Nutson’s Weekly Auto News Wrap-up: November 21, 2021;


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AUTO CENTRAL CHICAGO – November 21, 2021: Every Sunday Larry Nutson, The Chicago Car Guy and Executive Producer, with able assistance from senior editor Thom Cannell from The Auto Channel Michigan Bureau, compile The Auto Channel’s
“take” on this past week’s automotive news, condensed into easy to digest news Nuggets.

LEARN MORE: Full versions of today’s news nuggets along with almost a million pages of the past 25 year’s automotive content, news, articles, reviews and archived relevant stories residing in
The Auto Channel Automotive News Library can be found by just copying a headline and then inserting into any Site Search Box.

Nutson’s Automotive News Wrap-up – Week Ending November 20, 2021; Below are the past week’s important, relevant, semi-secret, or snappy automotive news, opinions and insider back stories presented as
expertly crafted easy-to-digest news nuggets.

* President Biden signed into law the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill. IHS Markit expects the U.S. infrastructure bill to supplement only 66 percent of required U.S. EV charger growth through 2026. Overall, only 63 percent of U.S. households have access to a garage and that figure is less in urban areas where more than 50 percent of EV sales occur. If EVs remain impractical for apartment, condo, and historic home dwellers, we cannot adequately reach the administration’s stated EV goals.

* GM ZERO: President Joe Biden got a tour of the retooled factory where GM will build all-electric vehicles. GM is opening the doors of Factory ZERO, the renovated aging Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant. Biden’s visit comes on the heels of his signing into law a $1.2-trillion infrastructure bill he helped write.

* CALIFORNIA TAXPAYERS BUY EV CHARGERS: Meanwhile, California will spend $1.4 billion over the next three years to build up EV charging and hydrogen refueling infrastructure.

* EV’s BECOMING MORE APPEALING TO YOUNGER DRIVERS:A recent Cox Automotive study says sales of battery-powered electric vehicles (EVs) in the United States are on track to set an all-time record in 2021, with sales up more than 88{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} through the end of September. Despite the rapid growth, EVs will account for only 3{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of the new-vehicle market this year. Vehicle range and price remain the top purchase barriers. Younger Millennial and Gen Z buyers are becoming more open to the idea of an electric vehicle future. 57{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of consumers point to a lack of charging stations in their area as a top barrier.

* APPLE CAR/TAXI ANNOUNCED:Bloomberg reports Apple Inc. is pushing to accelerate development of its electric car and is refocusing the project around full self-driving capabilities, according to people familiar with the matter, aiming to solve a technical challenge that has bedeviled the auto industry. In trying to master self-driving cars, Apple is chasing a holy grail within the industry. Tech and auto giants have spent years on autonomous vehicles, but the capabilities have remained elusive. Apple is internally targeting a launch of its self-driving car in four years, faster than the five- to seven-year timeline that some engineers had been planning for earlier this year. But the timing is fluid, and hitting that 2025 target is dependent on the company’s ability to complete the self-driving system — an ambitious task on that schedule.

* NEW EV’s AT 2021 LA AUTO SHOWThe Los Angeles auto show opened its doors this week in a scaled down format but for the first time in two years. New EV utility vehicles are all that’s in the spotlight with new models or concepts such as the Hyundai SEVEN, Kia EV9, Subaru Solterra, Toyota bZ4x, Fisker Ocean, and the Vietnamese auto maker VinFast. Many auto brands are conspicuously absent from the show, making for possible disappointment for those shopping for a vehicle now. A non-EV of note is the 493-hp mid-engined 2022 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS.

* EPA SAYS EMISSION SKY IS NOT FALLING: The latest EPA report on U.S. vehicle fuel efficiency (CO2 emissions) says overall, the fuel economy of the U.S. vehicle fleet improved by 2{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} from 2019 to 2020, rising to 25.4 MPG from 24.9 MPG. Preliminary EPA data forecast that fuel economy for GM is down 6.5{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} and Ford is down 1{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} because microchip shortages led to building large pickups and SUVs instead of smaller, less profitable vehicles. Only Tesla, Subaru and Honda met current federal mileage requirements without using regulatory credits.

* OCTOBER US SALES SCORECARD Transportation researcher Dr. Michael Sivak of Sivak Applied Research reports that due to the covid pandemic Delta variant the rebound of travel by road, air, rail, and public transit stalled in August. The population-adjusted changes for August 2021 compared with August 2019 are: Road vehicle miles down 5{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}, Air passenger miles down 15{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}, Rail passenger miles down 34{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}, Trips on public transit down 50{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}. October 2021 compared with October 2019 has vehicle sales down 22{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} and the price of gasoline up 17{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}. The report can be viewed here. (https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/10/20200923-sivakindex.html).

