OT: Electric vehicles
- Thread starter BellyFullOfWhiteDogCrap
- Start date
Does buyer's remorse factor into if it is a depreciating asset?
BTW, I'm still thrilled with my Lightning.
There are some rare few that can be both. Still kicking my self for not buying a defender 90 in 97, 98, 99………….
Of course. A terrible experience is just as bad. I still love it and I feel like I’m just scratching the surface. Starting with my all electric tailgate this season. I’m also still wait for a power outage so I can plug in my truck to power the house.
I bought a nearly mint refurbished 1967 Mustang Convertible with a 289 V8 in 2018. I estimate it has appreciated by at least 20%, probably more. Classic cars can be both. The Mustang idles a little bit more loudly than the Lightning, and it leaves a residue on the garage floor. But I still love it.
Which lot are you in? We are in Yellow.
We are thinking of getting a tent for the back cab and doing some camping/mountain biking.
The important question is do you drive it. If it just sits, then it doesn’t count.
Same but I’m usually in the back because it takes me forever to get out of the house.
What color Lightning (not skin 🥴 (referencing post in the UNC shooter)). Mine is Atlas Blue. I usually wander up to the front of the Yellow Lot where @RU4Real and others are at. We may arrive a bit late bc its Labor Day weekend and stuff.
Sliver. How many Ligjtings are you expecting to see 😀. I thought I was the only one last year.
I'm fairly sure someone dinged my door in the Yellow Lot last year. I have a small ding on the drivers side door. I'll keep an eye out for you. I'll look for the electric grill fire. 😂
Car is at our vacation home in Arizona. First world problem. But no salt on roads to deteriorate the body. I have yet to wash it in 5 years. Just dust it off with one of those chamois things.
I'm kinda scratching my head as to why they built this baby for the Hummer, not the Lightning, but maybe because it's so expensive they want to be sure their target will be able to afford. Believe this is the first dedicated all-electric camper launched for an all-electric pickup: https://www.gmc.com/electric/hummer-ev/insider/supertrucks-and-earthcruiser
My only interest in cars is driving them. I have no interest in investing in collector cars. Also don’t have the storage space.
That's really cool.
The reality for the Lightning or any EV pickup is the added weight and aerodynamic drag from a camper will impact range if you are traveling a distance. If we go that route, we will be fine with a popup tent. It's cheaper, easier to stow, and serves the purpose of having a place to sleep off the ground.
This will suit us fine:
A classic.That's really cool.
The reality for the Lightning or any EV pickup is the added weight and aerodynamic drag from a camper will impact range if you are traveling a distance. If we go that route, we will be fine with a popup tent. It's cheaper, easier to stow, and serves the purpose of having a place to sleep off the ground.
This will suit us fine:
There's also a pretty sweet inflatable rear-seat mattress for full-size trucks. I used it (in West Sedona) back in spring. Really only good as a solo for someone under 6 foot, or for two kids or petite adults, but a nice simple, low-pro way to go. Slipped some car window netting over the windows to get a cross breeze, swung the bike out of the way, cooked on the tailgate.
I prefer hard sides to keep any grizzlies from tearing things up : ) Not usually a worry, but want something to explore MT/WY/Canada backcountry.
ETA, thought it was Napier, but Pittman AirBedz: https://pittmanoutdoors.com/index.php/product-category/rear-seat-mattresses/.
This may be true for you, but is absolutely not true for a majority of drivers. There is a lot of discussion within the EV industry about tradeoffs between the size of battery packs and range. A range of 200 miles would be perfectly fine for the "average" US household.
Information easily obtained from the US Census and the National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) show the "average" US household travels about 54 miles per day and the average household has 1.88 cars. That means the average car travels about 200 miles per week. An electric vehicle can fully satisfy a typical household's weekly travel needs with once-per-week fuel-ups at a local charging station.
EVs don't have to try to capture the entire US vehicle market today. EVs currently have a US market share of around 7 to 7.5% of new vehicle purchases in the US. It will be a while before EV manufacturers need to appeal to 100% of new car buyers. I suspect there will be a range of vehicle ranges available in about 5 years - with a trade-off between range and cost. The automakers are figuring this out now. People will also realize (some more slowly than others) the level of BS on EVs perpetuated by Big Oil will fade - just as the BS the cigarette industry perpetuated has faded.
