Temu and AliExpress are selling the cheapest V-16 beacons on the market. And it’s very easy to know if it’s a scam.

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There are 44 days left until the connected V-16 beacon becomes mandatory in our country. There are, in fact, 43 days left if you are reading this on November 18, 2025. And I don’t want to burden anyone but there is obviously less room for maneuver with each passing day. We already know about the “evil of many…” but I will tell you a secret: if you are about to buy the beacon, you are by no means the only one in that position. Obviously, this has caused sales of the device to skyrocket. And with it have come the offers and, of course, the doubts about whether we are buying a valid product or not. Neither the DGT nor the consumer associations have helped with the doubts. And, on the market, there are V-16 beacons but not all of them are valid. Despite everything, you can find specific offers and bargains by finding this product, even below 10 euros. Therefore, we are going to explain how we can check whether or not we are facing a scam. Is it a scam? To understand why so much confusion must be taken into account that the approval of having to mount a V-16 beacon on the car It closed in 2021. Then the DGT decided that this device would replace the emergency lights and V-16 beacons began to arrive on the market. In 2022, however, it was confirmed that only V-16 beacons that could be used would be valid. contact DGT 3.0. They are called “V-16 connected beacons”, those that have a SIM card inside and that must guarantee connectivity for 12 years. That is, all V-16 beacons without connectivity (mainly sold before 2022) are not valid. This regulatory change is what has led consumer associations like the OCU to affirm that a connected V-16 beacon, the only valid one, “rarely goes below 40 euros.” But this is not entirely true. First, because it is very easy to find approved V-16 beacons for about 30 euros. Second, because there are real bargains that allow us to buy this device for less than even 10 euros. With that price it is logical to think that we could be facing a scam. Or, simply, that we are buying a V-16 beacon without realizing that they lack that connectivity that is essential for approval. The doubts multiply because Temu either AliExpress They offer beacons well below the 40 euros floor price recommended by the OCU. Pages specialized in discounts, such as Chollometer also offers aggressive discounts on some V-16 beacons. Do you want one for 9.99 euros? Yes. And it’s not a scam. Not, at least, in all cases. It’s all in the certificate number With a month and a half left before the new regulations come into force, there is not a day on pages like Aliexpress, Temu or Chollómetro in which a V-16 beacon is not offered at ridiculous prices. We give you some examples: V-16 beacon offered on Aliexpress V-16 beacon offered on Aliexpress The two previous beacons are sold on AliExpress at an almost absurd price. Of course, the fact that they can be purchased for just over two and four euros should make us suspicious. And indeed, none of the above options are valid. In fact, in the product rating of one of them, there is a comment specifying that they do not have connectivity. However, let’s look at another case. Beacon offer at 9.98 euros at Chollometro Redirection to Temu where it is shown that the beacon can be purchased for 9.99 euros The above case explains well how we can find a connected and completely valid V-16 beacon at a very low price. The connected V-16 beacon shown above is an offer that we have found on Chollometro, a website from which it is redirected to Temu where it is noted that the price of the beacon is 59.99 euros but that it is on sale for 29.98 euros. As if that were not enough, it is possible to buy it (red box) for 9.99 euros. The price should make us suspicious. But we go to the product description where it is mentioned that it has IP54 water resistance, it is promised that it is connected to DGT 3.0, which meets all the approvals… and its certificate is shown: IDIADA PC25060196. The latter is especially important because it is the data that certifies whether or not the connected V-16 beacon that we are purchasing is fake or meets the required requirements or not. To check it, let’s go to the DGT page. In this linkTraffic lists each and every one of the approved devices. We can filter the list by the date of approval, by the name of the manufacturer, the name of the product… and very importantly, the certificate number of all the products that we can even download is shown. In addition, it has a search engine, as we see in the following image. DGT list with all approved connected V-16 beacons It is enough to enter the certificate number, it is not even necessary to specify IDIADA or LCOE (the two laboratories that approve this product in Spain), to confirm that the V-16 beacon that we want to buy has all the technical requirements, including its manufacturer, the name of the exact model and when and where the approval was certified. In the case of the previous connected V-16 beacon, we are talking about a product certified, indeed, by IDIADA. It was homologated on June 30, 2025, the exact model name is V16 Beacon Light IoT CH-020L, sold under the Raykong brand and homologation requested by Limburg Technology Limited. Below we leave you the image in which this information is shown and the certificate that the DGT attaches with this data. Search for the beacon purchased in Temu Certificate of the connected V-16 beacon sold in Temu As we have seen, before purchasing the V-16 beacon it is easy to check whether we … Read more

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard removed all their songs from Spotify. Immediately afterwards some mysterious versions took their place

