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Here’s what we’ve got for you today:

• Mercedes-Benz Beat Tesla to Hands-Free Driving 🚘

• What Happened to the Apple Car? 👀

• New Chinese SC-01 Sports Car Gets It Right 📈

MERCEDES-BENZ BEAT TESLA TO HANDS-FREE DRIVING 🚘

Don't you wish your car could drive itself while you finish that last slice of pizza? Or play one more round of Candy Crush? Well… Now it can.

Enter Mercedes-Benz’s Drive Pilot.

What is Drive Pilot? And why is the term “Hands-Free” important here? Technically, it lets you take your hands off the wheel and even lets you daydream a bit but… there's always a "but."

To showcase Drive Pilot, Mercedes decided to send journalists through LA traffic. Kind of like wanting to test a new umbrella in a hurricane.

Here's the rundown.

Pros:

1. Hands and eyes-free driving: At slow, traffic-jam speeds, it handles the wheel for you. It's like upgrading from manual labor to being the supervisor. Now you get to watch everyone else do the work. We call that "delegation".

2. Precision: Less of that jerky, high school dance, awkward movement. Drive Pilot smoothly goes with the flow.

3. Restrictions: But, there are limits. Think of it like a dog on a leash. It can only go so far and under certain conditions - daylight, clear weather, and road clarity. Also, it's choosy about its routes, only trusting the paths it’s been on before (kinda like my grandma).

4. Liability: In case things go sideways, Mercedes says, "Our bad." That's a big confidence move right there.

5. Visual cues: Some fancy lights tell you (and other drivers) when Drive Pilot is doing its thing.

Cons:

1. Mental hurdles: You may be watching a movie but every instinct screams "Look at the road!" Your brain's essentially having a mini civil war.

2. Phone restrictions: Despite having this semi-autonomous tech, you can't use your cellphone in California or Nevada. But in Germany? Go wild.

3. Adjustments: If you disengage Drive Pilot, you're back to full manual. Like switching from an electric toothbrush to a regular one. Gross.

When put to the test, the car basically transforms into an entertainment center. From YouTube videos to car quizzes, it's got you covered.

There's also the initial “holy cow, I’m not looking at the road!” freakout. But after a while, you start thinking, "Hey, maybe I can trust these fancy cars."

The Future and Legal Stuff:

Mercedes isn’t stopping here. They're the overachieving student that always wants more. They're planning to expand Drive Pilot to handle even faster speeds. More conditions.

There’s also talk about Level 4 autonomy. Even less for you to do.

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WHAT HAPPENED TO THE APPLE CAR? 👀

Apple makes phones, computers, watches, and... cars?

Wait, not so fast.

Word on the street (pun intended) is that Apple's been a bit quiet with this supposed 'Apple Car' project.

Ming-Chi Kuo, the Godfather of Apple predictions, says that Apple's car game is looking a bit foggy. According to him, Apple needs to start buying out other companies to get traction in the car industry.

And we aren't seeing that.

So guess we'll be waiting a bit longer for that Apple logo on our dashboards.

It’s been awhile since we’ve heard anything too. The last major car update?

March 2023.

Word was they made the car smarter, but then went radio silent.

There's more whispers about internal Apple drama than any actual car details.

We once heard rumors of a test drive in 2025, and then maybe getting the car out by 2026.But considering we're approaching 2024 and we still haven’t seen a sneak peek... that 2026 timeframe is a tad optimistic.

Instead of cars, Apple seems distracted with their new shiny Vision Pro headset.

Battery Boy's Take:

Apple dreamed of a car with no steering wheel or pedals. Perhaps too early.

Realizing a fully automated, pedal-free, steering-wheel-less car might've been a bit much for 2023.

There's still no sign of who's going to actually build this mythical beast. Ming-Chi Kuo's thinks we shouldn't hold our breath. And honestly... we weren't anyway.

NEW CHINESE SC-01 SPORTS CAR GETS IT RIGHT 📈

You know when you see a great deal online, but it turns out to be only available in, like, one country that you're not in? Welcome to the SC-01 saga.

Meet the SC-01: A sports car that sounds like it was named after a barcode but punches way above its weight. It's brought to you by Chinese start-up SSC.

This beauty delivers 429 horsepower. Weighs less than your average cat meme collection (that's around 2866 pounds, give or take). And claims a Tesla Roadster-vibing driver-focused experience.

The size? Think of something snuggled between an Alpine A110 and an Audi TT. That's small. Like, "trying to park in a big city" kind of small.

Now, batteries and engines. Without geeking out too much:

The battery's right behind the driver. Same spot you'd find the engine in those traditional mid-engine sports cars. It’s also all-wheel drive. And with that much power, you're looking at a 0-60 time less than it takes to microwave popcorn (around 3.9 seconds).

As for range? SSC's like "Hey, we got 310 miles on this one test." But remember, testing ranges is like estimating how long leftover pizza will last. Real-world results may vary.

Now, here's where it stings a bit:

The price tag is a cool $41,000.

And before you ask why it's so cheap, they decided to throw out all the distracting flashy stuff on the inside. It's like a sports car that went on a Marie Kondo decluttering spree.

The catch? It's China-only.

Yep. The rest of us just get to sit and admire from afar, like window shopping without the window.

Design-wise, it's like a car-culture mashup. Bits of Corvette. Sprinkles of Lamborghini. A dash of Lancia Stratos. And maybe some Koenigsegg vibes.

And it's compact, making it look like a Porsche Cayman had a baby with a Toyota 86.

All in all? It's kinda perfect. Even if it’s a daydream for most of us.

SSC, if you're listening, ship one my way, and we'll call it even.

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DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.