Extreme E, the premium off-road EV racing series, is pivoting to hydrogen. The series announced this week that it’s rebranding to , and unveiled a hydrogen-powered race car it’s calling the Pioneer 25 to usher in the transition. The first season is slated to begin in April 2025 in Saudi Arabia, before heading to the UK, Germany, Italy and wrapping up in the US.
Extreme E , putting electric off-road vehicles to the test of (as you might expect) extreme environments, like the desert. It got some major teams on board, . This year marks Extreme E’s fourth season. In a about the shift to hydrogen, founder and CEO Alejandro Agag said the move is “not just about e-mobility; it’s about creating green power solutions that can be applied anywhere, from remote locations to bustling cities.”
“By launching Extreme H, we’re not only showcasing the viability of hydrogen as a fuel source but also testing the wider hydrogen ecosystem including recharging and hydrogen transportation — as well as helping to create a market for it,” Agag wrote. Pioneer 25, Extreme H’s flagship race car, is powered by a 75kW hydrogen fuel cell.
With excellent road manners, highly approachable safety and convenience technologies, affordable used-market pricing and access to a wide network of dealer service locations from coast to coast, the Mach-E is my top pick for growing families looking to add a flexible all-electric to their fleet, and an easy addition to our list of top used cars in Canada.
Is the Mustang Mach-E a good car?
Yes. On previous test drives of this machine, I’ve praised its quiet and comfortable highway ride, highly responsive and fuss-free infotainment system, excellent road manners, and quick charge-up times on longer road trips.
Don’t take my word for it, though: Car and Driver named the Mach-E EV of the Year in 2021, as well as an Editors’ Choice. Ford’s first foray into the electric SUV market also racked up trophies for design, range, value and style from other industry authorities like Autoguide, AutoWeek, Motor1 and AutoTrader.ca.
In any configuration, expect Mach-E’s roomy and flexible cabin to readily adapt to your family’s changing needs. The rear seats are spacious and comfortable, folding seats add flexibility, and the cargo area’s relatively low load-in height provides easy access for small grocery helpers and family canines alike. There’s even a “frunk” under the Mach-E’s hood, providing additional storage space.
The Mach-E has a generous suite of the latest advanced safety and driver assistance tech as standard or optional, depending on the year and trim grade you’re considering. Safety-minded shoppers can rest easy with the Mach-E’s 2021 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Top Safety Pick rating.
Though the Mach-E is a seriously high-tech machine, it’s also one of the market’s most approachable. Interfaces and menus are easy to use and navigate, connectivity is a breeze, and driver-facing systems are logical to use and responsive. If a second-hand Mach-E will be your first new car in some time, you’ll be up to speed on how to work its one-pedal drive, enhanced charging features, drive modes and slick infotainment system in just a few drives.
What’s under the hood?
Marking the first expansion of the Mustang model lineup in 55 years, the new Mach-E came with various motor and battery configurations that gave shoppers access to both two- and four-wheel drive, as well as sub-models configured for maximum range, maximum performance or maximum affordability.
Battery packs include both 70-kWh and 91-kWh options, with single-motor models running rear-wheel drive.
Two motors electrify the Corolla Hybrid’s 1.8-litre gasoline engine, turning it into a hybrid engine. The electric motors are connected to the car’s wheels and engine via the transmission, and a battery used to store power for the hybrid engine is located beneath the rear seat.
The hybrid engine’s electric motors can use electricity from the battery to drive the Corolla’s wheels, in part or in full. At any given moment, this can reduce or even eliminate the need for the gas engine to run, since the car can be driven entirely on electricity in some situations, and partly by electricity in many more.
By the way, that hybrid battery recharges automatically as you drive around, it never gets empty and there’s nothing to plug in. As long as there’s gas in the tank, you’re ready to drive.
The hybrid system is totally automatic and requires no driver decision-making at any time. You can customize the driving experience with different drive modes, and an on-screen visual coach can be called up to help fine-tune the driver’s hybrid driving skills if they like.
Expect considerably faster acceleration and smoother response versus a non-hybrid Corolla.
Should you buy a used Corolla Hybrid?
The Corolla has a pretty stellar reputation for delivering a no-nonsense ownership experience and strong long-term value, and tracking down a second-hand Corolla Hybrid with remaining factory warranty shouldn’t be much trouble.
Shopping for a Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) vehicle, available only from authorized dealerships, can add peace of mind. To become CPO-certified, used cars must meet certain standards for quality and condition. You won’t get that assurance if buying from a private seller. (Learn more about buying new vs. used.)
Are there any recalls for the Toyota Corolla Hybrid?
Transport Canada lists a single recall for the Toyota Corolla Hybrid, for a seatbelt-related fault; it affected fewer than 1,000 cars in Canada. Before you buy a used Toyota Corolla Hybrid (or any car), check online or with your local dealer to see if any outstanding recalls apply to the model you’re considering. And if you do buy the car, contact the manufacturer to register as the new owner. This ensures that any future recall notices make their way to you quickly.
Check the specific spare tire and mobility provisions included with the used Corolla Hybrid you’re considering, as some owners have sought accessory tire inflators or temporary spare tires to supplement the factory equipment. Specifically, some drivers prefer to carry a temporary spare tire instead of (or alongside) the factory-provided inflator kit. Your needs may vary depending on where and how you drive, but knowing what equipment you have (or need) in the event of a flat tire is important.
DENVER — The case of Nekia Johnson’s missing 1988 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme led her to a private residence in north Denver.