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You can leave Spotify, but you don’t leave it completely until Spotify allows you to. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard just found out the hard way: They left the platform in protest of the CEO’s investmentsbut there are still his songs inside. The terrifying thing about it: they are not the ones who composed or recorded them. We go, or not. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard left Spotify in July 2025: it was a protest against Daniel Ek’s investments in military technology. Weeks later, however, they discovered that several of the group’s songs were still available on the platform. But they were not the originals, but rather instrumental versions that imitated the original songs, with the same artist name, identical titles and official covers. According to Platformer accountthese songs managed to accumulate more than 10 million views before being detected. The trick. Spotify presented these tracks as authentic. As a fan of the band tells Platformer, when playing ‘Deadstick’ from the album ‘Phantom Island’, what sounded was a simplified version, almost a cell phone ringtone, a kind of low-quality version. But without knowing the original song (and especially taking into account how fond of jokes and experimentation this unclassifiable and prolific band is) any listener could have confused it with the real song. The same thing happened with other songs on the album such as ‘Aerodynamic’ and ‘Grow Wings and Fly’. The article sparked a wave of protests that led Spotify to remove the content, confirming that it violated its anti-phishing policy. There are currently no songs from the group on the platform. It is not an isolated case. According to data from the company itself published in September 2025Spotify has removed 75 million tracks classified as spam over the last year. The consulting firm Luminate estimates that about 99,000 songs are uploaded daily to streaming services, often through distributors that do not verify the identity of the artist. The situation is accentuated on other platforms, in what seems to be a widespread problem with a clear trigger: the ease with which songs can be generated using AI. Deezer, for example, counted this same month which receives more than 50,000 tracks completely generated by artificial intelligence every day, 34% of all the content that reaches its servers. 70% of AI-generated music plays, he says, are unauthorized songs or songs that replace real artists. The Ghost of The Velvet Sundown. In June 2025, a band called The Velvet Sundown reached more than one million monthly listeners on Spotify. Its promotional photos had that artificial appearance characteristic of images generated by AI, and its members did not exist on any social network, but the group started with 550,000 monthly listeners after being recommended by the platform’s algorithm. After weeks of denying the accusations, those responsible admitted it was an “artistic provocation” created with artificial intelligence. His songs are still available on Spotify. The dead artists. However, in terms of impersonated artists, the case of deceased artists is more disturbing: numerous songs generated by AI began to appear in official profiles of deceased musicians. The page of Blaze Foley, country singer-songwriter murdered in 1989, received new songs. It also happened with Guy Clark, a Grammy winner who died in 2016, Sophie, an electronic artist who died in 2021, and Uncle Tupelo, Jeff Tweedy’s former band from Wilco. All of these tracks were uploaded by distributors without any verification and remained active for weeks before being detected. A systemic problem. Although Spotify is the visible head of this chaos, there is a real mess at many points on the diffusion scale. For example, distributors like DistroKid allow massive topic uploads without verifying the real identity of the artist. In the aforementioned September communication, Spotify announced new anti-spoofing policies and an anti-spam filter, but at the moment its effectiveness has not been proven. For now, the King Gizzard case raises a devastating question: after abandoning a platform, you do not abandon it completely. Maybe you’ll never do it. Header | Paul Hudson

This is how the “impossible” photo of the man falling into the Sun was made

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It seems like a montage, but it is so real that it has gone around the world just when AI was making surreal images stop impressing us. Andrew McCarthy’s “The Fall of Icarus” has shown that there are still ways to outdo the machine with technical precision and months of planning. Logistical madness. In the photo, a backlit silhouette appears to have launched itself in free fall over the Sun. It is the skydiver Gabriel C. Brown transiting in front of a particularly active solar disk. On the other side of the telescope, the famous astrophotographer Andrew McCarthywhich had begun planning the capture at the beginning of the year. It is, quite possibly, the first photo of this type, since the list of variables to control was insane. They needed the optimal sun angle, a safe height for Brown to launch from, and a perfectly calculated glide path between the sun and the camera. Three-way communication. It was 9 in the morning in the Arizona desert. McCarthy had his telescopes ready and was in constant communication with both Gabriel Brown, the skydiver, and Jim Hamberlin, the pilot of the paramotor from which he would launch. McCarthy followed the aircraft with his telescope and, once it was aligned with the Sun, gave the order. “Okay, I’ll see you,” he said over the radio. “Jump, jump, jump!” Brown jumped at about 1,070 meters above sea level with the engine idling to ensure a perfect angle. “I got it, man!” he heard him say on the radio. The sixth time was the charm. McCarthy told Live Science that the biggest challenge had been finding the paramotor in the sky. Although it was about 2.4 km from its position, the point of the shot was to capture in detail the Sun, which was 50 million times the same distance. It took the team six attempts to correctly align the aircraft with the photographer’s position on the ground. When push came to shove, they could only make one jump, as folding the parachute for a second attempt would have taken too long. Is it really not a setup? It is not, and the secret is in the telescope. As explained PetaPixelcarried a hydrogen-alpha filter to block all sunlight except for a very specific red wavelength that emits incandescent hydrogen. This is how those infernal images of the solar chromosphere are taken: the layer of active “fire” on the surface of the Sun, with its filaments and protuberances especially visible during times of greater solar activity. It is not very different from how other photos of rockets and space stations passing in front of the Sun are taken, but with extra planning and audacity so that the protagonist of the image is, for the first time, a tiny person. Images | Andrew McCarthy In Xataka | We are used to seeing the Perseids looking up. This is what they look like from space, looking down

