Mercedes Bets On Electric Cars, A Turbo Mazda Tests My Willpower, Performance Theater, and Two-Wheeled Mobility Off-Road

The headlines claim car buyers don’t want EVs, yet Mercedes just approved a fully electric CLA and a flexible platform to support hybrids and gas models as well. We explain why platform strategy—not hype—determines winners: amortized R&D, quicker model updates, and the ability to meet demand without risking the entire company on one powertrain. We also discuss pricing pressures, tariffs, and how software services and over-the-air updates help premium brands make the numbers work after the sale.

Then, we shift from spreadsheets to seat time. A 2025 Mazda 3 2.5 Turbo Premium Plus AWD hatchback weathered Midwest storms, stayed quiet and balanced, and showed us how a solid chassis can subtly influence driving. The drive ended with a ticket and a reset on speed discipline, but it also reminded us why this compact hatch exceeds expectations: strong torque, simple elegance, and confidence for road trips—with only a few flaws like non-flat folding seats and no fog lights.

Work life isn’t staying in its lane either. Return-to-office mandates promised increased productivity but often delivered performance theater—where being seen is more important than getting results. We explore what employers risk by ignoring the value of autonomy, and why the best talent might leave as the labor market shifts. Finally, we venture into dirt and snow with an Audi-branded electric mountain bike built by Fantic—offering four assist modes, impressive range, and a design inspired by Dakar—and examine ultralight electric snowbikes that bring quiet, low-emission mobility to winter terrain.

If you care about the future of mobility—EV platforms, driver-focused compacts, hybrid work realities, and new electric adventures on trails and snow—you’ll find something here at The TechMobility Show to debate or act on. Enjoy the ride, then subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review to help more curious listeners discover the show.

Chapters

• 1:06 Mercedes Bets on an Electric Sedan
• 12:22 Zoom-Zoom: 2025 Mazda3 Hatchback review
• 22:21 Performance Theater At Work
• 33:21 Electric Two-Wheeled Off-Roading

Transcript

SPEAKER_01: 0:07

Welcome to the Tech Mobility Podcast. Brought to you by Playbook Investors Network, your strategic partner for unstoppable growth.

