iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

John Voelcker @johnvoelcker.bsky.social · 9h

Oh CHRIST. That'll definitely boost the popularity of the party that wants to deregulate every last damn thing in the U.S. of A. Apparently I can never answer a call with an unrecognized number again. And there is a special place in Hell for Brendan Carr. For many, many, MANY reasons by now.

apnews.com

FCC considers allowing more political robocalls before midterms, including those created with AI

The Federal Communications Commission is considering a request to loosen rules on political robocalls, including those with AI-generated voices.

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John Voelcker @johnvoelcker.bsky.social · 16h

Gary, Gary, Gary: That's CODE! It means non-male + often non-white. The horror.

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John Voelcker @johnvoelcker.bsky.social · 17h

Mix of eyeroll + "There, there, dear, I'm sure you're right. But please stop shrieking so loudly at the teevee, the neighbors have been complaining again." They may do some / most / all of this stuff. It won't work. The states run elections. Period. Full stop. End of story. Homie don't play that.

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John Voelcker @johnvoelcker.bsky.social · 19h

Some bracing reality from @cassidysteeledale.bsky.social: (1) "This time—after everything he’s done since he’s been back in office—even a lot of Republicans <i>haaaaaaate</i> him." (2) States will ignore any so-called State of Emergency (Russell Vought or not). (3) Dems can reform. GOP can't.

cassidysteeledale.substack.com

How I Am Interpreting Polls About the Midterms

And what they may mean for the longer term future.

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John Voelcker @johnvoelcker.bsky.social · 19h

Hah, yeah; first model year was 2022, so even on a six-year cycle, the 2028 should be new. Damn but time flies. I still recall the catastrophic 2012 Civic, designed in the depths of the recession, that was borderline Iron Curtain + ravaged by the auto media (but still sold decently anyhow).

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John Voelcker @johnvoelcker.bsky.social · 19h

Interesting: 2027 Honda Civic adds new value-priced Sport-L trim (leather, power-adjustable + heated front seats, dual-zone climate control) for just under $30K. AND, factoid: Prices start at ~$26,300 w/delivery, but the AVERAGE Civic transaction amt is below industry avg price...for USED vehicles.

hondanews.com

2027 Honda Civic Advances America’s Best-Selling Compact Car with New “Sport-L” Trim and Available S+ Shift Drive Mode

The sleek and fun-to-drive 2027 Honda Civic Sedan and Hatchback are starting to arrive at Honda dealerships nationwide now with the new Sport-L trim joining the lineup by the end of the year.

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John Voelcker @johnvoelcker.bsky.social · 20h

As Jim Hall commented yesterday, "Regardless of what you may think of it, the Jaguar Type 01 has proven itself to be a damned near 100% accurate old-fart-on-the-internet detector. Prove me wrong." I spat tea.

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John Voelcker @johnvoelcker.bsky.social · 20h

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John Voelcker @johnvoelcker.bsky.social · 20h

Best rundown of evocative designs to me came from Jonny Lieberman on Insta. He led off with the Cadillac Sixteen, which seems a VERY smart match ... www.instagram.com/p/DeMUpPeEdeI/

instagram.com

Instagram

Create an account or log in to Instagram - Share what you're into with the people who get you.

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Reposted by John Voelcker

Tempting Fate Tours @temptingfatetours.bsky.social · 21h

We can't help but wonder: How did they teach the dog to use a taser?

Photo of British police car at night with blue lights illuminated, behind police crime-scene tape.

The headline reads, "Knife-wielding man hit with police cars, tasered and bitten by dog" followed by the subhed, "Linas Luopas swung a large blade at police before he was struck three times by vehicles, battered with batons and sprayed with incapacitant".

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John Voelcker @johnvoelcker.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

To me that's perfectly usual marketing blather from an automaker. I see that stuff ALL. THE. TIME. In general, the more words it requires, the thinner the premise is. I didn't peg that as AI specifically, but what makes you think it is?

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John Voelcker @johnvoelcker.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

The original brief for the car's shape, which Jaguar says it accomplished.

