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SALT LAKE CITY — State lawmakers are already planning further state income tax cuts, after a report predicted the state could have more than $3.3 billion in budget surplus next year.

Last week, during the last full week of interim meetings before the January 2023 general session, the Utah Interim Committee on Revenue and Taxation approved law Project this would reduce the state income tax rate from 4.85% to 4.8%.

Bill arrives less than a year after legislature approved a $200 million tax cut this winter, and is probably the first proposal of many to further reduce the tax burden on Utahans.

Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, said so during the committee meeting Wednesday, asking other lawmakers to recognize that the bill is “a starting point, and that there are important discussions going on. course on a comprehensive approach to tax policy and tax reductions”. as we move through the session.”

The Utah Taxpayers Association urges the legislature to go even further. The group issued a report last month, saying the state could cut the income tax rate to 4.5%, “even after taking into account healthy increases in spending on education and other priorities.”

Although the bill passed the committee by an overwhelming majority — 3-0 among senators and 10-2 among representatives — it has had its critics, some of whom have argued the cuts will have little impact on most families and said the money could be better spent on funding education and other programs.

Matthew Weinstein, director of the state priorities partnership with the advocacy group Voices for Utah Children, argued that most state employees are underpaid, leading to a shortage of teachers, bus drivers, prison staff and other workers. Rather than cut taxes, he told the committee he should focus on “the huge number of unmet needs” in the state.

“In particular, cutting the income tax rate is not a good return on investment for your … average middle-class family of four,” he said. “If you reduce the rate to 4.8%, they get about $50, but they are giving up more than double the investment in their children’s education for every child. The blow to education is more than $100 per child in lost investment, making it that much harder to keep up with our large class sizes (and) our nearly highest teacher attrition rate in the nation.”

Rep. Steve Eliason, R-Sandy, pushed back against Weinstein’s argument, noting that the budget surplus could cut taxes without cutting funding elsewhere.

Rep. Joel Briscoe, D-Salt Lake City, said any tax cuts should be more targeted to those who need the extra money the most, like those on fixed incomes or who qualify for credits. child tax.

“I’m not opposed to tax cuts,” Briscoe said. “I think, however, that we should focus on them and reducing income tax, for me, is not a priority. I think there are people who are more affected by the inflation now than the general population.… When we lower the income tax, we give significant tax relief to people at the top of the income pyramid, which is one of my concerns here. »

The committee also gave its recommendation to a proposed constitutional amendment which developers say would be a hedge against inflation, by allowing the legislature to increase the exemption homeowners can receive on their property taxes.

Under the current Utah Constitution, homeowners can have up to 45% of the fair market value of their residential properties exempt from property taxes. With the new amendment, the Legislature would be able to pass laws to exempt more than 45% of the value from taxes and prohibit the state or cities from taxing real estate purchases.

“One of the concerns we’ve heard from voters…is the unpredictability, or what we’ve recently seen in the trends of unpredictability in the rise in residential home values ​​when it comes to the property tax,” said Sen. Dan McCay, R-Riverton. the committee.

Even if the bill passes the Legislative Assembly, it will need to be approved by a majority of voters in the next general election before it comes into effect.

Where does Utah’s budget surplus come from?

The state announced its latest financial summary last Tuesday, which showed Utah ended fiscal year 2022 with a $1.3 billion surplus. This is in addition to nearly $2 billion that had previously been set aside as reserves for the next fiscal year.

Heads of state said the surplus was the result of economic volatility and income tax payments associated with stock and property capital gains in 2021, and said they considered the surplus as an anomaly.

In a joint statement last week, Utah Governor Spencer Cox, Senate Speaker Stuart Adams and House Speaker Brad Wilson credited the “strong fiscal policy” and “spirit of ‘Business’ of Utah for additional income.

“Heads of State will exercise caution in spending these funds,” they said. “We remain committed to fiscal responsibility as we seek to fund projects that will serve our state now and for generations to come.”

The state will have $2.2 billion in the education fund next year, thanks to an 11% increase in income tax revenue in 2022. The state’s general fund will have by nearly $1.2 billion, after increased revenue from sales tax, federal mining leases, and oil, gas mine separation taxes.

State Finance Division Director Janica Gines said many of those increases — particularly for sales tax and oil and gas — are, in part, the result of continued inflation and high gasoline prices.

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By Cait Clark

Fort Friends. Jefferson

GREENVILLE – On the weekend of October 28, the Friends of Fort Jefferson and Wayne’s Legion Search Party organized a search of the field immediately south of where Fort Jefferson once stood. The project was open to the public and attracted many interested historians and novices, some from as far away as Columbus and Indianapolis. Several artifacts have been recovered and cataloged, each giving us another piece of history that makes up Ohio’s forgotten outpost, Fort Jefferson.

The land on which the excavation took place was purchased from the Denniston family following their gracious allowance of digging activities to begin on the property in previous years. Prior to the excavations themselves, it was decided that the fence bordering the site of the fort would be the focal point of the excavation. Accordingly, the area immediately south of the fence was measured into 17 sections in order to keep track of where the relics were found once excavations began.

Several artifacts were recovered during the two days of excavation, scattered both in the area organized in a grid and in the rest of the field. Although they are all significant additions to the history of the fort, no singular gives any indication of specific events that took place at the fort. Further studies and research are needed before any explanation for their presence can be

made.

Two significant artifacts that were found during an initial detection scan were a Spanish Maravedis coin and a crumpled collar plate from vintage neck stock. The coin was found near a natural spring located in Section 13 of the grid and, having been minted in 1636, would have been in circulation nearly 100 years before George Washington was born. Therefore, this Maravedis coin predates the fort and may have come to the area through trade with Native Americans.

The second significant discovery from the spring 2022 scan was that of the crumpled collar plate in section 2 of the grid. This collar plate is said to have been used to fasten the butt ends of a soldier’s neck during the fort period of Fort Jefferson. It is theorized that these plates were discarded by the men because they were uncomfortable to wear during the long hours of hard work that were required of soldiers on the Ohio frontier.

During the excavations, a third important find was recovered: a sling buckle. This unassuming slingshot loop has a unique use and interesting origin. Sling loops such as the one found at Fort Jefferson were made during the Revolutionary War and after the war ended they became surplus. These surplus sling loops were attached to a bandolier for use by soldiers on the western Ohio frontier.

Other discoveries during the Fort Jefferson excavations included fallen mucket bullets, fired bullets, buckshot, cufflinks, and lead fragments. A Spanish real coin dating from between 1770 and 1790 was found at the far end. A hearth was also discovered and dug in the 9′ grate section.