SPEAKER_02: 0:15

Visit pincommunity.org to get started. I'm Ken Chester. On the Docket, my impressions of the 2025 Miles to 3 hatchback, major fail, return office mandates, and electric mountain bikes. To add your voice to the conversation, be it to ask a question, share an opinion, or even suggest an idea or topic for future discussion, call or text the TechMobility Online, that number, 872-222-9793, or you can email the show directly. Talk at techmobility.show. For those of you who enjoy Substack, you can find me there too as a proud member of the Iowa Writers Collaborative at Ken, the letter C, IOWA. From the Tech Mobility News Desk. Over the last six or seven years, we made a big deal about automakers pivoting towards trucks, SUVs, and the like. How the domestic auto industry in the United States pretty much abandoned the passenger car as we know it. And how the Asian manufacturers, for the most part, soldiered on with a number of passenger cars. And while they have, in fact, trimmed their offerings in recent years, they still build them. And Detroit largely doesn't. Stillantis doesn't, and GM's just down to the Corvette for the most part. So if you want to argue, they all the all the major Detroit automakers do not. I say that for a reason. Mercedes-Benz is bringing to market a new entry-level car, next generation, the CLA. But the CLA is showing up with a fully electric version in late, the late part of this year, about now. And I want that to sink in for a minute. Automakers don't, by choice, commit billions of dollars, factories, thousands of workers, the full faith and credit of the corporation to bring a vehicle to market they know that nobody wants. But here we are. You've also read a lot about how a number of automakers have either canceled programs, delayed programs, pivoted from EVs. Mercedes Benz is doubling down. This is not an SUV. It's a car. Let that sink in for a minute. Mercedes-Benz is not just building a car, which in today's market to continue to invest in passenger cars is news. But an electric passenger car. Full electric car. And this car, the CLA, is this next generation, is just not a makeover. It's more than a makeover. It's a template for Mercedes' pragmatic pivot from an Eevee only strategy to one with diversified powertrains. I am getting this information straight from Automotive News, which is an automotive trade publication. It's been around for now over a hundred years. The CLA debuts a platform designed for electric and hybrid powertrains that will underpin several compact and mid-sized models. Similarly, other Mercedes models will support gasoline-only, hybrid and electric powertrains. I've explained sort of how this works before, but in case you weren't privy to that conversation, let me bring you up to speed. You might see a car, a particular model. What an automaker sees is the platform underneath it. They develop platforms. And those platforms are brutally important because the platform, the underpinnings of the vehicle, determine all sorts of stuff. How much weight? How big? What size? What can it do? How many different vehicles can we build from it? What kind of suspension? Well, given it's this size and this platform, how many assembly plants can build it? Can we build it profitably? How many of these do we have to build to recapture our investment? And how long will that take? So a lot of deliberation goes into a platform. And for most cars, most vehicles, even a lot of trucks, that platform it rides on supports a number of different models. Let me give you an easy example that's obvious the Chevy Tahoe, Chevy Suburban, GMC Yukon, Yukon XL, and the Yukon Denali, all ride on the same platform. In fact, all of those, including the Cadillac Escalade, not the electric one, the traditional gasoline-powered Escalade, are all built on the same platform in the same assembly plant. And in order for GM to make their money, that's what they got to do across all those platforms. And may I add that that platform is a derivative of the pickup truck platform? So now we're looking at hundreds of thousands of vehicles built on that platform. Why does that matter? Because to get all the goodness that all of these vehicles share, they gotta spend a lot of money. When you're spending that kind of money, and I'm talking billions with a B dollars, then you want to spread that investment over as many units as you can. How many different vehicles can I build from this? That's an obvious example. Here's one that's not so obvious. Right about the time now, 20 years ago, when the domestic automakers were going through crisis, the Ford Motor Company bet the farm on a platform, on a mid-sized car platform that was going to underpin most of what the Ford Motor Company built that wasn't a truck for the next 15 years. And the cool part, it was based on a company that they owned once upon a time. That platform underpinned the Mazda 6. And it also underpinned the Ford uh Fusion. It underpinned the Ford uh not the 500, but it also underpinned let's see, what else did it I mean, just a variety of vehicles. The Lincoln MKZ. To name two right off the top of my head. And there were others, including a couple of crossover SUVs that were underpinned with that platform. So here's Mercedes-Benz coming to the market in the fall of 2025 with a full electric. One of the variations that they're gonna sell. They're committed to building so many of them. They've committed to their suppliers, they've committed to their factories, they're committed to their workers. They were passed a point of no return when the administration decided, gee, guess what? No more subsidies for this. And in the Mercedes speak, this is an affordable entry-level car. Yeah, it's 50 grand. But for Mercedes, it is an entry point into the brand. Mercedes says that they are going to survive this by being very strategic and how they deploy supply. They're going to focus on markets friendly to EVs such as California. And they're going to target with the right amount of vehicles. And bear in mind they're doing this while that particular car, shipped from its plant in Germany, is subject currently to a 15% U.S. tariff. They also admit they must be competitive with other cars in its segment, including gasoline bottles, to sell. And what they want to do is they want to go back after the market that they largely ceded to BMW and Tesla. That at the time that people wanted what they ended up going to BMW for and electric, a Tesla for an electric, they couldn't get from Mercedes-Benz. They can now. Mercedes was quoted as saying, we are not in the practice of selling cars unprofitably. So they're looking at the whole life cycle of the car. Because remember now, cars are, vehicles are largely computers on wheels. They will make money back by selling services through that car. Over the air updates of stuff that you may want to that car to upgrade it. Well, they may not make money on the front end, they plan to make their money on the back end. So, no doubt, I'm sure financing will be an issue too. Driving this car cost me$375 in a year's probation. I explain that next. You are listening to the Tech Mobility Show.

SPEAKER_00: 10:18

In business, opportunity doesn't wait, and neither should you. At Playbook Investors Network, we connect visionary entrepreneurs with the strategies, resources, and capital they need to win. Whether you're launching, scaling, or reimagining your business, our network turns ambition into measurable success. Your vision deserves more than a plan, it deserves a playbook that works. Playbook Investors Network, where bold ideas meet bold results. Visit pincommunity.org today.

