Trucks | FoT: Cruise, Zeno, DeepDrive

FoT is the intelligence arm of Trucks Venture Capital 

Notable:

IIHS finds drivers learn ways to skirt limits set by ADAS systems (link). 'Drivers were much more likely to check their phones, eat a sandwich or do other visual-manual activities while using Volvo’s Pilot Assist partial automation system than when driving unassisted, a monthlong study of driver behavior that IIHS conducted with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s AgeLab showed. The tendency to multitask also increased over time for some drivers as they grew more comfortable with the technology, while others were more distracted while using the system from the start.' It's either Level 1 or Level 4 for me; 2, 3 and 5 are the problematic ones.

GM's Cruise restarts AV testing in the Bay Area, roughly 12 months after pedestrian dragging incident in San Francisco (link). 'Cruise said Thursday it's deploying manual mapping vehicles in Sunnyvale and Mountain View and intends to progress to supervised testing with up to five AVs in the northern California communities later this fall.' Cruise's year 'off' (2024) was the right move; I wonder how far they'd go if they hire Karl Iagnemma to run everything now.

US set to propose ban on Chinese software, hardware in connected vehicles (link). Via Dan E. Possibly as early as Monday. Related: Chinese automakers’ answer to EU tariffs: build in Europe (link).

US house repeals tailpipe targets (link). 'The U.S. House of Representatives voted narrowly on Friday to repeal clean-vehicle rules adopted in March to cut tailpipe emissions by 50% from 2026 levels by 2032.' Related: EU carmakers pressure Brussels to delay stricter emission rules (link).

How 'super-angel' bike rebalancers make $6000/month on NYC's bike share system (link).

Building the dream: DIY hovercraft (link). Via Diego. 'The cab was cut from a 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee; the engine once revved up a 1985 Toyota Celica; and 107 hand-sewn rubber segments, courtesy of Mr. Tymofichuk’s wife, help to direct low-pressure air beneath the craft so that it rises eight inches above the ground.' Every child of the 80s wanted throwing stars, a hovercraft and a cable box descrambler.

Video: Thrilling scenes from the 11th European Tramdriver Championships in Frankfurt (link). Via Ed. Video: RedBull rider Dawid Godziek does bike flip on a moving train (link). Video: GM CEO Mary Barra on CBS Sunday Morning (link). Video: clever appliqués for your car (link). Video: cloudrc racing POV setup (link). Video: DJI NEO drone launch video (link). Video: Harry Metcalf reviews the Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster (link). Video: Volvo's look back at the 240 on its 50th anniversary (link).

An ode to the minivan, America's 'perfect vehicle' (link). 'Minivan sales have been falling steadily since their peak in 2000, when about 1.3 million were sold in the United States. As of last year, that figure is down by about 80%.'

M&A / Deals / Changes:

Chinese VTOL startup Vertaxi raises $28M (link). Led by Zhongshan.

German EV motor startup DeepDrive raises $33M (link). Led by Leitmotif.

California hydrogen electrolyzer startup Hgen raises $5M (link). Led by Seven Seven Six.

Trek's BCycle sharing business acquired by Bicycle Transit Systems (link).

Detroit EV camper startup Electric Outdoors raises $1.3M (link). Led by Veolectra.

Cybersecurity startup RunSafe raises $12M (link). Led by Critical Ventures and SineWave Venture Partners.

Sustainable aviation fuel startup Air Company raises $69M (link). Led by Avfuel and Lowercarbon.

Battery swapping EV startup Zeno raises $9M (link). Led by Lowercarbon and Toyota Ventures.

Gordon Murray Group wins $15M UK grant to develop lightweight vehicle structure (link).

Tennessee battery startup Safire Group raises $8M (link). Led by Canaan.

Hydrogen funding surges: 'At least 23 hydrogen-focused startups globally have secured financing so far this year, bringing in over $1.4 billion in equity funding' (link).

Waymo and Hyundai reportedly in talks about hardware partnership (link).

Board & Executive Changes:

Motional: Karl Iagnemma steps down as CEO; Laura Major to become interim CEO (link).

Autoliv: Adriana Karaboutis joins board (link).

JetBlue: Sean Menke joins board (link).

Featured Jobs:

Senior Quality Engineer at Aperia Technologies in Hayward, CA, USA (link).

Senior II Data Engineer | Platform Software at Xona Space Systems, remote (link).

MobilityJobs is the No.1 job board for auto & transportation companies (link). If you are a startup you can use the job board for free standard listings — just enter 'Trucks' at checkout.

New Stuff:

A look at Ford's new Digital Experience cockpit, which 'brings Apple and Android into balance' (link).

California joins other states offering an integrated digital ID into iOS (link).

EV startup Bollinger beats the odds with start of production for their medium duty truck (link).

NASA shows pressurized rover concept (link). Via Diego.

Rivian begins sales of pre-owned vehicles from its own site (link). Via Carly.

Treasury rule would expand tax credits for installing electric vehicle chargers (link). 'A rule proposed Wednesday by the Treasury Department would make credits worth up to $1,000 for individuals and $100,000 for businesses available for each EV charger that is installed.'

Patents & Patent Applications:

Ford's patent application shows cargo detection (link). 'There have been illegal drugs planted on your vehicle.'

Porsche's patent application shows six-stroke internal combustion design (link).

Statistics / Projections:

4 in 10 London children stopped driving and started walking to school a year after the city's clean air zone went into effect (link). Via Grist.

Survey shows average EV battery degradation has improved to 1.8% per year, from 2.3% per year, over the last five years (link). Via Geotab.

Thank you:

Thank you to Jim Adler (link), Benjamin Birnbaum (link), Peter Kober (link), Latif Peracha (link) and Thomas Selby (link) for offers of introductions to new founders, investors and friends over the last week.

Trucks portfolio companies mentioned in this issue:

Aperia Technologies (link), Xona Space Systems (link). View the full portfolio of Trucks companies (link).

Take the Underground to Dragonham East,

Reilly Brennan