Transport Evolved Main

On today’s show, Europe manages 1 million EV sales in the first seven months of the year; renewables continue to soar in the U.S. despite the White House’s anti-renewable stance; and Trump’s administration forces an 80% complete, fully permitted wind farm to halt construction on the grounds of “national security concerns,” prompting the local regional grid operator to warn that blackouts could occur if the project isn’t finished.

Find full show notes (with links) at: https://www.transportevolved.com/2025/08/30/ten-547-1m-evs-in-europe-this-year-renewables-soar-trump-blackout-warnings/

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🎙️ Credits:

Host, Script, Editor: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield

⏱️ Episode Timeline :

00:00 - Sponsor Shout Outs

We've driven several electric SUVs built on the GM BEV3 Platform - including the Honda Prologue and Acura ZDX Type S - but to date, we've not had much time behind the wheel of Chevrolet-badged siblings to these vehicles.

That's now changed, thanks to a week-long loaner of the Chevrolet Blazer EV SS - the highest-performance, muscle-car inspired range-topping version of the Chevrolet Blazer EV. Less ostentatious than the Acura, and significantly lighter, it promises high performance without too many frills.

But is it a true muscle car? Does it pass the vibe check? And has it been lifting at the Gym?

00:00 - Introduction - Music - Benjamin Esterlis - Clockwork Cherry (https://artlist.io/royalty-free-music/song/clockwork-cherry/9278)

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Hosts: Kate Walton-Elliott and Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield

Not so long ago, if you purchased a car, you owned (or had access to) all of the features in that car. But as more control of our vehicles have been handed over to computers, automakers are jumping at the chance to hide features behind paywalls and subscription services.

As BMW and others have learned, customers don't like being asked to pay for something that's already in their vehicles, yet Volkswagen has just announced its intent to offer exactly that in its ID.3

While its ID.3 Pro and ID.3 Pro S come with the same sized electric motor, the more affordable ID.3 Pro's motor is electronically limited to 150 kilowatts, while its longer-legged sibling is given access to the full 170 kilowatts the motor can produce. Now Volkswagen wants to let customers unlock the extra 20 kilowatts available to the ID.3 Pro by making a one-off payment, or subscribing to the extra power through a monthly payment.

But while Volkswagen thinks customers will opt for the feature, we're more convinced than ever it will just prompt third-party and enthusiasts to try and figure out new ways to get more power out - for less... without paying Volkswagen.

⏱️ Chapter Breakdown:

00:00 - 🎬 Introduction

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Host & Script: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield

EVs and renewables are under attack. From Trump’s anti-EV and anti-clean energy agenda to fossil fuel giants buying up charging networks, the forces trying to slow the green transition are getting serious — and loud.

00:00 - Introduction 🌎

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🇺🇸 United States

In the past month, three electric vehicles smashed through their official range ratings, covering far more distance than their EPA or WLTP numbers suggest. Automakers are quick to celebrate these achievements, but there’s a catch: these extreme efficiency runs don’t reflect how most people actually drive.

At the same time, there’s something undeniably exciting about seeing what EVs can achieve when pushed to their limits. Range records can highlight the incredible efficiency of electric drivetrains, inspire drivers to improve their own skills, and remind us how far the tech has come. But they can also blur the lines between engineering possibility and everyday practicality — a point Nikki can’t help but reflect on while attempting her own “range record” demonstration.

⏱️ Chapter Breakdown:

00:00 – Introduction 🎬

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Host & Script: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield

🔗 Links:

Lucid Range Record: https://ir.lucidmotors.com/news-releases/news-release-details/lucid-air-grand-touring-wins-guinness-world-recordstm-title-1205

A few weeks ago, we told you that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — now led by Republican Trump ally Lee Zeldin — was moving to dismantle any regulation seen as a threat to the fossil fuel or automotive industries.

At the time, we noted his apparent determination to deliver on Donald Trump’s reported campaign pledge to fossil fuel executives: roll back environmental protections in exchange for campaign support. And we shared how the EPA, under Zeldin’s direction, is targeting the 2009 Endangerment Finding — the landmark determination that greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare — along with every regulation built upon it.

This, at a moment when climate change is accelerating: storms growing more violent and frequent, fire seasons starting earlier and lasting longer, flash floods wiping out entire towns.

⏱️ Chapter Breakdown:

00:00 - Cautions

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Submit Comments Here: https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-0194-0093

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969713001290 - Air pollution and health risks due to vehicle traffic

Ford's Model T is a famous vehicle in the history of the automobile. It helped revolutionize the process of mass-production. It helped bring affordable transportation to the masses. And it kick-started the gasoline vehicle into the dominant position in the automotive fuel wars. Now Ford says it's about to introduce its next "Model T Moment". This time, it's all about electric vehicles 'affordability' and matching (or maybe even besting) what China's EV industry is churning out. But can it? Will it? And what did we learn from Ford's special Kentucky event?

We've watched Ford introduce a range of different electric vehicles over the last decade. The early ones were little more than compliance cars. The most recent are expensive, and frankly, too large for many customers.

