Recent content by YDR37

Not sure if the album art is a literal depiction of an REO Speed Wagon, but yes, it was a well known truck brand in the early 20th Century.

That's correct, Slate said "under $20,000 with the $7,500 federal tax incentive". When the feds took that away, Slate stopped saying that. But even without the federal incentive, some people will probably still be able to get a Slate for under $20,000, because of state incentives. For example...

Well, REO Industries does have a job posting: Seems pretty conceptual at this point. The listing indicates that they also own the "reoautos.com" domain name, which was also registered in May 2026. It redirects to "reotrucks.com".

Your payload and tow capacity are defined by the manufacturer and cannot be changed by aftermarket parts. However, the manufacturer can offer optional packages that increase payload or tow capacity. For example, the standard tow capacity of a Ford Maverick is 2,000 lbs, but Ford offers an...

The first Bronco Sports were assigned to the 2021 model year, but deliveries actually started in November 2020. And obviously it was in development for at least a few years before that.

The auto industry did spend a lot of money lobbying against the Act. And the broadcast industry spent a lot of money lobbying for it. For example, in 1Q 2025: The auto industry lost this one. As of right now, the Act has 60 co-sponsors in the Senate (out of 100 Senators) and 317 co-sponsors in...

Nothing will happen immediately, even if the Act becomes law tomorrow (which it won't). It will take a few years before the law is enforceable. Once the Act becomes law, the Dept. of Transportation (DoT) has a year to spell out the exact rules. Then those DoT rules will include an effective...

OK, good point. I don't think SiriusXM works in Alaska either (except maybe the Southeast). The coverage in the Lower 48, southern Canada, and northern Mexico is pretty much everywhere, as long as there is a decent view of the sky. It can drop out in narrow canyons or dense forest.

The argument is that AM radio is the most reliable way to get notifications via the Emergency Alert System. In many rural areas, you can get an AM radio signal, but there is no FM radio, cell service, or Internet. Also, radio is less likely to be affected by power outages than the cell network...

Update: the "AM Radio in Every Vehicle Act" currently remains stalled in Congress, despite bipartisan support: However, the President has the clout to get Congress moving, and he has just recommitted to getting the Act passed: So there is a good chance that Slate will be legally required to...

Another reason for keeping AM: KIRO's traditional analog AM broadcast probably reaches a much wider area than KIRO-FM's digital FM broadcast. Within the Seattle metro area, HD FM would likely sound better than AM -- but if you start driving away from the city, you could eventually lose the HD FM...

You're right -- but AM sports stations (and other AM stations) are now commonly simulcast on HD FM subchannels. For example, KIRO 710 AM in Seattle is also available on the FM band, on the HD2 subchannel of KIRO-FM 97.3. So if you installed a modern HD FM radio in a Slate, you would be able to...

For now, it doesn't seem like Slate has any plans to open up any stores or service centers anywhere. Even if they ultimately decide to do that, I'm guessing that New Mexico might not be their first priority. Neither Rivian nor Lucid are in NM as yet.

In New Mexico, Tesla has been able to work around state law by opening two stores on tribal land. They've done the same thing in Connecticut. The legal situation varies by state. In California, companies without franchised dealers operate without any problems, including Tesla, Rivian, and...

Tesla has been testing a short-term rental program at a couple of stores in Southern California, which actually appears to be an extended test drive program. You can rent a Tesla for up to a week at a low rate, with unlimited mileage and free Supercharging. Then the rental charges are reimbursed...