In Remembrance of Cliff Slater.


 Multifaceted writer Cliff Slater dies at 91

I will always remember fondly and with much appreciation my friend, mentor, advisor and neighbor Cliff Slater who passed on January 20. He had a full and most accomplished life. He survived Hitler's V2 bombs in his native UK, hurricanes while crossing the Pacific Ocean in his boat, cancer, and decades of Hawaii's antibusiness environment. He was a very successful businessman, author of transportation books and articles (including one in Transportation Research!), had a regular newspaper column, and was an active participant in Honolulu's civics.  RIP.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Price Inflation in the US: My Family’s Basket of Goods from COSTCO

Image
[ Part 1: COSTCO – Part 2: AMAZON] In summer 2018, my family and I went on a trip to the Reno-Tahoe area, mostly for vacation but also to get an idea if the greater Reno area may be a suitable one for relocating from Honolulu, after my retirement from the University of Hawaii. During the visit, I took pictures at Reno Costco of some of the products and items we used to buy at the time in Honolulu. I wanted to compare them with Honolulu’s Costco (at Iwilei). I was expecting that the “price of paradise” would hit again, and many items would be more expensive in Hawaii. I was planning to blog about it. Much to my surprise, the prices were basically the same … nothing to write about. Fast forward to 2024 and the “big news” is inflation and the cost of food items. Actually, most of the inflation occurred soon after the Covid pandemic was under control. The rise in prices was due to high demand and limited supply because of labor shortages and supply chain issues in the harbors, etc. Food i...
Read more

Are Electric Vehicles Riskier?

Image
Strange finding, but it comes from a paper in a well regarded, peer reviewed journal. Do EV cause more at-fault crashes? The answer based on data from The Netherlands (only) is yes. See:  Are electric vehicles riskier? A comparative study of driving behaviour and insurance claims for internal combustion engine, hybrid and electric vehicles ( Alternate link ) Research Paper Highlights Electric and hybrid drivers exhibit different behaviours than traditional vehicles. Electric vehicles record higher at-fault claims than traditional vehicles. Hybrids do not display a statistically significant increase in claim likelihood. Electric vehicles are 6.7% more expensive to repair than traditional vehicles.
Read more

Reason Foundation: 2024 Update on the Decline of Electric Vehicles

Image
Robert Poole's article titled The (Not So?) Surprising Decline of Electric Vehicles gives a useful update on the reduction of EV sales and manufacturing in the US.  All the text below is from Robert's newsletter. First, let me add two updates. 1. AXIOS: " Ford is again shifting its electrification strategy — delaying a planned electric pickup truck by 18 months and killing plans for a three-row electric SUV ... Ford's EV unit lost $4.7 billion in 2023 (and is on track to lose even more this year. )" 2. ConsumerAffairs:  Nearly one-fifth of sold EVs recalled over battery or charging issues . Surface Transportation News , August 7, 2024: Recent headlines in business media report trouble with the electric vehicle market. Last month, (all-EV) Tesla reported a 45% profit decrease in the most recent quarter, due to lower sales and the lower prices it’s recently been charging due to increased EV competition. GM announced delays in two planned EV factories—one for electr...
Read more