Lucid vs. Tesla

How do you know who is faster?  A Model S Plaid or a Lucid Air?  How about a good ole fashion drag race?  That’s what YouTuber DragTimes did.  I won’t spoil the video, but it’s pretty amazing the performance of these two vehicles.  One clearly comes out on top, but I don't know if that would sway me to go for one over the other.  There aren’t many cars on the road that could beat either.  Which car do you think is the fastest?

Electric Vehicles

What was the top-selling EV in the U.S. in 2021?  Gotta be a Tesla, right?   The top-selling EV only has two wheels and it is e-bikes.  Americans bought 652,000 electric cars in 2021 and bought 790,000 e-bikes.

In other EV News

• What’s the secret behind GM and Ford’s strategies to encourage widespread EV adoption?  A lot of money? Investing $65 billion in cash between the two companies.  
• Switzerland wants to take over as the top EV trendsetting country.    In 2021, Switzerland announced that electric cars were sold more than any other type of vehicle (gasoline, diesel, hybrid) in the country. Specifically, the Model 3 ruled all car sales of which 5,072 units were sold.
• China’s electric vehicle industry is doing something right because the Chinese auto market has announced another record-breaking month for plug-in electric vehicle sales. Fully electric vehicles were responsible for 83% of the plug-in market in December, slightly above the 81% average in 2021.
• If investing $35 billion in cash wasn’t enough for you, GM has announced their plan to invest $6.5 billion in electric vehicle plants in Michigan, teaming up with LG Energy Solution. 
• Bentley is striving to become a fully electric brand by 2030, and they plan to invest $3.4 billion over the next decade to achieve that goal. The money will go towards enhancing their only assembly facility in Crewe, England to ensure their first EV will be produced in 2025. 

Autonomous Snapshots

Small pods from Einride are replacing GE Appliances’ tractor-trailers at their Appliance Park in Louisville. By replacing their tractor-trailers with autonomous technology, GE’s goal is to save 970 tons of CO2 emissions in the first year.

In Other AV News

• Get ready…. LG Electronics has announced its plan to display its version of it’s self-driving model next month. The company will have a concrete model of the Omnipod, an autonomous home on wheels. The vehicle will be displayed at the Mobility Fair at the COEX convention center in Seoul. Such a perfect Valentine’s Day present for all the autonomous lovers out there.
• BMW’s latest patent has revealed the company’s plan in designing a yoke steering wheel for its autonomous vehicles. According to the blueprint, the steering wheel can be folded away when the self-driving feature is triggered. The spokes at the sides of the wheel swivel and remain upright.
• The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) will create “safeguard ratings for partial automation” for Level 2+ autonomous capable vehicles in vehicles such as Tesla, Volvo, and GM. The grading comes in four rankings: good, acceptable, marginal and poor. The hope is that IIHS’s monitoring will encourage good driving habits to decrease safety issues on the road.
• GM plans to produce a “personal autonomous vehicle” by mid-decade. With GM’s other autonomous vehicle production plans for the next couple years, analysts aren’t sure if a personal autonomous vehicle will be similar to other cars in their fleet, or a whole new concept. We’re excited to learn more!