Alternative Fuels & Propulsion RANDOM

[A Horse With No Name]

2 hours ago, ocnblu said:

Cool, is it waiting for a diesel-powered tender truck to come and switch out the battery, or tow it in?  Also it's so CUTE... what sort of manly drivers does Amazon hire who want to be seen in this cartoonish little fella?

Actually running just fine under its own power. Companies wouldn't buy this technology if it wasn't viable. Time to wake up, grow up, and smell the coffee. 

17 hours ago, balthazar said:

October 2020 EV West conversion cost: $50,000. I wonder how many folk will ultimately be willing to put 50 grand into a 5 grand car. And we thought putting 2 grand of rims on a 2 grand car was nuts.

People might make the same arguement about the time and money you are putting into a 59 Buick. IMHO any enthusaist spending on automobiles/trucks is a good thing. I don't even care if they put rubber band wheels and neon lights on an F350 and lift it to the heavens with 21 colors of candy paint. 

I do mind people trying to tell other people what to do with their cars. Lots of people might well be pissed that you didn't do a factory correct resto on your B59...younger folks might wonder why you didn't buy a Nissan Skyline and start with that. To each his own. 

The EV west conversion VW's are vintage VW's that can come with some eye popping prices. 

I just find the fabrication work in EV conversions interesting, no different than an off road rig, street rod, your B-59, an SCCA race car, a home built dragster, or the MOON BUGGY that GM built for the Apollo program. 

[A Horse With No Name]

Neat conversion!

 

Ford Mach E

 

 

 

Neat Bus....

 

[A Horse With No Name]

Neat conversion of this little Chevy. 

This is cool also, but some people are still stuck with this 1975 idea of what all electric cars are...

 

Scooters are going electric also, the technology continues to grow..

 

Another mach E review. 

 

Really nice fabrication work on this VW van conversion. Impressive video!

 

[balthazar]

30 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Actually running just fine under its own power. Companies wouldn't buy this technology if it wasn't viable. Time to wake up, grow up, and smell the coffee. 

People might make the same arguement about the time and money you are putting into a 59 Buick. IMHO any enthusaist spending on automobiles/trucks is a good thing. I don't even care if they put rubber band wheels and neon lights on an F350 and lift it to the heavens with 21 colors of candy paint. 

I do mind people trying to tell other people what to do with their cars. Lots of people might well be pissed that you didn't do a factory correct resto on your B59...younger folks might wonder why you didn't buy a Nissan Skyline and start with that. To each his own. 

The EV west conversion VW's are vintage VW's that can come with some eye popping prices. 

I just find the fabrication work in EV conversions interesting, no different than an off road rig, street rod, your B-59, an SCCA race car, a home built dragster, or the MOON BUGGY that GM built for the Apollo program. 

I understand your points. But a random '70s Beetle goes for like $5-7 grand. Does putting $50K into a $5K car make it worth ANYWHERE near that $55K?

Yes; most Buick folk like them original. For the first bunch of years I owned my car, it's #1 value was stagnant at $7500 (not that it was flirting with #1 status at all, nor would I aim to take it there). I wrestled with going with a custom build, but that stagnancy gave me the 'go-ahead'.
But today in #1 (original!) shape it's a $30K car. And I'm not putting $50K JUST under to hood of it. In fact, I'm not putting $50K into the entirety of it, and I only paid $500 for it as a running/driving car.
My point here is a financial-sensibility one. I never understood folk who spend $125K to build a custom show rod, then put it up for sale/struggle to get $75K for it a year later. Just open the window and thru your money into the flower bed. I stand to 'get out' (were I ever to sell it) in the ballpark of what I put into it. A '75 Beetle with a $50K EV conversion can't be worth even $20K. Why would it- the rest of the car is still a shitbox.

Yeah; I know the early vans are worth a lot- I wonder if EV'ing those would actually decrease their value. I don't follow their values to comment with any authority there... but USUALLY high dollar collectibles drop when customized.

