BMW built the same car for gas and electric. The EV is $4,400 cheaper

I suspect this is not much more than a marketing gimmick!

However, should batteries become cheaper ...

BMW built the same car for gas and electric. The EV is $4,400 cheaper. | TechCrunch

VW in der Krise: Erstes Quartalsminus seit Dieselgate – wie schlimm wird es 2025

Sehr empfehlenswert, aber schlechte Nachrichten! Geschäft in den China und in den USA deutlich eingebrochen!

Chinese BYD’s Engine Flexes Between Ethanol, Gasoline, and Electricity in Brazil. Really!

Sounds like overkill to me! What kind of experiment is this?

"The world’s first mass-produced ethanol car, the Fiat 147, motored onto Brazilian roads in 1979. The vehicle crowned decades of experimentation in the country with sugar-cane (and later, corn-based and second-generation sugar-cane waste) ethanol as a homegrown fuel.

When Chinese automaker BYD introduced a plug-in hybrid designed for Brazil in October, equipped with a flex-fuel engine that lets drivers choose to run on any ratio of gasoline and ethanol or access plug-in electric power, the move felt like the latest chapter in a long national story.

The new engine, designed for the company’s best-selling compact SUV, the Song Pro, is the first plug-in hybrid engine dedicated to biofuel, according to Wang Chuanfu, BYD’s founder and CEO. ..."

BYD's Ethanol Hybrid EV Is an Innovation for Brazil - IEEE Spectrum "The automaker is rolling it out for the Brazilian market"

BYD’s Song Pro can run not only on electricity, but on any ratio of gasoline and ethanol as well.

President Trump to Have Approved tiny Kei Cars for U.S.

Good news!

"... While outlining how his new plans will improve the affordability of new cars in America, Trump announced that he has tasked U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy with clearing the regulatory deck to allow small cars of the sort sold in Asia, such as Japan's kei cars, to become available in the United States. ..."

President Trump Appears to Have Approved Kei Cars for U.S. [Updated] "Trump saw diminutive cars on a recent visit to Asia. Now, he wants them in the States."

Credits: The Flyover

China’s Petrol Car Push: How Beijing Is Flooding Emerging Markets with Palki Sharma

Very clever by China! Sell EVs to the foolish Western countries and gasoline powered vehicles to the rest of the world!

West Asia = Middle East

Opel Chef Huettl: „Das Angebot an bezahlbaren Kleinwagen hat durch EU-Vorschriften drastisch abgenommen“

Tolle Schlagzeile! Dem ist wenig hinzuzufügen!

Vielleicht sind das jedes Jahr dieselben Klagen, aber sie sind leider zutreffend.

Vor der Automesse IAA: Opel-Chef Florian Huettl im Interview "Müdigkeitserkennung, Spurhalteassistent oder Luftdrucksensoren: Viele Regeln der EU machen Kleinwagen teurer, sagt Opel-Chef Florian Huettl. Es stelle sich die Frage, ob das im Interesse der Mobilität für alle sein könne."

Honda and Nissan to begin merger talks amid EV competition

More consolidation and synergy in the automobile industry!

"Honda Motor and Nissan Motor will enter negotiations toward a merger, Nikkei has learned, joining their resources to better compete against Tesla and Chinese electric vehicle makers in a rapidly changing automobile industry.

Honda and Nissan are considering operating under a holding company, and soon will sign a memorandum of understanding. Their respective stakes in the new entity, as well as other details, will be decided later."

Honda and Nissan to begin merger talks amid EV competition - Nikkei Asia "Automakers eye eventual three-way tie-up with Mitsubishi as industry shifts"

Amazon, Hyundai team up to start selling cars online

Good news!

Nissan "May Not Survive" Beyond 2025 with Palki Sharma

Recommendable! 

44% The share of Americans’ cars that were 10 or more years old in 2022, up from 17% in 1977

Good news? Were these two years (especially 1977) selected for maximum effect and manipulation!

Has the quality of cars improved so much? Are new cars too expensive? Are we less reliant on cars in the age of home delivery?

"The share of Americans’ cars that were 10 or more years old in 2022, up from 16.9% in 1977, according to the Federal Highway Administration. Drivers are holding on to their vehicles for longer because car and insurance costs are higher, newer models are more expensive to repair and record-high interest rates mean pricier auto loans."

The Wall Street Journal What's news

Ford just reported a massive loss $132,000 on every electric vehicle it sold in the first three months of 2024

Wow! Is it just this car manufacturer or are others doing as well? Are traditional automakers not as capable? Ist this just a one quarter oddity?

"Ford’s electric vehicle unit reported that losses soared in the first quarter to $1.3 billion, or $132,000 for each of the 10,000 vehicles it sold in the first three months of the year, helping to drag down earnings for the company overall.

Ford, like most automakers, has announced plans to shift from traditional gas-powered vehicles to EVs in coming years. But it is the only traditional automaker to break out results of its retail EV sales. ...
And that means this is not the end of the losses in the unit - Ford said it expects Model e will have EBIT losses of $5 billion for the full year. ..."

Ford just reported a massive loss on every electric vehicle it sold | CNN Business

China sold almost 5.3 million cars in 2023, many to Russia

The axis of power! One dictatorship scratches the other dictatorship's back!

"5.26 million

The estimated number of made-in-China vehicles sold overseas last year, according to the China Passenger Car Association. Many were traditional gas-powered autos and sold in Russia. China became the world’s biggest auto exporter in part because it stepped in after the Ukraine invasion prompted Western carmakers to leave Russia."

