The TechMobility Podcast

Drop me a text and let me know what you think of this episode! What do driverless military trucks, disappearing starter homes, Hyundai's remarkable evolution, and cars you can actually drive using solar power have in common? They're all challenging what we thought was possible. In this episode of The TechMobility Podcast , we explore four developments that could reshape our future. First...

Drop me a text and let me know what you think of this episode! Can Mitsubishi survive America's fiercely competitive auto market? Has Lincoln lost its reason to exist? And could the artificial intelligence boom cost ordinary Americans far more than they realize? In this episode of The TechMobility Podcast , we tackle four stories where corporate ambition, consumer expectations, and economic r...

Drop me a text and let me know what you think of this episode! A robot centaur with glowing eyes and power-tool hands may look like something out of science fiction, but it points toward a serious question: what should the robots working alongside us actually look like? We explore increasingly unconventional robot designs and how automation—from welding systems and warehouse robots to exoskeleton-...

Drop me a text and let me know what you think of this episode! A tariff can change an automaker’s strategy faster than a new vehicle can change its showroom. We start with Ford’s plan to phase out China-built Lincoln models for the U.S. and the 52.5% tariff that threatens their economics. But the bigger story is reshoring: what happens to jobs, wages, suppliers, and communities when vehicle produc...

Drop me a text and let me know what you think of this episode! A flawless safety record sounds like the bare minimum for the next wave of transportation, but history says that is not how new mobility earns trust. We start by wrestling with a hard question hanging over electric air taxis and eVTOL aircraft: if one accident can stall an entire category, how do companies reach commercial scale while...

Drop me a text and let me know what you think of this episode! EV headlines make it sound like the future is already decided, but what people actually buy tells a more interesting story. We start with Toyota’s next moves in battery development and why hybrid vehicles are suddenly the center of gravity for the auto market. When new lithium-ion batteries can cut costs by hundreds per vehicle while s...

Drop me a text and let me know what you think of this episode! Chinese EVs are being built in the millions, but the real shock isn’t volume. It’s how fast Chinese automakers are exporting capability, especially AI-driven electric vehicles that treat software as the product and the car as the platform. We dig into what that means for U.S. buyers, U.S. automakers, and the policies that try to keep C...

Drop me a text and let me know what you think of this episode! Would you purchase a “premium” SUV if the bones underneath come from a brand with a history of quality headaches? We start with a headline that raises exactly that kind of uncomfortable question: Jaguar Land Rover exploring U.S.-specific production through Stellantis. We talk through why it makes financial sense in a tariff era, how au...

Drop me a text and let me know what you think of this episode! We start this episode by taking a look at the auto industry’s top-end strategy through the lens of a halo vehicle, specifically Audi’s plan for a Q9 flagship luxury SUV. From there, I pivot to a public policy fight that matters to everyday drivers right now: Florida’s push to redirect EV charging infrastructure funding toward an “aeria...

Drop me a text and let me know what you think of this episode! Driverless trucks are already doing paid work with nobody in the cab, and that should change how you think about “someday” autonomy. I break down a report on autonomous oilfield trucking in the Permian Basin, where repetitive private-road routes help fleets scale fast, rack up serious driverless hours, and build confidence before the l...

Drop me a text and let me know what you think of this episode! A 3,000-horsepower electric car sounds like a headline designed to melt your brain, but the real story is what it reveals about where mobility is headed. I break down a new high-performance EV roadmap built around a four-motor electric powertrain, a 1,200-volt electrical system, and the idea that “peak power” is no longer the benchmark...

Drop me a text and let me know what you think of this episode! EVs were supposed to “curl up and die” the moment tax credits changed, but the real world is louder than the hot takes. I dig into why EV momentum keeps going anyway, starting with the biggest clue hiding in plain sight: fleet economics. When a company like Amazon passes 50,000 electric delivery vans worldwide, it’s not about trying to...

Drop me a text and let me know what you think of this episode! Cars spent years losing the “cool” fight to trucks, pickups, and crossover SUVs, but the ground is shifting again. I dig into what’s changing and why: high fuel prices, buyer fatigue with oversized vehicles, and a new wave of electric vehicles that makes sedans and wagons feel practical instead of outdated. Volvo even hints at bringing...