Last summer, Johnson took her vehicle to Harley’s Garage in Aurora for an engine replacement. Not long after, multiple customers told Denver7 Investigates that the business owners closed up shop and disappeared with their cars.
“We just wanted a simple engine rebuild for my husband’s old-school car for his birthday,” Johnson said. “It’s been a horrible experience.”
Johnson said she and her husband tried to track down the car for quite some time, despite not hearing from the business, but then she received a call from a homeowner in north Denver.
Denver7
Their car was in the backyard, along with roughly a dozen others from Harley’s Garage. The homeowners were trying to find the rightful owners of the cars.
Homeowner Jayne Tucker said people from the business rented space in their yard, which they had been renting out for vehicle storage for extra money. But she said the cars just sat there.
“There was always some reason why they weren’t coming by,” Tucker said.
Denver7
Both Tucker and Johnson said they mainly dealt with Jack Truex. In a phone call Monday, Truex identified himself to Denver7 Investigates as the general manager of Harley’s Garage.
He said that the company was locked out of its computer system after the closure, but that the owner, who is currently in rehab, is committed to getting people their money back.
Digging into Truex’s background, Denver7 Investigates found Truex has a lengthy rap sheet, including guilty pleas for felony vehicle theft in 2014 and 2016.
Truex declined an on-camera interview for this story. He said his past charges were unrelated to this current situation and reiterated that he does not own the company.
“(The owner) is adamant that he wants to make sure all these customers get their money back,” Truex said.
Denver7
Meanwhile, Tucker said she is in the process of evicting Harley’s Garage from her property but is still trying to find as many owners as possible.
“We have been opening up the cars to kind of look for registrations, proof of insurance, anything like that,” she said. “I have paid for a license plate reverse search service just to try and find people.”
Truex promised refunds to customers. Johnson said she paid a $1,000 deposit for the engine replacement, but no work was ever done. After recovering the car, Johnson and her husband took it to another auto shop.
“Hopefully we can get our money back and move on with life,” Johnson said.
Anyone else trying to locate their car from Harley’s Garage should reach out to Jaclyn Allen at investigates@denver7.com.
Customers left looking for vehicles after car repair shop abruptly closes
Denver7
Got a tip? Send it to the Denver7 Investigates team
Use the form below to send us a comment or story idea you’d like the Denver7 Investigates team to check out. You can also email investigates@Denver7.com or call our newsroom at 303-832-0200.
The resurrection of Bugatti is one of the 21st century’s most notable automotive stories. Aristocratic, artistic, and more than a little arcane, Bugatti was a prewar marque that mastered luxury, design, and motorsport, the creator of Grand Prix winners, and arguably the most lavish motorcar ever made, in the shape of the early 1930s Type 41 Royale. Then it faded away.
It was the late Ferdinand Piëch, the monomaniacal kingpin of the Volkswagen Group, who bought the rights to the name and returned the brand to glory with 2005’s Veyron and its successor, the Chiron. The Super Sport version of the latter remains the world’s fastest production car, having achieved a top speed of 304.773 mph in the hands of racing driver Andy Wallace at a German test track in 2019.
How do you follow that—especially in a world in which 2,000-horsepower electrichypercars have comprehensively rearranged expectations?
As fate would have it, Bugatti is now controlled by Croatian EV powerhouse Rimac, as a result of a complex 2021 contra-deal with VW and Porsche. So you’d be right to wonder what kind of encore wunderkind Mate Rimac would devise for the 114-year-old French legend.
The result is the Tourbillon, an imperious super-coupé hybrid that sees Bugatti looking a hundred years ahead as much as it’s invoking its storied past—but not in the ways you’d expect.
The Tourbillon is Bugatti’s latest hybrid hypercar, the first to reveal Rimac’s influence on the manufacturer.
VIDEO: Bugatti
“Icons like the Type 57SC Atlantic, renowned as the most beautiful car in the world, the Type 35, the most successful racing car ever, and the Type 41 Royale, one of the most ambitious luxury cars of all time, provide our three pillars of inspiration,” Rimac says. “Beauty, performance, and luxury formed the blueprint for the Tourbillon; a car that was more elegant, more emotive, and more luxurious than anything before it. And just like those icons of the past, it wouldn’t be simply for the present, or even for the future, but pour l’éternité–for eternity.”
Yep, it’s safe to say Bugatti is pretty excited about it’s new creation and has an eye on the pristine lawns of the Pebble Beach or Villa d’Este concours events a century hence, positioning its new hypercar as both head-spinningly high-tech and as an artful riposte to built-in obsolescence.
Reskinning Rimac’s own brilliant and fully electric Nevera hypercar was surely one option, but Rimac is respectful enough of Bugatti’s history to know that would never fly. “So I came up with a proposal to make a completely new car,” he says. He’s come an awfully long way since being the sole employee of Rimac back in 2009.
Instruments of Success
The name Tourbillon will be familiar to adherents of haute horologie. Rather than honor a former Bugatti racing driver—as in Pierre Veyron and Louis Chiron—the new car references the most elaborate mechanism in watchmaking, a machine for the wrist whose complexity counteracts the effects of gravity in order to maintain the most accurate possible timekeeping.
The steering wheel of the new Bugatti Tourbillon spins around the central fixed instrument cluster.
VIDEO: Bugatti
Bugatti’s designers and engineers were seduced by the idea of mechanical timelessness when they were conceiving the new car, and thus the Tourbillon largely rejects large digital touchscreens in its interior in favor of machined components and a fully analogue skeletonized (another watch world reference) instrument cluster—though a small screen does slide into view if you want it, for Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.
