Wheel Bearings

Episode #29 – Big Sedans, Servicing Autonomous Vehicles, Racing Old Cars

by Sam Abuelsamid
June 30, 2017October 31, 2018

Podcast Archives

Episode #29 - Big Sedans, Servicing Autonomous Vehicles, Racing Old Cars

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This week Sam drives a couple of big American sedans, the Buick LaCrosse and Lincoln Continental and Dan samples the Mazda CX-9. This devolves into a chat about Chris Lattner and working with/for Elon Musk and using rental car companies to service fleets of autonomous vehicles. Then Sam goes all analog with a visit to the Great Race stop in Ypsilanti, Mich. Links The Great Race The Great Race comes to Ypsilanti Chris Lattner bails on Tesla’s AutoPilot program after less than 6 months of working for Elon Musk Avis to Service Waymo’s Autonomous Vehicle Fleet 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

The Great Race 2017 Visits Ypsilanti

by Sam Abuelsamid
June 30, 2017July 26, 2018

The Great Race is an amazing annual road rally for vintage cars sponsored by Hemmings Motor News and Hagerty Insurance. This year, the newest cars that were allowed are from 1972 with that year being represented by a first-generation Nissan Skyline GT-R and the oldest being a century old 1917 Peerless driven by Hagerty VP Jonathan Klinger. This event epitomizes the best of car culture. Despite their age, these machines aren’t museum pieces, they were built to be driven and that’s how they are being used today. Herewith is a sampling of the field as they made a stop in Ypsilanti, Michigan while travelling more than 2,000 miles from Jacksonville, Florida to Traverse City, Michigan. [portfolio_slideshow] 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

Episode #28 – Luxury Econocars, Big Trucks and Malaise vs Autonomy

by Sam Abuelsamid
June 23, 2017October 31, 2018

Podcast Archives

Episode #28 - Luxury Econocars, Big Trucks and Malaise vs Autonomy

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This week Dan and Sam return to the Ford F-250 Super Duty which Dan is now driving and compare it to the Chevy Silverado 2500. They also talk about BMW’s $100,000 economy car, the 740e plug-in hybrid. Topics include the departure of Travis Kalanick from Uber, the 2017 edition of J.D. Power’s Initial Quality Study and a bunch of listener questions including a recommendation of the Mazda6 and contemplation of which is worse, the malaise era or the coming autonomy era? Links 2017 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study Results 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

Episode #27 – Jags That Burn Oil On Purpose, Cars That Are Too Good and Some That Aren’t

by Sam Abuelsamid
June 15, 2017October 31, 2018

Podcast Archives

Episode #27 - Jags That Burn Oil On Purpose, Cars That Are Too Good and Some That Aren't

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This week we talk about a diesel powered Jaguar XF, a BMW 5 Series that so good it’s boring, the big shuffle at Uber, whether car makers will be the tier 1 suppliers to the tech industry for automated driving and answer a whole bunch of listener questions including some background on Sam’s engineering career. Carmakers Could Be Tier 1 Suppliers To Tech Companies For Autonomous Buick HiPer Strut Suspension Changes at Uber Do Driver’s Cars Matter Anymore? Increasing Collaboration Between Auto and Tech is Better For Everyone 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

Episode #26 – Smokeless Launches and Exhausted Patents

by Sam Abuelsamid
June 9, 2017October 31, 2018

Podcast Archives

Episode #26 - Smokeless Launches and Exhausted Patents

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This week, Dan and Sam talk about driving the BMW 530i, Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit, Ford Escape Platinum and Acura NSX. Then they dive into how a printer patent case might impact the future of automated driving, the Acura NSX racing program and insuring Teslas. Guest: Art St. Cyr, President Honda Performance Development Links: SCOTUS ruling limits patent exhaustion Lawyers not ethicists will solve trolley problem Acura NSX launch control Tesla Insurance Premiums 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

Launching A Hybrid Supercar – The 2017 Acura NSX

by Sam Abuelsamid
June 6, 2017July 26, 2018

It seems like a lifetime ago that I first took a stab at developing control algorithms for a new traction control system on a heated asphalt strip near the arctic circle in northern Sweden. The specific piece I was working on didn’t have a separate name in those days, it wasn’t until much later that it became commonly known as launch control. 24 years and countless launches later, I was back at a strip of asphalt in southeast Michigan to sample the way Honda engineers have tackled the same problem with the new Acura NSX. Read the rest of the article at Forbes [portfolio_slideshow] 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

Episode #25 – Aging Trucks, New Crossovers, Vintage Convertibles and Cheap EVs

by Sam Abuelsamid
May 31, 2017October 31, 2018

Podcast Archives

Episode #25 - Aging Trucks, New Crossovers, Vintage Convertibles and Cheap EVs

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This week Dan and Sam discuss lots of listener comments and questions throughout the show. Dan has spent the week with the Toyota Tundra and advises a listener to look elsewhere for their hauling needs. Sam has the new Chevrolet Equinox and also discusses his new acquisition, a 1990 Mazda Miata. In the ongoing Uber saga, former Google engineer Anthony Levandoski is now also a former Uber engineer as the ride-hailing leader fires him. The guys discuss invisible Camrys, electric vehicle conversions, autonomous shuttles and whether it is worth buying a cheap used Fiat 500e. links Uber Fires Anthony Levandoski Toyota Tundra review Autonomous Shuttles 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

Episode #24 – Hauling, Firing, Hiring, Renting and Banning

by Sam Abuelsamid
May 23, 2017October 31, 2018

Podcast Archives

Episode #24 - Hauling, Firing, Hiring, Renting and Banning

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This week Dan and Sam discuss driving the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, hauling decking materials with the new aluminum bodied Ford F250 Super Duty and hauling ass in the Shelby GT350. In the news since the last episode, Lyft will be testing Waymo’s minivans in addition to Chevy Bolts, Theresa May wants to ban internal combustion engines by 2050 and the first two salaried job losses are announced at Ford as Mark Fields and Ray Day head for the door. Last week Sam was speaking at the Connected and Autonomous Vehicles conference in Santa Clara, Calif. and the chance to talk with Tom Wang, chief product officer of Turo and Peter Rawlinson, CTO of Lucid. Links British Conservatives Propose Banning ICEs by 2050 Ford CEO and Comms VP Lose Their Jobs Ford’s Big Management Shuffle Is About Changing Perceptions Lyft and Waymo Hook Up. 2017… Read More »Episode #24 – Hauling, Firing, Hiring, Renting and Banning

Episode #23 – The Anti-Demon, Midsize Pickups, VW Ads & Ditching The Past

by Sam Abuelsamid
May 10, 2017October 31, 2018

Podcast Archives

Episode #23 - The Anti-Demon, Midsize Pickups, VW Ads & Ditching The Past

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On this week’s edition, Dan and Sam discuss whether Fiat might have a better Miata than Mazda with the 124 Spider and whether midsized pickups like the GMC Canyon Denali might be too compromised to be truly useful. Volkswagen has some interesting new ads aimed at attracting buyers to the new Atlas SUV and the brand in general as it tries to recover from the diesel emissions scandal. Sam expounds on why stand-alone ride-hailing services are probably doomed and then the team ponders why Delphi is splitting itself up to leave powertrain systems behind. Dan interviews one of the masterminds behind GM’s latest 6.6-liter Duramax V8 and we address a listener question about diesel particulate filters. 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