Tim Cook’s succession

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We know that Tim Cook’s days at the helm of Apple are coming to an end. We have talked at length about his legacy and who are the possible successors. What we didn’t know is when the change would occur. Apple has not confirmed anything, but according to the Financial Timesthe company is finalizing preparations and could announce it in 2026. what has happened. Cook himself has made comments about his departure from Apple in the future and now there are clues that that future could be next year. Company sources have confirmed to the Financial Times that they are “intensifying preparations for Cook to hand over the reins.” Why is it important. It is the most important succession in the technology sector. Cook has been the architect of Apple’s best era; In his 14 years of leadership he has managed to turn it into the most valuable company in the world with a valuation that This year it reached 4 billion dollarsonly recently surpassed by NVIDIA. The change comes at a time of challenges for Apple in which a lot is being questioned your artificial intelligence strategy and its recent bet with the iPhone Air It wouldn’t have turned out as expected.. Despite everything, the latest results were excellent and its shares are in record numbers. The favorite. Tim Cook has already expressed his desire that his successor be someone from the company and from the beginning there is one name that has been heard more than the rest. He is John Ternus, Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering since 2013, although he joined the company in 2001. In Xataka we had the opportunity to interview him a few months ago about the launch of the iPhone 17 and iPhone Air. Ternus has deep technical knowledge and has been a key figure in the development of such important products as the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. Movements. This year there have been important changes in Apple’s leadership. This could be a sign that the time for succession is approaching. At the beginning of the year CFO Luca Maestri was relieved of his position and this summer, Jeff Williams, Cook’s chief operating officer and right-hand man, announced his retirement. As a consequence of this, there have been some responsibilities adjustments. Mainly with Eddy Cue taking over the health and fitness teams and Craig Federighi, head of software engineering, taking the reins of WatchOS. The moment. For now nothing is confirmed, but according to the Financial Times, the announcement could occur at the beginning of the year, although not before the next earnings event scheduled for the end of January. Announcing the new CEO in the first months of 2026 would give him room to establish himself in the new role before the company’s big events, WWDC in June and the launch of the next iPhone in September. Image | Wikipedia, Unsplash In Xataka | Tim Cook has admitted that Apple is “very open” to acquisitions in AI. These are our candidates

that the rains become bad news

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A few days ago, Paco Castañares posted a video of the Las Nogaledas Gorge, in the heart of the Jerte Valley. His words serve to give you an idea of ​​what was seen and, above all, what was not seen in it: “the most beautiful and emblematic waterfall, turned into a smelly flood of chapapote, ashes, burned plant remains and heavy metals.” And no, it is not an isolated event. Because, as they said from Forest Education“these rains have not been good at all.” “How come they’re not good?”anyone with could tell me access to embalses.net. 2025 has been a good year for rainfall and, in fact, we have been above 2024 throughout this time. But that ‘advantage’ has not been enough. Right now, we are even a little worse (0.30% less) than last year. As explains César Rodríguez Ballesterosthe water in recent weeks has fallen, especially in the western part of the country. And it is precisely there where our greatest capacity of dammed water is found. On paper, these rains are manna from heaven. But there is a small problem. That 2025 has not been a normal year in terms of fires. 382,000 hectares have been burned. That is, 800% more in 2024. Or it is the same, more than the entire surface burned from 2018 to 2014 all together. If we look in any forestry manual, we can see that rains (especially if they are intense) have two effects when they fall on land devastated by fire: the first is erosion (since there is no vegetation to retain it, the surface layer washes away and moves). The second is water pollution. It is not only the toxic effects of ash and soot that are washed into rivers, lakes and reservoirs. We are talking about the increase in nutrients (nitrates, ammonia, phosphorus) with the risk of eutrophication, increased turbidity and damage to water channeling and treatment systems. And the worst of all is that it could have been avoided. It is not easy, nor simple; It’s true. But there are measures of soil restoration, a barrier system to control erosion and plans to fine-tune water management systems. None (or, at best, very little) of this has been executed. And the result is problems, problems and more problems. We said it above: in these circumstances, the rains have become bad news. An enormous problem, in fact, that is going to put the water supply of the entire west of the country in trouble (and it’s not the first time it happens). But, beyond that, it shows us a clear path: climate change made it 40 times more likely the risk of fires this summer on the Peninsula. And, that means that, even if there are no more, those that exist they become much more dangerous: in 2022 there were 493 fires; in 2023, 371; and this year it seems that we are going to stay below 300. We have to get used to living with the consequences of some fires that we cannot stop. But above all, we have to prepare. Image | ECMWF In Xataka | A spectacular fire tornado, recorded live: how these very rare atmospheric phenomena can form