The cluster consists of more than 600 parts, uses titanium, sapphire, and ruby in its construction, and remains fixed in place allowing the steering wheel to rotate around it. Two needles on the center dial display the engine’s revs and speed. On the left are analogue readouts for battery and oil temperature; on the right there’s a display showing the power drawn from the e-motors and engine.
While the world awaits Ferrari’s first all-electric car—due next year—archrival McLaren insists that the technology doesn’t yet exist to deliver an EV worthy of its name.
Power clearly isn’t the problem, but weight is the enemy in Woking, McLaren’s UK headquarters, and batteries aren’t getting lighter fast enough. Going fully electric results in unacceptable compromises to a car’s dynamics, McLaren says.
Light weight isn’t just a philosophy to these guys, it’s dogma, and, like all such things, that doesn’t suggest much in the way of progressive thinking. Until you arrive at a corner at, shall we say, a committed velocity in the new Artura Spider.
Few cars are as fluid, balanced, and rewarding as this, a lissome-looking machine, which soon has you thinking like a racing driver: Plotting entry, apex, and exit, dallying with a trailing throttle or trying to dial out understeer. It gets right under your skin.
McLaren doesn’t even rate fully electric steering as pure enough, and the Artura’s precision feel is undoubtedly helped by an old-school hydraulic setup. Apparently, it’s almost identical to the steering configuration in the 600 LT, which is nothing less than one of the greatest-handling cars ever made.
Pimped P1 Power
Photograph: McLaren Automotive
Yet it would be a grave error to mistake McLaren for a tech refusenik. Far from it. Core to the Artura’s astonishing athleticism is its carbon-composite chassis (MCLA for short), which delivers both tremendous structural integrity and impressive lateral bending stiffness.
It’s made in the company’s dedicated UK facility in Sheffield, and McLaren’s use of carbon fiber throughout its model range puts one over on Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche, all of whom reserve this costly material for their most expensive hypercars.
The Artura is also a hybrid, deepening the company’s expertise in an area it first explored on 2013’s ground-breaking P1. The combustion engine is a 3.0-liter twin turbo V6, harnessed here to an axial flux e-motor, which is integrated into the gearbox’s bell housing.
Improvements in the engine mapping have increased the overall power output to 690 brake horsepower, a rise of 20 bhp over Artura v1.0. Rather than a 90-degree V, the cylinders sit at a 120-degree angle, which reduces pressure losses in the exhaust. The twin turbos sit within in a “hot vee” configuration, which means they can spin faster with helpful consequences for throttle response.
Is there a more natural place for someone to really floor it for the first time in an electric car than the ballyhooed DirtFish Rally School outside Seattle, Washington? With the gravel wet from a day of cool, classic, spring Pacific Northwest rain? Surely there must be.
And yet, here I am, behind the wheel of the 2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally, politely—and clearly all too slowly—following directions as a very patient rally instructor asks me to “really punch it this time.” Shortly after this instruction, and nearly on purpose, I drive sideways.
If this sounds fun, then, sure, absolutely. The Mustang Mach-E Rally, arguably Ford’s best foot forward in the controversially-named electric car series in 2024, shows the Detroit automaker is ready to entertain. (Controversial because not everyone is convinced that a crossover should ever be called a Mustang, plug or not.)
The future of Ford’s electric business may be murky, or at best complicated—more on that later—but the Mustang Mach-E Rally shows the automaker willing to throw in a few tricks to persuade a new audience to put down the gas pump and pick up the plug.
Dirty EV
The Rally edition of the Mach-E can go from 0 to 60 in 3.4 seconds with its dual motors.
Photograph: Ford
This is Ford’s first rally-inspired electric. Note the phrase “rally-inspired”—those interested in such a car sadly won’t get something akin to Ari Vatanen’s record-setting 1988 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb ride, made legend in Climb Dance (skip to 3:08 to see Ari’s casual genius at work).
What you do get, compared to the Mach-E GT version, are a few trim tweaks to make the EV friendlier on rocky, slippy surfaces: suspension raised by an inch, protective shielding for front and rear motors, rally-style wheels covering Michelin CrossClimate2 tires (designed to slide), two front hood racing stripes, and of course, a rear spoiler. At the Ford event at DirtFish, nice men lovingly wiped the mud off the Rally’s windshield and driver door between laps, though this does not come standard.
Trim tweaks include rally-style wheels …
Photograph: Ford
… and, of course, a rear spoiler.
Photograph: Ford
The Mach-E Rally does come with RallySport Drive Mode, made off-road friendly with added yaw (more sideways sliding) and aggressive damping to better navigate gravely turns. Linked to that extra inch of ride height is the addition of Ford’s MagneRide suspension system, which is designed to adapt to changing road conditions. It’s powered by embedded sensors and pistons equipped with magnetic damper fluid, which produces firmer or softer shocks, depending on what the road demands.
In practice, RallySport Drive Mode creates a notably looser ride, with the SUV much more willing to slide. Still, the vehicle didn’t let a Rally noob convict, much less kill, herself—which meant the whole thing was really very fun. Even in the muck, I felt I picked up the trick quickly. (Granted, an instructor called out extremely specific braking directions.)
One of the advantages of driving electric is the immediate power you get without having to mess with gears, which—for a red-blooded American who can’t remember the last time she was in a manual transmission car, much less behind the wheel of one—is appreciated.
