Former GM R&D Chief Sees Self-Driving Cars In 2020

2024 was a Presidential election year, with many twists and turns, including assassination attempts and the resultant rare occurrence of a former President getting reelected, let alone one who was impeached twice and had felony convictions.  The CEO of Tesla decided to endorse the former President and made a $250 million investment in the endeavor.  This CEO also supports the end of the $7,500 EV tax credit not for the health of the EV market but because he believes Tesla would have a competitive advantage over other makers.  Despite having obvious conflicts of interest and being the beneficiary of hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies, he is heading an unofficial “Department of Government Efficiency” and is acting like a co-President. In April, a total solar eclipse brought people out to a swath of the U.S. between Texas and Maine.  In other parts of the world, strife continues in Ukraine and Gaza.  The Notre Dame Cathedral reopened after a five-year restoration after being gutted with a fire.   Prominent passings included producer Quincy Jones, actor David Soul of Starsky & Hutch fame, reporter Charles Osgood, country singer Toby Keith, disgraced baseball player and manager Pete Rose, actor and voice of Darth Vader James Earl Jones, comedian Richard Lewis, O.J. Simpson, actor Bob Newhart, actor Shannen Doherty, fitness guru Richard Simmons, talk show host Phil Donahue, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, and the 39th President, Jimmy Carter, who was the longest-lived President at 100. In automotive news, Chinese EVs are still being kept at bay due to the 100% tariffs signed in September, though Chinese automakers are looking to manufacture EVs in Mexico.  Honda and Nissan announced a merger amid the pending Chinese onslaught.  GM’s previous partnership with Honda was short-lived, with the proposed affordable EVs canceled.  Volkwagen introduced the pricey ID.Buzz but struggled with an overall lack of demand and high labor costs.  In October VW showed the upcoming EV Scout Traveler SUV and Terra pickup, due in 2028 and having intriguing solid axles.  VW and Rivian announced a joint venture in November giving Rivian some badly needed cash and VW getting software and other technology. In its first full year on the market, the Tesla Cybertruck had its supposed reservation list of 2 million completely depleted with an estimated 2% take rate on total sales of around 40k, far less than the expected annual rate of 125k to 250k, though the the $61k single motor model may go into production in late 2025.  Tesla began discounting the Cybertruck and offering free Supercharging for life for buyers of the Foundation Series models.  Overall sales for Tesla are flat, despite a major refresh to the Model 3.  The antics of the CEO have soured many on the brand, and competitors are selling viable alternatives, especially since the Supercharger network is being increasingly opened up to competing brands. Jaguar is reinventing itself into an exclusively EV brand with ultra luxury offerings.  It introduced a new logo, had an ad that was widely derided, and unveiled a cartoonish concept coupe with no rear window.  The Fisker Ocean, an EV SUV originally costing $40k to $70k, went for fire sale prices after the company filed for bankruptcy and started winding down.  Desperate vehicle owners banded together to work on getting parts and continued support for their vehicles.  Henrik Fisker moved on to work on a new venture dealing with food.  Another troubled EV startup, Canoo, is on its deathbed.  It has innovative vehicles, but the company’s executives seemed more interested in having high salaries than producing vehicles.  With EVs overall not quite catching on as expected, automakers are embracing hybrids for upcoming models, though California still plans to ban light duty ICE vehicles in 2035.  Governor Newsom announced that California would reintroduce EV rebates if the federal tax credit is canceled, but they may not apply to Teslas or other automakers that have exceeded a sales volume threshold. Stellantis was in turmoil with unhappy dealers, a sales drop of almost 20% over the previous year, and a threadbare lineup.  Dodge began sales of the Charger Daytona EV with muscle car sounds, but the car got mixed reviews.  CEO Carlos Tavares resigned near the end of the year.  The Hemi V8 was scheduled to go out of production after getting replaced by the Hurricane twin turbo V6, but it’s getting a brief reprieve, as its availability, including the Hellcat, will be continued for one additional year in the ancient Durango. Honda finally announced that the Prelude will be reintroduced in the U.S., essentially as a Civic Hybrid Coupe, after earlier announcing its reintroduction in overseas markets.  Meanwhile, Toyota has indicated that the Celica will be brought back to life. Vehicles not making it into 2025 include the Chevrolet Malibu and Infiniti Q50, making those brands all SUVs or trucks.  The entire Jaguar range except the F-Pace is gone.  Other retired models include the Mitsubishi Mirage, Mini Clubman, Ram Classic, Ford Edge, Toyota Venza, and Nissan GT-R. Here’s the 23rd annual edition of Cheers and Jeers for the best and worst things automotive in 2024: Cheers to Chevrolet for the Best New EV with the Equinox EV, which hits a sweet spot of affordability and functionality.  Originally intended to supplant the Bolt as the entry-level EV at GM, the Equinox EV can be purchased for about $30k for a basic model after the $7,500 tax credit until it’s canceled.  The Bolt EV is expected to be reborn later in 2025 using the EUV bodyshell and LFP batteries. Honorable mention goes to Honda for the GM Ultium-based Prologue, sized between the Equinox EV and Blazer EV.  It has been a surprising sales hit, and unlike the Chevy models, offers Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Cheers to Chevrolet for the Best EV Pickup with the Silverado EV, specifically the LT model with Premium Package, which has most of the content of the top-of-the-line RST model, including the midgate and Supercruise, but with 22 inch wheels that should give a better ride than the 24 inchers and a price under $80k that makes it eligible for the $7,500 tax credit.  The Silverado EV is the best all-around EV pickup for hauling, towing, and doing truck things. Cheers to Cadillac for the Best Concept with the Sollei convertible based on the Celestiq.  The Sollei isn’t particularly remarkable other than it wears the Cadillac EV design language well and has an interesting “Manila cream” color, but there were very few other interesting design concepts, as automakers do fewer of them to save on costs. Jeers to Kia for the Most Questionable Styling with the Kia K4, which replaces the Forte.  Kia has mostly been on a roll with the styling of their new vehicles, EV or ICE alike, but the looks of the K4 comes across as awkward, particularly at the C-pillar. Cheers to Rivian for the Best Vehicle Introduction with the R2, which has most of the goodness of the R1S in a smaller size and a much smaller price, estimated to start at $45k when it goes on sale in 2026.  The R2 will also have a smaller R3 sibling with an R3X performance variant. Jeers to Tesla for the Most Overhyped Vehicle, the Cybercab.  The financial types were hoping for the affordable $25k Tesla, but instead they got a weird two-seater robo-taxi with butterfly doors and no steering wheel and still no confidence that Tesla will deliver on the promise of full self-driving. More Jeers for Tesla for Worse HR Move by firing almost the entirety of the Supercharger division, which delayed many projects and opening up the Supercharging network to other automakers, and doubtlessly caused stress and hardship for the employees.  This move was made by the CEO because he was angered that the number of layoffs made by the chief of the division were too few.  After a few weeks, several of the fired staff were rehired, but not the previous chief.   2025 is off to a rough start, but wishing everyone a safe and prosperous New Year.  

