The TechMobility Podcast
Welcome to The TechMobility Podcast, your ultimate source for authentic insights, news, and perspectives at the nexus of mobility and technology. We're all about REAL FACTS, REAL OPINIONS, and REAL TALK! From personal privacy to space hotels, if it moves or moves you, we're discussing it! Our weekly episodes venture beyond the conventional, offering a unique, unfiltered take on the topics that matter. We're not afraid to color outside the lines, and we believe you'll appreciate our bold approach!
The TechMobility Podcast
EV Infrastructure Challenges, Ford Ranger Raptor Review, The Mobile Service Department, and What is a Self-Driving Car?
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The electric vehicle landscape in America faces a pivotal moment as the suspension of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Funding Formula Program puts $1.5 billion of charging station development on hold. As public funding stalls, private solutions emerge with major automakers adopting Tesla's charging standard to give their customers access to the reliable Supercharger network. Meanwhile, new EVs continue pushing range boundaries beyond 450 miles, challenging traditional concerns about electric mobility.
Taking center stage in our vehicle spotlight, the Ford Ranger's evolution from a compact pickup introduced in 1983 to today's muscular Raptor variant showcases how far truck technology has advanced. The latest Raptor delivers 405 horsepower, purpose-built suspension systems, and advanced drive modes that transform it into a genuine off-road performer ready to tackle any terrain.
Dealership service departments are undergoing their own revolution by bringing maintenance directly to customers' homes and workplaces. Several manufacturers, including Stellantis and General Motors, are developing mobile service options that eliminate the hassle of dealership visits for routine maintenance. GM's innovative Mobile Service Plus subscription offers this convenience for $599 over three years – but as EVs with minimal maintenance requirements become more common, will this business model prove sustainable?
The autonomous vehicle conversation continues evolving, with different levels of self-driving technology becoming increasingly relevant. While truly autonomous personal vehicles remain challenging to perfect due to unpredictable conditions and situations, practical applications in trucking and ride-hailing services are already becoming reality in cities like San Francisco, Phoenix, and Austin.
Ready to join the mobility technology conversation? Call our TechMobility hotline at 872-222-9793 or email talk@techmobilityshow to share your thoughts on these rapidly evolving transportation innovations.
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Welcome to the Tech Mobility Podcast.
Speaker 2:I'm Ken Chester On the docket, my review of the Ford Ranger SuperCrew, raptor, pickup truck Dealers and automakers, bring the service department to you. And what's a self-driving car? We revisit that. It's been a while and, for those of you that have not been with us a long time, we will break that down so you have a more complete understanding of what that means To join the conversation, be it to ask a question, share an opinion or even suggest a topic for a future program. Call or text the Tech Mobility hotline, that number, 872-222-9793. Or, if you prefer, you can email the show directly and that's talk at techmobilityshow. At techmobilityshow. And also, please be sure to like, subscribe and follow us on social media, our YouTube channel and our two podcasts, the Tech Mobility Podcast and Tech Mobility Topics From the Tech Mobility News Desk.
Speaker 2:I've talked a lot about the challenges of EV adoption in the United States. We've talked about the sad state of EV chargers being available. We've talked about level two chargers, level three chargers. I even documented a little over a year ago, my trip to Chicago with an EV, which is 359 miles, and the drama I had to go through using all the way high-speed chargers, and how it still added three hours to my trip, it still took an hour in each location and I was late. Even adding four hours to my trip, I was still late for where I was going, predominantly because in order to hit the chargers I had to go out of the way and I spent an hour at each charger one hour to get fully charged. That was not okay. I told you at the time that I fully expect, with the activity going on and recently passed legislation, that the EV network would be built out and that it would be built out with level three chargers, which are what we call fast chargers or high speed chargers, and that generally the reputation and the availability and the condition of those charges would improve. And I likened it to back in the day. This is about 25, 30 years ago.