SPEAKER_01: 10:50

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SPEAKER_02: 11:22

To learn more about the Tech Mobility Show, start by visiting our website. I'm Ken Chester, host of the Tech Mobility Show. The website is a treasure trove of information about me and the show, as well as where to find it on the radio across the country. Keep up with the happenings at the Tech Mobility Show by visiting Techmobility.show. You can also drop us a line at talk at Techmobility.show.

SPEAKER_00: 11:56

That's where Playbook Investors Network comes in. We're your strategic partner for accelerating growth, navigating challenges, and capturing market opportunities before your competition does. Your business is more than an idea. Let's make it an impact. Playbook Investors Network. Your future starts here. Learn more at pincommunity.org.

SPEAKER_03: 12:23

Isn't there a car out there I can get excited about? There's this. The all-new Monster 3 and Monster 35 door. We think it's possible.

SPEAKER_02: 12:52

Yeah, that was 2005, and the price you didn't see, which when he asked how could it get any better, was$14,100. And yeah, to buy that same car today would be at least double, at least. But still an amazing car. Let me share you a story. I start with this. Zoom zoom. This past July, I was on a business trip to Pewaukee, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee. From Des Moines, this is a five-hour trip one way. I left in the middle of the night since the meeting was first thing in the morning, and I had no plans to spend the night. Driving up to the meeting, the rain was torrential and unrelenting. My press pool car that week was a 2025 Mazda 3 all-wheel drive hatchback in a premium plus trim. And did I mention it was a turbo? Mm-hmm. I drove real fast and the Mazda 3 did not disappoint, maintaining grip and control through the worst of the weather. After the day-long meeting, the weather had broken and I started back home. Mainly driving in the speed of traffic through most of the journey. Haha, but it was late at night as I approached home. About 50 miles from home, I stopped to stretch my legs and glean some clarity. It was at this point I reasoned, or misreasoned, I guess, that one, this was a road I knew extremely well. Two, at this time of night, I could push to knock out this last little mileage and get home. And three, the Mazda 3 was more than capable. When I got back on the highway, I put my foot in it, and I was moving at what could be considered a high-rate of speed. And there's a note to Mazda, this was not triple-digit speed. Just wanted you to know that. Just me, the Mazda, and the quickly disappearing road. Until it wasn't. On that quiet, lonely highway, Iowa State Highway 330, if you really want to know, that night a set of headlights was coming up behind me fast from a distance. And at that time of night in Iowa, it could only be law enforcement. Long story short, the county sheriff clocked me at a speed some 27 miles above the posted speed limit. The ticket was$250. A follow-up letter about five weeks later from the Iowa Department of Transportation said, in lieu of suspension, I would need to attend a driver improvement class. That was$125. After decades of driving and the relief that I was going to get to keep my driver's license, I came to the realization that while having the need for speed is fun and gets blood pumping, my overriding desire and need for my Iowa driver's license, which the state reminds you is a privilege bestowed on drivers by the state, not a right, has resulted in ending my high-speed driving days. From July 31st of this year forward, posted speed limits and cruise control are my North Star. But the Mazda 3 wasn't any worse for wear. Zoom Zoom. Manufactured by the Automaker since 2003 as a replacement for the 323 and Protege, the fourth and current generation of the Mazda 3 debuted in 2019. Available as a sedan and a hatchback, the Mazda 3 is offered in seven trim levels, five normally aspirated and two turbocharged. Let me correct that. Equipped with the Sky Active