Steve Litchfield

Adapted from the four part YouTube series on my channel (videos embedded below), I thought a readable version might also be useful. Note that all of this is from my own, utterly subjective (but technical) viewpoint.  Introduction So... my long form videos have re-emerged - into related mobile tech. Starting with this - a 2024 CAR. With its own embedded, permanent Internet 4G connection, and with its compatibility with Apple’s CarPlay and Google’s Android Auto, a new car in 2024 is just as high tech as a phone. With dozens of computers, two large main displays, lifetime OS updates, and real time baked in real time, road speed limit and speed camera warnings, a new car today both satisfies the geek in me and also…gets me and my family around. I’ll come to the tech in a later video, but this one’s more automotive, and I wanted to lay out my reasoning for choosing… the Toyota Yaris Cross 2024. Other cars are available, of course… My existing mobile office - err… I mean my Ford CMax, se...

No, this isn't a detailed treatise and specification comparison between the various car propulsion technologies. More me musing on where to go and what to do, in terms of 'choosing my next car'. I currently drive an eight year old Ford C-Max with a three cylinder 1.0 litre turbocharged 'EcoBoost' engine - those exact details becoming relevant below, as you'll see. Definitions The year is 2023 then. 'Hybrid' cars (see definitions below) have been around in production form for 25 years (since the first Toyota Prius), so are almost ubiquitous now. 'Electric' cars (ditto, definition) for about 13 years (since the Nissan Leaf), so are more common but still considered new technology. ' Hybrid ' cars have both (small batteries with) electric motors and  Internal Combustion Engines ( ICE ), with the former handling low speed, low acceleration duties, and the latter handling higher speeds and higher accelerations over longer distances. Most hybrid...