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Anyone can Google "NHTS travel trends" and search on terms like household size and VMT in the repot. The link is a Google chrome extension, so IDK how to provide a link for that.
US Census data on household sizes is here: https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/families/households.html
Mercedes-Benz’s first EV charging hubs will open this fall
Mercedes-Benz will build its first US hub in Atlanta, Georgia.
www.theverge.com
How do you maintain it? Do you disconnect the battery and Jack it up so the tires don’t go flat?
Battery tender. Tires? We are out there 4-5 times per year.
Here we go: EV chargers at Public Housing facilities.Back to EVs:
Calif. to install hundreds of EV chargers at apartments and condos
ChargePoint, Charge Across Town and the state of California will partner to deploy EV chargers at multifamily properties in California.www.power-grid.com
"A majority of the money (75%) will be reserved for buildings in disadvantaged or low income communities."
I think that this could be a good thing, encouraging disadvantaged and low income people to own EVs. If they drive locally, they will save money (purportedly, if the apartment complex does not gouge them for charging) on fuel costs.
Range is top priority and concern for people looking at EVs. People are used to 400+ miles without needing to “fill up”. The bulk population is not going to settle for anything less. Even if they get charging down to 10min, people don’t care. They don’t want to think about it so frequently.
There is just no incentive to make the switch away from gas unless EV prices go down or if gas prices skyrocket above $5. Tesla is closest with their low vehicle price and high range. There is a reason EVs with low range don’t sell.
Chevy Bolt and Nissan Leaf aren't sexy, but they're good EVs. Friends of our bought a Bolt for their teen and they love it. Great getting around town car. And, you can't beat the price when you factor in fed + state incentives.
The problem is GM, Nissan, and the dealership network, not consumer demand. OEMs in general have no desire to manufacture low end EVs at scale. Heck, even low end ICE vehicles are disappearing. It's all profit driven and OEMs are negative (big time)on EVs. Until they figure out how to manufacture profitably at scale, they're going to continue with a piddly EV volume to avoid emissions penalties and keep the illusion they're "going green".
Dealerships want nothing to do with EVs unless they can slap on a market adjustment. The lack of service, parts, and maintenance on EVs is bad for business.
Of all the US OEMs, Ford seems like they're best positioned. I'm anxiously waiting to see what their next gen EV platform looks like and if they can turn a profit with it. Going to be all trucks and SUVs, so the US is going to have to wait for Tesla for the mass produced, $20-25k EV.
Chinese OEMs have a slew of cheap EVs, but we're not going to see them here.
Fed up with Volkswagen and Electrify America:
https://chargedevs.com/features/how...o-teslas-arms-ev-charging-is-changing-part-1/
https://chargedevs.com/features/how...o-teslas-arms-ev-charging-is-changing-part-1/
It’s a competitive advantage for Tesla. That’s why I don’t understand why they give it up.
NHTSA raises more concerns about Tesla's Autopilot safety | TechCrunch
NHTSA is concerned about a change to Tesla's Autopilot that lets drivers keep hands off steering wheel for extended periods.
techcrunch.com
NHTSA raises more concerns about Tesla's Autopilot safety | TechCrunch
NHTSA is concerned about a change to Tesla's Autopilot that lets drivers keep hands off steering wheel for extended periods.
I found out the other day that my CX-30 will not allow me to run stop signs.
Tesla Semis Shine on PepsiCo’s Long-Haul Electric Routes
https://www.truckinginfo.com/10203685/tesla-semis-shine-on-pepsicos-long-haul-electric-routes
How do you feel about that? I ask because, I’m not a fan of that level of assist.
Someone with a new 2024 Cayenne was asking about the lane assist functionality. Apparently, there is both lane keep (nudges the car back into the lane) and lane assist (which just warns when drifting out of the lane). One of those didn’t seem to be working right for the OP. Bunch of people were trying to help him set it up right.
