Month: September 2022

Enlarge / The Carbon's design is striking, lacking a full seat tube. (credit: John Timmer)

As I was trying to figure out how to position the Urtopia Carbon e-bike so it could get enough signal to join my Wi-Fi network and download new firmware, I took a moment to ponder what would have happened if Apple had taken a tiny fraction of the money it has reportedly spent on its rumored electric car project and diverted it into making an e-bike instead. What would years of experience with mobile computing, hardware/software integration, maps and voice commands, and more mean for a bike?

Urtopia is clearly trying to make software one of the Carbon's differentiating features, but the company is still in the learning stages. There are some interesting ideas in the software, and it's hosted on a pretty solid e-bike platform. But the package needs a bit more refinement and integration.

The bike

The Carbon's design is something that only became possible with the advent of carbon fiber frames, and it's certainly a striking bike. In theory, the joints between the different sections of the tube could be engineered to provide enough flex to absorb some shocks. But the Carbon is probably the stiffest e-bike I've ever tested. (I also may have made the ride a bit bumpier by inflating the tires too much, since I was unable to find any indication of what the preferred pressure was.)

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  The Jeep Recon. [credit: Stellantis ]

Although Stellantis has been doing great business with electric vehicles across the pond—the company sold more BEVs than Tesla in Europe during the first half of 2022—it has only a small handful of plug-in hybrids for sale in the US. That is about to change, as the automaker has revealed plans for electrifying its top-selling Jeep brand.

Jeep will bring four all-electric SUVs to the North American and European market by 2025. First up will be the Wagoneer S and Jeep Recon. The Recon is an all-new model patterned on Jeep's top-selling Wrangler, with removable doors and windows and a "one-touch powertop." The Wagoneer S may get a different name by the time it hits the market, but Jeep is targeting a 400 km/250 mi range once it arrives. Both models will go into production in 2024, with the other two yet-to-be-revealed models following in 2025. Europeans will be able to buy the BEV Jeep Avenger, a subcompact SUV that's smaller than the Renegade, early next year.

It's not just Jeep getting BEVs, either. Chrysler, which currently offers only the Pacifica minivan (available as a PHEV) and 300 sedan, has a BEV concept car dubbed the Airflow. That model will likely be the basis for the first Chrysler BEV, which is slated to hit the market by 2025. Chrysler plans to be all-electric by 2028. Stellantis also has an electric pickup truck on the way; the company plans to unveil the Ram Revolution—its answer to the Ford F-150 Lightning—in November. Dodge is getting some electric love, too—Stellantis showed off a concept Dodge Charger Daytona SRT last month but has yet to reveal production plans for the all-electric muscle car.