The Watt Car EV Podcast

Hyundai was busy at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, debuting the Ioniq 5 N and running the RN22e. The 5 N sports more power than we thought, along with fake gear shifting; the RN22e, meanwhile, apparently struggles with corners. In other news, Canoo delivers Lifestyle Vehicles to NASA for the Artemis missions, Tesla preps for credit card payments at Superchargers, Ford cuts F-150 Lightning pricing...

Sick of talk about NACS? Us too, so this week we’ve moved on to megawatt charging connectors! Nxu exits CharIN and announces the NxuOne, its CharIN MCS competitor capable of 1.5 MW of continuous power. We also chat about a future Caterham EV that sports all the specs we’d like to see from an EV Mazda Miata (except for the price) before moving on to a discussion about EV sales — from new to used, t...

Something funny happened on the way to fireworks this Independence Day — and it involved a conversation with the owner of an ElectraMeccanica Solo. Speaking of which, here’s an update on the company you may have missed. Beyond that, on this episode we chat about the unveiling of the Stellantis STLA Medium EV platform, Chevy producing its first “sellable” Blazer EV, Rivian starting to use its own v...

Chevy Silverado EV first drive reviews are out, and so is the price — and this ain’t no $40,000 EV pickup anymore. In other news, Ford pockets $9.2 billion in DOE loans for battery facilities, Washington state joins Texas requiring NACS plugs at fast chargers, Volvo joins Ford, GM, and Rivian on the NACS bandwagon, Aston Martin partners with Lucid, plus much more! Subscribe to the podcast on Apple...

From Florida to Texas, contractions abound in the law this week, and it seems some politicians are playing mental gymnastics to square their EV circles. Maybe we’re wrong or maybe we’re right — give a listen and let us know. Also on the podcast this week is more NACS news as Rivian adopts Tesla’s charging plug, car dealers party like it’s 1999, and Musk invites Toyota to join the party. Subscribe...

With General Motors now on board with NACS (in addition to Ford), are we entering a whole new world for EVs? Many of the charging networks seem to think so, as does the U.S. government. CharIN even appears to be coming around to the idea that Tesla’s NACS is a legitimate contender. Join us on this week’s podcast as we unpack what all of this means. Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts , Goog...

What has all the feels? Volkswagen’s new ID. Buzz, which recently had its U.S. LWB iteration revealed. What are the specs and will the U.S. market eat it up? We have all the deets. We also have the deets on the equally newly revealed EX30, Volvo’s entry into the small EV crossover market — and a strong contender at a great price it is. The conversation then drifts to CharIN’s response to Ford’s NA...

Ford’s dumping CCS for its new love — and with it, the delicate charging standard teeter-totter appears to tilt toward NACS. Is this the death knell for CCS, or do more dominoes need to fall before the picture is clear? We chew on this topic for a while because, well, it’s something that could decide the future of EV charging in the United States. But there are other items to discuss, like more vo...

It’s all about big batteries this week, with talks of the 100+ kWh VW ID.Buzz debuting in the U.S. in the coming weeks. We also chat about Chevrolet’s recent claim that the Silverado EV Work Truck will sport a range of 450 miles, Cadillac confirms the Escalade IQ, Ford teases an Expedition-sized three-row EV SUV, and Munro & Associates rips into the massive 200+ kWh Hummer EV battery pack. The...

Just when you thought we were done covering VinFast, the company pops into the news once more, this time with a slew of first-drive reviews that look suspiciously similar. Did VinFast get a fair shake in the press? We dive in. We also dive into other VinFast news, including future potential products and a SPAC — the latter of which likely explains why VinFast wanted to dominate the news. But it’s...

A trip to a VinFast showroom sparked thoughts and revelations — one of which surprised us. Listen all about it in the podcast, then head to thewattcar.com to read more. That conversation led to a discussion about Lucid, the company’s sales methods, financials, and future. Speaking of the future, we must be in it because the Track Package is finally here for the Tesla Model S Plaid. We also chat ab...

This week we chat with itselectric co-founder Nathan King, whose New York-based company is putting a different spin on Level 2 charging in the States. With help from a grant from Hyundai, itselectric’s vision is to create a network of Level 2 chargers that connect to power via the building that’s helping host the charger, rather than contacting the local utility company. EV drivers then use their...

The Chevy Bolt will meet its final demise at the end of the year, so we take a look at just how important the model was to General Motor, the public, and possibly even Ford — you’ll need to listen to the podcast to find out how we reach that conclusion. Speaking of Ford, we talk about the F-150 Lightning shipping to Norway and a magazine’s test of Winnebago’s Ford e-Transit-based eRV2. We also che...