The launch of a new electric vehicle these days is invariably met with a chorus of “this car is too expensive”—and rightfully so. But for used EVs, particularly used Teslas, it’s quite another story, thanks to a glut of former fleet and rental cars that are now ready for their second owner.
“Due to a variety of reasons, Tesla resale values have plummeted, making many Tesla models very affordable now. Plus, for some consumers, an additional $4,000 federal tax credit on used EVs may apply, sweetening the deal even further. Buying a used Tesla can be a great deal for the savvy shopper, but there are significant things to look out for,” says Ed Kim, president and chief analyst at AutoPacific.
Indeed, a quick search on the topic easily reveals some horror stories of ex-rental Teslas, so here are some things to consider if you’re in search of a cheap Model 3 or Model Y.
“The prices are very appealing, but shoppers must keep in mind that rental cars can and do get abused, and some of these ex-rental units may have nasty surprises stemming from their hard lives. Be sure to have yours checked out thoroughly by a mechanic before buying,” Kim says.
Mismatched tires and minor dents, scrapes, and rock chips are fairly common minor issues. Many of the Teslas that Hertz is selling have been used as Ubers—you can tell it’s one of these if the odometer is approaching 100,000 miles. Battery degradation could be an issue, although most cars will not have lost more than 4 to 5 percent of capacity, and Long Range Teslas should have a powertrain warranty for up to 120,000 miles (or eight years).
“One side effect of Tesla’s widespread and reliable DC fast-charging network is that many owners end up relying on it to keep their cars charged rather than dealing with the often considerable expense of installing a home charger and associated home electrical upgrades,” Kim told Ars. As such, you should make sure to check the battery’s health (which can be done on the touchscreen or as part of the inspection) before you buy.
Rental cars can suffer from an excess of slammed doors and trunks—slamming the latter can mess up the powered strut. In the interior, you should expect high signs of wear on some touchpoints, especially the steering wheel and the rear door cards, which can bubble or flake, particularly if the Tesla was used as a ride-hailing vehicle.
Other Potential Headaches
Teslas are very connected cars, and many of their convenience features are accessed via smartphone apps. But that requires that Tesla’s database shows you as the car’s owner, and there are plenty of reports online that transferring ownership from Hertz can take time.
Unfortunately, this also leaves the car stuck in Chill driving mode (which restricts power, acceleration, and top speed) and places some car settings outside of the new owner’s level of access. You also won’t be able to use Tesla Superchargers while the car still shows up as belonging to Hertz. Based on forum reports, contacting Tesla directly is the way to resolve this, but it can take several days to process, or longer if there’s a paperwork mismatch.
Once you’ve transferred ownership to Tesla’s satisfaction, it’s time to do a software reset on the car to remove the fleet version.
METHUEN — Two people are dead after a head-on collision early Monday closed Interstate 93 for about three hours.
The three-vehicle crash occurred shortly after 2 a.m. when a Toyota RAV4 SUV was traveling north in the southbound lanes of I-93, according to a preliminary police investigation.
The RAV4, driven by a 53-year-old Quincy resident, collided head on with a Toyota Camry driven by a 21-year-old Quincy resident, police said.
The 21-year-old died at the crash scene while the RAV4’s driver was transported to a local hospital and later pronounced dead. Their names were not released.
After the initial crash, the Camry collided with a third vehicle whose driver was not injured, police said.
The crash remains under investigation. State police from the Andover barracks were assisted by first responders from Methuen.
A Chatfield State Park, a pair of people and their dogs walk in the spring sunshine on Tuesday, April 7, 2020.
Hart Van Denburg/CPR News
Those looking to spend the remainder of Memorial Day at two metro Denver state parks are out of luck, unless you arrive on a horse (among other means of transportation).
Long lines of cars could be seen at Chatfield and Cherry Creek State Park on Monday afternoon. Colorado Parks and Wildlife said on social media that Chatfield State Park reached maximum capacity around 1 p.m. on Monday.
“You need to be in a camper, on a horse, or have a kayak/[stand-up paddleboard] rental to enter,” CPW said.
Around the same time, Cherry Creek State Park was “reaching capacity,” according to a CPW post on Facebook. All CPW offices were closed in observance of the federal holiday.
When state parks reach capacity, park rangers follow “one car in, one car out” rules. Those with annual park passes, which can be purchased when registering your vehicle, are not guaranteed admission on busy days.
Chatfield State Park is open until 10 p.m., with 24-hour access for campers. Cherry Creek State Park is the same, but closes to the public at 8 p.m..
Owners of Spotify’s soon-to-be-bricked Car Thing device are begging the company to open source the gadgets to save some the landfill. Spotify hasn’t responded to pleas to salvage the hardware, which was originally intended to connect to car dashboards and auxiliary outlets to enable drivers to listen to and navigate Spotify.
Spotify announced this week that it’s bricking all purchased Car Things on December 9 and not offering refunds or trade-in options. On a support page, Spotify says:
We’re discontinuing Car Thing as part of our ongoing efforts to streamline our product offerings. We understand it may be disappointing, but this decision allows us to focus on developing new features and enhancements that will ultimately provide a better experience to all Spotify users.
Spotify has no further guidance for device owners beyond asking them to reset the device to factory settings and “safely” get rid of the bricked gadget by “following local electronic waste guidelines.”
The company also said that it doesn’t plan to release a follow-up to the Car Thing.
In its Q2 2022 earnings report released in July, Spotify revealed that it stopped making Car Things. In a chat with TechCrunch, it cited “several factors, including product demand and supply chain issues.” A Spotify rep also told the publication that the devices would continue to “perform as intended,” but that was apparently a temporary situation.
