California’s Rubicon Trail is one of the most notable off-road trails in the world. It is home to many off-road events and Jeep even uses part of the trail to test its vehicles. Well, this year, for the first time ever, an electric vehicle has completed the Rubicon Trail. The vehicle was a specially built, fully electric Jeep Wrangler, and it took to the Rubicon during this year’s Jeep Jamboree held in August.
With more and more Tesla vehicles on the road, Tesla CEO Elon Musk sees the need for more charging stations. The more charging stations available, the easier the decision to switch to an electric vehicle. Charging an electric vehicle, even with Tesla supercharging stations, will take thirty minutes give or take, depending on how depleted you are. That is why Tesla is planning on building larger supercharging stations that have higher end retail shopping, coffee and food. The idea is to turn the need to charge a vehicle into an experience that can be enjoyed.
With the rush of improvements to travel and vehicle technology, it’s no surprise we’ve also seen some innovative delivery service improvements. You can find electric delivery vehicles, autonomous delivery robots and even drone delivery services. However, when Mitchell Wirth was hungry for a Subway sandwich, he relied on a tried and true means of delivery...a buddy with a plane and a pilot’s license. That’s right, Wirth’s buddy, after leaving a dentist appointment, air dropped his friend a Subway sandwich as he flew home. It may not be the most practical way to get delivery, but it sure is efficient!
Earlier this year Volkswagen announced they would invest ten billion dollars into electric vehicles. Well, they have changed their tune, and it has only gotten better. VW recently announced that they would now be investing around eighty-four billion dollars into electric vehicle development. The majority of the money is planned for battery production to support their plans of bringing three hundred electric vehicle models to market by 2030.
Electric cars, electric bikes, electric trains, and even electric trucks. Everyone seems to be jumping on the (electric) bandwagon. Cummins Inc., a leader amongst commercial diesel engine manufacturers, has just unveiled their fully electric truck! The truck, which they are calling Aeos, is an 18,000-pound truck that runs on a fully electric engine. It’s capable of hauling a twenty-two ton trailer and its battery can fully charge in around an hour. The truck can only go about one hundred miles on a single charge, making it a great local delivery vehicle. Cummins Inc. also has plans to build a hybrid truck that, while still reducing emissions, will increase the mileage range of the single battery charge.