Are sedans making a comeback? With the unveiling of the VW ID.7’s specs, Volkswagen seems to hope so. In other news, MG reveals its Cyberster heavyweight roadster, Polestar says that what’s behind you doesn’t matter, Kia teases a new EV van, and a company builds a fun on-street parking EV charging solution. But first on this week’s podcast, we need to talk about the fact that even short-range EV p...

How will EVs fare in an EMP attack? Nobody would start a podcast with that question — but we did. Getting back on track, the conversation jumped to the new Toyota Prius Prime, how many PHEV batteries one EV truck battery could make, proposed super strict EPA standards, Wallydocking with an an EV RV potentially getting easier, and so much more! Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts , Google Po...

Faulty windows, massive batteries, manual transmission EVs — this week, we discover how to reset the windows on a Tesla Model 3, we learn that there’s about to be a new heavyweight king in the EV pickup truck world (we’re looking at you, RAM 1500 REV), we discuss Cummins going green, VW partnering with renowned battery recycler Redwood Materials, and much more! Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Po...

First World problems strike one of our podcast hosts, with Level 2 charging suddenly proving problematic. Still, the show must go on — and this week, that involves a discussion about the freshly-released Kia EV9 specs and Germany attempting to sneak e-fuel exemptions into the European Union’s 2035 ICE ban. We also chat about how the potentially game-changing energy dense Amprius Technologies EV ba...

Volkswagen unveils its tiny ID. 2all that could be a perfect hot hatch for America if the company brought it here, but then we get distracted by what is unquestionably one of the coolest uses of an EV’s gauge cluster yet — it involves a hidden tortoise! We also chat about Ford’s European Explorer EV, strange decisions Kia and Hyundai are making, how steer-by-wire fails safe, Mazda’s new CEO, 7-Ele...

Is the unveiling of the three-row Kia EV9 SUV super exciting or kinda boring? The answer is yes, in all the best ways, and we tell you why on this week’s podcast. We also discuss the VW ID. Buzz that’s slated to make its U.S. debut this summer, we talk about a ride-along in a Canoo equipped with steer-by-wire, we chat about the Lexus RZ 450e that also features a steer-by-wire setup, and we ponder...

Between road trips and Investor Day, this week’s podcast is a “Tesla-sode,” packing wall-to-wall Tesla news into a 40 minute podcast. We discuss attempting to rent a Tesla from Hertz, the Supercharger Magic Dock in the wild, updating an older Model 3 for CCS compatibility, Model Y sales in Germany, and Tesla’s Investor Day, where Elon Musk described the demand for Teslas as “basically infinite.” S...

Are EVs killing the automotive aftermarket culture? Is the hot rodding chapter coming to a final close? Are driving enthusiasts just modern dinosaurs, with EV mandates being the destructive meteor? On this week’s episode of The Watt Car EV Podcast, we ponder these questions, along with some of the unintended consequences — both good and bad — of the motoring world shifting to full electric. Join u...

This week, we discuss Ram halting $100 preorders for its 1500 REV just five days after starting, Hyundai directly addresses Tesla in a commercial, Elon Musk pushes back against one U.S. government entity, then shakes hands with another. Meanwhile, BP buys TravelCenters of America (is this to grow BP’s EV footprint?), Subway gets into the EV charging game, and road tripping across America in an EV...

When is the EU 2035 zero tailpipe emissions mandate actually official? Apparently not yet — but it’s getting closer. What is official is that the Ram 1500 EV will be called the REV, and according to the latest commercial, this EV is anything but premature. In other news, Tesla “pledges” to open some of its Supercharger network to non-Teslas, Ford pauses Lightning production, NHTSA considers making...

The 2024 Mercedes-Benz eSprinter will boast a large battery and potentially close to a 300 mile range, making it an ideal van for living down by the river — oh, and probably a solid choice for trade workers, too. Is Ford working on a high performance F-150 Lightning? Better question: Is a high-performance Lightning necessary? Rivian enters the news with potential V2G and low range in its future. P...

From its initial tease to production unveiling, the Ioniq 6 has consistently impressed, and now with its curvy sedan’s range revealed, Hyundai reinforces the notion that it’s the current model of the modern EV movement. But before we get to that, we chat about a city in California electrifying its municipal fleet more than a decade ahead of any government mandate. The topics then turn to Toyota ma...