G2.5 liter turbocharged gasoline four-cylinder engine. This is the vehicle that I drove. And this is what my review is about. The sophisticated power plant produces 227 horsepower and 320 foot pounds of torque. Energy is communicated to all four wheels via six-speed sport automatic transmission. EPA fuel economy is 23 city, 31 highway. Cargo capacity 20.1 cubic feet. What did I like about the Mazda 3? This hatchback is the strong silent type. When underway, the hatchback delivers smooth, solid, quiet, almost effortless motion that is driver inspiring. Although the motorist can activate a sport toggle switch in the center console, let me tell you personally from Ken, you will not need it. And there's a certain elegance about this car, and it's always been fun to drive. With head-up display to keep your attention on the road where it belongs, I can personally attest that this small hatchback is worthy of hours of enjoyable interstate travel at speed. Most's modern minimalist interior still works, tasteful, efficient, and not overbearing, sands a multitude of buttons, switches, and touchscreens. The surround view camera system is on point. Seating is comfortable throughout the cabin, with front seats able to fully recline. The split rear seat features a center armrest with dual cup holders. A traditional sunroof adds light and some airiness to the cabin. The carp spare tire is accessible inside the car under the impressively large and conveniently shaped cargo area. Here's what I didn't like about the Mazda 3. And I'm not sure if it's a fault with the rain indicator, but the car kept losing range, almost immediately losing 40 miles of range, although I didn't drive anywhere close to that. I don't know if it was due to the high ambient temperature that week, which was plus 94 degrees Fahrenheit, or it's a software issue. The rear seats don't fold flat with the cargo ashore, a shame because its functionality would have taken that car to the next level. And finally, and this is puzzling to me, no fog lights. Hmm. Here's the bottom line. While there's certainly more pedestrian, less expensive trim levels within the Mazda 3 line, I doubt that you would have this much fun. Well, okay, almost as much fun. But take one for a drive and learn why. Zoom Zoom, which is an advertising campaign long over, still applies when you're talking about a Mazda. The manufacturer suggested retail price for the 2025 Mazda 3 2.5 Turbo Premium Plus all-wheel drive hatchback starts from$36,950. Destination charges add$1,195. My test car came equipped with the following extra cost options. Extra cost exterior snowflake white pearl. I am not making this up. Exterior paint and stainless steel rear bumper guards. Let me tell you, this car is no snowflake. Total cost of the options,$535. Total MSRP, including options and destination charges, came to$38,720. If you're looking to keep your license, you do not want to drive this car. It is a joy. I loved driving it. It is rare to find a car that size, that planted. And that rain and that wind that previous night was no joke. And that Mazda never let me down whatsoever. I just wished I didn't respond to the siren spong of whispering, you can go faster, you can go faster. I should have not listened to that. And let me tell you, the uh county sheriff wasn't amused. He said there was no reason for me going that fast. And yeah, well, it was though, but it was a Mazda though. And it just ran so well. And if it's killing you, if you need to know, he clocked me at 92, locked me in at 90. The speed limit during that stretch of road was 65 miles an hour. So there, you got the whole story now. And I don't drive that fast anymore. You should know that also. But I did enjoy it. And boy, I wondered what would have happened if I had a modest to modest to speed three from back in the day. Those were even faster. Oh boy. Ooh boy. But no, no. More than three years after the worst of the pandemic, return to office mandates are still proving to be problematic for employers and employees alike. This is the Tech Mobility Show.