If you have money to burn & just don't care, coat your Vega in diamond dust. But if you hope not to lose your shirt building a car project, tread very lightly dumping $50K into a beater (OR a high dollar collectible)! Do your research... except I don't believe the collector market has yet spoken on EV-converted collectible values yet.

Edited November 20, 2020 by balthazar

[A Horse With No Name]

Full court EV press in Europe, this Skoda should sell well there. 

 

[A Horse With No Name]

1 minute ago, balthazar said:

I understand your points. But a random '70s Beetle goes for like $5-7 grand. Does putting $50K into a $5K car make it worth ANYWHERE near that $55K?

Yes; most Buick folk like them original. For the first bunch of years I owned my car, it's #1 value was stagnant at $7500 (not that it was flirting with #1 status at all, nor would I aim to take it there). I wrestled with going with a custom build, but that stagnancy gave me the 'go-ahead'.
But today in #1 (original!) shape it's a $30K car. And I'm not putting $50K JUST under to hood of it. In fact, I'm not putting $50K into the entirety of it, and I only paid $500 for it as a running/driving car.
My point here is a financial-sensibility one. I never understood folk who spend $125K to build a custom show rod, then put it up for sale/struggle to get $75K for it a year later. Just open the window and thru your money into the flower bed. I stand to 'get out' (were I ever to sell it) in the ballpark of what I put into it. A '75 Beetle with a $50K EV conversion can't be worth ever $20K. Why would it- the rest of the car is still a shitbox.

Yeah; I know the early vans are worth a lot- I wonder if EV'ing those would actually decrease their value. I don't follow their values to comment with any authority there... but USUALLY high dollar collectibles drop when customized.

If you have money to burn & just don't car, coat your Vega in diamond dust. But if you hope not to lose your shirt building a car product, tread very lightly dumping $50K into a beater (OR a high dollar collectible)! Do your research... except I don't believe the collector market has yet spoken on EV-converted collectible values yet.

I get everything you are saying. But I am a woodworker partly because I have watched people put stupid amounts of money into cars for decades as an enthusiast. Team I crewed for in the SCCA put $30 Grand into an Opel Manta to keep in competitive over the course of two years. I used to flag Porsche Club races at Mid ohio where wealthy attorneys and doctors would dump well into the six figures into clapped out 70's air cooled 911's to keep them on track. 

I agree the cost of these conversions is stupid in many cases. But I like the fabrication aspect as much as anything. 

That being said, I love the Ranger but want a vehicle I can take for mild off roading and not have to worry about a tree branch scratching. Finding the thought of dumping even modest money into an original XJ style Cherokee, S-10, Older style Ranger, older style wrangler, et all kind of a waste of money. Thinking that paying off the Ranger and buying a new Bronco or newer Wrangler might be a better bet, as I would put substantial on pavement miles on the other vehicle. 

In the mean time, I want to take my dead stock 2004 Chevy Aveo into Mexico and places in Central America. It's paid for and would keep a relaly low profile. Lots of Inca and Aztec stuff I want to see. 

So I guess I am a hypocrite of sorts...but I am really enjoying watching these EV conversions. 

7 minutes ago, balthazar said:

I understand your points. But a random '70s Beetle goes for like $5-7 grand. Does putting $50K into a $5K car make it worth ANYWHERE near that $55K?

Yes; most Buick folk like them original. For the first bunch of years I owned my car, it's #1 value was stagnant at $7500 (not that it was flirting with #1 status at all, nor would I aim to take it there). I wrestled with going with a custom build, but that stagnancy gave me the 'go-ahead'.
But today in #1 (original!) shape it's a $30K car. And I'm not putting $50K JUST under to hood of it. In fact, I'm not putting $50K into the entirety of it, and I only paid $500 for it as a running/driving car.
My point here is a financial-sensibility one. I never understood folk who spend $125K to build a custom show rod, then put it up for sale/struggle to get $75K for it a year later. Just open the window and thru your money into the flower bed. I stand to 'get out' (were I ever to sell it) in the ballpark of what I put into it. A '75 Beetle with a $50K EV conversion can't be worth ever $20K. Why would it- the rest of the car is still a shitbox.

