Besides the Car Pro Show and our weekly newsletter, my other favorite radio show and newsletter is Kim Komando’s. We are on many of the same radio stations across America. She does for her listeners and newsletter subscribers exactly what I endeavor to do: Give you useful information to keep you up to date on the latest in cars, only she does it with technology and there is nobody who does it better. Not sure how she puts out a top-notch newsletter seven days a week, but she does.
With her permission, I comb her newsletters each week and curate a list of her tips and advice that I think you'll find relevant and interesting. Here's what I have for you this week!
As shared in Kim Komando's newsletters:
Toyota’s teen pipeline: Picture a teenager learning to fix a Toyota robot while the rest of us argue with a chatbot that cannot count fingers. An Alabama high school is partnering with Toyota (paywall link) to train students in welding, robotics maintenance and precision manufacturing, with skilled jobs paying about $40 an hour. The machines still need humans with hands, judgment and a tolerance for sparks. College debt suddenly looks like the expensive side quest.
Waymo said call Uber: This is wild. A Waymo robotaxi picked up a passenger, started the trip, then stalled mid-ride. The company’s solution? An email suggesting the passenger call an Uber. The robotaxi that’s supposed to replace human drivers outsourced the job to a human driver. With the rise of self-driving vehicles, it’s only a matter of time before there’s a country song about a guy’s truck leaving him, too.
Lifesaver setting: Your iPhone may be annoying, expensive and weirdly exposing about screen time, but it might save your life. A woman missed a sharp bend, rolled 330 feet down a mountain, and her car caught fire. She was trapped and badly hurt. Her iPhone Crash Detection called emergency crews, sent GPS, and rescuers arrived about 20 minutes later. iPhone 14 or newer? Make sure it’s on: Settings > Emergency SOS > Call After Serious Crash. It’s free, already on your phone and seriously useful.
No driver drama: Here’s some good news out of the robot taxi world. Waymo’s rides actually stop for visually impaired riders (paywall link). No drivers deciding you look complicated or refusing you because of a service dog. No getting passed in the rain. One rider said it was the first time she felt independent crossing town. A weirdly beautiful part of this big flurry of robo cars is finding out problems you didn’t even know existed have been solved.
Watch out: Picture a quiet Friday night, dogs on the couch, having a glass of wine. A couple in their 50s watched hackers move through their phones, laptops, router and financial accounts, seeing $250,000 become $0 in real time. The FBI couldn’t stop it. More than 30% of ultra-wealthy families have been cyberattack victims. There are firms that help rebuild their digital life, with service starting around $10,000 a year. Be alert.
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Marc Perry, Toyota Alabama president and HCT instructor Jack Crowley in the lab with Huntsville, Alabama students. Photo: Toyota.
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