Halted production was a warning sign that Car Thing was in peril. However, at that time, Spotify also cut the device’s price from $90 to $50, which could have encouraged people to buy a device that would be useless a few years later.
Car Thing’s usefulness was always dubious, though. The device has a 4-inch touchscreen and knob for easy navigation, as well as support for Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and voice control. But it also required users to subscribe to Spotify Premium, which starts at $11 per month. Worse, Car Thing requires a phone using data or Wi-Fi connected via Bluetooth in order to work, making the Thing seem redundant.
In its Q1 2022 report, Spotify said that quitting Car Thing hurt gross margins and that it took a 31 million euro (about $31.4 million at the time) hit on the venture.
Open Source Pleas
Spotify’s announcement has sent some Car Thing owners to online forums to share their disappointment with Spotify and beg the company to open source the device instead of dooming it for recycling centers at best. As of this writing, there are more than 50 posts on the Spotify Community forums showing concern about the discontinuation, with many demanding a refund and/or calling for open sourcing. There are similar discussions happening elsewhere online, like on Reddit, where users have used phrases like “entirely unacceptable” to describe the news.
A Spotify Community member going by AaronMickDee, for example, said:
I’d rather not just dispose of the device. I think there is a community that would love the idea of having a device we can customize and use for other uses other than a song playback device.
Would Spotify be willing to maybe unlock the system and allow users to write/flash 3rd party firmware to the device?
DETROIT — Cars, trucks and SUVs in the U.S. keep getting older, hitting a record average age of 12.6 years in 2024 as people hang on to their vehicles largely because new ones cost so much.
S&P Global Mobility, which tracks state vehicle registration data nationwide, said Wednesday that the average vehicle age grew about two months from last year’s record.
But the growth in average age is starting to slow as new vehicle sales start to recover from pandemic-related shortages of parts, including computer chips. The average increased by three months in 2023.
Still, with an average U.S. new-vehicle selling price of just over $45,000 last month, many can’t afford to buy new — even though prices are down more than $2,000 from the peak in December of 2022, according to J.D. Power.
“It’s prohibitively high for a lot of households now,” said Todd Campau, aftermarket leader for S&P Global Mobility. “So I think consumers are being painted into the corner of having to keep the vehicle on the road longer.”
Other factors include people waiting to see if they want to buy an electric vehicle or go with a gas-electric hybrid or a gasoline vehicle. Many, he said, are worried about the charging network being built up so they can travel without worrying about running out of battery power. Also, he said, vehicles are made better these days and simply are lasting a long time.
New vehicle sales in the U.S. are starting to return to pre-pandemic levels, with prices and interest rates the big influencing factors rather than illness and supply-chain problems, Compau said. He said he expects sales to hit around 16 million this year, up from 15.6 million last year and 13.9 million in 2022.
As more new vehicles are sold and replace aging vehicles in the nation’s fleet of 286 million passenger vehicles, the average age should stop growing and stabilize, Compau said. And unlike immediately after the pandemic, more lower-cost vehicles are being sold, which likely will bring down the average price, he said.
People keeping vehicles longer is good news for the local auto repair shop. About 70% of vehicles on the road are 6 or more years old, he said, beyond manufacturer warranties.
Those who are able to keep their rides for multiple years usually get the oil changed regularly and follow manufacturer maintenance schedules, Campau noted.
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Business travel is inherently risky because driving poses certain innate hazards. If you’re a business leader sending yourself, team members, or employees out on the road, the least you can do is equip them with the tools they need to operate as safely as possible and get out of a jam if they happen to run into one.
A great tool that’s designed to help fix flat tires, this HOTO Air Pump Pro Portable Air Compressor and Tire Inflator, is on sale for just $79.99 (reg. $119). Promised to be 85% faster than competitors, this four-preset air pump is made to be able to fill a tire in at most five minutes.
Running on a 12V pump motor, this fast-working pump features a powerful battery life that can charge as many as 15 under-inflated tires within a single charge. When you’re filling up, the pump also prevents you from overdoing things with its worry-free automatic stop that ceases operations when the proper inflation is met.
This fantastic tire pump can serve as a great safety tool for business travelers. It can also promote exercise and recreation when used to pump up sports balls and bike tires.
The versatility and quality of this small, compact device have added up to make it a hit amongst users and critics alike. It’s even earned a coveted nomination from MoMa Design.
According to CAA’s daily gas price tracker, Canadians paid an average of $1.68 per litre on May 2, 2024. That’s six cents more than the lowest average price in the previous 30 days, and 12.3 cents more than one year ago.
What national averages don’t show, though, are the unpredictable price spikes experienced in some locales. Case in point? On April 18, 2024, Toronto drivers woke up to find gas prices had climbed from $1.65 to $1.79 per litre overnight.
That 14-cent-per-litre increase meant that Ford F-150 owners would spend up to $19 more filling their tanks, Dodge Durango drivers would pay an extra $13 and Toyota Highlander drivers would pay $9 more per fill-up. It would cost an extra $8 to fill a family car like the Hyundai Sonata or Chevrolet Malibu, and $7 for smaller cars like the Honda Civic. Use a fleet of heavy trucks for your business? That Silverado 2500 or Ram 2500 HD will cost you $20 to $35 more to fill.
These are big jumps, but gas prices are still well below what they were at the height of the pandemic. In the summer of 2022, the national average price reached an eye-watering $2.11 per litre, says price-tracking website GasBuddy.com.
