Author: kirklandc008@gmail.com

Memory is now the most expensive component in a smartphone. It’s more expensive than the processor, more expensive than the display, and can account for more than 50% of the total hardware bill.For Phone (4a), memory costs doubled between when we decided to build the device and when it launched. They’ve doubled again since.I posted about this earlier this year. It’s now playing out, faster than predicted.Phone prices are going up, and they’ll keep going up into next year. Since February, new phones have been launching up to $100 more expensive than their predecessors. In India, phones above ₹30K have…

Peugeot is plotting a new range of Le Mans edition cars with sportier design and performance, as it goes all in on excitement at the 2026 Le Mans 24 Hours race.  First the lion brand unveiled the new E-208 GTi with 276bhp, then it announced its intention to return next year with Le Mans editions of for four big-sellers in its portfolio. “We plan to launch a limited edition Peugeot 24 Hours of Le Mans,” said head of product Agnes Tesson Faget. “These cars will come with a specific design, which will elevate their French charisma and make it possible for…

The biggest car news and reviews, no BS Our free daily newsletter sends the stories that really matter directly to you, every weekday. Welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short, The Drive’s morning news roundup bringing you the biggest automotive headlines from around the world. The Downshift recaps news briefly, with links to full stories for those seeking more info. Congrats, it’s Friday! Here’s your bulletin for June 12, 2026. 🛻 Ford has no plans to introduce an even more hardcore Ranger Raptor R or Bronco Raptor R, with Ford Racing production vehicle chief engineer Carl Widmann saying that, “If anything, the Ranger…

The brokerage says it saw “record-breaking traffic.” gguy/Shutterstock It looks like trading platform Robinhood may not have been fully prepared for SpaceX IPO Day. Shortly after shares of Elon Musk’s rocketship/AI/social media company began trading publicly, users started reporting issues with the brokerage service, according to The Wall Street Journal. Reports of disruptions spiked Friday morning on downdetetcor.com, a website that monitors service outages, peaking at more than 5,500 reports. There were also numerous reports of Robinhood crashing on Reddit and X. In a post on r/raceto10million, numerous users said they were unable to access Robinhood…

It’s a bad time to work at Volkswagen. The company is cutting production capacity, has already signed a deal to slash wage expenses, and now a new report says the expected job cuts are coming. And there are a lot of them… thousands upon thousands, all coming by the end of this year. And even more will happen by 2030. Here’s what to expect. Volkswagen Has Been Struggling For A Decade Blue 2024 VW ID.Buzz side shotVolkswagen Volkswagen’s financial troubles are no secret. Massive fines and recalls around the world over Dieselgate rolled into huge spending to develop electric vehicles.…

In the grand scheme of things, numerous automakers have, at one point, produced an engine that earned itself worldwide fame. Some easy examples include the Chevrolet small-block V8, which has consistently shown itself to be one of – if not the – most versatile engine(s) ever produced. You also have mills like the Jaguar XK inline-six and the Honda K-Series inline-fours. There are tons of other examples, but we’d fill up too much space listing them out. However, some engines that deserved fame simply slipped under the radar. One of the most shining examples of this unfortunate fact is Buick’s…

William Li, founder, chairman, and CEO of Nio, launched the updated Onvo L60 in Hefei, Anhui, on June 11, 2026. Credit: Onvo Making EV models lighter requires courage, Nio founder William Li said. Chinese passenger cars are getting heavier amid growing consumer demand for long range and rich features. Reducing the weight of a new energy vehicle (NEV) is a systematic engineering project that requires immense courage, said William Li, founder, chairman and CEO of Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO), as the company emphasizes lightweight design at a time when Chinese cars are getting heavier. Shedding weight for NEVs holds great…

The biggest car news and reviews, no BS Our free daily newsletter sends the stories that really matter directly to you, every weekday. We all know the routine, right? Open door. Sit down. Strap in. Clutch in, wiggle the shifter into neutral and crank the ignition. Next step, reach for that traction control button, and set it to off. It’s the auto enthusiast’s equivalent of the pre-flight checklist. But you may want to eliminate that last item, especially if you drive a newer car. Why? Well, chances are, you’ll actually be faster if you don’t turn it off, and I…

While we’re not quite halfway through 2026, we’re more than halfway through Jeep’s 85th anniversary program in which the brand releases one new special edition every month. More specifically, Jeep revealed the eighth in the series, and it’s called the Sarge. It also looks an awful lot like the Willys ’41 trim level that’s been available for a while. However, the Sarge offers more trim and bodystyle options, and can even be had for less than the ’41 model. Group shot of 2027 Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator Sarge EditionsStellantis The Wrangler Two-Door Gets Some Love Ironically, for a trim level so…

The Hilux BEV arrives as Toyota’s first fully electric pickup and body-on-frame EV. Toyota launches the Hilux BEV, its first electric pickup With over 27 million models sold over the past seven decades, the Hilux is not only Toyota’s most popular pickup but also one of the best-selling pickups in the world. For its ninth generation, Toyota finally introduced an all-electric version. During its global debut last November, Toyota said the Hilux BEV takes the “legendary pickup into a new era of electrified power.” The electric Hilux is Toyota’s first electric pickup and first body-on-frame EV. As such, the Hilux…