Rumorpile: Volkswagen to Pay Owners $1,000 to $7,000 to Settle Claims

I find my self looking for the indicator in the fuel gauge often, 50/50 in my household...Jeep and Equinox fuel door on the driver's side, Mustang and Cadillac on the passenger side.   And the releases are all different... button on the lower left dash on the Jeep, push in on the fuel door w/ the Equinox, button in the glove box on the Mustang, remote for the Cadillac. 

First random thought: It always makes for a sigh of relief when they hand me the keys to a Malibu Second random thought: I'm irritated by fuel tank filler doors that are not on the same side as the driver's door

No tough corner, it is amazing to think you feel there is no degradation in a 20yr old ICE auto. I know that both EV and ICE wear out, battery packs will outlive the actual EV and ICE auto.  At this point we do not have enough data to know if the EV motors will lose as much hp/torque as an ICE does over 20yrs of use and depending on how an auto is cared for it can be big changes or minimal changes. I know my Escalade is in much better shape than most and being it is garage kept; it is out of the elements and sun just like my EV is. With that, I also know I have two oil leaks after 200,000 plus miles. The oil pan and another leak that I suspect is at the input of the transmission to the engine. Both are so minimal that the thousands it costs to repair the gaskets does not justify the expense. I can also tell you that the response of the V8 is NOT what it was when it was new. I do not expect the EV to be the same after 200,000 miles either. No corner here to worry about, both autos will wear out, I can also say that my Escalade does not get the 15 mpg it got new and now averages 12 mpg. A 20% decrease in MPG after 200,000 miles of use and 19 years old. With out a compression test, I could not tell you how worn the rings are, though since I have only ever used synthetic in the engine, I would have to think it is minimal as I do not burn any oil, but the overall engine has wear and tear and it is clearly tired in comparison to a new motor. End result is as the original story stated, the EV battery pack will outlive the auto and that will outlive most ICE auto's as while we have the average age now just a little over 12yrs old, most ICE are not on the road after 20 years.

I know you're put into a corner when you'll do anything to defend your EVs and your Escalade. It's tough to admit that your Escalade isn't wore out but you're trying to say 20 year old cars are all worn out at the same time. 

No, it is not. A 20 year old ICE vehicle is not losing any SIGNIFICANT amount of range or power output.    So you're basically saying your Escalade is a piece of junk at this point? It's 20 years old. I think we both know it's probably pretty close to OEM status when it comes to output and range, right?  Even if they aren't as simple as a good tune-up away, they are still way closer to factory output and range than a 20 year old EV will be.