And Ford's realized that. Its CEO Jim Farley fell in love with the Xiaomi SU7 last year, and openly admitted that the Chinese auto market is eating the US and European electric automakers for lunch. But while Ford has been making the F150 Lightning, Mustang Mach E, Capri, and Explorer EV (not to mention the e-Transit), its had a skunkworks team in California working on trying to distill the essence of an affordable EV in preparation to do battle with China's EV industry.

If you can't beat them... Join them?

[Editorial note: We know we didn't mention either Slate nor Telo in this video. This was because we wanted to focus on legacy automakers making the switch rather than startups with (as yet) unproven track records. That doesn't mean we feel they don't have a chance, because... as history has shown, the auto industry can be very complex and unexpected]

⏱️ Chapter Breakdown:

00:00 - Introduction

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Host & Script: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield

🔗 Links:

Ethical Consumerism: https://youtu.be/8A-T5JGWyqk

As part of its planned upgrade work in our neighborhood, our local utility (Portland General Electric) is working to replace older wooden power poles with steel ones - and given our energy usage, its also upgrading our transformer can to 50 kVA. That normally means we'd be without power all day - but we've got a secret weapon: Nikki's F150 Lightning. The question is: can the (historically rather temperamental) Home Integration System save the day?

Nikki has owned a Ford F150 Lightning now since the summer of 2022, and she opted to buy the Ford Home Integration System alongside her truck to provide backup power to her home (and her business, TE) when the power goes out.

To date, like many Home Integration System owners, Nikki's backup system hasn't been 100% reliable, but for the past six months or so, it's been rock solid. But aside from a few very short power cuts, and a few Utility-encouraged Peak Power Events (where the house is run off the truck to earn some extra money by shifting electrical use away from the grid), Nikki's yet to have an honest-to-goodness, multi-hour power outage.

Today, as the utility company makes some improvements to the local grid to improve infrastructure resilience in an increasingly fire-risk area, the power to the studio is going to be out between 8am and 3pm. So it's the perfect time to test this truck's system out for real. Here's how it fared.

Are you someone who just hunkers down when the power goes out and survives without any backup? Or like Nikki, do you need to keep working even when the power is out? How do you cope? And what's your solution look like?

Start the conversation in the down below, or come on over to our Discord (it's free!).

(Seriously, if you haven't tried our discord yet, please do. It's easier than you might think, and you can chat with other TE fans in a non-judgmental, troll-free space).

⏱️ Chapter Breakdown:

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🎙️ Credits:

Host & Script: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield

🔗 Links:

HomeAssistant: https://www.home-assistant.io

The 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 9 is built on the same e-GMP platform as the EV9. We liked the EV9. So why does the IONIQ 9 feel so different?

A year or so ago, Kate and Nikki were given the opportunity to put the Kia EV9 GT-Line three-row electric SUV through its paces in a week-long review (https://youtu.be/Qq9dkwotiXA) And while they're usually not fans of large, oversized cars, they found it pleasantly surprising.

Now, it's the turn of that car's recently-launched sibling from the Hyundai stable: the 2025 Hyundai IONIQ9. They're the same vehicle underneath (albeit with a NACS adapter for both models for the 2025 model year). But is the IONIQ 9 the same comfortable family-friendly EV, or is there just something a little out of place?

If you ask Nikki and Kate, it's the faux Formica...

⏱️ Chapter Breakdown:

00:00 - Introduction (Music: Aves - Sundays - https://artlist.io/royalty-free-music/song/undefined/75407 )

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🎙️ Credits:

Hosts: Kate Walton-Elliott and Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield

🚀 Carbon Nanotubes in EV Motors: The Future of Electric Vehicles?

There’s a game-changing material coming to EV motors—one that’s been around for decades but was impossible to use for windings… until now. Carbon nanotubes are here, and they might just replace copper forever!

🔍 Why are carbon nanotubes better than copper?

📢 Who made this breakthrough?A groundbreaking study from the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) proves carbon nanotube windings could revolutionize EV motors—and Kate breaks the down how and this matters for the future of electric cars!

👉 See the full shownotes on our website: https://transportevolved.com

⏱️ Chapter Breakdown:

00:00 - Introduction

🔗 Links:

https://www.kist.re.kr/eng/newscenter/latest-research-news.do?mode=view&articleNo=16356&article.offset=0&articleLimit=10 - KIST - Drive an Electric Motor Without Metal

https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2009/nr/b9nr00071b - What amount of metallic impurities in carbon nanotubes is small enough not to dominate their redox properties?

https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/9/3665 - Carbon Nanotubes as an Alternative to Copper Wires in Electrical Machines: A Review

https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20170003881/downloads/20170003881.pdf - NASA/TM—2017-219480 1

https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2016/an/c6an00248j - Magnetic impurities in single-walled carbon nanotubes and graphene: a review

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💬 Are You Excited About A Metal-Free Motor Future?

Do you like the idea of using carbon nanotubes to make motors? Do you think it's commercially viable? Or do you think it's stuck in the lab?

Start the conversation in the down below, or come on over to our Discord (it's free!).

(Seriously, if you haven't tried our discord yet, please do. It's easier than you might think, and you can chat with other TE fans in a non-judgmental, troll-free space).