According to the Canadian Fuels Association, Vancouver had Canada’s highest average gas prices in 2023, followed by St. John’s, Charlottetown, Montreal and Halifax.
If you’re frustrated by wildly fluctuating gas prices, you’re not alone. Below, I’ll give you easy fuel-saving tips that could trim your gas bills by 15% or more. But first, let’s take a look at what affects gas prices in Canada.
Compare personalized quotes from Canada’s top car insurance providers.All in under 5 minutes with ratehub.ca. Let’s get started.*You will be leaving MoneySense. Just close the tab to return.
Why do gas prices go up and down?
The price you pay for a litre of gas at the pumps includes many costs and taxes that vary between countries, provinces and even regions—but that’s only part of the story. To understand what affects gas prices, it helps to understand how crude oil is processed, and why it’s in such high demand.
Understanding crude oil
Crude oil is a highly valuable substance, found deep underground. It’s made of ancient dead stuff—animals and plants that lived millions of years ago. The value of crude oil lies in its ingredients, which we use to make things like plastic, synthetic rubber, detergents, heating oil, jet fuel, engine oil, asphalt and, of course, the gasoline powering our cars.
Today, the Biden administration announced a near-unprecedented 100 percent tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles, a move the White House said would protect the American industry from “unfairly priced Chinese imports.” Previously, tariffs on Chinese EVs sat at 25 percent.
Electric vehicle batteries and battery components will also be subject to new tariffs—Chinese lithium-ion battery tariffs rise from 7.5 percent to 25 percent, and rates for Chinese critical minerals, including manganese and cobalt, will move from 0 percent to 25 percent.
The move, just the latest in a flurry of actions taken by the Biden administration against Chinese vehicles and their components, comes at a delicate time for the US electric vehicle industry, which lags behind China not only in vehicle price but quality.
China’s lead in electrics, experts say, stems from years of investment in vehicle software, battery, and, critically, supply chain development. BYD, which briefly overtook Tesla as the world’s top EV seller last fall, has been manufacturing electric vehicles since 2003.
Meanwhile, the prospect of catastrophic global climate change hangs not only over the US auto industry, but the entire world. Motor and diesel fuel consumption in the US transportation sector accounted for nearly a third of the country’s energy-related carbon dioxide emissions last year, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
The tariffs reflect the US government’s unfortunate bind: It hopes to rev up sustainable energy sources while tamping down on imports from a country that happens to produce sustainable energy sources very well.
The tariffs are also meant to start the clock on the US’s own domestic electric vehicle development, which will need more and cheaper electric cars, but also the batteries and battery supply chains to make them go.
Or, maybe not start it. “The clock started 10 years ago, and we’re behind. We’re way behind,” says John Helveston, an assistant professor in engineering management and systems engineering at George Washington University who studies electric vehicle development and policy. The tariffs, he says, will not insulate the US against competition from Chinese cars forever. “They’re not going to make us better at making things.”
Will the effort work? In a written statement, John Bozzella, president and CEO of the US’s main auto lobbying group, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, was sanguine: “US automakers can outcompete and out innovate anyone on the EV transition,” he said. “No doubt about that. The issue at this moment isn’t the will … the issue is time.”
But even with more time, the future will be complicated. Automakers and auto suppliers selling in the US will have to figure out how to stay afloat even as they continue to pour billions into electric vehicle and battery development. And while US electric vehicle sales are going up, their growth has slowed.
Meanwhile, another influential US policy, the Inflation Reduction Act, directs billions to building up domestic supply chains for electric vehicles and other renewable energy sources. But those efforts could take years.
“The administration is trying to walk a line,” says Susan Helper, a professor of economics at Case Western Reserve University, who worked on electric vehicle policy in the Biden administration. “One goal is a strong auto industry with good jobs and clean production methods, and the other is fast action on climate change. In the long-term, they’re consistent with each other. In the short term, there’s conflict.”
Calling all ‘Players!’ Coi Leray just dropped her latest hit, and we can’t stop listening! ‘Lemon Cars’ 🍋🚙 is about women empowerment and lifting up all the girl bosses in your life! Today, we are celebrating Coi and all her accomplishments, including her 18 million monthly Spotify listeners and upcoming EP Lemon Cars.
“What goes up must come down/Gotta live it up, yeah, I’m living now We toast up to the cup and we never put it down I was lost and now I’m found”
We love how simple the lyrics are, yet the beat and production are undeniably addicting, which makes sense because the king Mike WILL Made-It produced it. He’s made all our favorite hits! This is definitely an anthem for our recent graduates – grab your besties and pour it up because life is all about having a good time with the ones you love.
We know Coi Leray knows how to have a good time! With hits like ‘Baby Don’t Hurt Me’ and ‘Self Love,’ the vibes are high, and we wanna join in on the fun. If you don’t have a road trip playlist yet, we encourage you to make one for upcoming summer trips and add ‘Lemon Cars’ to the top of the queue! ⏯️
Image Source: Island Records
Now we want to drive a bright yellow car! But I’m sure we wouldn’t look as cute standing next to it as Coi does.
What’s your favorite Coi Leray song? Let us know in the comments below or by finding us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook 🐝
Car enthusiasts mourn the commoditization of propulsion. Once petrolheads would have chosen a BMW for its sonorous straight-six or a Mercedes-AMG for its thunderous V8. Now many believe that distinctiveness is rapidly diminishing. Electric cars might provide mad, silent thrust, but a common complaint is they are mostly indistinguishable for the character of their drivetrains.