A few tidbits of travel advice for the new year ... I'll keep it at three: 1. If you have a full membership at an airline travel lounge, this does not apply.  If you get but a few passes, possibly through a credit card, take note.  Do not visit these places during breakfast hours.  Do it if your connection allows for it and it's either lunch or dinner hours.  Why?  The spread at breakfast is weak.  At lunch and dinner, it makes for a filling meal.  I've used 2 passes at Houston-IAH over the last year.  There are salads with many ingredients, wraps, soups, and there can be other things such as hummus or things to fill up tortillas, etc. 2. When reserving a hotel, look for a hotel safe in the room.  Nothing is ever 100% guaranteed, but it gives a little more piece of mind.  On web sites, you will have to dig down through the list of amenities to see if one is available in each room.  You might even have to crosscheck the website with a booking site.  One may show it and the other may not.  If you're at a low-cost brand, work around this a little/lot more cautiously.  It is not admissible when a high end brand does not have these in the room.  If in a foreign location, definitely look for in-room safes.  Also, find out if it's a combination key pad because a few are still operated with small keys they give you, which is a little old fashioned and inconvenient.  In all cases, you might want to check if it can store a laptop. 3. Consider buying luggage straps for your luggage.  These not only keep luggage from opening, but they also help identify luggage.  I have black Travelpro brand luggage.  That year, AAA only had that and burgundy.  And the burgundy was more berry than burgundy, so I passed on it. In 2 cases, I've had people try to pull the smaller rollaboard off the carousel.   I was right there and told them, "Hey."  You need to hustle to baggage claim when you deplane.  The worst was a change of planes in Stockholm, a place you'd never expect this to happen.  The big piece was underneath on a shuttle bus.  At the airport, the hold was opened at each terminal.  I was sitting by the window.  Fortunately.  One stop before mine, I saw my big piece standing up outside by the curb.  I told the driver to stop.  I approached the guy and asked him WTF?  I didn't use those words, but I was steamed. I also told him it even had American Airlines tags attached to it.  He said to me, "You don't have to be an ass hole about it.  Why don't you go back there?"  He was not Scandinavian, but from the Middle East, appeared to have a Scandinavian wife and was distracted with a baby they had in a stroller.  When he did reach in for his bag, it was not even black, but the darkest possible shade of midnight blue!?!  His bag also had completely different piping and seams.  Had he taken mine, what would I have done?  Reached for the dark midnight blue one just to have a piece of luggage?   I am astounded at this because it tells me that people's ability in noticing details or understanding spatial things is a good bit less than mine.  I'm sure he was skilled, but probably in tech or commerce.  I'm sure he was also distracted. Looking on line in the last few days, the straps at Wally World are weird colors like lime or Pontiac Grand Am blue.  Fine.  These might definitely help.  Also, make sure at least 2 readable tags are attached to the luggage on the outside and there is a tag inside. Anywhere where the hatch door opens and luggage is going on or coming off during a shuttle ride, don't hesitate to step off and look into the hatch.  This was the only time this happened with the big piece, I'm sure it was accidental, and it was, of all places, in a Scandinavian location. - - - - - Safe travels in the new year and beyond.

A time or two, friends and I have been in malls and department stores and, when it was more commonly done, asked to have them page "Gus Pacho" and "Al Bondigas."  It was an American woman phone operator, but SoCal's Hispanic population is large and she obviously didn't get it.  But the end result was what we wanted ... a good laugh.

She is incredibly hot, and I loved that movie.   

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope that people with this surname reflect heavily on whether to name their offspring Michael.