* ROOKIE LUCID NAMED CAR OF THE YEAR MotorTrend announced that the Lucid Air has won the 2022 MotorTrend Car of the Year, the first instance in which the initial product from a new automotive brand has been awarded the “Golden Calipers.” MotorTrend Car of the Year judges evaluated six key criteria for Car of the Year, with Lucid Air excelling at each: efficiency, value, advancement in design, engineering excellence, safety, and performance of the intended function. The Lucid Air was evaluated side by side with 24 highly-regarded vehicles, coming out on top against finalists that included the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Mercedes-Benz EQS, Porsche Taycan, Honda Civic, and many more.

* NACTOY FINALISTS NAMED: The finalists that will compete for the 2022 North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year (NACTOY) awards were announced at the Los Angeles Auto Show. North American Car of the Year finalists are Honda Civic, Lucid Air and Volkswagen Golf Mk VIII (Golf R/Golf GTI). North American Truck of the Year finalists are Ford Maverick, Hyundai Santa Cruz and Rivian R1T. North American Utility Vehicle of the Year finalists are Ford Bronco, Genesis GV70 and Hyundai IONIQ 5. The three winners will be announced in January 2022.

* US NEWS NAMES BEST VEHICLE BRAND<:> U.S. News & World Report unveiled its Best Vehicle Brand awards and Best Certified Pre-Owned Program award for 2022. The Best Vehicle Brand awards, evaluating 36 brands, recognize industry-wide excellence for cars, SUVs, trucks and luxury vehicles. Honda is Best Car Brand, Hyundai is Best SUV Brand, Ram is Best Truck Brand, Porsche is Best Luxury Brand, and Best Certified Pre-Owned Program is Lexus.

* MAZDA CX50 PREMIERE: Mazda North American Operations hosted the virtual world premiere of the first-ever Mazda CX-50. A completely new model, CX-50 is the first Mazda vehicle to be built at the new Mazda Toyota Manufacturing (MTM) plant in Huntsville, Alabama, with production beginning in January 2022. As a new addition to the Mazda lineup, CX-50 maintains key attributes expected of all Mazda vehicles, including superior driving dynamics and beautiful design. In addition, Mazda has extended this vehicle’s capability to enable drivers to venture further into the outdoors and various terrains. At launch, CX-50 will be available with Mazda’s efficient powertrains, Skyactiv-G 2.5 naturally aspirated engine or Skyactiv-G 2.5 Turbo engine and paired with a six-speed automatic transmission. In the coming years, the CX-50 will also be offered with electrified powertrains, including a traditional hybrid model.

* HOT DODGE PERSONALIZATION: Dodge brand is breaking all the rules, unlocking new, unrestricted, personalization options with new Jailbreak models for 2022 Dodge Charger and Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebodies. The Jailbreak models unlock color-combination ordering restrictions and add new factory-custom options to deliver enthusiasts the freedom to create a Dodge performance vehicle that perfectly fits their individual style. Jailbreak models include unique badging and boost SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebody output to 807 horsepower with a revised powertrain calibration.

* MISSPELLED CAR BRANDS:The business finance team at money.co.uk, used online analytics tool Ahrefs to find some of the most misspelled brand names on the internet. The top three were all auto brands. Money.co.uk found that popular South Korean automotive manufacturer Hyundai is one of the most misspelled brands on the internet, with an average of 605,000 incorrect global online searches per month. In second place is Lamborghini and Ferrari is the third most misspelled. https://www.money.co.uk/business-loans.htm

*RAM DIESEL RECALL: Stellantis NA is recalling nearly 250,000 heavy-duty Ram diesel trucks globally for an issue with the fuel pumps that may cause the vehicles to stall or prevent them from starting. The affected vehicles are certain 2019 and 2020 Ram 2500 and 3500 heavy-duty pickups and Ram 3500, 4500 and 5500 chassis cab trucks that are equipped with 6.7-liter Cummins turbodiesel engines. The recall covers an estimated 222,410 vehicles in the U.S., 20,539 in Canada and 3,525 in other markets outside of North America.

* CONSUMER REPORTS: Consumer Reports published its annual Auto Reliability Study with Lexus, Mazda and Toyota taking the top three spots for most reliable brands. The top ten ranks include eight Japanese brands, one Domestic brand (Buick) and one European brand (MINI).

