Out of Spec Podcast

Welcome back to the Out of Spec Podcast! On today's episode, Francie and Kyle speak with a new Fisker Ocean One owner - also a long time listener, first time caller - Brian! Brian talks all about his hefty EV lineup at home, why he chose to invest into the Fisker Ocean One, the delivery process, their (rough) family road trip, and his high- and low-lights regarding this all new electric SUV. Fiske...

Join Francie and Ryan on today's episode as they discuss the electric vehicle range test's that Out of Spec is known for and how our results and methods compare to major outlet's testing - including Consumer Reports. Ryan, our major data guy, walks Francie through the similarities and differences between how Consumer Reports and Out of Spec tests, how the EV range test results compare, what the ma...

Join us on today's episode where Francie is joined by Tollak ( @chargepozitive ) to go over his not 1 but 2 EV battery replacements in his Tesla Model Y. Tollak tells Francie all about his situation, what lead to the first electric vehicle battery replacement, what happened with the second incident, the importance of warranties, and his biggest takeaways from his unlucky chapter in EV ownership. F...

Join Francie as she discusses this staggering stat that folks spend 2X as long charging their EV for free compared to paid charging! She discusses the report that studied public electric vehicle charging from 2020 to 2023, the amount of time people spend at chargers whether their paying or not, what we can do to alter charging behavior, and more. Links used to support today's episode: Report: http...

Hello everyone! Please join Francie, Kyle, Max, Ryan, Jordan, Coleton, and Dave as they wrap up the electric year that was 2023. They cover what the big electric vehicle headlines were from the year, funny EV stories, exciting next steps for the Out of Spec team, what they're most looking forward to in 2024, and much much more! Sit back, relax, and see what the team thinks of the last 365 days in...

Join Francie and Kyle as they sit down with fellow car enthusiast, and EV admirer, TJ AKA "Suburban"! They discuss TJ's day chasing down a Fisker Ocean One he saw drive by, his first impressions sitting in the EV, what he noticed about the good and the bad of the interface, and what they all think about the electric vehicle company in general. Image credits: Fisker Inc. & TJ "Suburban" Link to...

Join Francie on today's episode as she sits down with Preeti Choudhary the Executive Director of Drive Ohio and Breanna Badanes the Managing Director of Communications and Policy at DriveOhio to speak to their strategy, accomplishments, goals, and lessons learned after getting the nation's first NEVI funded EV charging site live outside of Columbus OH at a Pilot Travel Center! Francie, Preeti, and...

On today's special episode, the Out of Spec Reviews channel is doing a bit of cross-pollination to bring you an audio-only version of the podcast to go over Kyle's deep dive into Rivian's EPA ratings and reports. In this episode, Kyle tells Francie all about his recent testing on the Rivian R1T Dual Motor Max Pack vs. R1T Dual Motor Large Pack testing. He talks about the call he got from Rivian ri...

Join Francie as she goes in depth with each automaker's plans for adopting the North American Charging Standard AKA J3400 and their future access to the Tesla Supercharger network, according to their own press releases. She goes over the importance of public charging and the value add for CCS EVs being able to charge on Superchargers, Ford & GM's access in February 2024, and each automaker's p...

Join us on today's podcast as Francie speaks to Adib Naslé, the Chief Executive Officer of Xendee. Adib is the inventor of real-time power analytics for mission critical electrical power distribution networks and has come onto the podcast to discusses the many valuable products and services Xendee offers, the origination of the company and its mission, the topics of microgrids and green energy, EV...

Join Francie as she discusses all things lithium battery packs for electric vehicles. She covers the recent ups and down of lithium prices, the economic influences on the prices of electric vehicle batteries, the major players in EV battery manufacturing, what we might see next in this industry, and more. Sources used in today's episode: BNEF Record Low Report: https://about.bnef.com/blog/lithium-...

Join Francie and Ryan as they address GM's latest reasoning for dropping Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for all EVs going forward - and that's due to "safety concerns" for their drivers. We discuss the evidence behind their reasoning, GM's history with this software interface, InsideEVs recent Chevy Blazer EV bricking story, and what we really think GM's motivation is for dropping this from future...

Join Francie as she goes over the recent 50% decrease in production for Ford's F150 Lightning EV trucks. She goes over Ford's reasoning for the ramp down, the current numbers for electric trucks on the market, similar trends in the space, and more. Source links from today's show: Automotive News Article on Ford's internal memo about Lightning production ramp down: https://www.autonews.com/manufact...

