March 2019

Sam says that even with driverless cars, he’s not sure if Lyft can still make any money. There’s no networking effect. There’s no loyalty or switching costs. So the only way to make it work is to have a lot of drivers and lower fares. Also, companies like Lyft and Uber have no real hard costs or assets. They don’t own the cars, or have to maintain them, or pay for the gas. When you go driverless, suddenly you have to pay for cars and maintain them. Those hard investments and will be in the billions at first. Wheel Bearings has launched a Patreon. If you like the show and would like to chip in toward the cost of producing and hosting it you can join at https://www.patreon.com/wheelbearingsmedia

Sam joins Leo to talk about the etiquette of charging an electric vehicle.  Sam says that some EV users believe it’s OK to park next to a charger, thereby making that charger unusable for hours. Tesla has addressed this issue by charging people after their car has been filled up. Users now get a 5 minute grace period. Leo says while that’s true, if you’re traveling and are parking at the airport, you don’t really have a choice. While that’s a special case, most EV owners are just using charging spots at the mall and other locations as parking spots. Thereby preventing other EV drivers from charging.  Meanwhile, Mercedes Benz has included What3words navigation to their 2019 vehicles. All you need to do is input the three words of your destination, and it’ll take you there. What3words is a system that assigns three words to every ten… Read More »The Tech Guy #1577

Sam joins Leo in studio, and he says that while electric vehicles are getting more popular, it would still take 20-30 years to replace the entire fleet in the US. He drove to Eastside Studios in a KIA NIRO electrified vehicle. The NIRO Hybrid gets 50 mph, but you can get a plugin hybrid as well, which gets 27 miles on a charge. Or you can get a fully electric NIRO, which has a 239-mile range.  Wheel Bearings has launched a Patreon. If you like the show and would like to chip in toward the cost of producing and hosting it you can join at https://www.patreon.com/wheelbearingsmedia

Next week, Sam will be test driving the new KIA Niro. It’s an electrified vehicle, which is different from an electric vehicle. And there’s also an electrified hybrid that offers some electric propulsion but isn’t completely electric. That kind of propulsion varies. The Nero has an electric motor that runs alongside the engine, and one that charges the batteries and regenerative braking. But it still needs gas to power the main engine. A plugin hybrid has a larger battery and can drive about 15-40 miles, but once depleted, relies on gas. So driving around town, which is most driving, you can go electric, and then on longer trips, you can use gas. Wheel Bearings has launched a Patreon. If you like the show and would like to chip in toward the cost of producing and hosting it you can join at https://www.patreon.com/wheelbearingsmedia