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John Voelcker @johnvoelcker.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

It's officially the Jaguar Type 01. Its 120-kWh battery powers 3 motors with combined power limited to 750 kW (1,015 hp); 400 miles of EPA range + 350-kW fast charging. My 2 favorite factoids: dash-to-axle distance is 1 meter...and the car is lower than two of its 23-inch wheels stacked vertically.

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John Voelcker @johnvoelcker.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

The great thing about NYC is you never know what you'll find on a side streeet. Like the production version of the new #Jaguar #EV. Heh. I like it. Thoughts?

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John Voelcker @johnvoelcker.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Yes, the president of the U.S. said he feels "badly" for the 7 current + former male Cornell University students whom a female former student has accused of sexual assault + rape. Why would that be? Because, he said, they "won't get a fair shake" from the [black, female] NYS Attorney General. Oh.

snopes.com

Did Trump say he feels badly for 'Cornell 7' because they 'won't get a fair shake'?

The quote circulated online after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul appointed Letitia James as a special prosecutor in the Cornell University investigation.

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John Voelcker @johnvoelcker.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

AFAIK, the sole top-hat part that's different is the "grille" ... though I couldn't do a side-by-side on the tailgate.

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John Voelcker @johnvoelcker.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

The 2027 Mitsubishi Eclipse Sportback #EV, aka Nissan Leaf with new badges, will be priced from $39,740 (including the mandatory delivery fee just under $2K). Here's my review of that car for @caranddriver.bsky.social in mid-August.

caranddriver.com

Mitsubishi Eclipse Sportback: With This New EV, It’s Not Just the Name That’s Familiar

Mitsubishi gets back into the EV game with more than a little help from Nissan.

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John Voelcker @johnvoelcker.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

"Now there seems to be an effort to tie Republicans to the one postwar Republican president with lower approval ratings than Trump. "What the hell are they thinking?"

smotus.substack.com

The party within the party

“Nixonmaxxing” and the GOP’s rightward move on race and sex show how a party can be driven by a small number of people

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John Voelcker @johnvoelcker.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

"Unlike China's decades-long #EV strategy, including government subsidies, U.S. automakers have largely been left to face Chinese competition on their own." Or, worse, seesawed back + forth between support for reduced emissions + the EV transition (Dems) and contempt for EVs + climate change (GOP).

detroitnews.com

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John Voelcker @johnvoelcker.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Imagine if Obama or Biden had said this .... (Though, on the other hand ... if they said it, people wouldn't have just dismissed the comment out of hand, as they do all those of the crazy old uncle who no one wants to sit next to at family dinners because he rants + smells bad.)

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John Voelcker @johnvoelcker.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

"Our [works shows] how easily people—some w/ questionable backgrounds—have founded their own private schools in barns, strip malls + other places. That led us to an experiment: If hurdles to open a school are so low, could we do it?" A team of education reporters founded their own private schools.

propublica.org

Almost Anyone Can Start a Private School. We Put This to the Test.

Our reporting has shown how easily people — some with questionable backgrounds — have founded their own private schools in barns, strip malls and other places. That led us to an experiment: If the hur...

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John Voelcker @johnvoelcker.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Sales of #Tesla Model 3s surged in Canada in Q3 after imports of the Chinese-built #EV model started. DesRosiers Automotive Consultants attributes the strong sales to Tesla’s "aggressive Canadian pricing." Some trims are priced as much as 25% lower than the US-built cars on sale south of the border.

bloomberg.com

Tesla Gets Model 3 Sales Boost in Canada After Carney’s China Deal

Tesla Inc. enjoyed strong sales of its Model 3 vehicle in Canada during the third quarter as shipments began to arrive from China this year, according to a report from DesRosiers Automotive Consultant...

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John Voelcker @johnvoelcker.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

I strongly suspect that's the point ...

