Episode 58 – Tracking Elon, Roadway EV Charging & Cheese Freeze 2022

Welcome to the automotive podcast that finally got some reviews this week. Most of them were positive, so we’ve got that going for us… which is nice. 

On this episode of Throwin’ Wrenches: 

• We explain what the R E V in “REV Illinois” stands for.
• We discover Elon Musk’s every move is being tracked, and it’s not an Apple Air Tag that’s responsible for it.
• And we talk about the pair of South Korean cars that could pull a Milton from Office Space and “set your building on fire.”

As always, we thank you for listening and joining in the fun at info@throwinwrenches.com, on Facebook, or post a review on Apple Podcasts and make Eric happy.

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Race, Daily, Kill

Verdicts

Eric: Daily the Festiva. Race the colt. Kill the Geo.
Daryl: Race the Festiva, Daily the Metro, Kill the Colt.

Projects

Eric and Angela recently blazed through the rolling glacial hills of south-central Wisconsin in Treehugger 3.0 recently to participate in the Cheese Freeze rally for the second time. With last year’s event being cancelled due to the pandemic, the Stahl’s were eager to compete in one of the more challenging winter rallies they’ve participated in. Eric recaps the highlights and explains why this event is so much fun for Midwesterners. 

Spoiler alert: The Stahls came in 5th place in a competitive field, which is really good considering they lost some time recovering another participant in a BMW who ended up in a snow bank!

Daryl’s hibernating over the winter and ordering discounted Rock Auto parts for his various old cars. (Where’s the discount codes, Rock Auto?) He also is cooking up a plan to acquire yet another old 50’s car that doesn’t run, but made a deal to release one of their other classics into the wild if he brings this one home. Car hoarding is real.

#TWISM (This Week in Social Media)

Daryl tries to explain a funny meme about NFTs and immobile automobiles, and discovers that memes don’t translate well on a podcast.

Go figure.

Sorry, everyone.

Here it is anyway, though. It’s sorta funny, right?

Right?

Buehler? 

We’ll stick to social media topics and trends next time and skip the visuals in an audio format.

Headlines

Hyundai and Kia tell owners of nearly 500,000 vehicles to park outside due to fire risk

Source: CNN Business

Hyundai and Kia are telling owners of almost 500,000 cars and SUVs in North America to park outside and away from buildings due to a possible defect that can cause the vehicles to spontaneously catch fire even when not running. The problem is that, due to “foreign contaminants,” the anti-lock brake computer control module can short circuit and possibly start a fire in the engine compartment.

Hyundai issued a recall for 2016-2018 model year Santa Fe SUVs, 2017-2018 Santa Fe Sport SUVs, 2019 Santa Fe XL models and 2014-2015 Tucson SUVs. Kia is recalling 2016-2018 K900 sedans and 2014-2016 Sportage SUVs. In total, Hyundai is recallng 357,830 vehicles while Kia is recalling 126,747.South Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia are closely related. Hyundai Motor Group,

Hyundai’s parent company, owns a controlling interest in Kia, and the two companies share a lot of engineering in their various models. 

Japan’s Nissan swings back to profit despite chips crunch

Source: ABC News

Japanese automaker Nissan swung back into the black for the quarter through December, despite shortages of computer chips that have hit the entire industry and many other manufacturers.

Nissan Motor Co., allied with Renault SA of France, reported Tuesday a 32.7 billion yen ($284 million) profit for the fiscal third quarter, a reversal from the 37.8 billion yen loss racked up a year ago.

Strong US demand is noted to have boosted Nissan’s results this year with hefty sales of its Note compact in Japan and Pathfinder sport utility vehicle in the U.S.

A road in Detroit will charge an electric car while driving

Source: CBS News / Moneywatch

An Israeli startup plans to build about one mile of pavement in Michigan that will wirelessly charge electric vehicles as drivers roll past, marking a first-of-its-kind infrastructure project in the U.S. Electreon, based in Beit Yanai, won a contract with the state to build the charging road system near downtown Detroit, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Tuesday. 

Electreon uses special coils embedded in pavement that send magnetic frequencies to a charging pad underneath a vehicle. Whenever an electric car cruises along that pavement or stops on the road, the battery gets charged. The approach is similar to how wireless charging pads send juice to your cell phone. The coils do not react to or harm gas-powered vehicles, according to Electreon.

Biden Backs Right to Repair Movement

Source: Adapt Automotive

President Biden has become the first sitting president to give extensive comments supporting the Right to Repair movement, Vice reported.

Biden spoke at a cabinet meeting last Monday and acknowledged the anticompetitive practices that electronics manufacturers and others such as the auto industry have created over the last decade.

“Too many areas, if you own a product, from a smartphone to a tractor, you don’t have the freedom to choose how or where to repair that item you purchased,” Biden said. “It’s broke. Well, what do I do about it if it’s broke, you had to go to the dealer and you had to pay the dealer’s cost, the dealer’s price. If you tried to fix it yourself, some manufacturers actually would void the warranty.”