SPEAKER_00: 21:19

You've got the drive. Now you need the right partner to make it happen. At Playbook Investors Network, we power ambitious leaders with the tools, insight, and investment connections to move faster, grow stronger, and lead markets. We're more than advisors, we're your co-pilots in success. Because in business, standing still is not an option. Playbook Investors Network. Fueling ambition, delivering results. Visit pincommunity.org.

SPEAKER_02: 21:51

Did you know that Tech Mobility has a YouTube channel? Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the Tech Mobility Show. Each week, I upload a few short videos of some of the hot topics that I cover during my weekly radio program. I've designed these videos to be informative and entertaining. It's another way to keep up on current mobility and technology news and information. Be sure to watch, like, and subscribe to my channel. That's the Tech Mobility Show on YouTube. Check it out. Working from home. For the vast number of people who were able or forced to during the pandemic, it was life-changing. People were introduced to a quality of life that made many reconsider their work-life balance. This year, the likes of Amazon, Dell, Apple, Google, IBM, and dozens more employers have doubled down on demand for their employees to return to the office at least three days a week, if not all five. Let's just say it ain't turning out the way they planned. This is topic B. Can you imagine? We are three years past the pandemic. Three years. Three years. This is still an issue. Americans had a come to Jesus moment with respect to work life balance during the pandemic. Being locked in for some of us, yeah, some of us went stir crazy, but others of us who could be at home discovered that you know what? Ambling near my coffee machine and ambling out of bed and wandering into my second bedroom to sit down for a Zoom call ain't so bad. That maybe in the middle of the day I can take a nap. Or sit on my porch or drink my coffee or enjoy the quality of life that I work so hard to gain that I don't get to appreciate. So what's happened? Well, businesses don't know what to do with that. And for some reason, a number of businesses feel that being in the office, five days a week in some cases, because it's the way it's always been. So you're gonna do it. Well, huh? No. What's happening now is for the folks who are grudgingly coming back to the office, there's a new term. And I'll explain it. Welcome to performance theater. Performance theater. What do I mean? That the you are getting rewarded for being seen, looking like you're busy, that the act of where you are is more important than what you're getting done. Let that sink in for a minute. That management in some cases is so bent on you being in the office that being in the office is the end all be all above any performance or efficiencies or productivity that they thought they were gonna get out of folks by all being together. Now, I'm not saying that there's some advantages occasionally to being in the office that you're not gonna get out of a Zoom call. But uh from what uh from what the article is talking about, and this is from Fast Money, which is kind of a corporate uh magazine that talks about corporate life and things like that, they're not seeing the productivity gains that employers thought they'd get when folks were back in the office. So why would somebody agree to do this now? Well, if you're in the tech industry, you're reading the you're reading the news and seeing thousands of people getting laid off. And if the boss says, be there five days a week, and you kind of need your job, you're gonna be there. But what do you think is gonna happen when the market recovers and the shoes back on the other foot, and again, it is an employees' market, not an employer's market. Do you think these people, these valuable people, the people that actually make sure stuff runs are gonna hang around to a company that would not consider uh the quality of their well-being? Probably not. Probably not. But let me take you back to a time when companies weren't thinking that way. You remember the uh the uh quiet resignation, the great resignation back in 2022, which is now three years ago? Companies then were begging people to take jobs, signing bonuses, remote work and unlimited PTO, whatever it took. In fact, yeah, folks were getting for blue collar jobs. You were seeing signing bonuses. Heck, if you go to your local hamburger place here in Des Moines, they were paying between two and five hundred dollars signing bonuses to flip burgers with a starting wage between$14 and$16 an hour, and in somebody's restaurants with bonuses. That's how bad it was. Candidates were ghosting interviews. Well, shoot, if somebody offered me something better, why do I need an interview with you? The shoe was on the other foot back then. Here's something to take in consideration, and the article points this out. But if we look at history, even recent history, a lot of companies that are mandating return to office now are writing the future resignation letters for their best employees to be delivered the nanosecond. The tech job market stops being the worst in history. We now more than ever, if the pandemic did one thing, it helped employees discover their worth. Whether or not their employer acknowledged it or not, people started determining what they would and would not do. That a job for a job's sake just wasn't enough and it did not matter, it was not just a white-collar job, blue-collar jobs. People were making up their minds, you know what? Lousy hours, lousy pay, I'm out of here. I'm done. It's not happening anymore. And then we haven't totally recovered from that. It's mitigated somewhat, but the companies that don't take that into consideration are not gonna be able to keep their best employees as the market recovers, whether it be tech or anything else. And this is on top of AI, this is on top of robotics, this is on top of autonomous activities. You're still gonna need people. AI doesn't necessarily replace, it augments. And you're gonna need folks that are smart enough and sharp enough to learn how to use it in an augmented fashion to help them be more efficient. Do you think these people will stay? Because you made them come in and they were more efficient at home, or at least they were happier. And doesn't corporate happiness count for something? It's not a slam dunk, and the and the results are inconclusive of whether or not all these folks coming back to the office means that the office is as efficient as it was before the pandemic. Fact about it, I would argue that making them come back, making them commute, making them give up their work-life balance they tried so hard to maintain during the pandemic is actually not a good thing. That actually these folks, the people who can leave, will leave. And that's going to put them in hurt. The companies. Are betting that the folks that are giving them the grief about coming back to the office are the ones that they can do without. So they're letting them go. So it's kind of a quiet way of reductions in force and lets them do better budget. But here's the problem: not all those troublemakers are the people that they can do without. Some of those disruptors are exactly what they need that give them the edge they needed down through the years. That now they're going, you know what? If you think that much that you can't come into the office five days a week, then maybe we're not the best fit for you. And you know what they're saying? Maybe you're right. Maybe you aren't. That will bite them eventually. Return to office. How's that working out for you if you're a white collar worker that they want you there three, four, five days a week? Are you happier now than you were in 2022? Are you doing performance theater? Being seen and trying to look busy as opposed to actually getting stuff done? Food for thought. Next, I explore the world of electric mountain bikes. Yeah, they're a thing. We are the Tech Mobility Show.

