Out of Spec Podcast

Join Francie today as she touches on the topic of funding to repair EV infrastructure. Millions of dollars are pouring into fixing temporarily unavailable EV chargers - whose responsibility should it be to fix them? She discusses the requirements for funding eligibility, repairs and replacements, EV school busses, the EV workforce, and more. Links used to support today's show: - Biden Admin Fact S...

In this podcast episode, Francie explores the recent industry shifts as Polestar trims its workforce by 15%, and Volvo takes a strategic step to divest in Polestar. Listeners can anticipate an in-depth analysis of the implications of these decisions on the electric vehicle landscape. Join Francie as she navigates through the intricate details, examines industry reactions, and provides insights int...

Explore this episode of the Out of Spec Podcast where Francie breaks down Ford's game-changing move to hook up their EV customers with Tesla Supercharger network adapters “soon.” Get the lowdown on the details of Jim Farley’s announcement, what it means for the Ford EV squad, and hang out with Liv and Patrick from  @MachE_VLOG  as they chat about their ride, what they love most about thi...

Join Francie and Nathan King, CEO and co-founder of itselectric - Brooklyn-based startup itselectric, who provide charging access to city drivers who don’t have off-street parking with their curbside charging bollard that features a detachable charging cord. They discuss curbside EV charging, the challenges for electric cars in city environments, Europe's similar model for curbside charging soluti...

Join Francie and Max as they speak with Teppo and Teemu from Nokian Tyres to speak to their newest collaboration with Polestar on a climate neutral Polestar 0 EV. They discuss the reality behind creating something that is carbon neutral, the balance of sustainability and quality, the importance of tires for performance driving, and Nokian Tyre’s impressive plans for their facility in Romania. Imag...

Welcome back to today’s episode where Francie sits down with Dan Bowermaster from EPRI where he holds the role of Head of the Electric Vehicle Research Program. They discuss EPRI’s role as a nonprofit and independent research institute, whether or not the electrical grid is ready for the EV “revolution” or not, the research projects underway at EPRI, how the United States utilities are set up acro...

Join Francie as she discusses Stellantis’s recent unveiling of their all electric vehicle platform the STLA Large Platform. She goes over all the details of its potential including how Stellantis hasn’t announced their J3400 plans, which electrified options they have out right now, all the flexible specs of the STLA Large Platform, the class leading features if they can make it work, and she gives...

Snail mail gets a shock in today’s episode! Join Francie as she goes over the United States Postal Service’s most recent electric announcement where they unveiled the first postal electric vehicle charging stations and electric delivery vehicles in Atlanta, Georgia. She discusses the funding behind the projects, the mission and goals, which EVs the organization will be using, who’s building the ch...

Should you really worry about owning and driving an EV in the cold? No! Join Francie, Kyle,  @outofspecdave1554  (Dave), Max, Coleton, Jordan and Ryan all from Out of Spec to talk about the best tips and tricks to having the greatest EV experience in winter, misconceptions about electric vehicles in the cold, what happens to the batteries when they get chilly, and more! Sources reference...

Welcome! Join Francie on today’s episode as she speaks with Joe Kliewer (  @solarcannonballrun  ) about all the details of his painstakingly slow, solar powered cannonball run in his Tesla Model Y! Joe talks about his sunshine sponsored road trip from New York to Los Angeles, his solar panel and battery set up, the struggles between stops, camping and seeking shelter, how he stayed motiv...

Join Francie on today's episode of the Out of Spec Podcast as she goes through each automaker's 2023 EV sales numbers in the United States from most sold to least sold - plus she covers the top 5 EVs sold in the US! Sources used to support today's show: - Cox Automotive 2023 Sales Numbers: https://www.coxautoinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Q4-2023-Kelley-Blue-Book-Electric-Vehicle-Sales-Report....

Join Francie and Branden Flasch ( @brandenflasch ) as they sit down to figure out why a Tesla Supercharge in San Jose, California would've caught on fire this week! They discuss the causes behind this kind of problem, the steps taken to prevent fires, how common this issue is, what the next steps are to fix the problem, and how sites like Plugshare can help to inform EV drivers who need to charge!...

Welcome back! Join Francie on today's episode to get acquainted with Ram's first EV offering - the Ram Promaster EV! This electrified delivery & cargo option is ready to rip on the roads, but let's see how it compares to the other electric delivery van choices out there (Ford & Rivian). Francie goes over the specs, talks about the parent company Stellantis, compares to the E-transit and ED...