Biden’s speech comes on the heels of an executive order he signed in 2021 that paved the way for right-to-repair legislation in the U.S. The FTC then formally adopted a pro right-to-repair stance and began to study new enforcement mechanisms. Concerning the auto industry specifically, Massachusetts voters passed legislation in 2020 that would’ve given independent repairers access to more telematic data.

Since that vote, the legislation has been religiously litigated and remains in litigation without it taking effect.

REV Illinois – Pritzker legislation from December tazewell

Source: ILGA

Under the REV Illinois program, companies with plans to invest in a new or existing manufacturing facility for the production of EV, EV component parts, or EV power supply equipment have the opportunity to qualify for exemptions on income tax withholding, utilities tax, training, and equipment/capital costs.

Reimagining Electric Vehicles (REV) Illinois Program

​In 2021, Governor JB Pritzker and the General Assembly passed the Reimagining Electric Vehicles in Illinois Act (REV Illinois Act) into law. This groundbreaking program is designed to bolster Illinois manufacturing – already a top destination for electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing in the United States – and to grow the ecosystem to create new capacity for EV vehicle and component parts production.  This will also support our state’s bold climate change agenda, including putting 1 million EVs on the road by 2030. 

REV Illinois offers competitive incentives to expand in or relocate to Illinois for companies that manufacture EVs and EV parts (batteries, cathodes, anodes) as well as EV charging stations. The program defines EVs as vehicles exclusively powered by electricity and permitted to operate on public roadways – including cars and motorcycles.  

Under the REV Illinois program, companies with plans to invest in a new or existing manufacturing facility for the production of EV, EV component parts, or EV power supply equipment have the opportunity to qualify for exemptions on income tax withholding, utilities tax, training, and equipment/capital costs. While preparing companies to meet competitive demands for electrification – REV Illinois will also prepare Illinois communities to capture growth of the industry, which is expected to create thousands of jobs in the years ahead. 

Moment of Musk

Teen rejects Elon Musk’s $5,000 offer to shut down jet tracker

Source: NBC News

The billionaire reportedly blocked the college student, who declined to take down a Twitter bot that keeps track of his flights.

A 19-year-old Florida university student and aviation enthusiast says he rejected a $5,000 offer from Elon Musk to shut down @ElonJet, a Twitter bot he designed that tracks the comings and goings of the Tesla and SpaceX CEO’s private jet.

Tweets by ElonJet

In an interview Monday, Jack Sweeney, a University of Central Florida freshman, reported that Musk blocked him after he declined the buyout offer — but not before the two had a month-and-a-half-long dialogue.

Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment made through Tesla.

He first reached out to Sweeney on Nov. 30, according to screenshots of Twitter messages reviewed by NBC News, and Musk asked him for details about how the bot worked, remarked that air traffic control is “primitive” and said, “I don’t love the idea of being shot by a nutcase.”DEC. 13, 202103:13

Sweeney later asked Musk to “up” his $5,000 offer to $50,000, about the cost of a Tesla Model 3, which Musk considered for over a month, before Sweeney said he would also consider removing the account for an internship.

Then, some time after Jan. 23, Musk blocked him.

Sweeney said he has been interested in aviation and “everything Elon Musk and Tesla” for years before Musk reached out to him.

“He just ends up messaging me one night at, like, 1 a.m.,” Sweeney said, adding that Musk first said the bot was a security risk but provided no evidence.

Sweeney said he believed Musk “a little bit” about the security risk but that he felt that because he has a security team, any concern was “just worry.”

Cars of the Weak

Daryl: 1990 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser Station Wagon – $19,995

Source: CarGurus

A light sapphire blue 78K-mile original, this family hauler hails from Tennessee… the land where rust takes longer to vaporize good old American Iron. This final-year ‘box’ style wagon features the last carbureted V8 that GM put in a passenger car (Olds 307 with 140 horse). Largely unchanged from their 1977 downsized body style, this is the last of the breed that shuttled millions to and from work, school, baseball practice and family vacations of yesterday. Loaded with cornering lamps, deluxe wood trim and rally wheels. I LOVE this machine enough to pay the whack asking price. 

Eric: 1984 Volkswagen Vanagon Westfalia Edition – $12,995

Source: Facebook Marketplace

Eric’s got his sights set on another classic VW camper van, but this one is a little different. It’s a 1984 Volkswagen Vanagon Westfalia that has a 1.6L Turbo Diesel engine that’s not quite ready for the open road. The seller claims it needs minor work such as bleeding the clutch and a few other things… but it supposedly runs good. With ‘over $16,000 invested’  and very little rust, there’s no doubt this project would pay off with a little elbow grease. Think of all of the Rocky Mountain road trips this little Westy could have with a well-sorted drivetrain!

As always, thanks for listening and hit us up anytime at info@throwinwrenches.com or on Facebook.

We’ll catch up again soon.

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