Diesel isn’t just another fuel at the pump. It’s one of the fuels that keeps the American economy moving. Trucks haul much of the nation’s freight, while diesel also powers equipment critical to agriculture, construction, and other industries.

In this TechMobility Topics segment, we examine why refining constraints and tightening diesel supplies can quickly become everybody’s problem. When fuel costs rise, trucking and agricultural expenses climb—and those increases can work their way through supply chains into groceries, manufactured goods, shipping, and retail prices.

That makes diesel an important part of the inflation conversation.

You may never buy a gallon of diesel yourself, but when its price spikes, there’s a good chance you’ll pay for it somewhere else.

What if a power-starved satellite didn’t have to rely entirely on its own solar panels? Wireless power beaming could eventually turn space itself into an energy network, transmitting electricity where and when spacecraft need it.

During this TechMobility Topics segment, we explore whether orbital power grids could support satellites, spacecraft, and potentially energy-hungry data centers in space. The concept could change how we design and operate orbital infrastructure by separating where electricity is generated from where it is consumed.

But beaming energy across space introduces serious questions about efficiency, interference, safety, ownership, and regulation.

If electricity can be transmitted through space on demand, who controls the power grid when there are no national borders?

The 2026 Subaru Trailseeker Touring EV wears a Subaru badge, but its family tree tells a much bigger story about how modern vehicles are developed and built.

In this TechMobility Topics segment, I get behind the wheel of the Trailseeker and explore its Toyota connections, shared EV architecture, and what platform sharing means for buyers. I also dig into what matters once the technology becomes your daily driver: its wagon-like practicality, huge 14-inch display, NACS charging compatibility, range expectations, and overall usability.

I like plenty, but some omissions are frustrating—including no spare tire and no frunk.

The Trailseeker raises an interesting question: As automakers increasingly share platforms and technology, how much does the badge on the hood still tell you about the vehicle you’re actually buying?

A tariff can change an automaker’s manufacturing strategy almost overnight. Ford’s plan to phase out China-built Lincoln models for the U.S. puts a 52.5% tariff at the center of a much larger conversation about where America should build its vehicles.

In this TechMobility Topics segment, we look beyond the tariff itself to what reshoring can mean for manufacturing jobs, wages, suppliers, and the communities surrounding an auto plant. Bringing production back to the United States can create economic ripples that extend far beyond the factory gates.

But manufacturing alone can’t answer another question: What does Lincoln mean to today’s luxury buyer? Even if Ford brings more Lincoln production home, can the brand strengthen its position in a luxury market crowded with formidable competitors?

Building Lincoln in America is one challenge. Making buyers want one may be another.

California is targeting something nearly every driver eventually has to buy: replacement tires. New efficiency standards are putting rolling resistance under the microscope, aiming to reduce the energy vehicles need just to keep moving.

In this TechMobility Topics segment, we examine how tire design can affect fuel economy and EV range, what lower rolling resistance could mean for drivers, and whether efficiency gains translate into meaningful savings at the pump or charging station.

But tires are also where your vehicle meets the road. That raises a bigger question: Can regulators raise tire efficiency without increasing prices, shortening tire life, or compromising traction and safety?

Your mouth isn’t separate from the rest of your body. Emerging research on the oral microbiome is revealing how bacteria around our teeth and gums—and the inflammation linked to gum disease—may connect to health far beyond the dentist’s chair.

During this TechMobility Topics segment, we explore growing evidence linking oral health to cardiovascular disease, diabetes outcomes, and cognitive decline, especially as we age. We also look at why chronic inflammation may be a key part of that connection and what researchers still need to understand.

Brushing, flossing, and regular dental care may do more than protect your teeth. Your mouth could be an important window into your body's overall health.

Wastewater treatment can keep microplastics out of rivers and streams—but that doesn’t necessarily mean those particles disappear. Instead, some can concentrate in sewage sludge, which may eventually be processed into biosolids and applied to agricultural land.

For this TechMobility Topics segment, we follow that troubling environmental loop from wastewater treatment plant to farm field. What happens when microplastics, along with their associated chemicals, move from water into soil? Could those contaminants eventually reach groundwater, crops, livestock, or the broader food system?

Removing pollution from one place is only part of the solution. If the contaminants simply end up somewhere else, have we really solved the problem—or just changed where we have to look for it?

Robots don’t have to look human to work alongside humans. A robot centaur with glowing eyes and power-tool hands may seem like science fiction, but its unconventional design points toward a much bigger shift in industrial automation.

In this TechMobility Topics segment, we explore why engineers are experimenting with radically different robot forms and why function may matter far more than appearance on the factory floor. From welding robots and warehouse automation to exoskeleton-style systems that reduce physical strain, engineers are designing these machines around the jobs they need to perform—not our expectations of what a robot should look like.

The bigger question isn’t whether the future of robotics will look human. It’s how humans and increasingly capable machines will work together.

A driverless robotaxi turns a futuristic idea into a very personal question: would you get in? For this episode of TechMobility Topics, I examine the reported U.S. approval for Amazon’s Zoox to offer paid rides and what it means for autonomous transportation. I also explore what NHTSA enforcement signals for the wider robotaxi industry, where commercial ambitions must meet demands for safety, accountability, and public trust.

The race for AI leadership isn’t just about better chips—it also takes electricity. In this episode of TechMobility Topics, I explore China’s push to expand wind, solar, and battery storage to meet growing data center demand. We examine how clean energy connects operating costs, energy security, and climate goals—and why the infrastructure behind AI could matter as much as the technology making headlines.