Xania Monet is one of the most popular artists of the moment. It is also an AI that has just signed a million-dollar contract

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It seemed like an area of ​​culture that remained for the moment in the background before the million-dollar demands of Hollywood production companies and publishing giants, but hostilities are also intensifying in the field of pop music: through AIthere are composers who create singers that do not exist, who have a considerable following on streaming platforms and who get them million-dollar contracts. And meanwhile, distributors and producers defend their corralito with demands for the tools that generate these new phenomena. The figures are beginning to be in the millions, so this has only just begun. The Xania Monet case. The poet Telisha Jones, 31, tried a new method in the summer of 2025 to capture her verses: she introduced her poems into Sunothe artificial intelligence platform capable of converting text into complete songs. The tool not only put music to their words, but gave them a powerful voice, with the timbre of a professional R&B singer. Jones’ lyrics were brought to life through an algorithm trained on millions of previous recordings. This is how Xania Monet was borna digital avatar with a presence on social networks and, shortly after, a catalog that soon circulated on social media platforms. streaming. The climb. In just two months, Xania Monet accumulated figures that many human artists take years to achieve. Your theme’How Was I Supposed to Know‘ rose to first place in the Billboard R&B Digital Sales Chart. This same month, the song reached number 30 on the Adult R&B Airplay: that is, real radio stations are playing it. Another song, ‘Let Go, Let God‘, more in the thematic parameters of gospel, reached number 21 on Hot Gospel Songs. All of this points to a reach that is not exactly small: 17 million total views in the United States in two months. It reached a peak of more than 5 million streams in just seven days. On Spotify, the number of monthly listeners is around 530,000, while on social networks, the avatar accumulates close to 770,000 followers between Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. The millionaire contract. From there, success (and money). According to Billboardseveral record labels initially requested meetings with Jones, but she refused to activate her camera and sing for the executives, for obvious reasons. But the offers have ended up arriving, one of them from 3 million dollars. Some labels linked to major record companies such as Universal, Sony or Warner withdrew from the bid for Monet because their respective companies have lawsuits against Suno for copyright infringement. The winner was Hallwood Media, an independent company owned by a former president of the legendary Geffen Records. It is not his first signing of these characteristics: weeks ago he had signed imoliveranother music creator by using Suno. The doubts. The case raises multiple legal and ethical questions: who is really the author of a song whose lyrics are written by a human but whose music, voice and arrangements are generated by a machine? Jones claims that she owns all songwriting and production rights, based on Suno’s terms of service. However, the United States Copyright Office has established that will not grant protection to works whose “expressive elements are determined by a machine”making it unclear who is going to pocket the $50,000 generated from rights to date. But there is also the eternal issue of generative AIs: Xania Monet’s voice bears notable similarities to established singers, such as Beyoncé. If their voice was generated by training the model with protected recordings, to what extent would the original artists not have to be compensated? That’s without going into the primary ethical question, with almost existential overtones: the implications of an artist without a body and without years of practice behind her competing with flesh-and-blood musicians for space on the lists. The imoliver case. He was ahead of Xania Monet and behind him is Oliver McCann, who He defines himself as a “musical designer”since he also lacks traditional musical training. His work with Suno consists of introducing textual indications into the platform describing atmospheres, emotions or genres and polishing it. In July 2025 he was signed by Hallwood Media, which has replicated that same strategy with Monet: in August a song was uploaded to streaming, and a series of songs followed with marketing support, to finally release a complete album. The legal controversy. In June 2024, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) launched what would become one of the most significant legal battles of the music industry in recent times. On behalf of Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group, he presented simultaneous lawsuits against Suno and Udiothe two dominant platforms in music generation by artificial intelligence. They were accused of massive and systematic copyright infringement: both companies had fed their AI models millions of protected songs without obtaining licenses or permissions. In August, Suno acknowledged that this was indeed the case, and that this practice was perfectly legal under the doctrine of “fair use”. According to her, the songs generated are new and legal. So the companies increased their attack, adding to their lawsuit an accusation that they had obtained their songs through Youtube piracy and ripping: “the largest theft of intellectual property in human history.” To resolve this conflict (which has led companies like Anthropic to pay 1.5 billion dollars to resolve a lawsuit of the same type, but in the literary field) we must answer a fundamental question, and one that will determine the future of people like Monet and imoliver: who is the legal owner of the songs generated by these platforms? In Xataka | We have created these three songs using Suno AI v3. It’s the most spectacular thing we’ve seen in a long time.