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John Voelcker @johnvoelcker.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

You have my devout sympathies. [makes sign of cross at both the poor benighted souls]

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John Voelcker @johnvoelcker.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Oh, for more than 10 years, #Tesla has mounted a push at its retail outlets in the last month or couple of weeks of every quarter to get the cars out the door + registered. It's apparently chaos, with leaning on customers to take delivery BEFORE THE 30th. Longstanding practice to juice the numbers.

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John Voelcker @johnvoelcker.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

The diesel crisis has arrived. - Gulf diesel + gasoil net exports averaged ~ 1/4 of pre-war levels, per IEA. - Moscow said Sep 30 its diesel export ban would continue through October. - Chinese refiners suspended Oct fuel exports outside Hong Kong + Macau to protect domestic stocks, per Reuters.

theconcis.com

Turmoil Diesel

Can we scrape it through?

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John Voelcker @johnvoelcker.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Here it is, the new 2027 Hyundai Tucson compact crossover SUV, at its global debut in NYC.

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John Voelcker @johnvoelcker.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Ah, New York, New York. Street-parking a #Tesla Cybertruck in the deep East Village is ... a choice.

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John Voelcker @johnvoelcker.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

As long as they DON'T get vaccinated !!

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John Voelcker @johnvoelcker.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Wrong govt agency. Unless WAR COMMANDER EL JEFE CHIEF SUPREMO ** HEGSETH !!! ** is planning to enroll all TSA employees in the U.S. military? I have my doubts many of them would meet his fitness + esthetic standards, let alone be nearly pale enough to please him.

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John Voelcker @johnvoelcker.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

This is someplace among worrisome + sad + hilarious. Our current president's highly promoted "America.gov / #AI is wonderful!" chatbot easily debunked dozens of the lies he's put out there ... using the U.S. govt's own stats. So of course it had to be censored.

Hours after its launch, America.gov's chatbot was censored.

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John Voelcker @johnvoelcker.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Your pic? Found online? AI? So hard to tell these days ... Yeah, certainly that's one extreme case. But I've done counter jobs in past lives + standing in one place for hours at a place is horrible for the lower extremities. Plus I doubt TSA scanner displays are ergonomically designed for standees.

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John Voelcker @johnvoelcker.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Ah, your sarcasm emoji failed to render on my device. RESUBMIT.

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John Voelcker @johnvoelcker.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Look at current sales of 1/2 vs 3/4 ton. Former is a multiple of the latter ... which are absolutely pricier. Fleets will NOT do that for $$$ reasons; instead, they'll push for more midsize + compact pickups which fill most of their needs.

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John Voelcker @johnvoelcker.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Oh, of course. That's how the Detroit 2.5 are still with us today!

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John Voelcker @johnvoelcker.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Full-size trucks + SUVs, and most midsize pickups, already meet the new truck definition. They may get bigger, but not for this reason. The metric isn't size, but payload + rated tow capacity. To me the Q is whether midsize SUVs get uprated to become trucks; I doubt compact SUVs / pickups will be.

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John Voelcker @johnvoelcker.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Well said. (Though TBH, every OEM since the beginning of time has gamed the system + also viscerally, viciously fought any + all attempts to regulate any aspect of their products, services or business practices ... but I digress). You really think U.S. will be ALL midsize SUVs + above? I don't.

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John Voelcker @johnvoelcker.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Ah, thx. Good explainer that wasn't included in the Det News piece: 'Light-Duty Work Factor' = towing + payload > 8,500 lbs. Tho it's trim- + eqpt-specific, I can see making your mods for midsizes: Grand Cherokee, Pathfinder, Telluride, Explorer. NOT sure I see it for compacts: RAV4, Outback, etc.

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John Voelcker @johnvoelcker.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

If true, profoundly disappointing: "The Kansas City-area plant where the Bolt is made is now on pace to make about 35,000 of the small SUVs in total before production of the vehicle ends" in Q1 next year. I suspect having to import LFP cells from China means GM loses a bundle on each one. Sad.

reuters.com

GM’s pint-sized Bolt EV gets smaller production run

General Motors is building about 75% fewer Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles than had ‌originally been planned before federal support for EVs was yanked last year, a union official said.

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