Yeah; I know the early vans are worth a lot- I wonder if EV'ing those would actually decrease their value. I don't follow their values to comment with any authority there... but USUALLY high dollar collectibles drop when customized.

If you have money to burn & just don't car, coat your Vega in diamond dust. But if you hope not to lose your shirt building a car product, tread very lightly dumping $50K into a beater (OR a high dollar collectible)! Do your research... except I don't believe the collector market has yet spoken on EV-converted collectible values yet.

In terms of collector cars, I don't think the Russian firm that wanted to build Mustang Fastbacks that are eV's will survive or becoem viable....but I do think that repop bodies fitted with eelctric motors might be a way to keep these vehicles around for awhile. 

Modified early Bronco's are selling for stupid cash, there is a market for retro. Think building electrified reproductions might be an interesting business model for someone. Certainly one could fit out something like a Factory 5 Cobra with an EV power train without a lot of difficulty. 

And plus one to the Diamnd Dust Vega.....that sounds like a car a dysfunctional girlfriend of James Bond would drive. The possibilities are endless!

 

[A Horse With No Name]

 

interesting model Y tech...

 

All of these made it over 200 miles, Electric cars are viable. 

 

Happiness in the EV thread, Not sure I like endless mindless conflict. So a moment of happy....

 

 

[A Horse With No Name]

ICE in the EV thread...

 

[David]

23 minutes ago, balthazar said:

I understand your points. But a random '70s Beetle goes for like $5-7 grand. Does putting $50K into a $5K car make it worth ANYWHERE near that $55K?

Yes; most Buick folk like them original. For the first bunch of years I owned my car, it's #1 value was stagnant at $7500 (not that it was flirting with #1 status at all, nor would I aim to take it there). I wrestled with going with a custom build, but that stagnancy gave me the 'go-ahead'.
But today in #1 (original!) shape it's a $30K car. And I'm not putting $50K JUST under to hood of it. In fact, I'm not putting $50K into the entirety of it, and I only paid $500 for it as a running/driving car.
My point here is a financial-sensibility one. I never understood folk who spend $125K to build a custom show rod, then put it up for sale/struggle to get $75K for it a year later. Just open the window and thru your money into the flower bed. I stand to 'get out' (were I ever to sell it) in the ballpark of what I put into it. A '75 Beetle with a $50K EV conversion can't be worth even $20K. Why would it- the rest of the car is still a shitbox.

Yeah; I know the early vans are worth a lot- I wonder if EV'ing those would actually decrease their value. I don't follow their values to comment with any authority there... but USUALLY high dollar collectibles drop when customized.

If you have money to burn & just don't care, coat your Vega in diamond dust. But if you hope not to lose your shirt building a car project, tread very lightly dumping $50K into a beater (OR a high dollar collectible)! Do your research... except I don't believe the collector market has yet spoken on EV-converted collectible values yet.

Valid points, but I think especially in California where EV West does a ton of EV Conversions, people who are spending the kind of money we are talking about are also holding onto these auto's a long time.

Case in point is my self. Bought New in 1993, my 1994 GMC Suburban SLE. Driven as is till 2007 when I had the V8 350 rebuilt at 200,000 miles into a custom built 402 and put another 60k miles on that before I then converted it to CNG since it required premium gas when it was hitting $5 a gallon here costing $250 to fill the rather large extended range tank on it. CNG fueling from my home took me to 83 cents per gallon and it is still there, but I am looking to do another auto project just like all of us auto enthusiasts and I see AWD EV Suburban being quiet as the wife likes about our Escalade ESV and powerful. 

