Hello,

Happy Halloween & Dia de los Muertos to our North American readers.

In addition to the usual great content that's applicable to vehicles and manufacturing them (AI in our case means Automotive and Industrial, lol), I've added a little Halloween section for all of you in this edition, including an interesting backgrounder on how today's Halloween tradition came about, as well as a professional, peer-reviewed-author cited, explanation of why people feel and behave the way they do in haunted houses and behind masks.

enjoy,

-andyT

p.s. Technology, but not electronics, so read on if you like mechanisms and art. In this world of AI, a handcrafted work of art has emerged - one of the best movies I've seen in a long time that seems cursed with the way it was marketed. Perhaps the end of the art if it fails at the box office. Go see "Wildwood" (film trailer here) this weekend (beware that there's a child-robot balcony jump suicide and an epic battle that may be too much for some kids, hence its PG-13 rating) for an awesome animated film experience, using technologies like 3D printing to make over a 150,000 faces for stop-action, EDM, and investment casting. Some of the technologies and techniques in this masterpiece were covered by a visit to Laika Studios, here in Hillsboro Oregon, by Adam Savage (Mythbusters), in this video.

Dia de los Muertos explainer, as well as 2026 events in Mexico, here.

James May [The Grand Tour, Top Gear, Drivetribe] drives America's cheapest new [Slate] pick-up truck. Video

9-Minute EV Charging Has Reached The Mainstream, Just Not In America... Yet. Link

Daimler Truck restructuring leads to Portland plant closure [It's where the eCascadia is built]. Link

Rivian's electric van was the fourth-best-selling EV in America in the third quarter, beating all of its competitors hands down. Link

While America fights over oil, the world moves on to EVs. Link

Data center gear is being hijacked in transit to the tune of hundreds of millions. Link

GM's chief product officer thinks Tesla deleting radar for ADAS "ignores physics." Link

Police are pulling people over because license plate cameras say their travel patterns look "suspicious" Link

China’s CE-25A Electric Commuter Airliner Demonstrator Emerges. Link

Fake PS5 emulators on GitHub are spreading password-stealing malware. Link

Two Radio Telescopes Uncover Possible Dark Galaxy 310 Million Light-Years Away. Link