A careful sifting of dirt removed from this hearth revealed fragments of bone, raking and charred wood. A broken piece of a French flint was found nearby. It is difficult to determine the period from which the hearth originated because it could be historical or even prehistoric. The significance and implications of these findings will be explored later.

A final artifact, one that was found by a young audience member, Levi Olson, was that of a comb fragment. The comb’s exact period of origin is currently unknown, but it was estimated on the spot that it may have come from Ft. Jefferson’s time period. Whatever its origin, the discovery is a perfect example of how enthusiastic public involvement continues to help reclaim Fort Jefferson’s forgotten history.

After such a successful weekend, it’s no surprise that Wayne’s Legion Research Group and the Friends of Fort Jefferson have already cultivated plans to continue working in the area next summer. On the east side of Sectionl of the current dig site, between the pines and State Route 121, there is another unexplored area that was purchased along with the rest of the property. This area was part of where Arthur St. Clair’s army was encamped when the fort was originally built. Although no date for the next dig has yet been released, we look forward to seeing what will be uncovered at Ohio’s Forgotten Outpost.

Inflation — as high as 17.5% on gas12.4% on groceries and 7.5% on rent – hurts everyone’s finances, especially retirees and near-retirees.

Here is five steps from Kiplinger magazine to combat the damage inflation has done to your retirement savings so you can enjoy a comfortable retirement.

1.) Conduct a thorough budget analysis

Review everything you’ve spent in the past six months, as well as your earnings and any other income.

Break down fixed and variable expenses. Fixed costs are things like mortgage, utilities, phone, cable, and insurance. Variable expenses are for things like travel, dining out, groceries, entertainment, and the like.

This exercise could open your eyes to disproportionate spending and help you set goals.

Then, when you compare your expenses to your income, you can see if you have a surplus or a deficit. If your budget is in the red, this should tell you that you need to make adjustments.

If you’re in the dark, you might want to put that money to good use by paying off debt, creating an emergency savings fund, setting aside a savings account for a rainy day, or adding more to your retirement savings.

2.) Have a cash cushion so your investments can keep growing

It’s tempting – especially for older, retired or risk-averse investors – to pull money out of investments when markets are volatile, but now is not a good time to buy back stocks, according to planners. ‘investment. (Even for retirees, whom planners are increasingly advising to stay at least somewhat invested in the stock market due to increasing longevity.)

A better strategy, say financial planners, is to have cash on hand for daily bills, so you stay invested and can ride the bumpy roads.

This should be paired, of course, with a fully diversified portfolio, they add.

3.) Delaying Applying for Social Security Benefits to Get a Bigger Check

While the Social Security Administration allows workers or recipients to apply for benefits between the ages of 62 and 70, almost all financial planners agree that it is always best to delay these payments until the earliest possible age in order to get a bigger check.

Of course, if you decide to start receiving Social Security payments until age 67 or 70, you’ll either have to stay in the workforce until then or put enough money aside to meet this gap.

4.) Downsize and relocate

If ever the term “living within your means” has resonated among people, perhaps it resonates most with the older crowd.

If your kids have flown out and you have an empty nest, or if you’re retired and no longer need to commute to work in a city or metropolis, consider moving into housing. smaller ones in a more affordable part of the country.

In fact, given how damaging inflation has been to people’s budgets over the past year, Kiplinger suggests that downsizing might even be considered for those in mid-to-late careers.

5.) Consider inflation-protected annuities

Inflation-protected white annuities will give you a lower payout than traditional annuities, they can be a lifesaver for retirees on fixed incomes.

Inflation-protected annuities that will give you guaranteed fixed payments for a fixed period or for life, and their payments are usually indexed to increases in the cost of living.

“We don’t know when inflation will be brought under control, but it’s still an important consideration in retirement planning and something to adjust when you’re retired,” Kiplinger concludes. “Be proactive as much as possible, as there are many actions you can take to mitigate the effects [of inflation] and don’t let it upset your retirement plans.

You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition
and results of operations together with our condensed consolidated financial
statements and the related notes and other financial information included
elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. This discussion and other parts
of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contain forward-looking statements that
involve risks and uncertainties, such as statements of our plans, objectives,
expectations and intentions, that are based on the beliefs of our management, as
well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, our
management. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed in
these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such
differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed in the sections of
this Quarterly Report entitled "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors,"
under Part II, Item 1A and those discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for
the year ending December 31, 2021 filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission ("SEC") on March 1, 2022.

Insight

We are a commercial-stage medical technology company that provides a minimally
invasive treatment for patients with severe emphysema, a form of chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease ("COPD"). Our solution, which is comprised of the
Zephyr Endobronchial Valve ("Zephyr Valve"), the Chartis Pulmonary Assessment
System ("Chartis System") and the StratX Lung Analysis Platform ("StratX
Platform"), is designed to treat severe emphysema patients who, despite medical
management, are still profoundly symptomatic and either do not want or are
ineligible for surgical approaches. We estimate our solution currently addresses
approximately 500,000 patients in the United States and 700,000 patients in
select international markets, which represents a global market opportunity of
approximately $12 billion.

We have a compelling body of clinical evidence with over 100 scientific articles
published regarding the clinical benefits of Zephyr Valves, including in The New
England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet and the American Journal of Respiratory
and Critical Care Medicine. Multiple randomized controlled clinical trials have
demonstrated that patients selected with the Chartis System and successfully
treated with Zephyr Valves have shown statistically and clinically significant
improvements in lung function, exercise capacity and quality of life compared to
medical management alone.

In June 2018, we received pre-market approval ("PMA") by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration ("FDA") as a result of our breakthrough technology designation.
The Zephyr Valve is now commercially available in more than 25 countries, with
over 100,000 valves used to treat more than 25,000 patients. We have established
reimbursement in major markets in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific and the
Zephyr Valve has been included in treatment guidelines for COPD worldwide.

We market and sell our products in the United States through a direct sales
organization. Our sales territory managers are focused on promoting awareness
and increasing adoption of our solution primarily among the pulmonologists
performing interventional pulmonary procedures across approximately 500 high
volume hospitals in the United States. We are expanding our commercial
operations in the United States while continuing to foster our international
growth. We employ both direct and distributor-based sales models, with over 90%
of our revenue generated in markets where we sell directly.

