Mostly energy, supply chains, and transportation. Toto enthusiast. Still a MENA student at heart. Onward, Rocinante!
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Kia the first out with its full August US sales figures. A modest EV improvement over 2024, but production still appears somewhat constrained and I’m not sure if it’s self-imposed (aligned with forecasted demand) or due to supply chain challenges. 🔌💡🔌🚗
That’s more than 118,000 GM EV sales for 2025 thus far. 2024 was 114,000 total. If I had to guess, they’ll end the year somewhere between 170,000 and 180,000 depending on how many credit-eligible orders they lock in before the end of the month.
After putting up a 19,000 spot in July, GM just delivered another 21,000 EVs in August. It has now passed its 2024 EV sales total, with 4 months to go. We’re still waiting on Honda’s August numbers, but this should be another record month for the Ultium platform. 🔌💡🔌🚗 electrek.co/2025/09/02/g...
Beautiful architecture, a river port terminal, and wind turbines. What more could a guy ask for at sunset.
On first blush, Hamburg is one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever visited.
“Gentrification” is a response to scarcity. This is exactly right.
The BeltLine has been an overwhelming good for Atlanta and sure, maybe the city should have bought more adjacent land for affordable housing development before speculators could swoop in, but we’re still going to build a lot of it and folks should stop complaining.
*yawn* www.nytimes.com/2025/09/02/b...
This is absolutely nuts. The level of innovation in China’s automotive sector and the cutthroat competition there is on another level. 🔌💡🔌🚗
Dwight Yoakum in Wedding Crashers
Last day in Denmark marked by bog people, Vikings, knights, and more stunning design at the Moesgaard Museum. Now off to Hamburg!
1/9 Good article on strengths and weaknesses of China's approach to EV manufacturing. As the summary has it: "Beijing has run out of patience with companies slashing prices, and is urging restraint. But fierce competition is also producing a surge of innovation." www.nytimes.com/2025/09/02/b...
If you’re not willing to go up against single-family homeowners, REALTORS®️, nativists, and labor unions, you’re not going to make a dent in the problem.
The problem with declaring a national housing emergency is the things that would actually address said emergency…overriding exclusionary zoning restrictions, targeting transaction frictions, and importing lots of immigrant labor and cheap building materials…are all anathema to the party base.
It’s in there.
“Digital content creators" Every subscription is now going to be a tip. Golden age for grifters.
Dealers sounded exasperated when asked if this is the best the market will ever be for EV buyers. “Yes,” said Kamm, the Nissan sales manager. “We may never see this level of deal again.” 🔌💡🔌🚗 www.wsj.com/business/aut...
Just went to Aarhus’ “Old Town” museum where they have both a Blockbuster and a “woman’s flat from 2014” featuring Harry Potter and the Killers. “When We Were Young” was playing in the kitchen. This is one of the most offensive displays I’ve ever seen. My culture does not belong in a museum! (Yet)
Good morning. Go away.
Flights to international destinations and in premium classes are still selling out, while domestic and main-cabin sales softened across airlines...United Airlines said premium cabin revenue in the most recent quarter increased 5.6% “while the economy cabin was negative.” www.wsj.com/economy/cons...
Cars. I know…the answer is cars.
Greetings from Aarhus, where I find myself asking once again "why can’t America have nice things like this?"
Trains, turbines, and tombs. Roskilde to Aarhus.
Also worth noting a fairly significant chunk of US agriculture is not necessary to feed Americans, but is rather 1. subsidized production to support economics for non-value added uses (i.e., corn for ethanol) or 2. supporting lifestyle preferences (e.g., beef)
What we need is more robots and then to extricate ourselves from the obligation of keeping suicidal regions afloat
Induction stoves are quieter, cooler, and produce less toxic pollution than gas. On the other hand, they also cook better, as a growing number of professional chefs recognize.
Le chèvre.
Great EV6 review from @patrickgeorge.bsky.social for those contemplating an EV purchase in September before the tax credits expire. 🔌💡🔌🚗 insideevs.com/news/770328/...
I vaguely remember tweeting something like the country that effectively captures this free energy source at scale will rule the 21st century. whelp.
Not burning this company to the ground and salting its ashes a decade ago will go down as one of the great policy errors in American history.
Left off Polestar. Have seen quite a few of those too. MG and Nissan only as showroom pieces outside a mall.
Makes from which I’ve seen EVs... Many: Tesla, VW, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes, BMW, Renault A few: Ford, Toyota, Audi, Porsche, Peugeot, Mini, Citroen One or two: BYD, Xpeng, Fisker, Skoda, Cupra Don’t recall seeing any EVs among the Opel, Fiat, Chevy, Range Rover, or Jaguar cars I saw.