So a Connect and Cruise AWD EV package is what I see as the perfect conversion. I will pull the 402 with custom built transmission and my custom differentials and sell them, then putting that money into the EV conversion.

The battery pack is the most expensive part of this and I hope that by the time I get to doing this project, prices will as I expect continue to drop reducing the over all price.

Nice part is that like your B59 Buick, I do not have to deal with airbags and all the rest of the electronic nanny devices since this is a 1994 auto. I do plan to have a backup camera as I love the benefit it gives to getting way closer to things than ones own eye can do from inside the auto.

[A Horse With No Name]

1 minute ago, David said:

Valid points, but I think especially in California where EV West does a ton of EV Conversions, people who are spending the kind of money we are talking about are also holding onto these auto's a long time.

Case in point is my self. Bought New in 1993, my 1994 GMC Suburban SLE. Driven as is till 2007 when I had the V8 350 rebuilt at 200,000 miles into a custom built 402 and put another 60k miles on that before I then converted it to CNG since it required premium gas when it was hitting $5 a gallon here costing $250 to fill the rather large extended range tank on it. CNG fueling from my home took me to 83 cents per gallon and it is still there, but I am looking to do another auto project just like all of us auto enthusiasts and I see AWD EV Suburban being quiet as the wife likes about our Escalade ESV and powerful. 

So a Connect and Cruise AWD EV package is what I see as the perfect conversion. I will pull the 402 with custom built transmission and my custom differentials and sell them, then putting that money into the EV conversion.

The battery pack is the most expensive part of this and I hope that by the time I get to doing this project, prices will as I expect continue to drop reducing the over all price.

Nice part is that like your B59 Buick, I do not have to deal with airbags and all the rest of the electronic nanny devices since this is a 1994 auto. I do plan to have a backup camera as I love the benefit it gives to getting way closer to things than ones own eye can do from inside the auto.

Or just wait a few years and buy a used Rivian and add it to the fleet. You would spend $50K for the Rivian, not unlike what you would spend on the conversion. 

[David]

Next Generation Chevrolet Bolt caught in the wild in California as they were filming it.

Very interesting break down of the actual cost of using a Tesla S as a police car compared to an ICE police car. Full detailed report is in the link below.

https://electrek.co/2020/11/19/tesla-model-s-passes-test-police-car-fremont-fuel-cost/#more-155905

[A Horse With No Name]

13 minutes ago, David said:

Next Generation Chevrolet Bolt caught in the wild in California as they were filming it.

Very interesting break down of the actual cost of using a Tesla S as a police car compared to an ICE police car. Full detailed report is in the link below.

https://electrek.co/2020/11/19/tesla-model-s-passes-test-police-car-fremont-fuel-cost/#more-155905

In Typical GM fashion, next gen car is even less marketable than current generation. 

 

In terms of the Tesla police car, once commercial and municipal buyers understand what they can save financially, EV's will take off much mroe I think. 

Another Mach E review;

 

Another worthwhile test drive. 

 

This is kind of a fun video. 

 

[A Horse With No Name]

Another 356 conversion

 

VW ID4 getting it on...

 

[A Horse With No Name]

VW ID4 global reveal

 

[David]

13 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

In Typical GM fashion, next gen car is even less marketable than current generation. 

Usually I would agree with you, but what I have been reading and even heard from my own dealership I take my auto's to for service is that it is a huge improvement over the current BOLT as to why when GM realized they had leaked the next gen Bolt in a video covering other products, they took it down before too many people saw it on the GM web site. Sadly it does not seem anyone did screen captures. 

This was the teaser from a few weeks back that GM released.

Which does go with the quick pic that was taken on the road when it was seen.

Here is what GM Authority Mag believes it will look like based on the teaser above and the pic taken in the wild.

Which I think is better than the current one.

Even the new dash and interior is better than the old.

https://gmauthority.com/blog/2020/11/gm-shows-glimpse-of-2022-chevy-bolt-euv-dashboard-video/

[A Horse With No Name]

I certainly hope you are right. 