The Wall Street Journal What's news

Israel becomes third largest importer of Chinese vehicles in the first two months of 2023

Wow! However, these are statistics only for two months so maybe special factors were at work!

"Last week the Chinese customs authority published export figures for Chinese cars in the first two months of 2023. Israel was the third largest market with 15,500 vehicles exported, behind Russia 20,100 and Mexico 18,700. Israel has leapfrogged important markets for China like Australia, Chile, Thailand and Saudi Arabia. The top Western European country on the list is France in 11th place.

The 15,500 Chinese vehicles exported to Israel in January and February 2023 represented 8.4% of all China's vehicle exports. ...
The importance of Israel for the Chinese automobile industry goes far beyond the number of vehicles sold here. For the Chinese, Israel is a developed Western market, which recognizes strict European vehicle regulations and in which Chinese manufacturers compete against well-known car brands from all over the world on an equal basis. Entering such a market is both an important symbolic achievement, and also an arena for undergoing trials in preparation for penetration into Europe, where competitive marketing and pricing tactics can be tested against dominant competitors such as Hyundai, Volkswagen, Tesla and more. ..."

Israel becomes third largest importer of Chinese vehicles - Globes The 15,500 Chinese vehicles exported to Israel in January and February 2023 was more than to the entire EU.

Russians reluctantly embrace Chinese cars. Imports to Russia of Chinese cars soar

China waists no time to sell more cars in Putin the Terrible's country while the boycott lasts!

The world's first long-distance car journey by Bertha Benz in 1888

Very recommendable! Great story telling!
Another famous couple working together!

Apparently, Bertha was also busy in the workshop helping her husband with his invention. She also sacrificed her dowry to finance her inventor husband.

The first gas station were pharmacies on the famous 100 kilometer long trip. After she returned from this trip she reminded her husband that the car needed another gear so the car could go uphill.  

Trends In Self Driving Vehicles

Posted: 7/9/2017

It appears the realization of self driving vehicles on our streets and in our lives will first happen with commercial trucks (like the T-Pod truck made by Swedish startup Einride, see e.g. here) and with vehicles driving in warehouses.

China may also be using self driving buses for public transportation in e.g. cities.

Once this is generally accepted and the insurance questions are settled, I bet we consumers will finally get a chance to buy one in a few years.

Laser Ignition For Automobiles

Posted: 2/17/2015

Trigger

Just read Lasers Could Boost Engine Efficiency by 27%. This is another great example that human ingenuity knows no bounds. This article is about a modern replacement for the spark plug and significant improvements in fuel efficiency.

Lasers In The Combustion Chamber

Not just one perhaps multiple lasers focusing at the center of the chamber or any other point: “This results in a much more complete burn, so you get more bang for your buck, literally. Also, lasers can be fired with nanosecond timing (multiple times per combustion cycle if necessary), and even targeted at different areas of the combustion chamber.”

Repeal Big Governments Rear View Camera Mandate

Trigger

Just read “NHTSA’s Rearview Camera Mandate”.

Living In A Nanny State Like The U.S.

For decades, the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) and/or the federal government have been meddling way too much with the automobile sector of the U.S. This agency has issued tons and tons of regulations to strangulate the industry and to stymie innovation.

As if the federal government is still reading Ralph Nader’s controversial book “Unsafe at any speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the American Automobile” published in 1965 every 24 hours.

What’s Wrong With Rear Camera Mandate?

Short answer: A lot!

As is often the case, it sounds convincing at first!

Simply unconstitutional! It is a violation of private property rights and freedom of contract for the purported benefit of more safety.

Second, by promulgating such a federal mandate future innovation will be stifled. What if lasers or radar turns out to be better?

Finally, and not least important let the consumers decide and demand whether they want such a feature or not. I personally like a rear view camera. It has its benefits.

Both Thumbs Up For The VW Workers Of Chattanooga, TN

Trigger

The big news of Friday last week (2/14/2014) was the loss the United Auto Workers labor union suffered at the VW plant in Chattanooga, TN. See e.g. here. Best of all, the VW company even signed an unusual neutrality agreement before the election.

Summary

Labor unions should be stripped of all legal privileges they currently still enjoy.

The NLRB (National Labor Relations Board)  should be dissolved at the earliest.

If labor unions want to set wages and work rules they are free to establish their own companies (e.g. employee owned) or cooperatives as many as they wish.

An employer like VW should be free to set up e.g. works councils without the interference of labor unions or the government.

Previous, Related Blog Posts

Here, here, and here.

Inventor Of Gun Powder Wins European Car Crash Test

Trigger

These days, I read following article published in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung titled “Chinesen erzielen Höchstnote bei Crashtest” (German language) dated 9/25/2013.

The article reports that for the first time a Chinese car manufacturer, i.e. Qoros,  scored the highest rating in the European crash test called EuroNCAP-Crashtest. According to the article Qoros has hired leading European managers to achieve this result.

Import

This is just another breathtaking example how fast Chinese companies are moving and how competitive they can be.

If I was a CEO of a Western car maker I would have some sleepless nights. Only a few years ago Chinese car makers failed miserably in this European car test. Not anymore!

Good times for consumers since more choices means cheaper and better cars. The exclusive club of European and US car makers is coming to an end. Where are the Indians and Brazilians?