In the United States, our solution is reimbursed based on established Category I
Current Procedural Terminology ("CPT") and ICD-10 Procedure Coding System
("PCS") codes and associated APC and MS-DRG payment groupings. Current
reimbursement in the United States is believed to cover the hospital costs of
the procedure and related inpatient care. Commercial payors such as Aetna,
Humana, and many of the largest Blue Cross Blue Shield plans including Anthem,
Health Care Service Corporation, and BCBS Michigan have issued positive coverage
policies for the Zephyr Valve, and United Healthcare no longer considers the
procedure unproven or experimental. Medicare covers our solution for patients
when medically necessary, and other commercial insurers are approving
pre-authorization requests on a case-by-case basis. Outside the United States,
our solution is covered by major health systems across much of Europe, Australia
and South Korea.

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We manufacture all our products at our headquarters located in Redwood City,
California. This facility supports production and distribution operations,
including manufacturing, quality control, raw material and finished goods
storage. We have manufactured all our products at this facility for over ten
years. We also store finished goods at secondary facilities. We seek to maintain
higher levels of inventory to protect ourselves from supply interruptions and
have an established distribution system for both U.S. and international
customers.

To date, we have financed our operations primarily through the sale of equity
securities, debt financing arrangements and sales of our products. We have
devoted substantially all of our resources to research and development
activities related to our solution, including clinical and regulatory
initiatives to obtain marketing approval, sales and marketing activities, and
investing in general and administrative infrastructure. We generated revenue of
$13.5 million, with a gross margin of 75.2% and a net loss of $14.2 million, for
the three months ended September 30, 2022 compared to revenue of $13.3 million,
with a gross margin of 73.4% and a net loss of $10.2 million, for the three
months ended September 30, 2021. For the nine months ended September 30, 2022,
we generated revenue of $38.2 million, with a gross margin of 75.0% and a net
loss of $44.6 million, compared to revenue of $34.7 million, with a gross margin
of 73.1% and a net loss of $35.7 million, for the nine months ended
September 30, 2021. As of September 30, 2022, we had an accumulated deficit of
$336.0 million, cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $156.9
million, and $17.4 million of outstanding term loans and credit agreements, net
of debt discount and debt issuance costs.

We have invested heavily in product development. Our research and development
activities have been centered on driving continuous improvements to our
solution. We have also made significant investments in clinical studies to
demonstrate the safety and efficacy of the Zephyr Valve and to support
regulatory submissions. We intend to make significant investments building our
sales and marketing organization by increasing the number of sales territory
managers and continuing our marketing efforts in existing and new markets
throughout the United States, Europe and Asia Pacific. We also intend to
continue to make investments in research and development efforts to develop our
next generation products and support our future regulatory submissions to
increase our addressable market and to expand indications and new markets.
Because of these and other factors, we expect to continue to incur net losses
for the next several years and we expect to require substantial additional
funding, which may include future equity and debt financings.

Management believes that the Company’s existing cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities will enable the Company to continue its operations for at least the next 12 months from the date of publication of our condensed consolidated financial statements.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has delayed clinical trials and FDA operations and
adversely impacted the number of procedures performed using our products. As a
result, the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures taken by many countries in
response have materially adversely affected, and could in the future materially
adversely affect, our business, financial condition and results of operations,
as well as the price of our common stock, from a decrease and delay of
procedures involving our products.

While the Company has seen a recovery in procedure volumes in the U.S. and some
international markets, other international markets continue to be hampered by a
slower recovery. We are encouraged for the longer term, and we believe the
following key indicators are contributing to the stabilization of our business:

•continued to open new accounts;

•strong participation of doctors in training;

•a strong patient pipeline evidenced by StratX reporting activity, patient calls to hospitals to inquire about our procedure, and patient calls to our reimbursement helpdesk; and

•a resumption of elective procedures in hospitals and centres.

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Despite signs of our business resuming, we cannot be certain that a recovery will be sustainable, or that a further resurgence of COVID-19 or virus variants will not occur.

Further, we cannot assure you that our recent volume of Zephyr Valves sold are
indicative of future results. The number of Zephyr Valves sold in the future may
decrease due to a resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, there may be
limited provider capacity due to labor shortages, or for other reasons, which
could limit the ability of patients to receive treatment with Zephyr Valves.
Limited provider and hospital capacity has had a material adverse effect on our
business, financial condition and results of operations and may continue to
materially adversely affect us even as the pandemic subsides.

The extent of the impact of COVID-19, including the macroeconomic conditions, on
our future operational and financial performance will depend on certain
developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including
impact on employees, clinical trials and procedure volumes, new information
which may emerge concerning the severity and spread of COVID-19 and variant
strains, governmental and societal response to contain and treat COVID-19 and
variant strains, and the availability and distribution of vaccines and public
acceptance of vaccines, among others.

For more information on the risks, uncertainties and potential impacts related to the COVID-19 pandemic that could affect our business, financial condition and results of operations, please refer to Part II, item 1A, “Risk Factors” of this Quarterly Report on Form 10. -Q.

Factors Affecting Our Business and Results of Operations

We believe there are several important factors that have impacted and that we
expect will continue to impact our business and results of operations. These
factors include:

Our ability to recruit, train and retain our sales force and its productivity

We have made, and intend to continue to make, significant investments in
recruiting, training and retaining our direct sales force. This process requires
significant education and training for our sales personnel to achieve the level
of technical competency with our products that is expected by physicians and to
gain experience building demand for our products. Upon completion of the
training, our sales personnel typically require time in the field to grow their
network of accounts and increase their productivity to the levels we expect.
Successfully recruiting, training and retaining additional sales personnel will
be required to achieve growth. In addition, inability to attract qualified sales
personnel or the loss of any productive sales personnel would have a negative
impact on our ability to grow our business.

We have in the past and expect in the future to enter into different
compensation arrangements with our sales professionals, which include minimum
guaranteed commissions. This has impacted our compensation expenses in the past
and we expect it will do so in the future.

Awareness and acceptance of our solution by doctors, patients and hospitals

Our goal is to establish our solution as a standard of care for severe
emphysema. We intend to continue to promote awareness of our solution through
training and educating physicians, pulmonary rehabilitation centers, key opinion
leaders and various medical societies on the proven clinical benefits of Zephyr
Valves. In addition, we intend to continue to publish additional clinical data
in various industry and scientific journals and online and to present at various
industry conferences. We plan to continue building patient awareness through our
direct-to-patient marketing initiatives, which include advertising, social media
and online education. We also intend to continue helping physicians in their
outreach to patients and other healthcare providers. These efforts require
significant investment by our marketing and sales organization, and vary
depending upon the physician's practice specialization, and personal preferences
and geographic location of physicians, pulmonary rehabilitation centers and
patients. In order to grow our business, we will need to continue to make
significant investments in training and

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educate hospitals, doctors and patients on the benefits of our solution for the treatment of severe emphysema.