Good video about Oil economy in Texas. This is why we need to think of EV's in terms of global economics. 

 

[A Horse With No Name]

Thoughtful....

[A Horse With No Name]

 

[balthazar]

1 hour ago, David said:

 

That IS interesting. So the actual annual maintenance & repair costs were HIGHER on the Tesla, not "much lower' as some have breezily assured.

Ignoring the value of 'freebie' equipment mods on the Tesla, and that in my area for example, fuel is 33% cheaper today, the total cost of the Tesla unit is $109,153, vs. $85,548 for the Ford. I don't know about you, but I know which way I've vote my tax dollars to go. $23,000 buys 11,200 gals of gas in NJ.

[balthazar]

Clipping from a online story today.

1. very cool the driver staggered away (DUI) from the wreck at supposedly 100 MPH- car was destroyed.
2. Anything goes at 100 MPH impacts.

Still I have to ponder- will insurance companies start figuring in extended property damage & HAZMAT clean-up costs into EV insurance policies?

 

 

Looks like it hit in the rear door. Another few feet forward and the driver would've been vaporized.

Edited November 20, 2020 by balthazar

[David]

1 hour ago, balthazar said:

That IS interesting. So the actual annual maintenance & repair costs were HIGHER on the Tesla, not "much lower' as some have breezily assured.

Ignoring the value of 'freebie' equipment mods on the Tesla, and that in my area for example, fuel is 33% cheaper today, the total cost of the Tesla unit is $109,153, vs. $85,548 for the Ford. I don't know about you, but I know which way I've vote my tax dollars to go. $23,000 buys 11,200 gals of gas in NJ.

I also noticed that high maintenance cost and wish they would break it out to better understand what it relates too compared to the ICE version. It does go against everything Tesla has said as well as what real world owners post about such a low cost maintenance.

[balthazar]

1 hour ago, David said:

It does go against everything Tesla has said...

Dude; that's the seller's claim, IE: 'marketing'. You always throw that right out the window.

[A Horse With No Name]

43 minutes ago, balthazar said:

Dude; that's the seller's claim, IE: 'marketing'. You always throw that right out the window.

Tesla pretty much proves modern cars can be built out of Balsa wood, just like those model airplanes we bullt as kids. 

Not quite, but methinks a car like the Mach E will be eleven billion times better from a quality standpoint. 

 

[Robert Hall]

4 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

 

Not quite, but methinks a car like the Mach E will be eleven billion times better from a quality standpoint. 

 

No doubt...same with a GM EV, VW EV, M-B EV...companies that have built cars for decades are more likely to build a quality product than a small company that cuts corners and tries to reinvent normal production methods...

[ocnblu]

10 hours ago, David said:

a ton of EV Conversions

Please provide hard data to back up this baseless claim.

[ocnblu]

9 hours ago, David said:

Usually I would agree with you, but what I have been reading and even heard from my own dealership I take my auto's to for service is that it is a huge improvement over the current BOLT as to why when GM realized they had leaked the next gen Bolt in a video covering other products, they took it down before too many people saw it on the GM web site. Sadly it does not seem anyone did screen captures. 

This was the teaser from a few weeks back that GM released.

Which does go with the quick pic that was taken on the road when it was seen.

Here is what GM Authority Mag believes it will look like based on the teaser above and the pic taken in the wild.

Which I think is better than the current one.

Even the new dash and interior is better than the old.

https://gmauthority.com/blog/2020/11/gm-shows-glimpse-of-2022-chevy-bolt-euv-dashboard-video/

Statue... you realize the Bolt and Bolt EUV are two different vehicles, right?  C'mon man, I thought you were a guru on this stuff!

[surreal1272]

13 hours ago, ocnblu said:

Please provide hard data to back up this baseless claim.

Plenty of examples have already been given. Your “approval” of this is not necessary to make it true.

20 hours ago, balthazar said:

Clipping from a online story today.