while the Madrid-Barcelona AVE goes at 350 km/h, the rest of the network languishes

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The Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, has announced the tender for two feasibility studies with one objective: to carry out actions to improve the high-speed line (LAV) between Madrid and Barcelona to increase the speed of this corridor to 350 km/h. This will allow the journey between both cities to be made in less than two hours, but the problem is with the state of the railway network in the rest of the country. All focus in one line. Puente has explained that the reasons for focusing on this route are that “we need more capacity due to the increase in passengers on this line which, when it started, moved 2.2 million users and today there are 15 million, which means that 85% of the passenger share uses the train in this connection between cities and can still grow.” Vibrations. The modernization of the line that has already been carried out on the Madrid-Seville route is now urgently needed for the one that connects Madrid with Barcelona: it is already close to having been in service for 20 years and reports have appeared that point to an increase in vibrations between Madrid and Calatayud. Air traverses. For the renewal of the line, use will be made of a “unique Spanish technology in the world”, the aerotraviesa, which according to ADIF reduces the aerodynamic load in the space immediately above the ballast bed by 21%. This allows the operating speed of the train to increase by 12%: the aerodynamic load caused at 330 km/h by the current crossing would be equivalent to that generated by the aerocross at 370 km/h. New stations. The plan also includes new access variants to both cities and the construction of two new high-speed stations in Parla (connected to the Madrid Cercanías network) and in El Prat de Llobregat. A new access to the Chamartín station from the east and south is also proposed as an alternative to the existing tunnel. that connects this station with that of Atocha. In this way, the minister indicated, the capital will be provided with an alternative route to the existing tunnel for trains coming from throughout the Mediterranean and Andalusia. Impact on other lines. The Parla station will also have another purpose: to allow a connection with Madrid for all those services of the Madrid-Seville LAV and the Madrid-Levante LAV, with destination Madrid, in case of eventual incidents at the stations or in the standard gauge tunnel. Giving room for maneuver for the future. This action, the Ministry states, will improve the current capacity of the Torrejón de Velasco junction—through which more than 250 trains circulate daily—and absorb the increases in traffic expected with the entry into service of the Madrid-Extremadura-Portuguese Border High Speed ​​Line. the planned growth on the line between Madrid and Seville. The studies also include the construction of a new railway access that allows services to be provided from Lérida with origin and destination in Barcelona and without the need to circulate through Camp de Tarragona. sticking out chest. Minister Óscar Puente stated in the announcement that with this improvement Spain will become “the only country, together with Chinawhich has an infrastructure of these characteristics.” Not only that, it has compared the costs with that is supporting uk: “They have 40,000 million and do not have a single kilometer of track installed. There is talk of a project that will cost 100,000 million pounds for 250 kilometers. We will have invested, from the beginning (of high speed) until the end of this year, in 4,091 kilometers, around 70,000 million euros. We have the lowest cost per kilometer in the world.” Where can you travel in five hours by train from cities like Gijón, La Coruña or Badajoz? To Madrid, almost certainly… and little else. Source: Chronotrains. The problem is the rest of Spain. The improvement plan makes sense from the point of view of the growing demand on that route, but it once again penalizes the rest of the railway network, which does not have high-speed lines… or even lines. We already talked about how from Chronotrains It is possible to see how from Gijón, La Coruña or Badajoz (in the image) in five hours the train coverage is very poor, and the problem is repeated everywhere. The connection with Madrid is normally well covered: the problem is the connection between cities other than Madrid and Barcelona. Supply and demand. Here there must be a balance between supply and demand, and criticism is logical among those who see how other routes, even having a certain demand, they are neglected again and again. Platforms like “Soria NOW!” they manifested recently claiming that “the only train that passes through Soria is the one of excuses”, and the same thing happens with others like Teruel Exists or the concentrations that for years They demand a “decent train” in Extremadura, although in the latter region there is somewhat more hopeful newsand the AVE to Galicia is also proving to be a real success. Image | Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility In Xataka | The great Valencian “obrón” bears the name of Adif. Their last names: gas leak and fed up neighbors