A luxury sport sedan can win your heart—but does it fit your everyday life? During this episode of TechMobility Topics, I share my review and impressions of the 2026 Genesis G70 Prestige Graphite. With an available 3.3-liter twin-turbo V6 and an upscale cabin, the G70 offers plenty to tempt drivers. I break down what impressed me, what disappointed me, and how rear-seat space and daily practicality factor into the decision. Is this the sport sedan for you—or one you’ll admire from a distance?

Electric air taxis promise a new way to travel—but how much risk will the public accept? In this episode of TechMobility Topics, I explore the safety expectations for eVTOL aircraft and whether a single accident could derail an emerging industry. Drawing on lessons from aviation and autonomous vehicles, I examine why earning trust takes more than impressive technology. Safety culture, transparent oversight, and how companies respond when something goes wrong could determine whether air taxis ever become everyday transportation.

Could spinning machinery help meet artificial intelligence’s growing appetite for electricity? For this episode of TechMobility Topics, I explore long-duration flywheel energy storage, a mechanical alternative to chemical batteries. We look at how storing energy in motion could help power grids and data centers manage rising demand—and why the future of energy storage may have more than one way to turn.

Could a factory-built home put the suburbs within reach—or leave buyers with a different affordability problem? In this episode of TechMobility Topics, I explore how manufactured and cross-mod homes could expand homeownership as labor shortages, tight inventory, and high mortgage rates squeeze buyers. But the purchase price tells only part of the story. When homeowners rent the land beneath their homes, rising lot rents and changes in community ownership can threaten the affordability they counted on.

When technology overload follows students into the classroom, a place to pause may make a difference. During this episode of TechMobility Topics, I explore Brain Health Retreat Rooms and how Iowa schools are giving students space to regroup and return to learning without stigma. We examine the results being shared and ask whether simple, everyday support can improve attendance, ease overwhelm, and strengthen school culture before students reach a breaking point.

What if the next big move in electric driving doesn’t require plugging in? In this episode of TechMobility Topics, I explore Toyota’s battery development plans and why hybrids are connecting with drivers who want better fuel economy without charging stops. New lithium-ion batteries could cut costs by hundreds of dollars per vehicle while improving efficiency, strengthening the hybrid value proposition. Are hybrids simply a bridge to an all-electric future—or the practical choice drivers want for the long haul?

The world’s biggest superyacht deals often happen far from public listings, online marketplaces, and even the awareness of most brokers. Instead, buyers with verified funds rely on discreet networks, private introductions, and “whisper listings” to acquire yachts whose owners never publicly advertise that they are for sale.

In this TechMobility Topics segment, we take a surprising look at the off-market luxury economy now being fueled by a new wave of AI, technology, finance, and crypto wealth. As newly minted billionaires compete for larger, more customized, and more exclusive vessels, the most desirable yachts are becoming status symbols that can be bought only through relationships and confidentiality.

It is a market defined by extreme privacy, limited inventory, and constant one-upmanship. When a yacht can cost tens or hundreds of millions of dollars, the purchase is about far more than transportation or recreation—it is a global signal of wealth, access, and status.

Somerville, Massachusetts, has become a powerful case study in what happens when a city treats traffic deaths as preventable instead of inevitable. Through its Vision Zero approach, the city has gone four years without a traffic fatality while cutting serious crashes in half in 2025.

During this TechMobility Topics segment, we break down the practical street-design changes behind that progress: speed humps that slow traffic where people live, redesigned traffic circles, raised crosswalks, curb extensions, protected bike infrastructure, and lower speeds in pedestrian-heavy areas. These are not flashy solutions, but together they create streets that make dangerous driving harder and safer behavior more natural.

Somerville’s success is also about giving residents choices beyond the car. Better access to walking, biking, and public transit can reduce the need to drive while making streets safer for those who still do. The larger takeaway for cities everywhere is simple: safer streets are not an accident—they are a design decision.

The Honda Prelude is back, this time as a hybrid sports coupe designed to make everyday driving more engaging. Honda pairs its responsive two-motor hybrid system with key Civic Type R chassis hardware, including performance-focused suspension and braking components, while the new S+ Shift mode uses simulated gear changes to add more involvement behind the wheel.

For this TechMobility Topics segment, I share my impressions of what works: quick electric-motor response, confident handling, a more playful personality than most hybrids, and fuel economy that makes owning a fun car far more realistic. The Prelude is rated at up to 46 mpg in the city and 41 mpg on the highway.

But it is not a perfect revival. The rear seats are uninhabitable, the liftback cargo area has real-world usability quirks, and the lack of a spare tire may be a deal-breaker for some buyers. The bigger question is whether Honda has created the right kind of modern Prelude: not a raw, manual-transmission sports coupe, but an efficient and entertaining grand tourer for drivers who still want a reason to take the long way home.

Jaguar Land Rover and Stellantis are exploring a U.S. collaboration to develop and build Defender-branded vehicles, a move that could make financial sense as tariffs and currency exposure raise the cost of importing vehicles. The companies signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding in May 2026, but the specific models, factory, powertrains, and vehicle architecture have not been finalized. 

In this TechMobility Topics segment, we look at the industry reality many buyers rarely see: automakers routinely share platforms, parts, engines, engineering, and factories. A U.S.-built Defender model could potentially leverage existing Stellantis capabilities—possibly including Jeep or Ram-style body-on-frame hardware—rather than a clean-sheet Land Rover architecture. That remains speculation, not a confirmed product plan.

The bigger question is whether the premium badge can retain its value if the underlying product fails to meet buyer expectations. Local production could help JLR reduce tariff pressure and compete in new U.S. segments, but brand reputation, perceived quality, and the credibility of the final vehicle will matter just as much as the badge on its grille.