Anyway, I’m reading all that and the entire time, I kept thinking that the only question I had was, how do I disable all of it. Last thing I want is for my car to beep at me if I’m moving outside my lane because the only time I do that is if I have a good reason to do so. I feel even more strongly opposed to having the car counter my movement by nudging me back into the center of the lane.
I get that many, perhaps most, drivers are pretty inattentive when driving. I see that all the time. But that’s not me, at all. I guess, if I was driving and extremely tired, I’d like to be able to switch it all on. But other than that, nope, don’t want it.
I’ll be unhappy if I find out it cannot be disabled.
To be honest, I don't mind it all that much.
What I absolutely DO mind is that Mazda's BSM system - much like Volvo's - can't do math.
Scenario: You're overtaking with the intention of getting into the same lane as the car you're overtaking. The difference in velocities is such that when you time your lane change you know with 100% certainty, in your head, that you can't possibly clip the other car's front end.
Car says "no". Because the only thing it accounts for is the distance between you and what's in your blind spot. It doesn't have the intelligence to do anything more.
On the highway my BSM beeps at me basically every time I hit the turn indicator to change lanes.
That would drive me nuts.
These systems are probably designed to work well for the worst case driver. For people who cannot be relied upon to stay in their lane or employ a reasonable amount of spatial perception and situational awareness while passing. Or for people who can’t properly set up their side view mirrors or be bothered to turn their head to check beyond the mirror’s range.
That’s gonna be way too annoying for me.
I’m turning into a Luddite. 🙂
The good news is the gt3 doesn’t come with any of that stuff. Not even an available option. Has a backup camera is all.
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Well, I probably wouldn't want the nannies in a GT3, either. But then, if I had a GT3 I wouldn't drive it in the rain (and certainly not the snow). For a daily driver, and one with a CUV footprint, it's okay to have that stuff. It can be turned off, I think.
Right now my biggest beef is I can't find an exhaust system for it that sounds good to me. They're all raspy.
I’ll drive in the rain for sure. I avoid thunderstorms like the plague, though, after seeing what happened to one guy’s car in a hailstorm. Ouch. Guy’s insurance company totaled it from the body damage. And yeah, never snow.
Drove the GTS to the track in Monticello NY, fast, in a deluge. Discovered that it was great in the rain on that drive. Was on Michelin Pilot Sport 4S, though, which are way more rain capable than the Sport Cup 2s that are on the gt3 (according to the production photos I’ve seen of it).
Which exhausts are you considering?
There are only a couple of choices, as Mazda doesn't inspire massive investment in aftermarket R&D the way VAG does. The standard seems to be CorkSport and I think their system sounds like shit.
Because the 3 and CX-30 are the same under the body you can leverage product offerings from Borla and MagnaFlow, but I don't much care for them, either.
The closest I've seen to what I want is a video of a guy who paid his local Meineke to custom build an exhaust using a pair of Flowmaster 40s. I did the same thing with my Charger R/T, using MagnaFlow resonators.
I put a set of CorkSport coilovers in the Ms3 early on. Was kind of crap and wore out quickly. Had a shop replace those with a KW V3 setup, which has been tremendously good. Never felt compelled to replace the exhaust.
CorkSport is, or was back when I dealt with them, a good company, good customer service and support. But the parts had a reputation for being kind of low end.
Might be worth waiting a bit to see if someone else puts out an exhaust you like. Or contacting some companies that specialize in aftermarket exhausts, see if they have some products in the pipeline.
There's really two questions here:
Why would Tesla give up what appears to be a competitive advantage w/it's charging network exclusivity?
And why VW Group be so negligent with it's charging network when it seems as if there's so much to be gained by doing it right?
In both cases, we can be certain the respective organizations are making their decisions, doing (or not doing) things, for the sake of long-term profitability. They are not doing them for any kind of altruistic reasons.
So I think we'll eventually learn it's much more about strategy, about long term planning, than anything else. I'd be highly skeptical of all PR statements from both organizations on the subject. It's not like they're going to draw a fully honest roadmap of their long range plans for their competitors to see.