opinions, first contact and photos

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It is difficult to talk about the Omoda 5 without mentioning two basic aspects. The first, its price. The second, its reception in the market. With this first incentive as its flag and to continue pushing in the second aspect, the Omoda 5 adds a hybrid alternative that aspires to be one of the great references for those looking for an electric hybrid at a reasonable price. And it is that he Omoda 5 has lived until now with an exclusively gasoline version. Despite this, registrations are being good, with more than 8,000 units sold so far this year, which places it above rivals such as the Seat Ateca (5,262 units so far this year) and which can make it aspire to catch up with cars like the Citroën C4 that still surpass it in sales (more than 12,000 units until October). In fact, the company itself has confirmed to us that they expect the hybrid to far surpass the gasoline version in the sales mix. It is no coincidence that the RRP (we will talk about this later) of the hybrid is just 1,500 euros higher than the non-electrified version. Omoda 5 SHS-H technical sheet Omoda 5 BODY TYPE. five-seater SUV MEASUREMENTS AND WEIGHT. 4,373 meters long, 1,824 meters wide, 1,588 meters high. Wheelbase of 2,610 meters and weight of 1,480 kg. TRUNK. 370 liters MAXIMUM POWER. 224 HP WLTP CONSUMPTION. 5.3 l/100 km ENVIRONMENTAL DISTINCTIVE. C, ECO and Zero Emissions DRIVING AIDS (ADAS). Up to 20 ADAS aids, including those required by the European Union and adaptive cruise control with lane centering. 360º HD camera for parking assistance OTHERS. Own software compatible with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, via Bluetooth. Wireless charging for mobile phone. USB type A and C ports for the front and rear seats. Heated and ventilated seats as standard. ELECTRIC HYBRID. Yes, with a 105 kW (143 HP) 1.5 TGDI engine and a 150 kW (204 HP) electric motor. Maximum combined power of 224 HP. Plug-in HYBRID. No. electric Yes. With a 150 kW (204 HP) engine and a 61.05 kW battery to approve 430 km. price and launch Now available: Gasoline version from 22,990 euros. Hybrid version from 23,990 euros (with discount campaign) Electricity from 26,690 euros before aid from the MOVES III Plan. To eat the entry range Until the month of October, Omoda has sold more than 10,000 units in our country. It has done so with three cars on the market and a proposal that is not the most ambitious when it comes to gaining sales. We say this because the Omoda 5 has only been sold with an unelectrified gasoline engine. A technology in clear decline in our market, accumulating 24.54% of sales so far this year compared to 34.97% for hybrids (those that, at least, have an ECO sticker). All according to ANFAC data. In addition, an electric version has been sold that has a high price (from 35,000 euros) for its 61 kWh battery and a Omoda 9 which, although it offers power and equipment superior to that of its rivals, already enters into prices (almost 50,000 euros) where Chinese options have a more difficult time competing. At least until now. The hybrid version is, therefore, a catapult to assault the entry range to this ECO label, increasingly important to enter the center of some cities or receive certain advantages when parking. Especially because it is a electric hybrid and not a mild hybrid. That is, it promises substantial savings compared to a microhybrid that uses a small combustion engine to obtain the ECO sticker but barely saves on consumption. And the first sensations are good. In our first contact we exceeded 100 kilometers in length, most of which were distributed between Madrid’s ring roads and secondary roads. Perhaps there was a lack of urban travel to deal with the regular use of these cars by the target customer, but given the volume of traffic and traffic jams, we can say that we were faced with situations similar to those seen inside a city. Consumption remained below 5l/100 kilometers and in the most congested parts where we drive at a slower pace and regenerative braking works more, we approached 4l/100 km with specific situations below this figure. They are good fuel consumption, on par with hybrid systems such as those from Toyota or Renault. Of course, the way to reach them is very different. The Omoda 5 SHS-H mounts a complex systemwith a 1.5 turbocharged four-cylinder engine that delivers 143 HP. It has a transmission transmission with two electric motors (one acts as a propeller and the other as a generator) that take energy from a 1.83 kWh capacity battery. The goal is for the car to run most of the time with its electric motor. That is, first of all, it is the electric motor that drives the battery and the combustion engine, which works at its optimal speed, acts as an electric generator to always keep the car powered by battery. When both systems operate at full capacity, they generate up to 165 kW (224 HP) and 295 Nm. But the brand already warns that the discharge power of its battery, which can reach 85 kW (114 HP), is only available for 10 seconds and as long as the thermal and battery charging conditions allow it. What does this translate into? The Omoda 5 SHS-H rides very smoothly and silently because, as we say, the combustion engine generally works at optimal load. In fact, its sound is only felt in the cabin when a much higher power delivery is required and, therefore, it is forced to leave that ideal rpm range. Thus, it has some advantages and disadvantages that should be clarified. This smooth rolling is more evident when we accelerate from a standstill and gain speed. Here, we do not notice the presence of the combustion engine and, much less, the “whirly” sound of a Toyota combustion engine and torque converter transmission that … Read more