Reimbursement by a third party

Since achieving regulatory approval in the United States in June 2018, we have
launched the Zephyr Valve treatment and have made progress securing third-party
payor reimbursement. The majority of our patients are Medicare beneficiaries. We
estimate that roughly 75% of the potential Zephyr Valve patient population are
Medicare/Medicaid beneficiaries, of which approximately 30% have managed
Medicare/Medicaid and the remaining 45% have traditional Medicare/Medicaid.
Approximately 25% of the potential Zephyr Valve patient population is under
third-party commercial payor policies. A key element of our strategy remains to
broaden our coverage by private third-party payor policies. Commercial payors
such as Aetna, Humana, and many of the largest Blue Cross Blue Shield plans
including Anthem, Health Care Service Corporation, and BCBS Michigan have issued
positive coverage policies for the Zephyr Valve, and United Healthcare no longer
considers the procedure unproven or experimental. Some commercial payors do not
yet consider our solution medically necessary, but these same plans are
approving pre-authorization requests on a case-by-case basis. Medicare,
currently without a public coverage policy, covers our solution for patients
when medically necessary on a case-by-case basis and other commercial insurers
not described above are approving pre-authorization requests on a case-by-case
basis.

We have a dedicated patient reimbursement support team in the United States that
works collaboratively with patients and providers to help secure the appropriate
prior authorization approvals in advance of treatment. We continue to educate
private insurers in the United States on our clinical data and patient selection
tools in an effort to continue to expand the number of positive coverage
policies, in order to increase our revenue. Outside the United States, our
solution is covered by major health systems across much of Europe, Australia and
South Korea.

Competition

Our industry is highly competitive and subject to rapid change from the
introduction of new products and technologies and other activities of industry
participants. Our goal is to establish our solution as a standard of care for
severe emphysema. Existing treatments include medical management, lung volume
reduction surgery ("LVRS"), lung transplantation as well as other minimally
invasive treatments. Some of our competitors have several competitive
advantages, including established relationships with pulmonologists who commonly
treat patients with emphysema, significantly greater name recognition and
significantly greater sales and marketing resources. In addition to competing
for market share, we also compete against these companies for personnel,
including qualified sales and other personnel that are necessary to grow our
business. Certain of our competitors may challenge our intellectual property,
may develop additional competing or superior technologies and processes and
compete more aggressively and sustain that competition over a longer period of
time than we could. In addition to existing competitors, other companies may
acquire or in-license competitive products and could directly compete with us.
We must continue to successfully compete in light of our competitors' existing
and future products and related pricing and their resources to successfully
market to the physicians who use our products.

Leveraging our manufacturing capacity is key to improving our gross margin

With our current operating model and infrastructure, we have the capacity to
significantly increase our manufacturing production. If we grow our revenue and
sell more units, our fixed manufacturing costs will be spread over more units,
which we believe will reduce our manufacturing costs on a per-unit basis and in
turn improve our gross margin. In addition, we intend to continue investing in
manufacturing efficiencies in order to reduce our overall manufacturing costs.
However, other factors will continue to impact our gross margins such as
geographic mix, pricing and customer discounts, incentives, support services and
potential seasonality.

Invest in research and development to drive innovation to expand our addressable market

We intend to continue investing in existing and next generation technologies to
further improve our products and clinical outcomes, enhance patient selection
and broaden the patient population that can be treated with our products.

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Additionally, we continue to invest in the accuracy and functionality of our patient assessment tools. Additionally, we are conducting clinical research on AeriSeal, a potential product in development for the treatment of patients with severe emphysema who do not qualify for Zephyr valve therapy due to excessive collateral ventilation.

While research and development and clinical testing are time consuming and
costly, we believe that a pipeline of new products and product enhancements that
improve efficacy, safety and cost effectiveness is critical to increasing the
adoption of our solution.

Seasonality

Historically, we have experienced seasonality outside of the United States,
primarily in the first and third quarters and anticipate this trend to continue.
In addition, as our sales grow in the United States, we may experience
seasonality based on holidays, vacations and other factors because this is an
elective procedure.

Components of our operating results

Revenue

We currently derive substantially all our revenue from the sale of our products
to hospitals and distributors. We market and sell our products through a direct
sales organization in the United States and through direct sales and several
third-party distributors in select markets outside the United States. We
currently generate most of our revenue from the sales of Zephyr Valves and
delivery catheters. We also generate a smaller amount of our revenue from our
Chartis System, which is comprised of sales of the balloon catheters, usage fees
and sales of the Chartis console. The StratX Platform, while used to identify
patients eligible for treatment with Zephyr Valves, does not independently
generate any revenue for us. No single customer accounted for more than 10% of
our revenue during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022 and
September 30, 2021.

Revenue from sales of our products fluctuates based on volume of cases
(procedures performed), the average number of Zephyr Valves used for a patient,
pricing, discounts, incentives and mix of U.S. and international sales. Our
revenue also fluctuates and in the future will continue to fluctuate from
quarter-to-quarter due to a variety of factors, including the availability of
reimbursement, the size and success of our sales force, the number of hospitals
and physicians who are aware of and perform the procedures using our solution
and seasonality. Our revenue from international sales may also be impacted by
fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates between the U.S. dollar (our
reporting currency) and the local currency.

Cost of Goods Sold and Gross Margin

Cost of goods sold consists primarily of payroll and personnel-related expenses
for our manufacturing and quality assurance employees, costs related to
materials, components and subassemblies, third-party costs, manufacturing
overhead, equipment depreciation, charges for excess, obsolete and non-sellable
inventories. Overhead costs include the cost of quality assurance, testing,
material procurement, inventory control, operations supervision and management
and an allocation facilities overhead cost, including rent and utilities. Cost
of goods sold also includes certain direct costs such as those incurred for
shipping our products and costs related to providing analysis services for
patient scans. We record adjustments to our inventory valuation for estimated
excess, obsolete and non-sellable inventories based on assumptions about future
demand, past usage, changes to manufacturing processes and overall market
conditions. We expect cost of goods sold to increase in absolute dollars to the
extent more of our products are sold.

We calculate gross margin as gross profit divided by revenue. Our gross margin
has been and will continue to be affected by a variety of factors, primarily by
our manufacturing costs, pricing pressures and, to a lesser extent, the
percentage of products we sell in the United States versus internationally and
the percentage of products we sell to distributors versus directly to hospitals.
Our gross margin is typically higher on products we sell directly to hospitals
as compared to products we sell through distributors.