Speaker 2:Most of y'all if you are younger than 30, you probably don't remember the days of dial up to get to the Internet. But you literally dial up and walk away. It would take 10 or 15 minutes. Up and walk away, it would take 10 or 15 minutes. And most of us subscribe to America Online, which was the equivalent of what a lot of folks said the internet on training wheels. It wasn't exactly the internet, but was sort of the internet, and the first thing you usually heard once you got connected was you've got mail. That was a big deal. Then came broadband, then came speeds, then came being able to download gigabytes of information in seconds. And we were back in the day trying to upload megabytes of information in minutes. You just had no idea. I likened the current state of the EV charging in the United States a lot like internet access back in the late 90s. It was improving, but at the time it was horrid, it was bad, it was slow, it wasn't reliable, it took forever. And, yeah, having a 56K modem oh, those are the days that thing shoot, wouldn't download 3% of what's on your phone.
Speaker 2:Right now, with the recent change in administration, one of the things that happened was that the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Funding Formula Program got suspended and that means that all new NEVI funding approvals put $1.5 billion in previously available funding in limbo. That means that any projects that were being funded with this money came to a screeching halt. It also means at the state level that was being funded with this money came to a screeching halt. It also means at the state level it will severely impact the ability to build out the charging network because it was a public-private event. There was public money that helped, there was private money that came with it and there were rules. If you've got the public money, there are certain rules to make sure that these were available to the public. In terms of hours uptime, there are a whole set of metrics that were required. Unfortunately, that stopped cold.
Speaker 2:That formula required, in its uniqueness, that the Secretary of Transportation had to approve a plan for each state describing how the state intends to use its NEVI funds. Every state had to file a plan with the Federal Highway Administration, with the Federal Highway Administration. And that formula requires that state DOT plans be developed in accordance with guidance by the US Secretary of Transportation on how the states are to strategically deploy electric vehicle charging network. And that was the deal. But suspending that means that one one plans ain't going forward, although it does allow at least it did at the time reimbursement of exiting obligations not to disrupt current financial commitments on Nevi funded projects. However, no new obligations can occur until the agency's review of the contracts are complete. To give you an idea, under the original financing, the initial rollout announced $5 billion allocation toward developing alternative fuel corridors for EV fast charging stations along 79,000 miles of roads, and that first funded project was a charging station that started construction in 2023 along Interstate 70 west of Columbus, while other projects were announced in Hawaii, maine, colorado, alaska and Kentucky. This review will include public comment period before it's renewed. State planners will also receive new instructions on projects for all fiscal years.
Speaker 2:According to the agency memo, these projects take time. You've got to engineer the plans. You've got to develop site plans. You've got to get the plans approved. You've got to work with. You got to develop site plans. You got to get the plans approved. You got to work with the local utility to arrange for power. You got to order all this equipment. You got to prepare the site to take it. Then you got to build it. Then you got to test it. Then it's ready and you could be looking at a year and a half, two years with all the moving parts to get it approved, funded, built and open to the public. Any delay like this takes it slows stuff down.
Speaker 2:Now some of this has been mitigated by a number of automakers in the last two to three years who made announcements that they would adopt the Tesla standard in order for their new EVs to be able to be charged on the Tesla supercharging network and, regardless of how you feel about the company, that charging network is the most reliable in the country, the most uptime, it's everywhere. They built it out themselves. I have one three miles from my home, across the street from the local utilities EV charging station, and when I go past it it's usually anywhere from one to three or four vehicles at the Tesla supercharging network station. And bear in mind I am in a suburb of Des Moines, iowa, just off the interstate. We're not necessarily a hotbed of EV activity, yet there are two Tesla supercharger locations in Metro Des Moines One on the east side near me, the other one on the west side on the way out of town, and they're almost always busy.
Speaker 2:So where do we go from here? Is this a death knell to the EV industry? Does this put it in a toilet? Does this finally stop the adoption of electric vehicles? If you are of the old assumption that people buy EVs just because they're being ecologically correct, then you've never driven an EV. It is so incredibly much more than that now no fluids, no maintenance, fewer moving parts, way reliable, thousands of miles and with these fast chargers, even if you owned a Lucid Air. Right now you can charge a Lucid Air in minutes and you go 520 miles EPA certified between charges, and that's going to become more the norm than the exception. New vehicles are up over 400 miles now. In fact. The new Silverado EV from Chevrolet is 450 miles. The new Cadillac Escalade IQ 460 miles. It's coming. This is the story of two trucks with one name Ford Ranger. My impressions and review are next. You are listening to the Tech Mobility Show.