Drop me a text and let me know what you think of this episode! Frontier AI is supposed to be expensive, power-hungry, and locked behind premium pricing. Then a Chinese open-weight model shows up with results that make developers stare at the scoreboard and ask a different question: what if “good enough” AI gets so cheap that the entire token-cost equation collapses? We walk through the implication...

Drop me a text and let me know what you think of this episode! A tiny electric pickup with big-truck ambition, an ocean heat surge that can bend weather across continents, and a lab-built “cell” that grows, divides, and outcompetes its neighbors under pressure. That’s the ride we’re taking today, and every stop forces the same uncomfortable thought: innovation moves faster than our instincts for r...

Drop me a text and let me know what you think of this episode! Robotaxis are expanding fast, and the weird parts of the real world are expanding even faster. We dig into Waymo’s growth across 15 U.S. cities, how it jumped from hundreds to thousands of autonomous vehicles, and why “edge cases” are still the make-or-break problem for self-driving technology. Construction zones that should be obvious...

Drop me a text and let me know what you think of this episode! Honda may be ready to bring back one of its weirdest, most useful cult cars, and that single decision opens up a bigger conversation about where the auto market is headed. We kick off with the reported plan to revive the Honda Element as a hybrid in 2029, aiming straight at the small-adventure crowd that shops the Ford Bronco Sport. We...

Drop me a text and let me know what you think of this episode! A car that can drive upside down sounds like a rumor you’d hear at a racetrack, but it’s real and electric. I break down why the McMurtry Spéirling Pure is one of the most outrageous EVs ever built, from its 0 to 60 in 1.55 seconds punch to its fan-powered “downforce on demand” that can generate more than 4,400 pounds of suction. It’s...

Drop me a text and let me know what you think of this episode! Your driver’s license on your phone sounds like the ultimate convenience until you picture a dead battery at the airport, a stolen device, or a random account lockout right when you need to prove who you are. I dig into the real-world state of mobile driver’s licenses (MDLs) in the United States, including the two major rollout paths:...

Drop me a text and let me know what you think of this episode! A luxury electric sedan that can deliver roughly 570 miles of range should make anyone in the U.S. auto industry sit up straight, especially when it’s coming from BYD, the Chinese EV maker that’s already outpacing much of the world in scale. We break down what’s known about the Denza Z9S, why its range and performance claims are so dis...

Drop me a text and let me know what you think of this episode! Chrysler has been running on fumes for years, and we say that as people who actually want the brand to win. That comeback story matters because it is not just about one automaker finding its footing again; it is also about the bigger questions shaping the auto industry right now, from how EVs get built to what happens when their batter...

Drop me a text and let me know what you think of this episode! Paying to “skip” traffic sounds simple—until the express lane dumps right back into the same bottleneck. In this episode, I take a firsthand look at Minneapolis’ pay-to-use HOV lane setup on I-35W: what it costs per trip, how plate readers and sensors make it work, and why the shape of the bottleneck determines whether congestion prici...

Drop me a text and let me know what you think of this episode! A small work van can make or break a business; a luxury electric SUV can reset expectations; and a river can determine what your lights and groceries cost. That’s where we go on TechMobility, moving from the vehicles you can buy today to the systems that quietly shape what “mobility” even means in the United States. I dig into Ram’s de...

Drop me a text and let me know what you think of this episode! 25,000 robots. That number stops you for a second because it’s not a sci-fi thought experiment. It’s a real manufacturing strategy, and it raises a blunt question: can U.S. automakers compete in a world where cost, quality, and speed increasingly come from automation? I break down Hyundai’s push to scale humanoid robots through its Bos...

Drop me a text and let me know what you think of this episode! A $30,000 electric pickup truck made in the United States sounds like a fantasy until you look at what Ford is changing to make it real. We walk through Ford’s skunkworks approach to building affordable EVs, including fewer parts, large cast structures, rapid iteration, and a serious push toward a modern 48-volt electrical system that...