Andrew J. Hawkins

Transportation editor

RIP to the Apple Car, we hardly knew ye

Andrew J. HawkinsFeb 28, 2024

Honda’s ‘extended reality’ is a mash-up of VR and motorized wheelchairs

Andrew J. HawkinsFeb 28, 2024

Polestar gets a nearly $1 billion lifeline.

Hot on the heels of the EV company’s conscious uncoupling from Volvo, Polestar announced $950 million in external financing, which is will be enough for the “next stage of its development and covers a large majority of its estimated financing needs.”

The three-year loan comes from “12 leading international banks including BNP Paribas, Natixis, Standard Chartered, BBVA, HSBC and SPDB.” Geely, the Chinese automaker that owns both Volvo and Polestar, is also ready to step in with more cash when needed. Polestar has a make-or-break year ahead, with the imminent release of two new EVs, the Polestar 3 and Polestar 4.

Polestar secures USD 1 billion external funding; business outlook confirmed

[media.polestar.com]

Ford, Mercedes, and Tesla have the least problematic EV supply chains

Andrew J. HawkinsFeb 27, 2024

Honda doubles down on hydrogen with new fuel cell-powered SUV

Andrew J. HawkinsFeb 27, 2024

Andrew J. HawkinsFeb 26, 2024

Don’t hold your breath waiting for all-electric versions of the Ford Maverick and Bronco.

They may be among Ford’s most popular gas and hybrid-powered vehicles, but the automaker doesn’t have any immediate plans to produce battery-electric versions of the Maverick and Bronco, AutoWeek reports. “Early 2030s” is the publication’s best prediction.

Meanwhile, GM is fast-tracking hybrid versions of the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra trucks, after discovering that all-electric versions were having trouble doing normal truck stuff, like towing.

GM Hustling to Bring PHEV Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra to Market

[Autoweek]

Fiat is turning its Panda city cars into a whole family of ‘multi-energy’ vehicles

Andrew J. HawkinsFeb 26, 2024

Andrew J. HawkinsFeb 23, 2024

Driverless car chaos in SF is on the decline.

For a while, it seemed like each week brought news of another driverless car making a mess of things in San Francisco. But the number of incidents is actually going down, according to data provided to the San Francisco Chronicle by the city’s fire department. Most of which can be chalked up to GM’s Cruise grounding its fleet following a grisly pedestrian-dragging incident. And now Waymo’s expansion plans are on hold too. We’ll see if these numbers hold up if the companies are given permission to deploy more robots.

Graph of incidents of driverless cars obstructing emergency vehicles

Incidents in which driverless cars obstructed emergency vehicles is going down.

Image: San Francisco Chronicle

Andrew J. HawkinsFeb 23, 2024

Volvo thins out its stake in Polestar.

The Swedish automaker said it would distribute 62.7 percent of its stake in Polestar to its shareholders, following through on its promise to dial back its funding for the performance EV brand. When all is said and done, Volvo will retain an 18 percent stake in Polestar, and Geely (Volvo and Polestar’s parent company) will be in the driver seat.

“At the same time as this transaction allows us to welcome new shareholders, our relationship with Volvo Cars remains,” Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath said. “Our customers will continue to benefit from our existing collaboration, including across commercial and after sales – providing piece of mind and consistency.”

Volvo Cars to propose a distribution of 62.7 percent of its Polestar shareholding to its shareholders

[www.media.volvocars.com]

Andrew J. HawkinsFeb 22, 2024

King of the Hammers is a little bit Mad Max, a little bit Blade Runner.

Emme Hall’s story this week captured the sweaty, gravel-strewn insanity of the annual off-road event, but it really needs to be seen to be believed. Here are some of the amazing images from this year’s King of the Hammers that were provided by a variety of photographers who clearly don’t mind a little bit of dirt on their lenses.