1. very cool the driver staggered away (DUI) from the wreck at supposedly 100 MPH- car was destroyed.
2. Anything goes at 100 MPH impacts.

Still I have to ponder- will insurance companies start figuring in extended property damage & HAZMAT clean-up costs into EV insurance policies?

 

 

Looks like it hit in the rear door. Another few feet forward and the driver would've been vaporized.

Sorry but at 100mph, that would have been a shrapnel laced disaster in ANY car.

[surreal1272]

On 11/20/2020 at 6:12 AM, ocnblu said:

Cool, is it waiting for a diesel-powered tender truck to come and switch out the battery, or tow it in?  Also it's so CUTE... what sort of manly drivers does Amazon hire who want to be seen in this cartoonish little fella?

Some men don’t base their “manliness” against what a car looks like especially when its a company vehicle. Well, maybe you do but then again, those are issues for a shrink and not C & G to figure out.

[David]

Texas continues their march away from the Oil industry by embracing Green Energy and focusing on the new business that will go into the next century and beyond.

Texas will now host the largest solar power station in the US. Producing 1,310 Megawatts of energy upon completion. The Solar Farm or what is being called the Samson Solar Energy Center will support five major consumer brands and three Texas municipalities.

• AT&T: 500 MW
• Honda: 200 MW
• McDonald's: 160 MW
• Google: 100 MW
• The Home Depot: 50 MW
• City of Bryan, TX: 150 MW
• City of Denton, TX: 75 MW
• City of Garland, TX: 25 MW

This is a $1.6 Billion dollar capital investment supporting over 600 jobs over the 36 month construction period. Additionally this will bring more than $250 million to Landowners for payment of land use and support the local community in what is estimated at $200 million in property tax payments over the life of the project. The project will be online and fully operational by 2023. The power produced will support 300,000 homes.

The Texas power grid is becoming one of the most modern in the country as they add 3.5 GW of green energy capacity this year and an additional 5.5 GW in 2021.

https://electrek.co/2020/11/20/texas-largest-solar-project-us-samson/

[David]

Honda E EV auto while having great reviews failed in one area that led to only 1,000 units sold so far year to date. The reason is range. Honda went with a 35kWH battery pack good for 137 miles of range and at the same price you have the Renault Zoe which is #2 in EV sales behind Tesla in Europe selling 10's of thousands of auto's that has a 245 mile battery pack for the same price in the same segment. 

Honda has since partnered with GM to use their EV platform to offer subcompact and compact EVs to the world on the same platform that will lower EV entry prices. 

As such in the mean time till Honda can start producing their new line of EVs, Honda has followed FCA in buying hundreds of millions in clean air credits from Tesla.

https://chargedevs.com/newswire/did-poor-honda-e-sales-spur-the-decision-to-buy-ev-credits-from-tesla/

[riviera74]

7 hours ago, David said:

Texas continues their march away from the Oil industry by embracing Green Energy and focusing on the new business that will go into the next century and beyond.

Texas will now host the largest solar power station in the US. Producing 1,310 Megawatts of energy upon completion. The Solar Farm or what is being called the Samson Solar Energy Center will support five major consumer brands and three Texas municipalities.

• AT&T: 500 MW
• Honda: 200 MW
• McDonald's: 160 MW
• Google: 100 MW
• The Home Depot: 50 MW
• City of Bryan, TX: 150 MW
• City of Denton, TX: 75 MW
• City of Garland, TX: 25 MW

This is a $1.6 Billion dollar capital investment supporting over 600 jobs over the 36 month construction period. Additionally this will bring more than $250 million to Landowners for payment of land use and support the local community in what is estimated at $200 million in property tax payments over the life of the project. The project will be online and fully operational by 2023. The power produced will support 300,000 homes.