The remarkable thing I’ve seen here in Copenhagen isn’t the number of EVs I’ve seen on the road, it’s the diversity. In just one day of walking around, I’ve probably seen 60+ different plug-in models across 20 different makes. And that’s just cars. Plenty of trucks, buses, and ferries too. 🔌💡🔌🚗
"Why, then, are legacy carmakers struggling so much? Big factor is that they are still slow-walking the switch from ICE to EV. On paper, the research and development budgets the Europeans are using to shift to batteries far outstrip what their Chinese rivals are spending"
Me: “Oh cool, I’m gonna go walk over to this neat looking series of ravelins on the outer rim of old Copenhagen.” *stumbles into Christiana* Me 15 minutes later:
"Whatever it is, the algorithmic cross-pollination happening between popular rap (mostly from the South) and pop-country has been leading to a lot of shitty music lately." pitchfork.com/thepitch/who...
It’s giving Phantom Corsair tbh
I maintain this car is absolutely gorgeous and hope it succeeds as Cadillac’s brand halo. 🔌💡🔌🚗 www.wsj.com/lifestyle/ca...
Look, I will forever be appreciative of Mark Teixeira’s contribution to the Rangers. The man gave Texas its greatest trade haul in franchise history, producing two World Series appearances. Thank you, Mark, for allowing us to screw over the Braves in dumping you.
We are so back.
There’s a reason we all love Office Space. And it’s not because it’s hilarious (it is)…it’s because Mike Judge absolutely nailed every soul-sucking element of the corporate workplace.
Well, just like Delta indicated it would, my bag is finally headed to Europe on my flight itinerary two days after I travelled. My multiple interventions made no difference. No proactive outreach or action. They just said “f*** that guy, we’ll send it when we send it." Unacceptable.
Zero-sum thinking can be rational. Twisted, but rational.
I think you’re ascribing way too much rationality to this dynamic. It’s not that they care more about spiting someone else, it’s that they’ve been conditioned to think in abstract slippery slopes and if pressed on “why” they wouldn’t be able to give you a coherent answer.
“At least $9 billion in annual U.S. imports of manufacturing equipment and machinery are now subject to 50 percent steel and aluminum tariffs, on top of country-level duties the Trump administration recently raised.” Ah well, nevertheless. 🔌🚗 www.autonews.com/manufacturin...
This is disappointing but inevitable. I still enjoy reading real newspapers but if we’re being honest…there are few papers, all national, with volumes that can justify print circulation. Local papers’ print editions really only matter when their teams win championships. www.ajc.com/business/202...
Atlanta influences everything, Warhol edition
Bjarke Ingels + model boats are a recipe for a great afternoon
Kronberg Castle party scene is lit, y’all
Star fort yaaaaaaaas
After 60 years of trying to electrify populations with fossil fuels, people finally figured out there was a much better way. One with less corruption. Electricity poverty is real and clean energy is now at scale to solve it. This will unleash human flourishing.
Honestly just getting my running shoes, a pair of fitness socks, my running shorts, and an athletic shirt would be awesome at this point. Thankfully I wore jeans and a sweater on the flight, so am able to cover my other clothing needs (tshirt, socks, underwear) with the SAS reimbursement allowance.
Moreover, no offer of support. Now have been through *three* rounds of outreach with them. Only SAS gave me a 75 Euro/day reimbursement allowance for clothing (which doesn’t go far here). Possibly my worst Delta flying experience ever.
In fact, it’s been almost 24 hours since an actual action on Delta’s side. Nobody can answer why my bag’s shipment isn’t being expedited as you’d expect through any variety of pathways. Delta has multiple CDG/AMS dailies. SAS flies direct from ATL to CPH.
Have been through 2 rounds with customer support, including w/ baggage service. Most recently, the lady on the other end echoed my frustration that they were insisting on sending my bag through Brussels vs. getting it to Copenhagen faster. She said she tried to push an alternative. Nothing since.
So not only did my bag fail to make it onto my flight, but per tracking, Delta originally rebooked it on a later AMS flight to get it over here ASAP and then nixed that…only to rebook it on the next Brussels flight to match my itinerary. But it’s not a daily, and won’t leave until tomorrow. FML.
Delta left my bag in Atlanta and I just learned from a SAS service agent in Copenhagen AMA
🔌💡
It’s a bit smaller but yeah, very similar. Biggest difference of course being designed from the ground up as BEV architecture.
Cars on display in Brussels Terminal A Mercedes CLA BMW iX Subaru Solterra And… Kia EV3 🤩 🔌💡🔌🚗
Revised to 2/5 stars after I and many other connecting passengers were diverted to a different passport control area to spare us an hourlong wait. Also it will never cease to amaze me how many people on this continent drink beer before 9am at the airport.
Connecting through Brussels airport. 0/5 stars. Splatty tomato. Do not recommend.
2026 Jeep Cherokee goes hybrid-only in its return to the market. 37 mpg. We’ll see what volumes it does, but its another follower behind the RAV4 in a segment rapidly eliminating conventional gas powertrains. 🔌💡🔌🚗 www.usatoday.com/story/cars/s...
*clears throat*
Only losers bet their future on fossil fuels. 🔌💡
Whoa, Peachtree Center is for sale. All of it. Potentially huge implications for Downtown Atlanta. www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news...