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Our gross margin may increase over the long term to the extent our production
volume increases as our fixed manufacturing costs would be spread over a larger
number of units, thereby reducing our per-unit manufacturing costs. We expect
our gross margin to fluctuate from period to period, however, based upon the
factors described above and seasonality.

Functionnary costs

Our operating expenses consist solely of research and development expenses and selling, general and administrative expenses.

Research and development costs

Our research and development activities primarily consist of engineering and
research programs associated with our products under development and
improvements to our existing products. Research and development expenses include
payroll and personnel-related costs for our research and development employees,
including expenses related to stock-based compensation, for employees engaged in
research and development, consulting services, clinical trial expenses,
prototyping, testing, laboratory supplies, and an allocation of facility
overhead costs. Our clinical trial expenses include costs associated with
clinical trial design, clinical trial site development and study costs, data
management costs, related travel expenses, and the cost of products used for
clinical activities. We expense research and development costs as they are
incurred. We expect our research and development expenses, including related
stock-based compensation expense, to increase in absolute dollars as we hire
additional personnel to develop new product offerings and product enhancements.

Selling, general and administrative expenses

Our selling, general and administrative expenses consist of payroll and
personnel-related costs for our sales and marketing personnel, including
variable sales compensation, travel expenses, consulting, public relations
costs, direct marketing, customer training, trade show and promotional expenses,
stock-based compensation and allocated facility overhead costs, and for
administrative personnel that support our general operations such as information
technology, executive management, financial accounting, customer services and
human resources personnel. We expense sales variable compensation at the time of
the sale. Selling, general and administrative expenses also include costs
attributable to professional fees for legal and accounting services, insurance,
consulting fees, recruiting fees, travel expense, bad debt expense and
depreciation.

We intend to continue to increase our sales and marketing spending to generate
sales opportunities. We expect expenses to increase in absolute dollars as we
increase our sales support infrastructure and add additional marketing programs
in order to more fully penetrate the global opportunity. We also expect our
administrative expenses, including stock-based compensation expense, to increase
as we increase our headcount and expand our facilities and information
technology to support our operations as a public company. Additionally, we
anticipate increased expenses related to audit, legal, regulatory and
tax-related services associated with being a public company, compliance with
exchange listing and SEC requirements, director and officer insurance premiums
and investor relations costs. We also saw an increase in our stock-based
compensation expense with the establishment of our 2020 Equity Incentive Plan
and related grants either in the form of restricted stock units or options. Our
selling, general and administrative expenses may fluctuate from period to period
due to the seasonality of our business and as we continue to add direct sales
territory managers in new territories.

Expenses and interest income

Interest expense consists primarily of interest expense related to our term loan
facilities, including amortization of debt discount and issuance costs. Interest
income is predominantly derived from investing surplus cash in money market
funds and marketable securities.

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Other income (expenses), net

Other income (expenses), net, consists mainly of exchange gains and losses.

Results of operations:

Comparison of the three months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021

The following table summarizes our results of operations for the period
indicated:

                                         Three Months Ended September 30,
                                             2022                2021              $ Change               % Change
                                                  (in thousands)
Revenue                                 $    13,502          $   13,261          $      241                       1.8  %
Costs of goods sold                           3,350               3,522                (172)                     (4.9) %
Gross profit                                 10,152               9,739                 413                       4.2  %
Operating expenses:
Research and development                      4,366               2,815               1,551                      55.1  %
Selling, general and administrative          19,717              16,686               3,031                      18.2  %
Total operating expenses                     24,083              19,501               4,582                      23.5  %
Loss from operations                        (13,931)             (9,762)             (4,169)                     42.7  %
Interest income                                 477                  99                 378                     381.8  %
Interest expense                               (286)               (207)                (79)                     38.2  %
Other income (expense), net                    (432)               (267)               (165)                     61.8  %
Net loss before tax                         (14,172)            (10,137)             (4,035)                     39.8  %
Income tax expense                                -                  44                 (44)                   (100.0) %
Net loss                                $   (14,172)         $  (10,181)         $   (3,991)                     39.2  %


Revenue

Revenue increased by $0.2 million, or 1.8%, to $13.5 million during the three
months ended September 30, 2022, compared to $13.3 million during the three
months ended September 30, 2021. The sale of products in the United States
increased by $1.5 million to $8.4 million during the three months ended
September 30, 2022, compared to $6.9 million for the three months ended
September 30, 2021. The sale of products in international markets decreased by
$1.3 million to $5.1 million during the three months ended September 30, 2022,
compared to $6.4 million for the three months ended September 30, 2021. The
increase in U.S. revenue reflects continued growth of Zephyr Valve procedure
volumes in the United States, while the decrease in international revenue
reflects lower international procedure volumes and the impact of foreign
currency exchange rates.

Cost of Goods Sold and Gross Margin

Cost of goods sold decreased by $0.2 million, or 4.9%, to $3.3 million during
the three months ended September 30, 2022, compared to $3.5 million during the
three months ended September 30, 2021. Gross margin was 75.2% during the three
months ended September 30, 2022 and 73.4% during the three months ended
September 30, 2021. The increase was primarily due to improved production
efficiencies in the three months ended September 30, 2022.

Research and development costs

Research and development costs increased by $1.6 millioni.e. 55.1%, at $4.4 million in the three months ended September 30, 2022compared to $2.8 million in the three months ended September 30, 2021. The

                                       33

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increase in research and development expense was primarily due to increases of
$0.7 million in personnel related expenses including stock-based compensation as
we invested in research and development activities, $0.6 million in testing
expenses, and $0.3 million in regulatory and other expenses.

Selling, general and administrative expenses

Selling, general and administrative expenses increased by $3.0 million, or
18.2%, to $19.7 million during the three months ended September 30, 2022,
compared to $16.7 million during the three months ended September 30, 2021. The
increase in selling, general and administrative expenses was primarily due to
$1.6 million of payroll and personnel-related expenses including stock-based
compensation for our sales, marketing and administrative personnel, an increase
of $0.9 million in marketing expenses, an increase of $0.4 million in global
travel and conference related expenses, and an increase of $0.3 million in
software and facility related expenses. These increases were offset by a
decrease of $0.2 million in consulting and other expenses.

Expenses and interest income

Interest expense increased by $0.1 million to $0.3 million during the three
months ended September 30, 2022 compared to $0.2 million for the three months
ended September 30, 2021 due to constant outstanding debt principal and higher
interest rates. Interest income increased by $0.4 million to $0.5 million for
the three months ended September 30, 2022 compared to $0.1 million for the three
months ended September 30, 2021, primarily due to an increase in interest income
as a result of higher returns on cash, cash equivalents and marketable
securities balances.