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Speaker 2:Social media is the main place to be these days, and we are no exception. I'm Ken Chester of the Tech Mobility Show. If you enjoy my program, then you will also enjoy my weekly Facebook videos, from my latest vehicle reviews to timely commentary of a variety of mobility and technology-related topics. These short features are designed to inform and delight you. Be sure to watch, like and follow us on Facebook. You can find us by typing the Tech Mobility Show in the search bar. Be sure to subscribe to our Facebook page. Social media is the place to be these days. We're no exception. I'm ken chester, the tech mobility show. If you enjoy my program, then you will also enjoy my weekly instagram videos, from the latest vehicle reviews to timely commentary on a variety of mobility and technology related topics. These short features are designed to inform and delight you be sure to watch, like and follow us on Instagram. You can find us by typing the Tech Mobility Show in the search bar.
Speaker 2:For those of you that listen to podcasts, we have just the one for you. Hi, I'm Ken Chester. Tech Mobility Topics is a podcast where I upload topic-specific videos each week, shorter than a full show. These bite-sized programs are just the thing, particularly if you're interested in a particular topic covered on the weekly radio show, from Apple Podcasts to iHeartRadio and many podcast platforms in between. We got you covered. Just enter Tech Mobility Topics in the search bar, wherever you listen to podcasts not too many people are into truck fishing.
Speaker 5:Most people still use poles. That's fine with me, but if you're after some monster fish, you gotta use one of these. A 1994 ford ranger 4x4. Come on, come on, complete with push button, four-wheel drive, a nice wide stance and a whopping four liter v6.
Speaker 2:So sink your boat, go truck fishing, get a ford ranger 4x4 and get serious ah, but ford, it's not a dodge dakota with a v8, though any case, truck fishing you, I gotta paint this for you. He's got a line wrapped around his truck, the bed of the truck, and then he's putting the bait out there because he wants to get a big fish, and when he gets the bite he hops in the truck and drives away and pulls the fish out literally, and at the end of the commercial it's just big old fish on the scale and everything, because he got it with his ranger and they did some other. I think, oh yeah, truck bowling is another ad that they had that year where they got big bowling pins and they take the truck to the top of the hill and release this big bowling ball from the back of the Ranger and it goes down the hill. Yeah, big deal, big vehicle, but honestly, big vehicle. But honestly.
Speaker 2:This review is really a story about two pickup trucks named Ford Ranger and, as I alluded to just a second ago, I'm talking about the first one. And the first one, which is a compact, was introduced in early 1982 for the 1983 model year and it was domestically produced and it was developed as a replacementda-sourced Ford Courier that sold in North America from 1972 to 1982. And it would be kind of messed up because later on, mazda would actually source their B-series truck from Ford and actually run Rangers as Mazdas. It was kind of a reversal, but that's neither here nor there. The original compact Ford Ranger was discontinued after 2011, and it was built by the Twin Cities Assembly Plant, which was located in the Highland Park residential neighborhood in St Paul, minnesota, on the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River. If you did not know that plant was there, you'd have never found it. I mean, it was buried in the middle of a major residential neighborhood Way cool. The reason why they built it there is they could damn the Mississippi get cheap hydroelectric power to run the plant and would you believe, that hydroelectric dam is still working and it was sold in 2008 to a power company. And, yes, the plant got demolished. I was there a few years later. I did get a picture of the sign, but they'd already started tearing the plant down and by the time you hear this, no doubt it's probably in the throes of redevelopment for commercial and residential properties. For the record, the final Ford Ranger in that plant was built on December 16, 2011. No telling what it looks like now.
