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Harbinger To Unveil Innovative Platform For Electric Medium-Duty Trucks At Detroit Auto Show

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Harbinger To Unveil Innovative Platform For Electric Medium-Duty Trucks At Detroit Auto Show


It is not a sports activities automotive, pickup or SUV, however one of many merchandise to be unveiled on the upcoming North American Worldwide Detroit Auto Present might very nicely be the underpinnings for future electrical vans delivering packages to your entrance door or supporting the electrical leisure automobile transporting you to campsites across the nation.

Los Angeles-based startup Harbinger is taking the wraps off a brand new chassis for battery-electric Class 4 via Class 7 medium-duty autos which embody supply vans and RVs. The chassis is designed to economize, cut back driver fatigue and accidents and enhance efficiency and security.

Certainly, it is the most recent innovation within the fast-growing medium-duty truck market serving the even faster-growing center and final mile supply markets.

Harbinger was created about 18 months in the past by three veterans of EV startups together with CEO John Harris. In an interview with Forbes.com, Harris defined the concept to create this new chassis for electrical medium-duty autos grew out of “fascination” the founders have for that market phase, discovering it “compelling,” and frustration over present options.

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“We thought, somebody’s gonna go do it proper. I stored ready and ready and ready. It simply did not occur,” stated Harris. “The pandemic has pushed 10 years of e-commerce development into 18 months. We determined to do it proper from the bottom up.”

Doing it from the bottom up meant re-thinking key parts particular to electrical autos. Essentially the most distinguished innovation being Harbinger’s eAxle which mixes the motor, inverter and gearbox right into a replaceable built-in unit.

The eAxle is coupled with what’s referred to as a de-dion beam.

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“With the de-dion beam we have now a floating beam that carries the bending second coupled with half shafts, an anti-sway bar system after which leaf springs for suspension. nonetheless utilizing rear leaf springs,” defined Harris. “Not like having a beam axle the place you’ve this kind of monolithic built-in unit we’re breaking that out letting us simply optimize every bit individually.”

By eliminating excessive level gears and u-joints, shifting to an structure that makes use of fully spiral beveled gears, “we’re a few 15% enchancment in power effectivity over the incumbent options within the trade,” stated Harris.

Battery packs are designed to final 20 years, or about the identical life span as a business truck and are positioned throughout the body for security, Harris stated.

A key promoting level for Harbinger is the intent to make its electrical truck chassis obtainable at no cost-premium. To perform that, the corporate is differing its course of from the best way electrical passenger vehicles are constructed, which means saving trucking firms the expense of manufacturing their very own batteries or outsourcing them.

What we do not see in trucking is firms shopping for battery cells after which doing their very own modular integration and personal pack integration. The impact is that they’re paying complicated programs markup,” defined Harris. “We purchase battery cells, all greater stage integration is completed in-house and the impact is our cost-basis for battery packs is anyplace from 50-80% decrease than different firms within the trucking house which might be shopping for full packs.”

In an trade the place a typical supply driver might make greater than 100 stops a day getting out and in of the truck, Harbinger’s chassis lowers the everyday step-in peak from 34-36 inches by about six inches when the truck is empty and 4 inches when it is totally loaded.

Its steer by-wire function additional goals to scale back the danger of carpal tunnel accidents with the power to regulate steering ratios to match driving circumstances. The danger of tripping within the small house between the seat and the everyday giant engine compartment referred to as the “canine home” has been eradicated.

Harris notes the explosion in demand for medium-duty vans coupled with the best way the trade sometimes operates precipitated the necessity for a more cost effective, energy-efficient electrical automobile chassis.

“After we take a look at electrification, medium obligation is the place electrification suits most naturally with the best way folks really function autos at the moment,” Harris stated. “With medium-duty they’re virtually all the time fleet operated, virtually all the time depot-based which suggests they’re virtually all the time parked in the identical place each night time, these depots are virtually all the time in industrial places—locations the place there’s already heavy obligation industrial energy and single shifts.”

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The Harbinger chassis can also be designed to be able to help autonomous electrical medium-duty autos since Harris believes business trucking fleets would be the preliminary adopters “due to excessive workload, persistent driver shortages and the chance to make actual enhancements in security and price.”

Pilot testing begins mid to late 2023, in keeping with Harris, with deliveries to clients a while in 2024. The corporate does have clients lined up, however is not but able to reveal who they’re. That is a harbinger of issues to come back.



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Detroit, MI

Dave Chappelle headlining fundraiser for Senate hopeful Hill Harper in Detroit

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Dave Chappelle headlining fundraiser for Senate hopeful Hill Harper in Detroit


The comedian Dave Chappelle is headlining a show to benefit the campaign of U.S. Senate candidate Hill Harper in Detroit next week, according to an event listing selling tickets online.

The tickets for the July 11 live show at Saint Andrew’s Hall in downtown Detroit are available on the ActBlue site, a fundraising platform for Democrats, and range from $250 for balcony seating to $3,300 for those who want to attend a “VIP reception” with Harper following the show. Under federal rules, $3,300 is the maximum donation that an individual can make to a federal candidate per election cycle.

Harper, an actor and author, is seeking the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, facing three-term U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin of Holly in the Aug. 6 primary election. He’s struggled in fundraising compared to Slotkin, who had over $8.6 million in cash reserves as of March 31.

Harper confirmed Tuesday to The Detroit News that Chappelle is coming to Detroit to help him raise money for the campaign, less than four weeks before the primary. He described Chappelle as an “old friend.”

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General admission tickets for the Chappelle comedy show are $500, while the Harper campaign is selling “Gold Circle” tickets for $1,000, according to the ActBlue site.