Carmakers worry about this too. Their engineering DNA is less apparent in the EV age, leaving them more reliant on design, brand power, and other types of technology to differentiate their cars and keep their customers. There’s no point trying to trump the competition on power when the quickest Teslas and Lucids already have far more than you can ever deploy on the public road. More isn’t better when you already have too much.
But soon there’ll be a choice again: between the conventional radial-flux motors that have powered almost every EV until now and something radically different.
Axial-flux motors won’t necessarily offer more power, but they are so much lighter and smaller that their proponents say they have the potential to transform almost every other key measure of an EV’s performance—and the entire architecture of a car designed around them.
By fitting axial flux motors into the wheels, the spaces in a car’s body currently occupied by motors could be largely vacated, clearing the way for more batteries, people, or stuff, and permitting the sort of design exuberance that EVs have long promised but never quite delivered.
More importantly, this new design of motor might help address the growing public backlash against overweight, expensive EVs. They might reduce the weight of a typical EV by around 200 kilograms (440 pounds)—half in the motors themselves, and half from the mass-compounding effect which allows you to reduce the weight of other systems such as batteries and brakes as a result.
By sending mass into a virtuous downward spiral, carmakers could increase range, decrease cost, and perhaps even preserve the agile handling of lightweight cars, which enthusiasts also worry might disappear with the advent of the EV.
Flux Capacity
The principle isn’t new. The axial-flux motor was first demonstrated by Michael Faraday in 1821, but in the intervening two centuries nobody had figured out how to mass-produce one reliably.
British academic Tim Woolmer, however, likes a challenge. He devoted his Oxford PhD to designing the optimum motor for an electric car. An axial-flux motor would make more sense than the almost ubiquitous and easily mass-manufactured radial flux design, he decided. But not only had his chosen design barely made it out of the lab in nearly 200 years, there simply wasn’t a market for it when he started in 2005: GM’s EV1 had long been canned, and the Tesla Roadster was still three years away.
In an axial-flux “pancake” motor, the stator (the stationary part of an electric motor) and rotors are discs, sitting alongside each other less than a millimeter apart, the flux flowing through the stator axially or parallel with the shaft, and acting on the permanent magnets in the rotors on either side to turn them.
Hans Von Ohain and Nora Bass (Photo via lawsuit filed by MLG Attorneys at Law)
Tesla’s advanced Autopilot driving system malfunctioned and caused one of the electric car maker’s Colorado employees to drive off the road and die in a fiery crash, a newly filed wrongful death lawsuit alleges.
The widow of Hans Von Ohain says her husband was driving back from golfing in Evergreen with a friend on May 16, 2022, when the Autopilot system “unexpectedly caused the 2021 Tesla Model 3 to sharply veer to the right, leading it off the pavement” on Upper Bear Creek Road.
The 33-year-old Von Ohain, who was intoxicated, fought to regain control of the vehicle, “but, to his surprise and horror,” the car drove off the road and into a tree, where it burst into flames, according to the 16-page complaint filed May 3 in Clear Creek County District Court.
The Colorado State Patrol said in its 403-page crash report that the car’s condition after the crash made it impossible to access data to determine whether the self-driving feature was engaged at the time.
But the passenger in the car, Erik Rossiter, who suffered injuries in the crash, told investigators that Von Ohain was using the autonomous drive feature on the trip home, according to the CSP’s final report.
“It was uncomfortable,” he told troopers. “The car would swerve off toward the side of the road periodically and bring itself back.”
The vehicle was traveling 41 mph at the time of the crash, just above the 40 mph speed limit, according to the CSP report.
Von Ohain also used the self-driving feature on the way to the golf course, Rossiter said — a trip he called “a bit nerve-wracking.”
An autopsy report showed the driver’s blood-alcohol level at three times the legal limit. His widow, Nora Bass, told the Washington Post in February that she had been unable to find an attorney to take the case due to his intoxication.
“Regardless of how drunk Hans was, (Tesla CEO Elon) Musk has claimed that this car can drive itself and is essentially better than a human,” Bass told the newspaper. “We were sold a false sense of security.”
Efforts by The Denver Post to reach Bass or her attorney were unsuccessful.
If Von Ohain was, in fact, using the Full Self-Driving feature, it would make his death the first known fatality involving Tesla’s most advanced driver-assistance technology, the Washington Post reported.
Bass and her attorneys allege Tesla knowingly released the self-driving system in vehicles when it was just a prototype and unready for consumers.
Tesla did not respond to messages from The Post seeking comment. Von Ohain worked for the Texas-based carmaker as a recruiter.
Federal regulators have logged more than 900 crashes in Teslas since they began requiring automakers to report accidents in 2021 involving driver-assistance systems, the Washington Post found. At least 40 resulted in serious or fatal injuries.
Tesla’s Autopilot system has been highly controversial and subject to intense scrutiny from authorities and consumers.
In December, the company issued a recall for nearly all of its 2 million U.S. cars aimed at improving driver attention.
Two years ago, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that the Tesla Autopilot’s features may not have sufficient guardrails to “prevent driver misuse.” The federal probe came after a series of Teslas using the system had run into parked emergency vehicles.
Reuters on Wednesday reported U.S. prosecutors are looking into whether Tesla committed securities or wire fraud by misleading consumers and investors about the technology’s capabilities.