Speaker 2:The Ford Ranger nameplate would remain dormant in the north american market from 2012 to 2018, and the reason why I say it that way is that there was a maza derivative being sold in the rest of the world that was not based on this original truck. It was actually based on a mazda plan, but they didn't sell it here and ford teased for years that you know we might bring this one back, but we're going to do it. And then, with their last set of negotiations with the UAW before this set, they kind of said, yeah, we will bring it back and we'll build it in the United States For the 2019 model year. Ford made good on that promise and a fourth generation was introduced was introduced. It was designed by Ford Australia, and the all-new Ranger is now a mid-sized pickup truck riding on a revised version of the company's T6 vehicle architecture. The new Ranger is produced by Ford at its Michigan assembly plant in Wayne, michigan, and that's off of US Highway 12, by the way, for 2024, ford introduced the Ranger Raptor, the most powerful high-performance and off-road capable Ranger pickup truck ever Race, proven in the Baja 1000,.
Speaker 2:Ranger Raptor joins the Raptor family of high-performance, off-road capable vehicles, including the F-150 Raptor, the F-150 Raptor R and the Bronco Raptor. Designed and engineered by Ford Performance, the Ranger Raptor takes off-road capability to the next level. My impressions for this review are just for the Ranger SuperCrew Raptor. Power for this unique truck is generated by a 3-liter EcoBoost gasoline V6 that makes 405 horsepower and 430 foot-pounds of torque. That's a lot. Torque is communicated through a 10-speed select-shift automatic transmission paired with an advanced four-wheel drive system, a new electronically controlled on-demand two-speed transfer case and front and rear locking differentials for improved off-road traction. Epa fuel economy numbers yes, they are 16 city, 18 highway. I didn't stutter, that's for real. Payload capacity is 1,375 pounds. Towing capacity is 5,510 pounds.
Speaker 2:The Ranger Raptor is built on a BP foundation, taking the Ranger's fully boxed frame up a notch by reinforcing the front frame rails, front shock towers, rear shock brackets, suspension mounting points and other key areas, so Ranger Raptor can handle more demanding conditions. As you may expect, the Ranger Raptor employs a purpose-built suspension system and includes lightweight aluminum upper and lower control arms and a long travel rear suspension with a Watts linkage and trailing arms for control and confidence on or off-road. The standard Fox live valve internal bypass system changes damping performance based on Ranger Raptor's available drive modes. These modes include normal, tow haul, sport, slippery, off-road, rock crawl and Baja. Each selectable drive mode appropriately adjusts the tuning of the engine transmission, abs calibration, traction control, steering, throttle response and even the instrument cluster and touchscreen look and information, and this is something that's unique to Raptors. The active valve exhaust system can also be tuned several modes, including quiet, normal, smart and Baja. You can change how this thing makes noise Gimmicky, I don't know. The Ranger Raptor also comes with trail control, so drivers can navigate tricky spots while the truck manages throttle and brakes.
Speaker 2:Here's what I liked about the vehicle, and where do I even begin. Its aggressive exterior stance, heightened body, its off-road bona fides. That's just for starters. The Ranger Raptor is a true muscular performer. Just the commanding you need if you're serious about off-roading, and by that I mean that the way forward is more of a suggestion than a road or even a path. Real deal BFGoodrich, all-traction, ta, off-road tires, fog lights and plenty of switches for personal device customization adds to the aura of being ready for anything.
Speaker 2:Underweight, the Ranger Raptor is smooth, responsive and solid. Benefits of the advanced powertrain and traditional body-on-frame truck construction. And should the driver get in over their head on the trail or deep in the bush. Four tow hooks two in the front, two in the rear are designed to offer alternatives in a worst-case scenario. Inside the passenger cabin, the driver enjoys an elevated outward view. The front seats are heated and cooled. A heated steering wheel is standard. The large center-mounted infotainment screen is easy to read and use. Seating is comfortable and supportive front and rear. Here's what I didn't like about the vehicle. Despite the wide door openings and fixed running boards, there are no hand grips which would help with climbing in the seats. The seats are not heated in the rear, the carbon floor is not flat and the rear seat only folds up as one piece, limiting the versatility of the rear seating area. So what's the bottom line? The Ford Ranger Raptor joins a small but impressive list of purpose-built trucks I've reviewed over the last several years, and several immediately come to mind Chevy, colorado, toyota Tacoma and the Jeep Gladiator Mojave. They're good, and this is one of them. Dealerships and automakers are working to bring the service department to your home or office.