SPEAKER_01: 31:17

Are you tired of juggling multiple apps and platforms for meetings, webinars, and staying connected? Look no further than AON Meetings.com, the all-in-one browser-based platform that does it all. With AON Meetings, you can effortlessly communicate with clients, host virtual meetings and webinars, and stay in touch with family and friends, all in one place and for one price. Here's the best part. You can enjoy a 30-day free trial. It's time to simplify your life and boost your productivity. Aon Meetings.com, where innovation meets connection. Get started today and revolutionize the way you communicate.

SPEAKER_02: 31:50

To learn more about the Tech Mobility Show, start by visiting our website. Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the Tech Mobility Show. The website is a treasure trove of information about me and the show, as well as where to find it on the radio across the country. Keep up with the happenings at the Tech Mobility Show by visiting Techmobility.show. That's Techmobility.show. You can also drop us a line at talk at Techmobility.show.

SPEAKER_00: 32:20

In business, opportunity doesn't wait, and neither should you. At Playbook Investors Network, we connect visionary entrepreneurs with the strategies, resources, and capital they need to win. Whether you're launching, scaling, or reimagining your business, our network turns ambition into measurable success. Your vision deserves more than a plan. It deserves a playbook that works. Playbook Investors Network, where bold ideas meet bold results. Visit pincommunity.org today.

SPEAKER_02: 32:52

Did you know that Tech Mobility has a YouTube channel? Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the Tech Mobility Show. Each week, I upload a few short videos of some of the hot topics that I cover during my weekly radio program. I've designed these videos to be informative and entertaining. It's another way to keep up on current mobility and technology news and information. Be sure to watch, like, and subscribe to my channel. That's the Tech Mobility Show on YouTube. Check it out. I recently stumbled into the world of electric mountain bikes. Now, not only are these bikes electric, but some are even engineered for winter, a subcategory they call electric snowbikes. And as usual, I'm both curious, and I got questions. I really have questions. This is topic C. What caught my eye originally and had me go, what? was a title or a heading from the EV report that said, and I quote, Audi launches upgraded electric mountain bike. And I went, say that? Audi launches upgraded electric mountain bike. First of all, Audi. Second of all, upgraded? And third of all, electric mountain bike? Okay, first of all, why is Audi selling a mountain bike? Why is it electric? And why am I just hearing about this? Because upgraded means it was a a first one. And they call it the EMTB 2.0. The new model features significant performance upgrades, a lower price point, and a design inspired by its Dakar-winning race car. I got thrown. So let me back up. Audi didn't build it. It's based on Fnatic, their XEF 1.9 factory enduro model. They build Fnatic builds lightweight electric solutions like mountain bikes. Okay, take a breath. This model features a lightweight aluminum frame designed for relaxed riding position. Its full suspension design includes an Ollins TTX 22 M.2 coil sprung rear shock and some more stuff about an airsprung fork. I'm not going to get into all the stuff the statistics, but pretty cool. It has try to see, I want to say, I thought I saw range. I'm going to see if I can find the range again. I want to say 40 to 90 miles? I'm not for sure about that. But would you believe that this thing has four levels of electrical assistance? Now let me back up. It is a bike with electric assist. As much or as little as you want. Eco, calibrated for maximum efficiency. Tour provides a moderate level of electrical boost. Sport offers powerful assistance for sport cycling. And Boost delivers maximum power for challenging climbs. Off-road. And I found it. The estimated battery range is between 12 and 90 miles, depending on the assistance used, terrain, and rider weight. I'm still processing the fact that Audi, you can go to your Audi dealer, you can go to the parts department, and in Audi Genuine Accessories, you can buy an Audi branded electric mountain bike with attachments to put on your Audi RSQTron the brand's electrified off-road race car. So if you are all about performance off-road, if you're all about not just off-road performance, but being ecologically correct when you do it, this might be the bike for you. The MSRP for this bike, the Audi EMB EMTB 2.0, powered by Fantic, is available for$5,850. Does not include taxes. And yeah, you can buy that from Audi Genuine Accessories from the website, uh, which Audi also, so that you can be dressed proper, offers a range of branded riding accessories, including jerseys, gloves, and compatible bike racks for select vehicle models. So if you're gonna go all the way, go all the way. But think about this. This electric bike, this off-road mountain bike, has four, basically four driver modes if you want to go there. And you get 90 miles. Do you really want to get 90 miles? The article does not discuss how long it takes to charge. The article doesn't say either whether there's any recharge or regen capability on the bike. And what I mean by that is using kinetic energy, like if you're going down a hill, is resistant to recharge the battery. There's none of that. So I don't know if you get any of that, which can give you added range if you're really out there. And it would be really cool if it did. Most of your electric cars do. They call it regen for short, but what it's doing, it's taking the braking energy when you apply the brakes, and taking that energy and re using that energy instead of heat to recharge the batteries. So you actually get a little bit more range over time. That would be so cool for this bike if you're applying the brakes or you're going down a hill where you're coasting. Doesn't say that. The other thing that I stumbled across was something called Moonbikes, which enhances winter e-mobility with zero emission ultralight electric snowbikes. What in heaven's name is a snowbike? And why did this firm start in the French Alps back seven years ago as offering a sustainable choice or what they call a sustainable mobility solution for riders and resorts? They've actually sold worldwide, they've sold over 1,200 of these in 25 countries. Moonbikes invented in 2018 in the French Alps brings a unique offering. An electric snowbike that combines durability, portability, and eco-friendly performance with well, let me back up, eco-friendly performance. If you'll pardon a pun, it's gained traction among riders and businesses seeking sustainable winter transport options. I would love to see what this looks like. Their silent zero emission ride gives you up to 40 miles of range. And its ultralight design is easy to ride, transport, and store. They will try to put an EV motor, an EV motor on anything. I don't have pictures of what these moon bikes look like, but I would really like to see what it does and if it has any limitations. It talks about the ability to go into the snow. But yet I can't fathom is it got wheels, is it got sleds? How is this thing doing what it does? If they call it a bike, it means it's got wheels. But I don't know what those wheels look like. And I don't know what kind of protection from the elements, if any, that you get with it. And what makes it such a game changer? Moon bike. There are twelve hundred copies of these in existence in some 25 countries right now. They don't mention the price for these. I don't know what they cost. But I've got to wonder, is probably more than the BMW off-road electric bike. I would think. But it's supposed to be a thing. And 40 miles off-road is 40 miles that you may not have been able to get elsewhere, particularly in a winter situation. That could be a game changer, as they say. Capabilities are going off-road and not just in four-wheeled vehicles.

