Things I learned lately 12 Jan

• GM intends to discontinue Apple CarPlay and Android Auto because it’s ‘buggy’ and would lead to drivers using their phones instead making it all very unsafe. They are going to build their own phone mirroring software. Here’s the thing - neither software seems ‘buggy’ in any other brand of vehicle.
• There are more people in China who use the KFC China app (430 million) than there are people in the US. KFC is doing better in China than even McDonalds. KFC offers unique items in China, such as a Shrimp Burger; Rice Congee (a type of rice porridge); Egg Tarts; Soy Sauce Chicken; and Matcha Ice Cream.
  
  
  
• Aldi was the fastest growing grocery store in the US in 2022. Their business model is to stock far fewer products. Typical supermarkets carry over 30,000 products, whereas Aldi only carries 1,650 products. They consequently have a much smaller footprint.
• One of the biggest untruths about electric vehicles: They catch fire more than ICE vehicle. The facts indicate otherwise: There are 3,475 fires per 100,000 vehicles sold for Hybrids. There are 1,530 fires per 100,000 vehicles sold for ICE vehicles. There are 25 per 100,000 vehicles sold for BEVs. There have been 201,969 units of the Bolt EV, Bolt EUV, and Ampera E sold around the world. There have been 25 confirmed fires.
• Darius McCollum was arrested 32 times for impersonating a transit worker. He commandeered hundreds of buses and subway trains over the course of 30 years, staying on route and schedule without being paid. He attended Union meetings, even though he wasn't a member.
• The first McDonald's Drive Thru opened in Sierra Vista, Arizona on January 24,1975. It was done to reverse a decline in sales, because soldiers had to follow the rule of staying in their vehicles when wearing fatigues (uniforms), when off base. The soldiers at Fort Huachuca Army Base got to enjoy McDonald’s without getting out of their car.
• Aubrey QC, just south of Montreal, is almost exactly halfway between the equator and the geographic north pole.