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+--- Thread: Why is Dodge making an electric muscle car? + Branson vs Bezos: Who has better plan? (/thread-10610.html)
Why is Dodge making an electric muscle car? + Branson vs Bezos: Who has better plan? - C C - Jul 8, 2021
Dodge doesn't seem to know how it feels about its upcoming electric muscle car
https://futurism.com/dodge-electric-car-performance
INTRO: US carmaker Dodge has teased an all-electric muscle car that’s set to be released some time in 2024. The company’s upcoming EV will “tear up the streets, not the planet,” Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis said during an announcement today.
He also promised that Dodge “will not sell electric cars,” but will make “American eMuscle” a thing instead — a perplexing approach to warming the public up to the idea of buying an electric performance vehicle.
In a flashy end to today’s presentation, a gravitas-laden voiceover seemed to embody the event’s contradictions. “Why on God’s green Earth would Dodge ever build an electric car?” it asked. “Anybody? Any thoughts out there?”
The answer appeared, written in large bold text: “Performance made us do it.”
Which raises the question: why undercut the promise of ruining the planet just a little bit less by going electric? Are Dodge’s testosterone-fueled and adrenaline-chasing customers really that averse to embracing a greener future?
“While that may sound like a nuance, it’s not, not to our customers anyways,” Kuniskis added, “because our customers purchase an experience, not a technology.” (MORE)
Branson vs Bezos: as the billionaires get ready to blast into space, who’s got the better plan? (travel)
https://theconversation.com/branson-vs-bezos-as-the-billionaires-get-ready-to-blast-into-space-whos-got-the-better-plan-163898
EXCERPT: . . . While the costs of a seat on both spaceships will be eye watering, only Virgin Atlantic have announced an official price tag: US$250,000 per seat on a SpaceShipTwo flight. It’s expected Blue Origin’s New Shepard will be priced similarly.
The simplicity of Blue Origin’s system means it will probably be better equipped to reduce costs over time. But simplicity may also be its downfall. Meanwhile, SpaceShipTwo is a more complex spacecraft with pilots. This could prove more attractive to customers... (MORE - details)