Other income (expenses), net

Other income (expense), net decreased by $0.2 million to ($0.4) million during
the three months ended September 30, 2022, compared to $(0.3) million during the
three months ended September 30, 2021, primarily due to foreign currency
exchange losses.

Comparison of the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021

The following table summarizes our results of operations for the period
indicated:

                                           Nine months ended
                                          2022           2021         $ Change      % Change
                                             (in thousands)
Revenue                                $  38,237      $  34,708      $  3,529         10.2  %
Costs of goods sold                        9,556          9,329           227          2.4  %
Gross profit                              28,681         25,379         3,302         13.0  %
Operating expenses:
Research and development                  11,494          9,355         2,139         22.9  %
Selling, general and administrative       61,197         50,962        10,235         20.1  %
Total operating expenses                  72,691         60,317        12,374         20.5  %
Loss from operations                     (44,010)       (34,938)       (9,072)        26.0  %
Interest income                              781            306           475        155.2  %
Interest expense                            (707)          (630)          (77)        12.2  %
Other income (expense), net                 (597)          (202)         (395)       195.5  %
Net loss before tax                      (44,533)       (35,464)       (9,069)        25.6  %
Income tax expense                           107            191           (84)       (44.0) %
Net loss                               $ (44,640)     $ (35,655)     $ (8,985)        25.2  %


                                       34

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Revenue

Revenue increased by $3.5 million, or 10.2%, to $38.2 million during the nine
months ended September 30, 2022, compared to $34.7 million during the nine
months ended September 30, 2021. The sale of products in the United States
increased by $5.3 million to $23.0 million during the nine months ended
September 30, 2022, compared to $17.7 million for the nine months ended
September 30, 2021. The sale of products in international markets decreased by
$1.8 million to $15.2 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2022,
compared to $17.0 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2021. The
increase in U.S. revenue reflects continued growth of Zephyr Valve procedure
volumes in the United States, while the decrease in international revenue
reflects lower international procedure volumes and the impact of foreign
currency exchange rates.

Cost of Goods Sold and Gross Margin

Cost of goods sold increased by $0.2 million, or 2.4%, to $9.6 million during
the nine months ended September 30, 2022, compared to $9.3 million during the
nine months ended September 30, 2021. Gross margin was 75.0% during the nine
months ended September 30, 2022 and 73.1% during the nine months ended
September 30, 2021. The increase was primarily due to improved production
efficiencies and lower scrap and reserve expense during the nine months ended
September 30, 2022.

Research and development costs

Research and development expenses increased by $2.1 million, or 22.9%, to $11.5
million during the nine months ended September 30, 2022, compared to $9.4
million during the nine months ended September 30, 2021. The increase in
research and development expense was primarily due to increases of $1.3 million
in personnel related expenses including stock-based compensation as we invested
in research and development activities, $0.8 million in testing related
expenses, $0.2 million increase in facilities expenses, $0.1 million increase in
regulatory expenses, $0.1 million increase in consulting expenses, $0.1 million
increase in software and other expenses offset by decreases of $0.5 million in
costs associated with our clinical trials, including fees paid to clinical
research organizations.

Selling, general and administrative expenses

Selling, general and administrative expenses increased by $10.2 million, or
20.1%, to $61.2 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2022,
compared to $51.0 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2021. The
increase in selling, general and administrative expenses was primarily due to
$6.1 million of payroll and personnel-related expenses including stock-based
compensation for our sales, marketing and administrative personnel, an increase
of $2.2 million in marketing related expenses, an increase of $1.1 million in
global travel and conference related expenses, and $0.9 million in software
implementation and facility related expenses. These increases were offset by a
decrease of $0.1 million in consulting and other expenses.

Expenses and interest income

Interest expense increased by $0.1 million to $0.7 million during the nine
months ended September 30, 2022 compared to $0.6 million during the nine months
ended September 30, 2021 due to constant outstanding debt principal and higher
interest rates. Interest income increased by $0.5 million for the nine months
ended September 30, 2022 compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2021,
primarily due to an increase in interest income as a result of higher returns on
cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities balances.

Other income (expenses), net

Other income (expense), net decreased by $0.4 million to ($0.6) million during
the nine months ended September 30, 2022, compared to ($0.2) million during the
nine months ended September 30, 2021, primarily due to foreign currency exchange
losses.

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liquidity and capital resources; Operation plan

To date, we have financed operations primarily through the sale of equity
securities, debt financing arrangements and sales of our products. As
of September 30, 2022, we had cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities
of $156.9 million, an accumulated deficit of $336.0 million, and $17.4 million
outstanding under the CIBC Loan and Credit Agreement, net of debt discount and
debt issuance costs.

CIBC Loan

On February 20, 2020, we executed a Loan and Security Agreement with Canadian
Imperial Bank of Commerce ("CIBC"), which we subsequently amended on April 17,
2020 and December 28, 2020 (as amended, the "CIBC Agreement"). The CIBC
Agreement originally provided us with the ability to borrow up to $32.0 million
in debt financing consisting of $17.0 million advanced at the closing of the
agreement ("Tranche A"), with the option to draw up to an additional $8.0
million ("Tranche B") on or before February 20, 2022 and an additional $7.0
million ("Tranche C") on or before February 20, 2022. Neither Tranche B nor
Tranche C was drawn before the February 2022 expiration date.

In March 2021we entered into an Amended and Restated Loan and Security Agreement with CIBC (as amended, the “Amended and Restated CIBC Agreement”) which, among other things, extended the maturity date of the Loan to terms of the CIBC agreement of March 15, 2022 at February 20, 2025and amended certain financial covenants.

In June 2021, we entered into a First Amendment to the Amended and Restated CIBC
Agreement that extended the compliance of certain post-close covenants to March
31, 2022.

In October 2021, we entered into a Second Amendment to the Amended and Restated
CIBC Agreement, which extended the interest only period of the loan from 24
months to 36 months. Under the amended terms, principal repayment would begin in
February 2023. There was no change to the loan interest rate or maturity date.

On October 31, 2022, we entered into a Third Amendment to the Amended and
Restated CIBC Agreement (the "Third Amendment"), which, among other things,
extended the maturity date to October 31, 2027; provided a commitment for a new
$20.0 million tranche of term loans that may be drawn at the Company's option
through October 31, 2023, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions; and
provided for a new interest only period of 24 months from the signing date of
the Third Amendment, with the possibility of an additional extension of such
interest only period of up to 12 months, subject to satisfaction of certain
conditions.