Spain, France and Germany could not depend on the “button” of the F-35. So the future European fighter aims for something else

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In the month of September the future European fighter in which Spain participates began to disfigure publicly. Germany threatened to open FCAS to new partners if there was no agreement with France, while Spain joined Berlin with Indra and, on the opposite sidewalk, a continental bet appeared, the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP) that brought together Italy, the United Kingdom and Japan around a different philosophy. Now, in a new twist of the script, the European fighter is aiming for something else. An overflowing program. He Future Combat Air System (FCAS), conceived in 2017 as Europe’s great bet to build the combat air ecosystem of the second half of the 21st century and put aside the american dependencyis going through its crisis deeper. Germany and France, political and industrial drivers of the project, they study abandoning the most symbolic piece (the new generation fighter) to take refuge in its only still viable element: the combat clouda command and control network based on artificial intelligence capable of integrating manned aircraft, swarms of drones, radars, sensors and naval and land systems in the same operational environment. The shift does not seem like a simple technical reorientation, but rather a tacit recognition that the differences between Airbus and Dassault Aviation They have reached a point of no return. At a time when Europe wants to demonstrate strategic autonomy after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the largest military program of the continent is at risk of fracturing due to the inability of its two main contractors to share responsibilities, cede control and coordinate incompatible industrial visions. The Airbus-Dassault divorce. The conflict between Dassault and Airbus it’s not recentbut it has now reached an intensity that makes advancing the fighter impossible. Dassault, creator of the Rafale and a family-owned company, demands total authority on the design of the aircraft and selection of suppliers. For its part, Airbus (which represents Germany and part of Spain) considers that a European project of this magnitude should be governed by a balanced distribution of work. Negotiations have been stalled for years, with each party accusing the other of breaking agreements. While Dassault threatens to continue alone because “it has all the necessary experience”, the temptation to replace France grows in Berlin through the United Kingdom or Swedentwo partners who already participate in the rival Tempest program. The result is a vicious circle: without trust, there is no cooperation, without cooperation, there is no plane, and without plane, the FCAS becomes an empty shell supported only by the idea. from combat cloud. FCAS The German temptation and the French dilemma. The pressure is not symmetrical. Germany, which has relaxed its spending limit to rearm on a large scaledoes not want to be held hostage by a French company that is blocking progress. According to the Financial Timesin the environment of Chancellor Friedrich Merz an increasingly clear message is heard: if collaboration does not work, Berlin has the resources to continue without Paris. France, for its part, shows caution: its nuclear deterrent It depends on the replacement of the Rafale starting in the next decade, and an abrupt divorce could delay a key system for its strategic security. Although Macron hoped to rebuild trust after years of disagreements, even French voices admit that the project is “immobilized and almost dead,” and that the only real way out is through direct intervention by the president on Éric Trappier, the powerful CEO of Dassault. Combat Cloud The combat cloud as a strategic refuge. Just because the plane stalls doesn’t mean FCAS is meaningless. The most transformative piece of the program is not the fighter, but the AI-based distributed command and control system: a combat cloud european that allows any platform (Rafale, Eurofighter, long-range drones, naval sensors or ground radars) to share data in real time. This system, developed by Airbus (Germany), Thales (France) and Indra (Spain), is the only thing that everyone agrees on: Europe can (co)live with several planes, but not with incompatible networks that depend entirely on the American technological umbrella as was the case with the F-35. That is why it is proposed to accelerate the entry into service from the cloud to 2030a decade ahead of schedule, and armor it as a common pillar even if the joint fighter disappears. For many European countries, having their own cloud is the only way to guarantee that, if Washington one day looks the other way, the continent’s armies can operate in a cohesive and autonomous manner. Failure with implications. If he FCAS collapsesit will not just be an industrial setback, but a devastating geopolitical message. Europe has been proclaiming its desire for military autonomy for years, but every time it tries to create its own capabilities it runs into problems. same obstacles: competition between nations, political misgivings, absence of common governance and divergent priorities. This crisis also comes at a critical moment, when the war in Ukraine has demonstrated that technological superiority it is played onlinethat reaction time is vital and that Western systems must interoperate seamlessly. That the largest European defense project could collapse for corporate disputes shows the extent to which the dream of an integrated defense continues to depend on fragile foundations. What is played in a few weeks. The Financial Times recalled that the calendar is tight. Paris, Berlin and Madrid must decide before the end of the year whether to finance the airplane demonstration, an investment of several billion that no one wants to approve while the project remains blocked. The meetings between the French minister Catherine Vautrin, her German counterpart Boris Pistorius, Merz and Macron will be decisive: or the FCAS is redefined around to combat cloud or formally disintegrates. Everyone repeats that the Franco-German bilateral relationship should not be damaged, but the reality is that companies have carried out the program to the limit. The FCAS was born to symbolize defense Europe, but today only the combat cloud keeps that symbol alive as the last possible bridge between two industries that no longer … Read more