Speaker 2:This is the Tech Mobility Show. Do you listen to podcasts? Seems that most people do. Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the Tech Mobility Show. If you've missed any of our weekly episodes on the radio. Our podcast is a great way to listen. You can find the Tech Mobility Podcast just about anywhere you can enjoy podcasts. Be sure to follow us from Apple Podcasts, iheart Radio and many platforms in between. We are there. Just enter the Tech Mobility Podcast in the search bar. Wherever you listen to podcasts, social media, it's the place to be, and we're no exception. Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the Tech Mobility Show. Several times a week, I post to TikTok several of the topics that I cover on my weekly radio show. It's another way to keep up on mobility technology news and information. I've built quite a library of short videos for your viewing pleasure, so be sure to watch, like and subscribe. That's the Tech Mobility Show on TikTok. Check it out.
Speaker 2:Customer service when it comes to going to the dealership, most consumers have a negative view. From having to wait for the vehicle to be serviced or being shuttled to or from home or work to even perhaps dealing with a loaner vehicle, it just seems to be more hassle than it's worth. With this in mind, a growing number of new car dealers, along with their manufacturers, are reimagining the entire service experience. In some cases, they're bringing a mobile version of the shop to the consumer on their terms. This is topic B Stellantis and a few other automakers General Motors, ford and even Nissan are developing a mobile solution for routine repairs. Troubleshooting that they can do at the owner's home place of business or somewhere else the owner's home place of business or somewhere else. I think that, taking a page out of the notebook of Safe Flight Glass Company, where they come to you, automakers see another profit stream and that makes sense, depending on how you approach this.
Speaker 2:Automakers have kind of different approaches for their dealer buy-in. In the case of Stellantis they've been doing it a while and they kind of let the dealer pick the service vehicle and make it available. It doesn't show that in the case of Stellantis that there is a fee, an additional fee, to do that. To come to the house and it talked about this one particular dealer who was doing it San Marcos Chrysler, dodge, jeep, ram. They're in Texas and they talked at length about right now they're averaging from just in a few months to 25 jobs a week. And you know they're doing oil changes, they're changing wipers, you know light stuff, maybe troubleshooting error codes, things like that that they're doing and it's working. The flip side to this for the dealer is freeing up their service bays from the routine stuff so that they can make more money by having more bays available for the more complicated if it's warranty work or repair work that pays big money those bays are now open, that talent is now available for them to maximize that. So it becomes a win-win.
Speaker 2:If you just need to get your oil changed, wipers changed or some kind of I don't want to say minor but routine stuff, the mobile vehicle right now is where they're going. It looks like that they may in time get a little deeper into more stuff, but right now that's what's going on. But here's a question that just hit me and I'm going to share it with you. With new vehicles these days, a lot of those so-called repairs are what we call OTA or over the air Stuff that you would have to bring into the dealership to either reprogram or they'd have to come to you, plug into your computer and reprogram it no longer needed. So even as Stellantis, nissan, general Motors roll out these mobile service departments that are able to come to the customer, will these just be a moment in the scheme of things? Evs don't need maintenance. There's no oil to change, there's very little that goes wrong with them and anything major that needs to happen they can do through an over-the-air update that does not require the dealer, you to go to the dealer or the dealer to come to you. You can update it right in your own driveway with no hands-on by anybody. So, while this is great that they are reaching out to the consumer, wouldn't you agree that this could be kind of diminishing returns for the dealers over a period of the next 15 years as more and more EVs come in?