The loans provided under the Amended and Restated CIBC Agreement bear interest
at a floating rate equal to 1.0% above the Wall Street Journal Prime Rate at any
time. The loan is collateralized by substantially all of our assets, including
cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, intellectual property and
equipment. We may prepay the loans without penalty. If we borrow any of the
$20.0 million tranche made available under the Third Amendment, we may prepay
the loans, subject to certain conditions, including a prepayment fee equal to
2.0% of the principal amount repaid during the first year after the effective
date of the Third Amendment or 1.0% of the principal amount prepaid during the
second year after the effective date of the Third Amendment. The Amended and
Restated CIBC Agreement contains financial covenants that require the Company to
maintain minimum cash and minimum revenue amounts, and the Amended and Restated
CIBC Agreement contains other customary restrictive covenants, representations
and warranties, events of default and other customary terms and conditions.

Through September 30, 2022, we paid $0.4 million fees to the lender and third
parties which is reflected as a discount on the loans provided under the Amended
and Restated CIBC Agreement and is being accreted over the life of the loan
using the effective interest method. During the three months ended September 30,
2022 and 2021, we recorded interest expense related to debt discount and debt
issuance costs of CIBC term loan of less than $0.1 million and less than $0.1
million, respectively. During the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021,
we

                                       36

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Interest expense recorded related to debt discounting and issuance costs of CIBC term loan debt of less than $0.1 million and $0.1 millionrespectively.

Interest expense on the CIBC term loan amounted $0.3 million and $0.2 million
during the three months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Interest expense on the CIBC term loan amounted $0.7 million and $0.6 million
during the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

credit agreement

In April 2020, Pulmonx International Sàrl, our wholly-owned subsidiary, entered
into a COVID-19 Credit Agreement with UBS Switzerland AG to receive up to
0.5 million Swiss Francs ($0.5 million U.S. dollar equivalent) under Swiss
Federal Government program to mitigate the economic impact of the spread of the
coronavirus. In May 2020, Pulmonx International Sàrl received 0.5 million Swiss
Francs ($0.5 million U.S. dollar equivalent) under the COVID-19 Credit
Agreement. The COVID-19 Credit Agreement bears no interest and will be repaid
within 60 months after receipt of funds, in twelve equal installments, paid
semi-annually, beginning in March of 2022. As of September 30, 2022, Pulmonx
International Sàrl paid less than $0.1 million to the lender.

© Edgar Online, source Previews

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – As many as 4,514 of the 8,513 targeted healthcare workers in the Indonesian city of Batam received their second booster shots amid the emergence of the XBB subvariant of COVID-19.

The second booster shots have been provided to the city’s medical staff since August 5, 2022, the head of disease control and prevention at the Batam city health office, Melda Sari, said on Saturday.

“This second booster is given to healthcare workers in public health centers, hospitals and health clinics,” she said, adding that the city government has set a goal to vaccinate 8 513 medical workers.

As of Nov. 4, about 53.02 percent of targeted recipients in Batam, located about 20 kilometers from Singapore, had been vaccinated, Sari said.

Coronavirus infections first surfaced in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019. Since then, they have spread to more than 215 countries and territories, including Indonesia.

The Indonesian government officially confirmed the country’s first cases on March 2, 2020. To combat the spread of COVID-19, the government launched a national vaccination program on January 13, 2021.

Since then, a total of 836,223 Batam residents over the age of 18 have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 733,563 adults have received the second dose, according to Batam Health Bureau records.

Additionally, in the 12-17 age group, at least 127,634 adolescents received the first dose and 114,284 received the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Meanwhile, in the age group of 6 to 11 years, the number of recipients of the first dose in the city of Batam reached 120,814 and recipients of the second dose 100,844, according to the Health Bureau of Battam.

The third dose or booster vaccination is also provided to protect the inhabitants of the city. The Batam The Health Bureau said at least 497,725 residents, including 14,859 seniors, received their first booster shots.

Currently, many countries are struggling to deal with the spread of the XBB subvariant.

Indonesian Health Ministry spokesman Mohammad Syahril said on Friday that the XBB subvariant has been detected in 28 countries.

In Indonesia, the ministry recorded a total of 12 cases of XBB and XBB.1 Omicron subvariants.

Two of the 12 cases were detected in overseas travelers from Singapore, while the other 10 cases involved local transmission, he said.

ANTARA

Click here to get the latest news from Tempo on Google News

You have no doubt heard the saying “it takes a whole village to raise a child”.

I know from personal experience how powerful a supportive community can be for human development.

The concept also applies to other forms of life, even organizations and projects.

Take the Wood Duck, the Wisconsin Waterfowl Association, the Society for Typmanuchus Cupido Pinnatus, the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin, and a host of volunteers.

You may know that the population of wood ducks, a bird native to Wisconsin and arguably the most beautiful waterfowl on the planet, was extremely low in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

In fact, some early 20th century wildlife experts predicted that the species would become extinct. The main culprits for the decline of the wood duck are unregulated hunting and habitat loss.

But from this low point, the “village” – including enlightened hunters – began to exert its positive power.

Significantly, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 banned the hunting of wood ducks nationwide.

In the 1930s, artificial nesting boxes proved to be a boost for the recovery of the species.

In 1934, the Federal Migratory Bird Stamp Act (commonly known as the Federal Duck Stamp) was passed requiring hunters to purchase the annual stamp and help pay for wetland protection. In 1937, the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration (or Pittman-Robertson) Act established an excise tax on firearms, ammunition, and certain hunting supplies, further subsidizing wildlife recovery across the country.

By 1941 the timber population was considered robust enough and a hunting season was reopened.

Comment

President Joe Biden has tried to sound positive about the United States economy. He told the American people that they are doing better than most other economies. He’s right, but that means little to most Americans. After all, they live here, not in another economy. And although they are aware that the economic conditions in the United States are better than elsewhere, they still suffer from inflation and may see obvious signs of economic weakness. Despite modest gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the third quarter, the consensus—of economists and the average man or woman on the street—is that this economy, if it isn’t already, will soon be in recession. The strain is evidently evident in household finances.

It is particularly worrying that people have started to spend more than their income growth. Normally, high levels of consumption are a sign of economic strength, but not when they threaten, as is currently the case, the financial strength of households. It’s easy to see why people spend faster than they otherwise would. Inflation at nearly 40-year highs provides everyone with a huge incentive to buy before prices rebound. The pressure is evident even with the races. With these prices increasing by more than 11% per year, households are only rational to stock up on non-perishable food and fill their freezers as much as they can. The incentive is even stronger when it comes to big-ticket items like cars, appliances, and what government statisticians call “durables.” With new car prices rising around 9.5% a year, stretching out to buy a year earlier than you could is almost like getting a 10% discount off the price you are. likely to pay if you wait.

