How do you design a $30k electric pickup? Inside Ford's skunkworks

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/05/how-do-you-design-a-30000-electric-pickup-inside-fords-skunkworks/

#HackerNews #electricpickup #Ford #skunkworks #automotive #design #EVinnovation #carindustry

‘Ready Set Ford’ Strategy Unveiled: Carmaker’s European Multi-Energy Focus

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://europeanconservative.com/articles/news-corner/ready-set-ford-strategy-unveiled-carmakers-european-multi-energy-focus/

Heroes from Whereever: China Content Broadcasting Network exhibition

Australia’s "Radio Info" carried a story on April 29 about the "China Content Broadcasting Network (CCBN) exhibition", or 第３２届中国国际广播电视信息网络展览会, an annual event held at the China National Convention Centre in Beijing. The exhibition and the forums accompanying it were widely covered in Chinese media. It was organized by the Academy of Broadcasting Science (ABS) and National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA), and attended by "a consortium of domestic and international industry leaders – including Beijing BBEF Science & Technology Co., Ltd., Fraunhofer IIS, RFmondial, and SimReal Technology".

While DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale) isn’t a big thing in Europe, the Fraunhofer Institute appears to be a regular stakeholder in China’s and India’s digital radio projects, and in projects elsewhere in the world. Beijing BBEF Science & Technology Co., Ltd., also known as "Beiguang", is a long-established manufacturer of transmitters for all wavebands, with customers in (as of 2012, according to company data) China itself, Africa, the Middle East, and lone outposts in Albania, Antarctica, and Cuba at the time.

North Korea probably was or is a customer, too, but the transmitters’ location there is "a state secret". Maybe in accordance with that, BBEF have since removed all their webpages with anecdotes related to their 2011 training sessions with North Korean technicians, including the art of installing at least one transmitter underground.

History and tradition aside, DRM might actually find a big market in East and South Asia. The car industry is ubiquitous in this context, and "[t]he opening of the Multi-Channel Network Collaborative Development Forum on 24 April saw the launch of the Shortwave Broadcasting Innovation Initiative, led by the Radio Station Administration Bureau of China’s National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA), together with Communication University of China and other industry partners."

There is a party line of course, quoted in this context in Chinese media.
Xi Jinping, in a speech on internet security in 2016:

Some comrades’ suggestions to form industry-academia-research-application alliances are excellent. For example, we could establish an "Internet+" alliance, a high-end chip alliance, etc., to strengthen communication and collaboration in strategy, technology, standards, and markets, and to jointly tackle key innovation challenges. We could also explore a "challenge-based" approach, posting the key core technology projects needed. [Technological] Heroes are not restricted by their provenience; whoever has the ability, should be invited to take on the challenge.

____________________

Related

China makes stuff Europeans want
The USA demands Europeans like their big stupid trucks and if we don't buy them, they'll threaten us.

Not hard to see who is winning this one, is it?
But 77 million Americans voted to destroy their country and that's what is happening.

https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3353170/chinese-smart-cars-set-control-20-western-european-market-2028-jpmorgan

#EUPol #China #EVs #CarIndustry #USA

China’s “Shortwave Broadcasting Service Revitalization Co-creation Plan”

A forum was held at Shougang Convention & Exhibition Center in Peking on April 24, as part of the 32nd China International Radio & Television Information Network Exhibition (CCBN2026) there. The forum was directed by SARFT Security Department (电视总局安全传输保障司), in charge of supervision, management, and technical support of secure broadcast television broadcasts, and construction of the national emergency broadcasting systems. The event brought together

regulators, experts, scholars, and business leaders, to discuss multi-channel technological innovation and integrated development paths, focusing on new broadcasting networks, terrestrial, satellite, cable, and wireless technologies.

The forum launched a "Shortwave Broadcasting Service Revitalization Co-creation Plan", with the goal of "innovative cases".

This sounds rather blurred, but probably builds on existing, individual and possibly so far decentralized approaches to broadcasting in various regions. It may include both analog and digital (DRM) shortwave and mediumwave broadcasting, but the results of the current case-finding activities are yet to be presented. A case in point appears to be the adoption of emergency broadcasting, as well as a general flow of information, into every car.

Related

四川省人民政府办公厅关于印发《地震应急预案》的通知, April 30, 2026

Domestic Production: Automakers’ Last Hope Against Tariff Collapse

#NYAutoShow #CarIndustry #Affordability #NewCars #EVs #Hybrids #DomesticProduction #Nissan #Toyota #Hyundai The New York International Auto Show highlights the automotive industry's battle for affordability and its shift toward domestic production amid rising tariffs and interest rates. Automakers like Nissan, Toyota, and Hyundai are showcasing a strategic mix of new SUVs, hybrids, and EVs designed to…

https://fllics.com/en/video/domestic-production-automakers-last-hope-against-tariff-collapse/

EU Countries Already Looking to Car Factories To Rearm Europe

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://europeanconservative.com/articles/news/eu-countries-already-looking-to-car-factories-to-rearm-europe/

Albania’s Automotive Industry at Turning Point Amid European Slowdown

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://balkaninsight.com/2026/04/13/albanias-automotive-industry-at-turning-point-amid-european-slowdown/bi/