The appropriate analogy is and always been the sack of a once-great city. The only question is whether it’s Rome, Constantinople, or Baghdad.
$5k price increase over the 2025 model. Production moved from Indiana to Japan. Much success. 🔌🚗 www.caranddriver.com/news/a658630...
in any event, all crypto should be illegal, and its a massive state failure that it wasnt brutally repressed
Genuinely one of the stupidest things he’s ever said on the topic.
China has laid a rare earths trap for the west on.ft.com/41ZIHEZ
Because I went for a 2-year lease in January, I realistically will be back in the market roughly a year from now. In any case, I won’t need to worry about DCFC coverage in the region as I think about my next buy. It’s looking increasingly like a solved problem. nathanielhoradam.com/2025/08/24/i...
And that’s fine! Unless I’m in a rush, I typically stop once each way anyways for coffee or to use the restroom. I will probably target something with a bit more range though for my next vehicle, or at least with better drive efficiency on the highway.
After doing a handful of roadtrips this spring/summer, I’ve realized my Equinox’s effective highway range for most trips in the region is 250 miles, not the 285-mile nameplate. It’s a product of both topography and higher average speeds. It means I need at least one charge for the 4-hour trips.
On one hand, I’m annoyed at myself for many weeks of writer’s block that kept my piece highlighting the much-improved state of EV charging in draft hell, as others published great articles this summer. On the other...this one’s about the Southeast. 🍑 🔌💡🔌🚗 nathanielhoradam.com/2025/08/24/i...
I want off this ride.
Read this EV travelogue from @mims.bsky.social if you haven’t already. He found what I have noticed myself over the past few months. Road trip charging even for non-Teslas is looking increasingly like a solved problem. 🔌💡🔌🚗 www.wsj.com/business/aut...
When it comes to maritime histories, Crowley is as good as they come.
Paperback edition of Roger Crowley’s “Spice” just dropped a couple weeks ago. Just picked it up. yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...
I don’t see it in my lifetime. Incredible degrees of automation, yes. AI complementing humans everywhere, yes. But in the US at least, we’ve eroded production in many sectors in favor of financialization…that prospects of cold start of AI-enabled high industrial productivity is far-fetched.
Some people seem to think we’re gonna have AGI-powered robots building fully automated factories on blueprints the AGI itself drew up, repeating that process at every stage of the industrial & agricultural supply chains…driving production costs through the floor. Humans completely out of the loop…
The AI we see China developing, augmenting a highly productive industrial juggernaut, is more likely to produce this type of massive surplus economy. The US version, focused on ads, chatbots, and porn is just going to leave Americans on their couches with fewer farms & factories producing less.
Kelsey Piper on recent research in the anti-poverty space that casts doubts on the hope she once held for UBI. www.theargumentmag.com/p/giving-peo...
Like sorry, you gotta give me avocado toast or something www.crackerbarrel.com/-/media/Proj...
They made a mistake with the branding overhaul, but fundamentally their problem was a dying loyal clientele and better alternatives catering to modern tastes. There were better pivot options that would have left their core differentiator intact while better appealing to new customers.
Personally, I stopped going to Cracker Barrel ~10 years ago because I decided I didn’t want to consume 1000 calories for breakfast on road trips anymore. Would rather stop at a coffee shop for a pastry, or if I’m going to sit down somewhere, something like First Watch with better light offerings.
Yeah I mean you’re gonna have to explain that either way. Which is also why I think hunger is generally a weak political argument and best kept to throwaway mentions in stump speeches.
If there’s a way to describe something in a way that is immediately relatable or emotive, even if imprecise, that’s the way people should speak outside academic journals. “Too many kids are going hungry” vs. *pushes up glasses* “too many kids suffer from food insecurity” Easy to see which one wins
Irrespective of the merits (and I lean more toward council being mostly good)…it’s just not a “change” year locally.
A reminder there is a list of things no one but you cares about: - Your round of golf - Your bad poker beat And most especially this week (and for the next 4 months) - Your fantasy football team
Okay sorry I can see how my framing wasn’t clear. They passed IIJA/IRA and didn’t have shovels in dirt yet, so leaned on all the performative stuff (roundtables and other public events involving community orgs, progressive advocacy groups, etc.) to show they were delivering.
When America needs her most, CRJ delivers. www.youtube.com/watch?v=R92W...
Anyhow, I will now check back out of the Nichols discourse and return to energy and good pop culture takes.
And to be clear - the solution for pols and orgs isn’t a rampage of punching left. Take a few tactical jabs, concede “yeah a lot of that stuff was silly” while turning the argument around to deeply unpopular current policy, and otherwise just use more universalist language.
So yeah, hugging the flag (+ Cheney) wasn’t enough to turn things around in ‘24 because the decisive cohort had already locked into RW media ecosystem. But irrespective of policy (which matters), it’s closer to the messaging that siphons support from Rs. The other stuff induces relapse.