Join Francie and Jordan (Mazda Miata owner) as they go over the recent news from Mazda that they will be adopting the North American Charging Standard AKA J3400 onto their EVs after 2025. They discuss the information from Mazda, the automaker's current EV footprint (or lack thereof), the MX30 history, their electric potential, and more! Mazda Links: - https://news.mazdausa.com/2024-01-15-Mazda-Ado...

Welcome back! On today's episode of the Out of Spec Podcast you join Francie, Jordan, and Kyle as they talk all about electric vehicle charging trends, cable and charger manufacturers, how no new EVs were introduced, and their general impressions of this giant global technology showcase! - CES: https://www.ces.tech/about-ces.aspx - Out of Spec Reviews CES Tour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TR_P...

Join Francie, Kyle, Ryan & special guest Merchy Bautista as they cover the recent story of freezing EVs in Chicago. The team goes into the details, asks Merchy about his first hand experience driving an EV in the city, the imperative tasks of preconditioning batteries and warming up EVs, the pressure on public charging, where the responsibility lies for charging operators and EV manufacturers,...

Join Francie as she dives into the details of the most recent Biden-Harris Administration investment into EV infrastructure throughout the country. She details the press release, the mission of the grant funding, which projects have received funding from Alaska to Texas, and more. Shoutout to our sponsors for more information find their links below: - Star Charge: https://www.starcharge.com/chargi...

Join Francie and Coleton (AKA  @OutofSpecDetailing  ) as they speak to his time detailing, cleaning, and testing the stainless steel surface of the Tesla Cybertruck. Coleton spent days trying household cleaners, worked with chemists to pack his suitcase full of chemicals, and figured out that the use of two common products together was the secret! Shoutout to our sponsors for more inform...

Welcome back to the Out of Spec Podcast! On today's episode, Francie recaps the recent news regarding car rental companies and the trails and tribulations of building their electric fleets. She details SIXT's and Hertz's renewed EV strategies, their recent cost analysis announcements, how SIXT is selling all of their Tesla fleet, how Hertz remains optimistic, and the general challenges with electr...

Join Francie and Ryan as they discuss Ryan's most recent 2000-mile EV roadtrip when CCS was actually preferred over Tesla Superchargers at points along his route from Colorado to California! Ryan talks about his route and how along the way the fact that only V2 Superchargers are available make CCS charging the preferred way to charge. They dive into how Ryan logs his Tesla Model 3 roadtrip data, t...

Join Francie and Ji, the amazing small business owner of TesBros, to talk about how they're some of the first to wrap the Tesla Cybertrucks! Ji and Francie saw each other last week in Austin and Ji dives into what he thinks after driving and seeing the Cybertrucks up close and personal, the products and services offered by TesBros, the colorful wraps they completed on 3 Cybetrucks so far, how they...

Welcome back to the Out of Spec Podcast and today's episode where Francie, later joined by Jordan, cover Kia's modular EV concept unveiling at the CES show in Las Vegas, Nevada. They discuss Kia's role in the EV market at this point, what this kind of modular approach to building EVs for commercial and passenger use could mean in the future, why we'd cover this concept in general, and Jordan's exp...

Join Francie, Kyle, Jordan & Coleton as they cover the most recent news from Tesla North America and that is the introduction of the Model 3 "Refresh" or "Highland" into this market. They discuss the differences from the older Model 3 version to this refreshed version, what the significant value is for this EV, tax incentives for this Tesla, and a bit of Jordan and Kyle's time at the CES event...

Join us on today's podcast where Francie, Kyle, Coleton, & Brandon talk about their time in Austin Texas with the infamous Tesla Cybertruck! They talk about how we wrangled together 5 Cybertrucks, starting out with broken screens, nervous and secretive but also talkative Tesla employees, wrapping Cybertrucks, Kyle's nerdy EV testing, Coleton's stainless steel detailing, our driving impressions...

Join Francie on today's episode as she speaks with Raymond McSpirit, CEO and Founder of McSpirit Search and EVRecruitment, and Ray Delfing, their EV sales director. They speak to the ironic paradigm of job descriptions that call for 10 years of experience in a sector that has existed for 5 years, the best advice for those seeking to join this dynamic industry, how companies in the space can build...