The NFL was going to place the Bernabéu in the center of the United States. Americans have not been impressed

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The Santiago Bernabéu hosted its first NFL game this weekend, with more than 78,000 fans ready to watch the confrontation between the Miami Dolphins and the Washington Commanders. But beyond the sporting spectacle, the event was also a stage in which a quite prominent cultural clash could be seen, especially if we look at some of the reactions of American users who attended the game. And European and American stadiums respond to completely different philosophies about what the experience of the fan who goes to the games should be, and this event has demonstrated it. What has happened. The meeting left comments and opinions of all kinds about how the NFL experience has been translated in Spain, more specifically at the Santiago Bernabéu. In this sense, thousands of American fans who traveled to Madrid found a reality very different from that of their stadiums. The words by Jack Settleman, founder of Snapback Sports, went quite viral this weekend on X. “International stadiums never seem prepared for the amount that Americans consume,” he noted. According to affirmsthe drink taps were quickly sold out, as was the food, and he believes that the infrastructure was not designed for easy access to food stalls or for fluid mobility between the stands. Contrast between experiences. Of course there are differences. American stadiums are designed as comprehensive entertainment centers where fans can spend more than three and a half hours enjoying not only the game, but everything around it. In Europe, stadiums are usually conceived as spaces to watch whatever sport is playing for the duration of the match, without much more frills. “The European sports experience is very different from the American one,” commented Settleman. Even seemingly insignificant details like the lack of cupholders in the seats surprised some fans, including Settleman himself. Numbers. Despite the logistical differences, the impact of the event was notable. More than 40,000 people They went to a Dolphins fan zone between Thursday and Saturday, while the NFL temporary store at the Bernabéu received between 5,000 and 10,000 visitors in the days before the game. Initial ticket sales registered 700,000 different devices trying to buy tickets for a capacity of just over 78,000 spectators. According to the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, the party has generated more than 70 million euros in economic income for the Spanish capital, including ticket sales, tourism and other economic aspects of the event. The food. If something generated real controversy, it was the gastronomic offer. In X there was a publication which attracted a lot of attention, and in which an Iberian ham sandwich with little chicha was seen and, according to the user, sold for 10 euros. The comments from several Spanish users were immediate, calling the management “shameful.” For many American fans, accustomed to a wide variety of options and fast service during matches, they encountered an uncomfortable reality at the Bernabéu. However, not everything was bad. And other visitors very positive aspects highlighted of Madrid, such as the gastronomy outside the stadium, the hospitality of its inhabitants or the attractiveness of the city as a tourist destination. What’s behind. The Bernabéu match is part of the strategy of international expansion of the NFLwhich has already held meetings in London, Mexico, Munich, Frankfurt, São Paulo, Berlin and Dublin. For the American league, these events represent generational work. NFL executive Jon Barker declared to the Washington Post that the organization has no idea what American soccer will look like on a global scale in 100 years, but that every international match is a step in that direction. The NFL invested 2.32 million dollars in temporarily adapting the Bernabéu: they expanded changing rooms, removed rows of seats to extend the field from 105 to 109 meters, created new entrances and eliminated all visual presence of Real Madrid during the event. Two models, two audiences. A day after the game, Settleman qualified his initial words in a long message: “I was making a lot of observations, I understand that the internet can confuse it with opinions. The European experience of not focusing on concessions seems good to me, it is simply different from the US.” He acknowledged that the Bernabéu is among the five best stadiums he has visited, although without anything extraordinary in terms of experience during the game. He also admitted that the energy around international NFL games is “a must-do experience,” with a fresh and positive vibe. If we stick to the numbers, the league generates about 23,000 million dollars annually compared to the 45,100 million that our football moves in Europe alone, according to Deloitte. Both sports are now exploring other regions, with European soccer heavily investing in the United States, while the NFL is also exploring other horizons. It remains to be seen how this North American sport faces cultural differences in other corners and whether or not its international expansion will encounter many bumps. Cover image | Jack Settleman In Xataka | The World Stone Throwing Championship seemed like the purest and most honest competition in the world. Until the fake stones appeared

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