MDOT looking to tweak Zilwaukee Bridge signage to help ease congestion
"We're aware of the congestion issues people are reporting, and we're seeing on the northbound end of the detour," Caitlyn French, MDOT's spokesperson for the Bay Region, told WNEM-TV, the CBS affiliate in Saginaw.
The northbound side of the Zilwaukee Bridge in Saginaw County was closed Aug. 4, with detours posted along Interstate 675 and a number of related nearby highway closings. The construction area isn't expected to reopen until mid-November.
Work on the southbound side took place from mid-April through late June.
State officials say the $2.9 million project will improve and extend the life of the bridge, which travels over the Saginaw River in Saginaw County.
MDOT traffic reports and detours are available at MI Drive.
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Forbes
13 minutes ago
- Forbes
Ford's New Truck Needs To Understand The EV Myths Permating Automaking
Ford promised their announcement of a new 'universal' EV platform, along with a low-cost light pickup truck, would be another 'Model T' moment in automaking history. Ford didn't show us the truck, just teased various attributes, in particular that their electric truck should sell for about $30,000 and be available in 2027, thanks to new design and manufacuring innovations. Nobody's going to be critical of making a decent vehicle for a lower price, and Ford certainly knows the truck market, though they haven't shown the same aplomb in the EV world. Based on what little we know, this is going to be a fairly short range truck, of low utility for towing traditional trailers. Are the choices the right ones? Range The base truck has a battery estimated at around 51kWh. The most efficient pickup today, Rivian's, would get around 125 miles of range on that, with a practical range under 100 miles. That's a customer scaring number, and impactical for road trips out of town, though many working trucks that never leave town could indeed get by on that. Perhaps Ford has found a way to make dramatic aerodynamic improvements--they did not show the shape of the truck--but even so, they will not likely get past 150 miles. On the plus side, that's with an LFP battery pack. LFP batteries are cheaper, used in shorter-range Teslas and many Chinese cars. While most of the battery industry has been on a very expensive quest for denser, longer range battery chemistries, 'good old' LFP has been winning the day. While it's a bit bulkier and heavier, it's cheaper and you can charge it to 100% every day, which makes up a lot for the reduced range. Ford will make a longer range NMC version as well, according to reports. Ford is perhaps betting that people will realize a not well understood truth, that long range is mostly useful for intercity road trips. (And in some cases, for those doing Level 1 charging at home.) While it's a bit less convenient, customers who know they plan to use their truck around town can save a bunch of money buying a smaller battery. Ford presumably hopes the $30K price point will attract a whole new class of buyers. Cost Buyers who don't understand EVs do indeed think they cost too much. The reality is that EVs are already a fair bit cheaper than ICE equivalents in total cost of ownership, when you add in energy and maintenance. Customers just have trouble feeling that--paying $5,000 more up front and saving $1,000/year is a huge win, but a delayed one. Of course, a vehicle that costs the same and still saves, $1,000/year is great, but that involves some compromises, like range. It would be nice if there were a way to get around the psychology of this. A way to sell the car for less but get the owner to pay $500/month more for their electricity (but still less than they paid for gas) so they see themselves saving money every year, not just in the future. It could be that creative accounting is more valuable than good engineering, though both are great. No sign as yet from Ford of another interesting solution for pickup trucks, namely a way to mount a temporary rental battery pack, or rental compact generator in the truckbed. That's much easier to design into a truck than a car. If drivers could stop for 15 minutes at a depot on the way out of town to rent such a range extender, they could get the best of both worlds--a cheap in-town car, and the ability to get extra range on rarer trips out of town. Single Platform It's not new to Ford, but they also plan to switch to a universal platform, on which they can build trucks, sedans, vans and SUVs. The battery pack of this pickup truck is a structural element that makes the bed of the truck. Universal platforms allow better economies of scale over all models, one of the best ways to drive down prices. Where's The Software? Ford spoke a lot about new hardware designs and manufacturing approaches, which is great, but it's 2025, and the vehicles that win will derive more and more of their value from their software, not their hardware. You need both, but without a world-beating software strategy, failure is likely. We didn't hear a lot about this, so Ford had better start laying that out soon. It's not just about making software-defined-vehicles; everybody knows about that, though they had to be dragged, kicking and screaming to do what silicon valley companies do as 2nd nature. It's hard to imagine a new "Model-T moment" without a lot of innovation there. Ford used to have a strong position overseas. It needs to regain that. In the USA, they will have protectionist tariffs to make them complacent, but out in the rest of the world they will be going head to head with China, where the things Ford announced today might generate a yawn, and not many Yuan. Let's hope that real reinvention of the company is coming.