SPEAKER_01: 41:40

This is the Tech Mobility Podcast.

SPEAKER_00: 41:45

Every great business starts with a spark, but taking it to the next level takes strategy, connections, and capital. That's where Playbook Investors Network comes in. We're your strategic partner for accelerating growth, navigating challenges, and capturing market opportunities before your competition does. Your business is more than an idea. Let's make it an impact. Playbook Investors Network. Your future starts here. Learn more at pincommunity.org.

SPEAKER_02: 42:17

To learn more about the Tech Mobility Show, start by visiting our website. I'm Ken Chester, host of the Tech Mobility Show. The website is a treasure trove of information about me and the show, as well as where to find it on the radio across the country. Keep up with the happenings at the Tech Mobility Show by visiting Techmobility.show. You can also drop us a line at talk at Techmobility.show.

SPEAKER_01: 42:42

Are you tired of juggling multiple apps and platforms for meetings, webinars, and staying connected? Look no further than AON Meetings.com, the all-in-one browser-based platform that does it all. With AON Meetings, you can effortlessly communicate with clients, host virtual meetings and webinars, and stay in touch with family and friends, all in one place and for one price. Here's the best part. You can enjoy a 30-day free trial. It's time to simplify your life and boost your productivity. AON Meetings.com, where Innovation Meets Connection. Get started today and revolutionize the way you communicate.

SPEAKER_00: 43:16

You've got the drive, you've got the vision. Now you need the right partner to make it happen. At Playbook Investors Network, we power ambitious leaders with the tools, insight, and investment connections to move faster, grow stronger, and lead markets. We're more than advisors, we're your co-piloting success. Because in business, standing still is not an option. Playbook Investors Network, fueling ambition and delivering results. Visit pincommunity.org.