Speaker 2:Because, let's face it, folks, regardless of what's happening for these next four years, the manufacturers are dialed in. They have spent tens, if not hundreds, of billions of dollars to get to this point, and I've told you many times that one. Auto manufacturing is a very capital-intensive business with very long lead times. These folks design stuff for five or six years from now, knowing that they've got to release contracts in two to three years and they've got to verify the safety attributes of the vehicle. All of that is testing, engineering, marketing, time, allocate the plants, order the equipment for the plants, get the equipment in there, do the test, builds, verification. All of that takes time and millions, if not billions, of dollars, and all of that takes time and millions, if not billions, of dollars and tens of thousands of folks and thousands of suppliers. This is awesome.
Speaker 2:Gm takes a little more involved approach for new dealers. They're offering their BrightDrop EV van and they actually charge consumers for the privilege of being able to have mobile service. But I believe it's just coverage. You pay once you're done. In the case of GM, they call it Mobile Service Plus. It costs $599 for three years of coverage for Chevy, buick and GMC customers and $799 for four years of Cadillac, because the brand provides an additional year of bumper-to-bumper coverage. The beautiful part about how GM does this is it can be included in the purchase price of the vehicle's optional content, or the consumers can buy a Mobile Service Plus subscription after their purchase and customize the coverage from one to four years. The beautiful part is GM says dealerships can also provide the service to non-subscribers with the ability to charge a convenience fee if they wish.
Speaker 2:So let me paint this for you in the case of GM, because I own a Chevy Equinox. Wouldn't it be awesome if I bought the thing new and they sold this to me? Knowing that oil changes and minus stuff, I can have them come to the house. I don't have to fool with making time to go to the dealer. I've got this coverage. The only question I've got is if I pay $599 for three years, exactly what am I getting? How much repair work does that cover and at what level? I mean, obviously, major stuff would either be warranty or I'd be out of pocket. If it's out of warranty, what does it cover? And the article doesn't really get into that, but if it was decent enough, it'd be worth it.
Speaker 2:But if I bought an EV, would I want it Because I don't need oil changes and tire rotation and wipers? No, not $599 worth. So if I bought an internal combustion engine vehicle, there's some value there. If I buy an EV, like maybe a 2025 Chevy Equinox EV, not sure that that $599 would be worth me spending because I'd have to see in detail exactly since I have no fluids to change, no belts, none of that. Then what exactly are you offering me for a vehicle with few moving parts? What exactly am I getting at my home if I buy this mobile service plus? What does it do for me?
Speaker 2:So, yes, it's great right now and certainly as these vehicles age, it will be worth it for some folk. But if it's only good for the first three to four years and you're going to see a tipping point, probably in about two to three years, where the majority of the vehicles the automakers sell are not gasoline or diesels. Then the question is does this still have value? And that's the question the market's going to answer and we'll follow that story to see if this is something that's going to catch fire that consumers relate to, because GM already has history. They have OnStar and they have SiriusXM. I pay for both gladly, because if I get in an accident, I want to make sure I've got somebody coming for me, particularly out here in the countryside, because you can end up in a ditch and nobody finds you. It's happened to some people, so that makes it worth its while. It's been over eight years since we've defined the self-driving car. It's time to revisit.
Speaker 2:We are the Tech Mobility Show. To learn more about the Tech Mobility Show, start by visiting our website. Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the Tech Mobility Show. The website is a treasure trove of information about me and the show, as well as where to find it on the radio across the country. Keep up with the happenings of the Tech Mobility Show by visiting techmobilityshow. That's techmobilityshow. You can also drop us a line at talk at techmobility dot show. Did you know that TechMobility has a YouTube channel? Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the TechMobility show. Each week I upload a few short videos of some of the hot topics that I cover during my weekly radio program. I've designed these videos to be informative and entertaining. It's another way to keep up on current mobility and technology news and information. Be sure to watch, like and subscribe to my channel. That's the Tech Mobility Show on YouTube. Check it out.
Speaker 3:Are you tired of juggling multiple apps and platforms for meetings, webinars and staying connected? Look no further than AONmeetingscom, the all-in-one browser-based platform that does it all. With AONmeetings, you can effortlessly communicate with clients, host virtual meetings and webinars and stay in touch with family and friends all in one place and for one price. Here's the best part you can enjoy a 30-day free trial. It's time to simplify your life and boost your productivity. Aonmeetingscom, where innovation meets connection. Get started today and revolutionize the way you communicate.