Gizmodo
14 minutes ago
- Gizmodo
What's Going On at Tesla? A Wave of Executives Is Heading for the Exits
What's going on at Tesla? The electric vehicle manufacturer, navigating a challenging business landscape marked by increased competition and evolving consumer sentiment, also appears to be facing a significant internal crisis: a rapid exodus of top talent. Elon Musk's group has now lost its 10th executive this year. The latest departure is Piero Landolfi, who announced his exit on LinkedIn after nearly nine years with the company. 'After 8 3/4 years I have made the difficult decision to leave Tesla,' Landolfi posted. 'It was hard because of the incredibly talented and passionate people that I had the privilege to work, sweat and laugh with as we were accelerating the world to sustainable energy, against all odds and in spite of what used to be the general beliefs about electric cars.' He continued: 'It was hard because of the amazing products we build, the first principle thinking and the getting stuff done mentality that makes Tesla such an exciting place to work at. The post has garnered significant attention, with over 834 likes and nearly 250 comments, largely from individuals who collaborated with him during his tenure at Tesla or in his leadership role. Landolfi cited the familiar desire for a 'new and different adventure' as his reason for leaving. 'However, it is now time for my next adventure. This is the way,' he concluded, echoing a popular phrase from the Star Wars franchise. His next move is to Nimble, an AI robotics and autonomous e-commerce fulfillment technology company, where he has taken on the role of Senior VP of Operations. Notably, Nimble already counts former Tesla veterans among its ranks, suggesting a potential trend of talent migrating from the EV maker to the burgeoning AI and robotics sectors. Landolfi's journey at Tesla began in October 2016 when he joined as Director of Services, Technical Operations. His contributions led to a promotion nearly four years later to Director of Services, North America, a position he held until his departure this month. His exit marks the tenth executive departure from Tesla this year, a cascade of departures that has hit nearly every critical division of the company. The exodus began in February with the exit of David Imai. April saw the departures of David Lau and Mark Westfall. The pace accelerated in May with the loss of Prashant Menon and Vineet Mehta. June witnessed the exits of Omead Afshar, Milan Kovac (Head of Optimus Humanoid Robot Team), and Jenna Ferrua (Director of HR). Last month, Troy Jones, the VP of Sales, Service, and Delivery in North America, left. This month, in addition to Landolfi, Pete Bannon, the VP of Hardware Engineering (Chip Tech and Dojo Supercomputer), also announced his departure. These latest two departures coincide with a period of significant upheaval within Tesla's ambitious AI initiatives, particularly the winding down of Dojo, Tesla's custom-built supercomputer designed to train the neural networks for Full Self-Driving (FSD) and Tesla's humanoid robot, Optimus. The Dojo project, an expensive and technically risky strategy aimed at reducing reliance on Nvidia's GPUs, had already faced internal turbulence and questions about its long-term viability in a market dominated by established chip giants. 'Once it became clear that all paths converged to AI6, I had to shut down Dojo and make some tough personnel choices, as Dojo 2 was now an evolutionary dead end,' Musk explained in an August 10 post on X (formerly Twitter). Once it became clear that all paths converged to AI6, I had to shut down Dojo and make some tough personnel choices, as Dojo 2 was now an evolutionary dead end. Dojo 3 arguably lives on in the form of a large number of AI6 SoCs on a single board. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 10, 2025For any company, losing this many senior leaders in such a short time is a major red flag. It signals potential internal turmoil, a loss of crucial institutional knowledge, and raises serious questions about the company's future direction and the stability of its leadership culture under Musk. Not long ago, Tesla, having successfully scaled mass production of electric vehicles with the Model 3 and Model Y, was considered a magnet for top talent. This year's brain drain suggests the company may have lost some of its allure, potentially exacerbated by its CEO's increasingly vocal and often polarizing political stances, which have alienated some segments of the market and workforce. It's clear now that, in addition to challenges in sustaining its once-unstoppable sales growth in an increasingly competitive EV market, Tesla is facing another significant hurdle: retaining its top leadership. The short-term sales boost anticipated from consumers seeking to take advantage of the $7,500 federal tax credit on new EV purchases before it expires on September 30 may offer a temporary reprieve, but it can't mask the deeper issue. Tesla's biggest challenge is no longer just selling cars; it's convincing its own top talent to stay for the ride.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
She Saved for Years to Buy Her First Car. Now Her Family Expects Free Rides on Demand
She bought a car to gain independence — now her family treats her like their personal chauffeurNEED TO KNOW A 24-year-old woman says her mom and sister expect her to drive them everywhere now that she owns a car She declined to drive her sister to a job interview due to an exam and was blamed for 'ruining her chance' The woman says she bought the car for independence, not to be treated like a personal chauffeurA woman turns to Reddit for support following a family dispute that has left her feeling both guilty and resentful. At the center of the issue is her refusal to become what she calls the 'family driver' after finally purchasing a car of her own. 'I saved for it for almost 3 years while working full time and taking night classes,' the 24-year-old shares in her post. The car may be an old Toyota, but to her, it represents independence, hard work and sacrifice. But shortly after buying it, her family began to treat her car like a shared resource — and her, as the one responsible for it. 'My family (mostly my mom and older sister) has started expecting me to drive everyone everywhere. Groceries, pharmacy runs, appointments, airport pickups, random errands,' she writes. While sometimes they ask, more often, they assume. 'I get texts like, 'You can take me at 3, right?' without even checking if I'm available,' she explains. Her mother and older sister, who are 29 and don't drive for different reasons, have come to rely on her. 'My sister... doesn't work and doesn't drive. She's never really tried,' the woman writes, adding that her mom also doesn't drive due to medical reasons. For the last decade, her family relied on public transportation, taxis or friends. But now, she says, 'they act like I'm their personal chauffeur.' Despite her efforts to communicate her limits, she says her boundaries are ignored. 'I've told them I'm happy to help when I can, but I can't always be available, especially since I still work full time and I'm trying to finish my degree,' she explains. Still, her refusal to drive is often met with guilt trips and criticism. 'My sister sulks and complains I'm selfish, and my mom says things like, 'We've always helped you when you needed it.' ' The conflict came to a head recently when she declined to drive her sister to a job interview. 'I had an exam that evening,' she explains. 'She ended up missing it and now blames me for 'ruining her chance.'' The fallout didn't end there. 'Our aunt even called to tell me I should 'sacrifice a little' because 'family helps family,' ' she shares. Feeling torn, she admits to struggling with both guilt and resentment. 'I bought this car so I could be more independent, not so I could become the default ride for two grown adults who've chosen not to drive,' she says. In the Reddit comments, one user points out the larger issue at play. 'You're NTA, but it sounds like you should move out,' they write. 'This seems like it was going to be an obvious result of you getting a car when everyone has been relying on other avenues of transportation for years.' Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. The woman responds with agreement — and a pointed question she posed to her sister. 'I asked her that exact question afterward and she just shrugged and said, 'We'll figure it out,' ' she writes. She says the situation feels less like occasional help and more like an obligation. 'It's like they just assumed I'd keep doing it without even asking,' she explains. 'I think they got so used to me always saying yes, they just stopped seeing it as a favor and started seeing it as my job.' Read the original article on People Solve the daily Crossword