* ROUTE 66 HISTORY: From ClassiCars.com we read the Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership has published a new “more accurate history” of Route 66 in conjunction with the Research Encyclopedia on American History from the Oxford University Press. The Route 66 centennial celebration is scheduled for 2026. Established in 2015 with support from the National Park Service and the World Monuments’ Fund, The Road Ahead Partnership set a mission of sustaining and revitalizing Route 66 as a national and global icon. https://oxfordre.com/americanhistory/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199329175.001.0001/acrefore-9780199329175-e-967

*2021 NHRA CHAMPIONSHIP: Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat driver Ron Capps and Don Schumacher Racing earned the 2021 National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Funny Car World Championship in the season finale at the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, California. It is the veteran driver’s second Funny Car title of his 27-year career, following his first championship win in 2016, and the seventh of the 19-year partnership between DSR and the Mopar and Dodge//SRT brands. DSR driver Matt Hagan drove his Direct Connection Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to the semifinals at Auto Club Raceway and closed out the 2021 NHRA season as runner-up in the Funny Car championship to teammate Capps. In late news, Capps announced he will be leaving the DSR team.

* 2021 NHRA CHAMPIONSHIP: Other title winners in the 2021 NHRA season are Steve Torrance in Top Fuel, Greg Anderson in Pro Stock, Matt Smith in ProStock Motorcycle, and Pro Stock driver Dallas Glenn was named Rookie of the Year.

Stay safe. Be Well.

Vietnam’s VinFast shows off two EVs at 2021 Los Angeles Auto Show

LOS ANGELES — Vietnamese startup VinFast debuted two electric concepts here, officially launching its global brand in the U.S.

The crossovers shown Wednesday are previews of upcoming models:

  • The midsize VF e35, with ranges of 285 and 301 miles.
  • The full-size, three-row VF e36, with ranges of 301 and 422 miles.

The crossovers are equipped with smart infotainment, including in-car control features such as a voice assistant, a virtual assistant and e-commerce services, to name a few.

Pricing will be announced in spring.

Michael Lohscheller, CEO of VinFast, told Automotive News that the company is anchored by three key pillars: providing consumers with an appealing world-class product, reasonable pricing and great customer service, which will include a mobile customer team.

“With this product quality, reasonable price and great service, we think we have a good electric offering,” said Loscheller.

As part of its product strategy, VinFast will allow customers to lease the vehicles’ batteries, helping alleviate concerns about them becoming outdated. The e35 and e36 will come with a 10-year warranty, which will cover the battery as well. In addition, the company plans to make a robust charging station strategy part of its product plan in the U.S.

“In Vietnam, VinFast is building 40,000 charging stations just because everybody is realizing if you don’t have a charging station, electrification will not take off like we all in the industry think,” said Lohscheller.

VinFast’s distribution strategy will include its own stores, with plans to open 60 in California, adopting a U.S. retail sales strategy similar to Tesla’s.

“We want to provide an outstanding customer service to our customers,” Nguyen Van Anh, CEO of VinFast US, told CNN Business on Wednesday. “So we want to control the customer journey from A to Z.”

To help position the brand in the U.S., VinFast plans a series of special events in the coming months.

A major component of its U.S. marketing strategy includes targeting consumers beyond today’s typical EV buyers and positioning the company as an inclusive brand when it comes to electrification.

Its product strategy includes building a production plant in the U.S. in the second half of 2024.

“When you launch a new brand, you have to get it right,” said Lohscheller. “You have this opportunity only once … to get the brand right, position the brand right, work on the image. I do think we have great cost and attractive pricing, but at the end of the day, very few people know VinFast … and so to build this brand awareness and to translate that into consideration and purpose, that’s the key.”

VinFast, which plans to expand to Europe and Canada in the coming months, expects to open its U.S. order banks for the VF e35 and VF e36 in the spring, with deliveries expected to begin in the fourth quarter of next year.

VinFast, established in 2017, is part of Vingroup, one of the leading private conglomerates in Southeast Asia. Vingroup, founded in 1993, reported a total capitalization of $35 billion, from three publicly traded companies, as of Nov. 4, with a current focus on three main areas: technology, industry and services.

2022 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS for sale at Los Angeles Auto Show

The 2022 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS features a new, fixed rear wing with swan neck mounts and aluminum supports.

Porsche’s 718 Cayman GT4 RS designed its debut at the Los Angeles Car Show on Tuesday.

It has a price tag tag of $141,700, not such as a $1,350 delivery, processing and handling rate. It is expected to attain U.S. dealers by summertime 2022. 

The racing version 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport is also getting debuted in LA, which will be competing in lots of national and global racing sequence upcoming calendar year. The race car or truck will have a starting selling price of $229,000.