The event site for the show states that no cellphones will be allowed, and that those who bring a phone will be required to place it in a locked pouch or risk being ejected from St. Andrews Hall on East Congress Street.

Chappelle’s last show in Detroit was in September. His 2021 comedy special, “The Closer,” was filmed at the Fillmore Detroit and was later released on Netflix. The special was criticized for its transgender content, with GLAAD commenting, “Chappelle’s brand has become synonymous with ridiculing trans people.”

Chappelle’s special went on to win a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album.

Staff writer Adam Graham contributed.

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mburke@detroitnews.com



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Craig Monroe taken off Tigers’ TV minutes after sex-abuse claims came to light

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Craig Monroe taken off Tigers’ TV minutes after sex-abuse claims came to light


Craig Monroe was removed from his role as an analyst on Tigers television and radio broadcasts last month minutes after a post on social media accused him of sexually molesting a girl in Florida, a source with knowledge of the removal told The Detroit News. The accuser said the abuse continued for years, into his years playing in Detroit.

The accuser first posted on X about the allegations last month, tagging multiple news outlets, before deleting that original post. However, according to the source with knowledge of the situation, an executive with Bally Sports Detroit had already seen the post.

At the time, Monroe was at Comerica Park preparing to work the series opener between the Tigers and Washington Nationals on June 11. Within 30 minutes of seeing the post, a Bally Sports Detroit executive demanded Monroe leave the ballpark, according to the source.

Bally Sports Detroit, which broadcasts Tigers games, and the Tigers issued a statement to The News on Tuesday, acknowledging the accusations.

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“Bally Sports Detroit and the Tigers are aware of the social-media allegations and take them seriously,” the Tigers and Bally Sports Detroit said in a jointly released statement. “As previously stated, Mr. Monroe has not been on the broadcast schedule, and that will continue on an indefinite basis. We will have no further comment and any questions should be directed to Mr. Monroe.”

Monroe hasn’t called a Tigers game since the June 9 game between the Tigers and Milwaukee Brewers in Detroit. He hasn’t posted on social media since May 8.

Bally Sports Detroit and the Tigers first acknowledged Monroe’s on-air absence in a statement to local media outlets June 21, saying he was “addressing a personal matter.”

Monroe hasn’t returned multiple messages from The News since he was removed from the air last month. The News has reached out to the woman who made the accusations on social media, via X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, and she has not responded.

The woman who detailed abuse dating back to her childhood did talk anonymously to WJBK-TV (Channel 2) for a story posted late Monday.

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Gabriella Ruiz of the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office in Florida confirmed to The News that the agency is actively investigating the woman’s claims, and it is asking anyone else with information to come forward.

Bally Sports Detroit and the Tigers are not investigating the claims; they are leaving that to the authorities, according to the source with knowledge of the situation.

The allegations date to the late 1990s, when Monroe was playing for the Texas Rangers’ minor-league organization in Port Charlotte, Florida. The woman said Monroe lived with her family when he was 20, and she was 12. Back then, it was common for players in the low levels of the minor leagues to stay with “host” families, to save on costs.

The woman posted the allegations again Thursday, and that post remains on X and Instagram. The woman posted a video Saturday expanding on her original post.

Monroe, 47, is a freelance employee who was paid on a per-game basis for his work on the Tigers’ television and radio broadcasts, with no minimum or maximum number of games in his agreement. Monroe received no health insurance or other benefits through his work on television or radio, and he is not being compensated during his absence. Bally Sports Detroit paid him for his work on TV, and the Tigers paid him for his work on radio.

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Monroe joined the Tigers’ television team in 2012, first as a studio analyst, and eventually as an on-air game analyst. He emerged in recent years as the lead TV analyst, in a rotation that now includes Kirk Gibson, Dan Petry, Carlos Pena and Todd Jones. Petry has been handling additional game work, in Monroe’s absence.

Monroe broke into the major leagues with the Rangers in 2001 and was claimed off waivers by the Tigers in 2002. A slugging outfielder, he played parts of six seasons with the Tigers, helping lead them to the 2006 World Series.

tpaul@detroitnews.com

@tonypaul1984

Staff Writer George Hunter contributed.

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Metro Detroit businesses addressing shoplifting

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Metro Detroit businesses addressing shoplifting


Businesses keep eye out for shoplifters

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Businesses keep eye out for shoplifters

01:53

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ROYAL, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) — Retailers across the country are taking action against shoplifting, including one small business in Royal Oak.

Julia Manzella is a buyer with Rail and Anchor, an eclectic shop in Royal Oak. She says a few years ago, the small business started noticing declining profits and missing merchandise, and they took action.

“To stop the theft we had to put money back into the store,” Manzella said. “So we spent thousands of dollars on a security system.”

The store started posting photos and videos of shoplifters on social media, in order to catch the crooks.

“Now we’re actually finding the people and they’re not coming back,” Manzella said. “We’re actually taking a stance on it.”

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Bloomberg reports that retail giant Target is also taking a stand. The publication cited insiders within the company who told them that Target had instructed employees to lower the threshold for confronting shoplifters from $100 to $50.

“Maybe that will help the problem if big companies like Target start taking a stand,” Manzella said. “But it will also take a lot of local agencies to start prosecuting repeat offenders.”

“I’ve had a lot of friends have to close their business because of this problem,” Manzella told CBS News Detroit. “But we’re not some small pot shop and they can’t just abuse us. We have to keep the doors open and we have to make a business.”

Target has not responded to CBS News Detroit’s requests for comment at the time this article was published.

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