On today's podcast, Francie tackles the topic of the end of the production of new Chevy Bolt EVs. She discusses the past of the once popular and very affordable EV, what Chevy's next steps are in electrifying their fleets, and her thoughts of the lack of affordable EVs on the market. Sources used in today's show: GM's production extension to December: https://gmauthority.com/blog/2023/08/2023-chev...

Join Kyle and Francie as they sit down with Matt, who is quite possibly the first to take delivery of a Kia EV9 in all of New England! They discuss Matt and his wife's reasoning for picking the EV9, their first impressions of the three-row EV, his favorite parts about the electric vehicle, and what he's excited to do with it next (hint hint - EV fast charging!). 2024 Kia EV9 Website: https://www.k...

Volkswagen finally commits to the J3400 charging standard AKA the North American Charging Standard. Join Francie, Coleton, and Ryan as they talk about why this is big news, what this means for Audi/Porsche/VW and soon-to-be Scout Motors EV drivers and owners, the standardization of J3400 by the SAE, and more! VW press release: https://media.vw.com/en-us/releases/1774 SAE TIR: https://www.sae.org/n...

On today's podcast Jordan visits Francie and they talk all about his roadtrip from Colorado to Tennessee. Jordan passed through plenty of states in Kyle's Tesla Model 3 with over 140,000 miles and discusses how ubiquitous superchargers are, the battery degradation in this older EV, the pros and cons of an electric vehicle road trip, and more. Find us on all of these places: YouTube: https://www.yo...

On this episode, Francie is joined by Dan Larson, Product and Solutions Manager at Autel Energy. They discuss the high powered DC charger that Autel sent to the Out of Spec office in Colorado, what kind of electric vehicle charging testing Autel has been up to lately, plug & charge, Autel's complete product line from residential EV charging to fast charging, and Dan's overall thoughts on the i...

On this special episode (part 2 of 2 featuring BMW's battery strategy) Francie sits down with Kurt Vandeputte, Manager of Battery Cell Competence at BMW Group while at BMW's event in Silicon Valley celebrating their US Tech Office's 25th Anniversary. This time, Kurt and Francie discuss the complex topic of recycling electric vehicle batteries. They discuss the major benefits of using second life m...

On this special episode (part 1 of 2 featuring BMW's battery strategy) Francie sits down with Kurt Vandeputte, Manager of Battery Cell Competence at BMW Group while at BMW's event in Silicon Valley celebrating their US Tech Office's 25th Anniversary. Kurt and Francie discuss BMW's electric vehicle battery strategy including the past present and future, what the Neue Klasse Gen 6 EV batteries will...

Francie and Brandon AKA  @TeslaFlex  hop on the podcast to talk about the news story on every headline - Tesla recalling 2 million EVs over issues with the Autopilot system as identified by the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration. They discuss the magnitude of the issue, the fix, the nuances of over-the-air updates and recalls, and ask whether or not we should be worried a...

Join Francie as she covers the recent story of the first NEVI funded EV charging site going live just west of Columbus, Ohio. On today's podcast Francie dives into the specific site, the NEVI program progress so far, EVgo/GM/Pilot Flying J sites in general, EV charge pricing, and more. Link to this site on Plugshare: https://www.plugshare.com/location/581134 Governor of Ohio's press release: https...

Join us on today's podcast featuring Jeremy Bibeau, System Engineer, from  @evgonetwork  at this November's CharIN Testival event (@charine.v.2360) - a test and tech heavy event all about interoperability and testing. Jeremy and Francie talk about why EVgo participates in this event multiple times a year, the goals of interoperability testing, and more. EVgo's website: https://www.evgo.c...

Jordan and Francie sit down to go over Francie's 600+ miles roadtrip in Kyle's Rivian. She talks about the EVgo Pilot Fying J sites she hit, the best and worst parts of roadtripping the R1T, and what the future of EV road trips might need to look like. Find us on all of these places: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/outofspecpodcast Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/out-of-spec...

Kyle and Francie sit down to go over many of your Tesla Cybertruck questions! We address everything from the stainless steel exterior to the 48V system to the implications of steer-by-wire. Thank you for all of the great questions - we love the curiosity about this electric truck! Image credit to Tesla! Find us on all of these places: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/outofspecpodcast Apple Podcast...