more expensive than it used to be, but hardware upgrades, ground rent, and in the U.S., vanishing incentives are all fighting to make your next long-distance EV trip more expensive.
โฑ๏ธ Chapter Breakdown:
00:00 - Introduction
๐ฅ Todayโs Sponsors
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โ Get Involved ๐ณ๏ธ https://indivisible.org/town-hall-resources
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๐๏ธ Credits:
Host: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield
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