Speaker 2:Social media is the place to be these days, and we're no exception. I'm Ken Chester of the Tech Mobility Show. If you enjoy my program, then you will also enjoy my weekly Instagram videos From the latest vehicle reviews to timely commentary on a variety of mobility and technology-related topics. These short features are designed to inform and delight you. Be sure to watch, like and follow us on Instagram. You can find us by typing the Tech Mobility Show in the search bar. Over the last 10 years, no doubt you've heard about the promise of the self-driving car, also called the autonomous car or even the robot car. But what exactly?
Speaker 2:is it and why has it been so hard to actually bring one to market for the general populace? We explore this industry white paper for a refresher. This is Topic C. When I started this program, I talked to you a lot about the different levels of autonomy, from level zero, which is manual, to level five, which is full. These original definitions were developed by the Society of Automotive Engineers, that is, the August organization that sets the standards in the automotive industry. Meanwhile, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has adopted this language and these levels as part of their documentation levels. As part of their documentation, and for the middle part of the last decade, for about three years, they were putting out an upgraded version of best practices where they were at. They also started putting out a cybersecurity addendum. The goal was to get all the stakeholders and players in the development from suppliers and automakers, designers and engineers on the same page relative to standards, consistency and development. It's been a minute and I thought, for those of you that were not part of those original conversations, that I would bring you up to date, because you know people throw around these terms a lot and I don't have time to get into everything in this white paper, so I'm kind of going to hit the highlights for you, but let me tell you this Number one you can. You can ride in a driverless car today on a street legal San Francisco, los Angeles, phoenix and Austin Texas Waymo right now, and they've been operating since then. Gm had a service they were trying to launch called Maven. That would have launched in 2018. That did not happen. Ford dabbled with it for a minute. They had a company that they had developed with Volkswagen. They kind of folded the advantage right now.
Speaker 2:The future right now for autonomous vehicles is in trucking. We've talked at length about that and what they call shared riding or ride hailers, called robo taxis. That's most likely where it's going to happen. They expect fully autonomous robo taxis to become commercial, available in more places by 2030. And they expect fully autonomous trucking, which is starting to. I mean, they've been testing autonomous trucks since 2015, and they've been evaluating them down in the great southwest part of the United States now hard for the last five or six years. There's about four or five companies have been evaluating them and they're going online starting late this year, early next year, evaluating them and they're going online starting late this year, early next year with them.
Speaker 2:Let me get back to the levels, and I'm going to work backwards. Well, no, let me start with level zero. Level zero is obvious, has no automation. Human driver performs all tasks. I'm going to skip up to the highest level, which is L5, where the vehicle is fully automated. It can operate in any environment and under all conditions without a human driver. They're the final frontier of autonomous vehicle development.
Speaker 2:And because driving a vehicle anywhere under any conditions in this great country of ours, anywhere under any conditions in this great country of ours, which you could have everything from mudslides to tornadoes, to deep snow, to ice storms, to heaven knows what else heavy traffic, crazy drivers, unpredictable pedestrians, all of that that these vehicles have to encounter. That is why it has taken so long, and you may have even seen, maybe two or three years ago so long, and you may have even seen, maybe two or three years ago, some of the YouTube videos where they literally defeated an autonomous car by putting a construction cone on its hood. It freaked it out and it stopped, didn't know what to do. Cruise automation, which GM was working with, and they've stopped doing that. A couple of their vehicles literally drove into wet cement. So there's a lot of not ready for prime time only because of the volume of information and the volume of potential things going on that these vehicles would have to process in real time that us human beings take for granted. But these vehicles would have to learn and then manipulate and know how to act in every single situation. So let me give an example, and this doesn't deal with it, but just an example, just an easy example.
