Welcome to The Now

 

 

 

 

  From Reuters : Ford Motor (F.N), opens new tab said on Monday it will take a $19.5 billion writedown and is killing several electric-vehicle models, in the most dramatic example yet of the auto industry's retreat from battery-powered models in response to the Trump administration's policies and weakening EV demand. The Dearborn, Michigan-based company said it will replace the fully electric F-150 Lightning with a new extended-range electric model that uses a gas-powered engine to recharge the battery. The company is also scrapping a next-generation electric truck, codenamed the T3, as well as planned electric commercial vans. “When the market really changed over the last couple of months, that was really the impetus for us to make the call,” Ford CEO Jim Farley told Reuters in an interview. Ford said it will pivot hard into gas and hybrid models, and eventually hire thousands of workers, even though there will be some layoffs at a jointly owned Kentucky battery plant in the n...

  Via Reuters : China's BYD (002594.SZ), opens new tab became the most popular vehicle brand in Singapore so far this year, outselling Toyota (7203.T), opens new tab for the first time, government data showed, as the fast-growing electric vehicle maker steps up efforts to boost overseas sales. In the first four months of 2025, BYD sold 3,002 cars, or 20% of total vehicle sales in Singapore. Toyota and BYD's main EV rival Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab sold 2,050 and 535 units each during the same period. Toyota used to hold the crown in the wealthy Asian financial hub where the population of cars is kept steady by an expensive certificate system, selling 7,876 cars in 2024, versus BYD's 6,191 sales. BYD's robust sales growth in Singapore underscores its efforts to focus on overseas markets amid bruising price competition in China. Reuters reported this month that China's No.1 automaker aims to sell half of its vehicles outside the Chinese market by 2030, a massive in...

 Can we please stop thinking of this guy as a genius, and more a rich guy who buys companies and tries to will them into prosperity?

 

 Via CNN : Tesla is recalling nearly all 2 million of its cars on US roads to limit the use of its Autopilot feature following a two-year probe by US safety regulators of roughly 1,000 crashes in which the feature was engaged. The limitations on Autopilot serve as a blow to Tesla’s efforts to market its vehicles to buyers willing to pay extra to have their cars do the driving for them. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the Autopilot system can give drivers a false sense of security and be easily misused in certain dangerous situations when a Tesla’s technology may be unable to safely navigate the road. The over-the-air software update will give Tesla drivers more warnings when they are not paying attention to the road while the Autopilot’s “Autosteer” function is turned on. Those notifications will remind drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and pay attention to the road, according to a statement from NHTSA After the recall, Teslas with Autosteer turned on...

 We take a break from the freakout over Elon Musk's CEO choice to remind everyone that the guy has very thin skin :

 Apparently, the answer is "yes": Nissan has tapped into the popularity of lofi videos on YouTube by creating a four-hour-long ad — and people aren’t hating it. Released on February 2, the video is titled Enjoy the Powerfully Peaceful ARIYA. It’s a low-touch advertisement for the company’s latest EV, the Nissan ARIYA. At the time of writing the video had over 1.6 million views and 625 comments which were largely positive. This may seem surprising for an advertisement that’s four hours long . But this is where Nissan has been quite clever. The entire video is an animation of a woman driving the ARIYA to a soundtrack of lofi music . These kinds of videos are incredibly popular on YouTube — they’re incredibly chill and great for background calm background music for work and study. One of the most popular is the Lofi Girl channel which streams lofi hip hop beats 24 hours a day across two ‘radio’ channels. With almost 12 million subscribers, it’s most recognisable for its anime-s...

 This AAA article tries to answer that question .

Very brave . COVE CITY, N.C. (AP) — A 9-year-old North Carolina girl pinned in a wrecked car for almost two days ate Pop-Tarts and Gatorade to help her survive the single-car crash that killed her father, police and relatives said on Monday. Jordan Landon of Cove City was airlifted to a hospital Sunday night after rescue teams cut her out of the 1995 Chevrolet Monte Carlo that had been upside down in a culvert since Friday night, the North Carolina Highway Patrol said. Killed was 39-year-old Douglas Landon, police said. Sgt. David Clifton called the girl "heroic" and that she was able to stay calm despite being trapped in the dark and cold. He says the girl was talkative and is expected to fully recover.

He's OK , and as far as his vehicle..his new contract should cover it.

Heh .

We're getting closer .