But while such a rush to spend is rational, it is also destructive. According to the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis, consumer spending has grown at an annual rate of nearly 8% since January, but personal incomes have only grown at a 5.5% rate. Such a difference cannot persist for long.

Already, signs of financial distress are evident. According to Federal Reserve, levels of household revolving credit – mainly credit cards – have accelerated significantly. This debt burden increased at an annual rate of 18.1% in August, the most recent month for which data is available, well above the 8% growth rates recorded in the same period last year. last. Measuring the same phenomenon in a different direction, the Commerce Department reports a significant slowdown in the household savings rate. Money flows to savings are down 25% from where they were at the start of this year. As a percentage of after-tax income, savings flows fell from 4.7% last January to just 3.5% in August, the most recent month for which data is available. Of course, money always flows into savings. The wealthy still have a surplus with which to add to wealth, but the sharp downturn means many middle class and certainly low-income Americans have already given up on saving.

Given that households are already maintaining spending rates above income growth, future reductions in consumption are all but assured. Growing indebtedness and lack of savings will further limit the ability to spend. The inevitable consumer spending cuts will lead to layoffs, and the concomitant loss of that income will further limit spending. Given that consumer spending makes up about 70% of the US economy, these cuts will all but ensure a major recessionary push in the months and quarters ahead.

These questions raise a second, more fundamental concern. High levels of household debt will compete with businesses for the credit they need to invest in new facilities and thus increase the productive capacity of the economy in general. The slowdown in the flow of household savings will aggravate the problem. Particularly because the Federal Reserve’s anti-inflation campaign is limiting the rate of new money creation, the financial system will depend more than usual on household savings to get businesses the credit they need to grow. . It looks like the funds won’t be there.

A widely accepted rule of thumb is that the two quarter or real declines in national GDP in the first half of this year signal that the economy is already in recession, although the modest growth in the third quarter muddies the picture somewhat. While some refuse to recognize these clear signs of weakness, the deterioration in the state of household finances suggests – and strongly – that the economy will soon be in recession. And if the bad news from the first half actually signals that a recession has already begun, then the picture depicted here suggests – just as strongly – that the recession will drag on into 2023. With inflation still raging, this coming year may well deserve the “stagflation” descriptor.

The opinions expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Epoch Times.

What would you do if To dodge called you to say they wanted offer you a free Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye AND $10,000 to modify it? It doesn’t seem like it takes a lot of persuasion to say yes. But the catch is that there is a challenge at the end.

The challenge being to build the fastest Hellcat in six weeks. And then compete on the drag strip against other influencers who received a Charger or Challenger, in the aptly named Influencer Shootout. Sounds like a recipe for something epic! Especially when you’re only allowed a handful of practice sessions to test and set up those freshly built drag cars at a new location – at one of the nation’s largest sponsored drag racing events, Roadkill Nights!

It sounds tough, but these wildly popular automotive influencers are anything but quitters. The list included notable YouTube channels Throtl, Tavarish (aka Freddy Hernandez)Westin Champlin and Alex Taylor.

So how does Influencer Shootout and Hellcat Grudge Match work, and why did these automotive influencers get free cars from Dodge?

No better way to sell Hellcat Redeyes than to take them racing

The Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat is something of an outlaw in itself. In an age of increasingly stringent emission standards and MPG watchers, the Hellcat is a tire-chewing muscle car in the true sense of the word. And then there is the Hellcat Redeye, which pushes the power of the supercharged 6.2-liter V8 from 717 HP in the standard car up to an incredible 797 HP! From the factory !

That’s good for a 0-60 mph sprint in 3.6 seconds, if you can cut the power. He completes the quarter mile in 11.8 seconds, crossing the line at a breakneck speed of 125 MPH. All very serious numbers and better than the competition, but the best way to make people believe is to actually let them see what the Redeye is capable of with their own eyes. Racing on Sunday, selling on Monday rarely works.

Related: Watch This Hellcat Redeye Swapped Dodge Viper Take On Roadkill Nights

Dodge has been sponsoring the Roadkill Nights drag racing weekend at various venues across the United States for the past few years, only taking a break in 2020. It’s definitely become an event to experience drag racing cars the faster and impressive Dodge muscles.

How did these influencers get free Dodge Muscle Cars?

You’ve probably heard of the Westin Champlin, Throtl, Tavarish and Riding With Alex Taylor. These are some of the hottest YouTube channels when it comes to building and tinkering with American muscle. It is so a natural fit with Dodge’s muscle cars and this challenge, one wonders why no one launched it earlier! In Dodge’s case, they also had a surplus of pre-production Chargers and Challengers. Instead of sending them to the grinder, Dodge sent them to these influencers to build and prepare for the drag face-off. It’s quite ingenious. The only rules were that the body should always appear stock, the stock block should still be used, and the stock compressor should be part of the build.

Related: Watch This Dodge Challenger Hellcat Destroy Anything GM Can Throw At It

Throtl wanted to keep his construction simple. So they pushed the horsepower up to 1,000 HP, but continued to experience traction issues in testing. This is an issue that has cropped up time and time again with this particular build, attributed to the thinner drag plies they used. Tavarish also kept it relatively simple, adding nitrous, a sick Plastidip orange color change… and massive drag slicks. Everyone’s favorite redneck science teacher Westin Champlin slapped a twin-turbo kit making his Hellcat Redeye double-charged – turbocharged and supercharged. Alex Taylor nailed the case and focused on good traction and other weight-saving measures, as well as chassis stiffness. That meant installing the biggest drag slick it could find and switching to solid rear axles to help keep the horsepower down—all 800 HP to the wheels.

The fastest Dodge Hellcat Redeye wasn’t the most powerful

Drag racing is really all about traction, even on pure horsepower and mega torque. The Throtl Hellcat Redeye with all its massive power just spun its tires on the site’s less than ideal surface. Tavarish’s Charger did a little better but still proved to be no match for Alex Taylor’s car with its big rear tires. Even the Westin Champlin’s double-charged monster couldn’t hold a candle when the lights went green.

In the final showdown against ‘Fastest Cars In The Dirty South’ TV show host Eric Malone jumped the start and automatically lost. In the end, Alex Taylor was crowned the Hellcat Grudge Match champion, showing that traction truly is king on the Strip.