“We prosper on competitors, and will usually push for improvements,” reported Volker Holzmeyer, president and CEO of Porsche Motorsport North The usa, in a assertion. “This is what our buyer teams anticipate of us and what we demand from customers of ourselves at Porsche. Acting on their suggestions, we’ve built the new 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport extra capable than at any time. It’s faster, even much more gratifying and confidence inspiring to drive – precisely what motorists competing in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Obstacle and SRO sequence need to have to be profitable.“

Ford Working With University On Speeding EV Charging – Just Auto

Ford and Purdue University researchers are working to develop a new,
patent-pending charging station cable that “could” combine with in-development vehicle charging technology, to provide “seamless” EV re-charging.

“Today, chargers are limited in how quickly they can charge an EV’s battery due to the danger of overheating. Charging faster requires more current to travel through the charging cable,” said Michael Degner, a senior technical manager at Ford R&D.

“The higher the current, the greater the amount of heat that has to be removed to keep the cable operational.”

Researchers are focusing on an alternative cooling method by designing a charging
cable that can deliver an increased current. The cable uses liquid as an active cooling agent which can help extract more heat from the cable by changing form from liquid to vapour, the key difference between this and current liquid cooled technology.

This innovation could “one day” deliver significantly more power than today’s leading systems to recharge electric vehicles, making the potential of faster recharging times possible if vehicle charging and other technology enhancement is made in parallel.

Ultimately, this could eventually lead to re-charging EVs as quickly as conventional petrol station refuelling, Ford reckons.

“Electric vehicle charging time can vary widely, from 20 minutes at a station to hours on an athome charging station, and that can be a source of anxiety for people who are considering buying an electric vehicle,” said Issam Mudawar of Purdue University.

“My lab has come up with a solution for situations where the amounts of heat that are produced are beyond the capabilities of today’s technology.”

Mudawar said his lab intended to begin testing a prototype charging cable in the next two years to determine more specific charge speeds for certain EVs.

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GE is splitting into three companies

GE is splitting into three companies

GE will grow to be separate, publicly traded companies for its aviation, healthcare and energy organizations. The corporation reported it hopes to spin off the health care small business to shareholders in early 2023 and that the separation of its renewable electricity and electric power organization will arise in early 2024, Heal Me Healthy.

Shares of GE (GE) surged as much as 17{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} in premarket trading on the information ahead of retreating to about a 6{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} get in early investing immediately after the open up. The inventory was presently up extra than 25{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} in 2021 before the spin-off announcement.

“By creating three business-major, world wide community businesses, each can reward from greater target, tailored funds allocation, and strategic overall flexibility to travel lengthy-term advancement and price for prospects, investors and staff members,” explained CEO Larry Culp in a push release.

“We are placing our know-how know-how, leadership, and world arrive at to get the job done to much better serve our clients,” he included.

Since Culp took in excess of GE in 2018, he has offered off property and restructured the small business in get to cut charges and lower GE’s large personal debt pile. In 2016 it bought its appliance organization to Chinese family products company Haier for $5.4 billion. GE even shed the legendary light-weight bulb device in 2020.
Whilst those goods have been what designed GE very well recognised to the common purchaser around the globe, it was the firm’s mighty GE Funds unit that produced it a company powerhouse, offering financing for companies big and compact. In March of this calendar year it closed the textbooks on GE Money as a standalone unit with the sale of its plane leasing arm.

The organization expects 1-time expenditures involved with the split, like separation spend, of about $2 billion. Following the spinoffs, the aviation-concentrated business will keep the GE title. Culp expects to remain as CEO and chairman of that company, though he will also serve as non-executive chairman of the healthcare business. The new, smaller sized GE will retain a 19.9{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} stake in that company.

Collapse of a huge

Just one of the most storied brands in company historical past, GE has struggled since the 2008 economical disaster proved to be a human body blow to GE Cash, and immediately after the company built a disastrous bet on the fossil gasoline market when the world was turning towards renewable and cleaner energy methods. The organization has been advertising off belongings to very clear its great financial debt load. But it typically identified itself promoting these belongings for a fraction of what it experienced paid for them.
In December GE agreed to fork out $200 million to settle fees by the Securities and Exchange Fee that it experienced misled shareholders about the deterioration of its insurance coverage and electrical power firms in the a long time prior to its inventory selling price imploded.

Despite the fact that GE’s shares have have attained floor so far 12 months, they have essentially matched the improvement in the wide US stock current market as a result of Monday’s close. And the inventory is far down below the toughness it when experienced its glory days.