Speaker 2:Up here in the Midwest we just had real severe weather about three weeks ago, to the point we had blizzard warnings. I want to know what the car would do if I want to go home and home's 30 miles away and it's a blizzard. Visibility is like zero. Some of these roads got closed. Would the vehicle attempt to deliver me because I told it to go? Would the vehicle attempt to deliver me because I told it to go, or would its internal evaluation determine that the weather is so bad that it won't go? That's a question. Who makes that decision? Can it be overridden? Am I okay with that? Because all of this is getting engineered in?
Speaker 2:Trucking is more of a slam dunk, more direct, because it's all about the freight and it's all about the money. It's all about trying to get drivers and cover the part of trucking. Nobody wants to drive, which is the long haul part. It is the long hauls over 500 miles that they're having trouble keeping and retaining drivers for a multitude of reasons. Some are aging out. It's not that attractive because you're traveling all over the place and you're never home and that wears on your psyche. Local delivery not as bad. Long distance it takes a special kind of person and most of those people are aging out of trucking and a lot of them left during the pandemic because they didn't want to be exposed to that. There's too much risk and all the dangers that come with long-haul trucking, trying to find a place to park that is safe and secure, because when you hit your hours of service and that's federal law you can only drive so many hours in 24 hours. That's law. And with electronic logbooks they can't fudge the books no more, like they did back in the day.
Speaker 2:So autonomous trucking and, like I've said before, if you've been at an airport, if you've been at a major airport and went from terminal to terminal in a vehicle, you have ridden the equivalent of a robo taxi and probably didn't realize it. There was no operator. Now it's defined. It can't crash. It's very defined. It goes here to there, but it does it on a schedule with no human intervention. There's that, and then there's this kind of hybrid.
Speaker 2:They're talking about what they call remote driving, which is there's somebody handling the autonomous vehicle from a remote location to get it from point A to point B, which may actually be kind of a compromise. But I worry about hacking, because if they can reach it remotely, what's to say somebody with ill intent couldn't reach it, and if it does, what does the vehicle do and how do you know? So I've got concerns about that. But there are five levels of automation. Level five is the holy grail. It is some ways away for personal use, but trucking and robo taxis are a thing. We've come to the end of our visit. Be sure to join me again next time, right here. This has been the Tech Mobility Show. This has been the Tech Mobility Show. This has been the Tech Mobility Show. This has been the Tech Mobility Show. This has been the Tech Mobility Show. This has been the Tech.
Speaker 1:Mobility Show. This has been the Tech Mobility Show. This has been the Tech Mobility Show.
Speaker 2:For those of you that listen to podcasts, we have just the one for you. Hi, I'm Ken Chester. Tech Mobility Topics is a podcast where I upload topic-specific videos each week. Shorter than a full show. These bite-sized programs are just the thing, particularly if you're interested in a particular topic covered on the weekly radio show. From Apple Podcasts to iHeartRadio and many podcast platforms in between, we got you covered. Just enter TechMobility topics in the search bar. Wherever you listen to podcasts, social media, it's the place to be be, and we're no exception. Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the Tech Mobility Show. Several times a week, I post to TikTok several of the topics that I cover on my weekly radio show. It's another way to keep up on mobility technology news and information. I've built quite a library of short videos for your viewing pleasure, so be sure to watch, like and subscribe. That's the Tech Mobility Show on TikTok. Check it out. To learn more about the Tech Mobility Show, start by visiting our website. Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the Tech Mobility Show. The website is a treasure trove of information about me and the show, as well as where to find it on the radio across the country. Keep up with the happenings at the Tech Mobility Show by visiting techmobilityshow. That's techmobilityshow. You can also drop us a line at talk at techmobilityshow.
Speaker 2:Do you listen to podcasts? Seems that most people do. Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the Tech Mobility Show. If you missed any of our weekly episodes on the radio, our podcast is a great way to listen. You can find the Tech Mobility Podcast just about anywhere. You can enjoy podcasts. Be sure to follow us from Apple Podcasts, iheart Radio and many platforms in between. We are there. Just enter the Tech Mobility Podcast in the search bar, wherever you listen to podcasts.
