What Do A Wagon, A Pickup, The Green New Deal & Formula E Have In Common?

RPM News Podcast 2-21-20

Weaving their way through the heavy congestion that a very mixed topic load might create, RPM Podcasters Rich Taber and Peter Ciani smoothly navigate the discussion all the way from a stellar Philadelphia road trip in the 2020 Volvo V60 Cross Country T5 AWD to previewing the upcoming New York International Auto Show. Along the way they explore life up north for a week in the GMC Sierra 2500HD Denali Crew Cab, venture into the Green New Deal and rally behind Formula E racing. It’s a fun ride – have a listen.

RPM News Weekly Podcast Also Available On Stitcher

Segment Locations On The Scrub Bar

  • 00:00 Introduction
  • 01:45 Volvo V60 Cross Country T5 AWD
  • 16:25 GMC Sierra 2500HD Denali Crew Cab
  • 26:47 Green New Deal
  • 46:12 Formula E Racing
  • 55:52 New York International Auto Show

2020 Volvo V60 Cross Country T5 AWD


2020 GMC Sierra 2500HD Denali Crew Cab


The Green New Deal


FIA Formula E


The New York International Auto Show

Jaguar’s Evans Dominates Formula E Round 4

Jaguar / Panasonic driver Mitch Evans ran away with the lead in the fourth Formula E contest of the 2019 – 2020 race season finishing well ahead of his nearest rival after a tumultuous afternoon at the Mexico City E-Prix that saw a slew of mishaps.

“I just want to thank the team for their work in between all the races.” ~ Mitch Evans

Photo: FIA Formula E

Bolting out of second position on the grid Evans managed to take the lead out of Turn 1 and never looked back, ultimately finishing just over four seconds ahead of his closest competitor, DS Techeetah’s Antonio Felix da Costa, while Nissan e.dams’ Sebastian Buemi nabbed points for third.

“It feels really sweet because Santiago was a tough one for us in terms of our race management but today we obviously showed we fixed all the problems, “noted Evans. “I just want to thank the team for their work in between all the races.”

Top Ten Finishes – Mexico City E-Prix
Image Courtesy of FIA Formula E

https://youtu.be/L_D6_snCPeE
Mexico City E-Prix Highlights

Tech Talk On RPM: Suited For NE Winter, CR-V Seeks Snow

2-11-20 Tech Talk

~ Recorded Live from KOWS FM 92.5 ~

A well worn expression in New England advises that if you don’t like the weather, wait a minute. In that respect, our Tech Talk commentator, Rick DeMeis could consider it a happy accident that he didn’t get a heap of snow in which to test drive the 2020 Honda CR-V even though the all-wheel drive Touring edition that was his ride-of-the-week is certainly well-suited for winter driving. Have a listen and he’ll fill you in on the details of this popular vehicle.
It’s an easy side-step from there to his mentioning the half-dozen or so vehicles he put through the paces at the New England Motor Press Association Winter Vehicle Test Day before he drove off at the end of the day with the CR-V.
This week’s episode continues with a survey from iseecars.com on the most popular vehicle colors followed by a host of informative space related news items . It’s a jam-packed journey, so “don’t forget your towel“.

Tech Talk is a weekly feature on KOWS 92.5 FM radio Newtopian Dream program hosted by RT Newt.

Ride of the Week:

2020 Honda CR-V Touring AWD

photos: Honda Media

  • Turbocharged 1.5L 4-cyl. Engine
  • 190-hp; 179 lb-ft of Torque
  • Continuously Variable Transmission
  • 27 City / 32 Highway / 29 Combined MPG
  • 19-in. Alloy Wheels
  • LED Headlights w/ Auto-On/Off
  • Rain-Sensing Windshield Wipers
  • Hands-Free Access Power Tailgate
  • Roof Rails
  • Heated Steering Wheel
  • Honda Satellite-Linked Navigation System
  • 330-watt Premium Audio System w/ 9 Speakers
  • Wireless Phone Charger
  • Ambient Lighting
  • Driver Attention Monitor
  • 5-star Safety Rating
  • $34,750 as Driven

Automotive News:

NEMPA Winter Vehicle Test Day
Awards will be presented at the annual NEMPA Conference and Awards Dinner to be held at the MIT Media Center on Friday, May 15, 2020.


Most Popular Car Colors
A study by iseecars.com examined over 9.4 million cars on the road to determine the popularity of each vehicle color nationally, by state, and by metro area.


On The Space Frontier:

Christina Koch Returns To Earth With Space Stay Record
Her record 328 days in space sets milestone for the longest single spaceflight by a woman.

NASA astronaut Christina Koch is pictured during a spacewalk on January 15, 2020.
Photo credit: NASA

Solar Orbiter Heads Toward The Sun
The Solar Orbiter begins a seven-year mission to observe the Sun and study the star’s affect on the space environment throughout the solar system. In addition, the spacecraft will provide images of the Sun’s poles.

Illustration of Solar Orbiter Showing Solar Arrays and Antennae.
Image courtesy of European Space Agency

2020 Mars Rover Completes Testing

First Drive Test of NASA’s Mars 2020 Rover
courtesy: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory-CalTech

Musk Minute (Related News):

Boeing Starliner Test Results Reviewed
Design and coding problems could spell bigger troubles for the spacecraft. Nasa has contracted with both Boeing and SpaceX to develop spacecraft for manned missions to and from the International Space Station.


More Space Tech News:

Microwave Water Decontamination


Voyager 2 Reestablishes Contact


Winter Vehicles & The All Jeep Garage: RPM News Podcast 2/07/20

This week Rich and Peter discuss the upcoming New England Motor Press Association Winter Vehicle Test Day along with this week’s rides of the week, the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk and the Jeep Gladiator.

This week RPM Podcasters Rich Taber and Peter Ciani discuss the upcoming New England Motor Press Association Winter Vehicle Test Day along with their rides of the week – the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk and the Jeep Gladiator.

RPM News Weekly Podcast 2/07/20