GE misled investors before its stock imploded, SEC says
At its top in early 2001, its inventory was worthy of much more than $500 billion, which built GE 1 of the most worthwhile firms on the world at that time. Now what is remaining of the enterprise is truly worth $119 billion, or only 23{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of that former value. Just a couple months in advance of Culp joined the corporation, GE was kicked out of the Dow. And in July it completed a reverse 1-for-8 stock break up to help its sagging cost.

By splitting into three companies it believes it will be in a position to optimize value with no a bygone conglomerate composition.

“Currently is a defining second for GE, and we are all set,” explained Culp. “The momentum we have designed places us in a posture of strength to get this remarkable subsequent move in GE’s transformation and realize the full possible of each individual of our companies.”

But in executing so, GE, what was at the time a person the most effective and powerful conglomerates in record, is officially waving goodbye to a huge behemoth that dominated energy, lights, aviation, tv, radio, audio, appliances, finance and wellbeing treatment.

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Auto rickshaw driver’s son cracks NEET

Strolling on the strains of Anand Kumar’s Super-30, Zindagi Foundation, an NGO based in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha, has aided 18 college students properly clear NEET UG 2021. Among the all these learners, there are little ones of a landless farmer, a milk vendor, a rickshaw puller, and a weaver’s daughter.

Car rickshaw driver Mairaj Khan was ready for a second like this for the last 4 many years at the Qazi Mahal in Bhadrak. His son Murshid Khan manufactured him very pleased by cracking the Nationwide Eligibility cum Entrance Examination (NEET graduation) to go after higher studies in medicine.

Murshid secured an all-India rank of 15,239 in NEET, the consequence of which was declared on Monday. This was his fourth try. With the achievements, he turned the to start with university student in his locality to distinct the prestigious competitive assessment.

Vehicle rickshaw driver’s son cracks NEET

Murshid secured 610 marks in the NEET entrance examination.

Khan is the son of a inadequate house and his father tends to make a dwelling by driving an auto rickshaw.

Murshid’s father Mairaj Khan advised Aaj Tak, “Our aspiration of building my son a physician was shattered after my incident in 2007, right after which my elder son is doing the job difficult to make his brother a doctor.”

“We would like to thank Ajay Bahadur Singh for aiding him in every single way to make him a medical doctor, with no his help my son would not have realized this results and would not have fulfilled our desires,” he included.

Murshid informed Aaj Tak, “I belong to a inadequate family members, my loved ones has normally dreamed of generating me a physician, I have examined in Odia medium school in village. With out Zindagi Foundation and with the support of Ajay Bahadur Singh sir, I wouldn’t have been able to do this.”

About Zindagi Foundation

The Zindagi Basis Charitable Have confidence in centered in Bhubaneswar has helped a lot of pupils in their research thanks to educationist Ajay Bahadur Singh.

This have confidence in selects the meritorious underprivileged students of Odisha by way of an assessment. Soon after that, the NGO provides them with absolutely free foods, accommodation and coaching amenities.

The goal of this trust is to fulfill the goals of needy students from the underprivileged sections of the culture to become medical practitioners.

Zindagi Foundation was started off in the year 2017 by Ajay Bahadur Singh, who could not research expensive professional medical instruction due to belonging to financially backward spouse and children.

In 2018, 18 pupils of Zindagi Foundation cleared the NEET exam. In 2019, 14 learners carked it, and in 2020, 19 learners had been effective in the NEET entrance test.

Ajay Singh, explained to Aaj Tak that it was complicated to conduct bodily classes most of the time due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“On the other hand, during Covid, we did not let the spirits of the college students down. We arranged smartphones for these persons. Together with this, the facility of on line classes was presented for the college students by the skilled teachers of the institute,” he mentioned.

Other students who cleared NEET with the NGO’s assistance

Amid other learners of Zindagi Basis who cracked NEET are Subhash Chandra Behera, the son of a milk vendor, who secured 595 marks in the evaluation.

Shivani Meher, a different student of the institute, secured 577 marks in NEET. Shivani’s father utilised to work as a weaver to run the family members in the village.

Shivani reported, “I could not aspiration of getting to be a medical doctor for the reason that of the inadequate fiscal situation of my parents. For the reason that of Ajay sir, I have got a chance to satisfy my desires.”

Anand Kumar, the founder of Super 30, has visited Zindagi Basis quite a few situations to motivate aspiring students.

Go through: Tribal boy results in being NEET topper amongst ST group in Tamil Nadu with 406 marks

Go through: 1st tribal group girl to go Course 12 test in her village clears NEET-UG examination 2021

Go through: NEET 2021 result out: Meet up with the top 3 NEET toppers, all with 720/720

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