As Elon Musk steps away, yet again, from the idea of a $25,000 Tesla, let’s take this opportunity to zoom out and appreciate what a truly affordable EV can be. For this we need to ignore the Nissan Leaf—currently the cheapest EV in the US at $29,280—and skip over Europe, home to the adorable but flawed $10,000 Citroen Ami, and head to China.
Here you’ll find the equally cheap BYDSeagull, a small electric hatchback styled by ex-Lamborghini designer Wolfgang Egger and with a 200-mile range—four times that of the Ami.
But what if even that is too expensive? Then allow us to present the Zhidou Rainbow. This is a compact city EV priced from 31,900 yuan before subsidies—that’s just $4,400. For a new electric car. WIRED literally recommends ebikes that cost more that this.
The Rainbow has three doors and four seats, and an interior with a 5-inch digital driver display and a 9-inch touchscreen for the infotainment system. There’s even a connected smartphone app, charge scheduling, and the promise of over-the-air (OTA) software updates.
Splash out on the flagship Color Cloud Edition (which costs $5,800, or about half the price of Porsche’s fanciest bicycle) and you can have each panel of your Rainbow painted a different color. A bit like Volkswagen did with the somewhat mad Polo Harlequin in the mid ’90s.
Cheaper Than an Ebike
There are two models on offer. The first has that headline $4,400 price tag and is powered by a 20-kW (27-horsepower) motor with 85 Nm (63 ft-lbs) of torque and fed by a tiny 9.98-kWh battery. Spend 39,900 yuan ($5,500) and your Rainbow is fitted with a 30-kW (40-horsepower) motor with 125 Nm of torque and a 17-kWh battery pack. Range is between 78 and 127 miles using China’s generous CLTC testing standard.
Be under no illusion here, these are tiny numbers. Even the larger battery is the same capacity of that of a plug-in hybrid Honda CR-V, which also employs a 2.0-liter engine to help it get around. But the range isn’t terrible. Even if the testing standard is generous, and the larger battery has a more realistic range of 100 miles, that’s about the same as the Honda e, which cost a whopping £37,000 ($46,000) before it went off sale at the end of 2023.
There are two Rainbow models: One powered by a 20-kW (27-horsepower) motor fed by a tiny 9.98-kWh battery; and a pimped 30-kW (40-horsepower) motor version with 17-kWh battery.
A controversial bill that would require all new cars to be fitted with AM radios looks set to become a law in the near future. Yesterday, Senator Edward Markey revealed that the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act now has the support of 60 US Senators, as well as 246 cosponsors in the House of Representatives, making its passage an almost sure thing. Should that happen, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration would be required to ensure that all new cars sold in the US have AM radios at no extra cost.
“Democrats and Republicans are tuning in to the millions of listeners, thousands of broadcasters, and countless emergency management officials who depend on AM radio in their vehicles. AM radio is a lifeline for people in every corner of the United States to get news, sports, and local updates in times of emergencies. Our commonsense bill makes sure this fundamental, essential tool doesn’t get lost on the dial. With a filibuster-proof supermajority in the Senate, Congress should quickly take it up and pass it,” said Markey and his cosponsor, Senator Ted Cruz.
About 82 million people still listen to AM radio, according to the National Association of Broadcasters, which, as you can imagine, was rather pleased with the congressional support for its industry.
“Broadcasters are grateful for the overwhelming bipartisan support for the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act in both chambers of Congress,” said NAB president and CEO Curtis LeGeyt. “This majority endorsement reaffirms lawmakers’ recognition of the essential service AM radio provides to the American people, particularly in emergency situations. NAB thanks the 307 members of Congress who are reinforcing the importance of maintaining universal access to this crucial public communications medium.”
Why Are They Dropping AM, Anyway?
The reason there’s even a bill in Congress to mandate AM radios in all new vehicles is that some automakers have begun to drop the option, particularly in electric vehicles. A big reason for that is electromagnetic interference from electric motors—rather than risk customer complaints from poor-quality audio, some automakers decided to remove it.
But it’s not exclusively an EV issue; last year we learned the revised Ford Mustang coupe would also arrive sans AM radio, which Ford told us was because radio stations were modernizing “by offering internet streaming through mobile apps, FM, digital, and satellite radio options,” and that it would continue to offer those other audio options in its vehicles.
In response to congressional questioning, eight automakers told a Senate committee that they were quitting AM: BMW, Ford, Mazda, Polestar, Rivian, Tesla, Volkswagen, and Volvo. This “undermined the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s system for delivering critical public safety information to the public,” said Senator Markey’s office last year, and AM radio’s role as a platform for delivering emergency alerts to the public is given by supporters of the legislation as perhaps the key reason for its necessity.
Tech and Auto Industries Aren’t Happy
But critics of the bill—including the Consumer Technology Association—don’t buy that argument. In October 2023, FEMA and the Federal Communications Commission conducted a nationwide test of the emergency alert system. According to the CTA, which surveyed 800 US adults, of the 95 percent of US adults that heard the test, only 6 percent did so via radio, and just 1 percent on AM radio specifically. Instead, 92 percent received the alert pushed to their smartphone.
“Requiring the installation of analog AM radios in automobiles is an unnecessary action that would impact EV range, efficiency, and affordability at a critical moment of accelerating adoption,” said Albert Gore, executive director of ZETA, a clean vehicle advocacy group that opposes the AM radio requirement. “Mandating AM radio would do little to expand drivers’ ability to receive emergency alerts. At a time when we are more connected than ever, we encourage Congress to allow manufacturers to innovate and produce designs that meet consumer preference, rather than pushing a specific communications technology,” Gore said in a statement.