The Texas power grid is becoming one of the most modern in the country as they add 3.5 GW of green energy capacity this year and an additional 5.5 GW in 2021.

https://electrek.co/2020/11/20/texas-largest-solar-project-us-samson/

I am glad that Texas has learned NOT to depend on oil for their future.  Some countries have failed to learn the same lessons Texas was forced to learn in the 1980s.

[balthazar]

[David]

6 hours ago, balthazar said:

Yup always will be a need for oil, just one less thing that has to rely on burning it while using it for all the other materials in the auto.

[David]

Seems the first 6 months of production for Rivian which will cover the Launch Edition of the R1T truck has sold out with their reservation holders. This is from June 1st 2021 to Dec 31st 2021. I wonder how many this will be? Rivian has said they will ramp up to 100,000 models of each R1T and R1S per year and higher if needed. Be interesting to see how many they deliver by the end of the 2021 calendar year. I suspect the R1S will be even more successful.

 

 

[balthazar]

200K plus trucks per year? At those prices??? They’ll be enormously fortunate to sell 15K in ‘21.

[David]

2 hours ago, balthazar said:

200K plus trucks per year? At those prices??? They’ll be enormously fortunate to sell 15K in ‘21.

Totally doable considering the millions of $50,000 to $100,000 trucks GM, Ford and Ram sell. 200,000 sold a year should be easy.

[David]

Just went through the Configurator. Love the Forest Green exterior color and the Forest Edge interior. Some nice interior color options.

[David]

Just configurated up my R1S. This color reminds me of the GM Teal on my Suburban but far more blue.

[ykX]

I can't get over the front headlights of the Rivian.  Looks so goofy

[balthazar]

2 hours ago, David said:

Totally doable considering the millions of $50,000 to $100,000 trucks GM, Ford and Ram sell. 200,000 sold a year should be easy.

Your numbers are way off. Rivian STARTS where the Silverado High County & GMC Denali stop.

I look at the sierra locator regularly- I haven’t seen a Denali over $70K, even if its possible to option one up that high; they don’t seem to be getting built that loaded.

[David]

4 hours ago, balthazar said:

Your numbers are way off. Rivian STARTS where the Silverado High County & GMC Denali stop.

I look at the sierra locator regularly- I haven’t seen a Denali over $70K, even if its possible to option one up that high; they don’t seem to be getting built that loaded.

Must be market differences as my GMC dealership by me has the 1500 Sierra all around 70K. Yes Denalis, trying to find anything below a Denali package seems to not exist here where I live, did find a couple lower end models in the high 50K's north in the rural areas.

I still think Rivian pricing is competitive for what you get and the tech. Lower cost units will come after the launch edition along with higher priced models.

4 hours ago, ykX said:

I can't get over the front headlights of the Rivian.  Looks so goofy

I like it, you have the vertical headlights and then the day time running strip across the front. Very visible and safe I would say.

[ocnblu]

SO far gone, I'm afraid

[balthazar]

19 minutes ago, David said:

Must be market differences as my GMC dealership by me has the 1500 Sierra all around 70K. Yes Denalis, trying to find anything below a Denali package seems to not exist here where I live, did find a couple lower end models in the high 50K's north in the rural areas.

My dealer right now has only (5) 1500s :: (2) W/Ts @ $41K, (2) Elevations @ $52K - $54K, and (1) SLT @ $60K.
Other local dealer has (12) :: (7) Elevations from $45K - $52K, and (3) Denalis from $69K - $70K. There's no "$100,000" Sierra 1500s as you claimed; I don't believe you can option one that high. The 2 $70K Denalis are the first I've seen here starting with a '7'.
These are MSRPs, BTW, the advertised prices are lower; the $70K Denalis are tagged at $62K.

[balthazar]

Clyde Revord has (22) Sierras ~
1500 base : $34K
Elevation : $46K, $51K, $52K.
SLE : $49K
(3) AT4s @ $65K
(7) Denalis : $67K - $70K.
They're not "all $70K"...

Edited November 24, 2020 by balthazar

[David]

Seems new EV auto companies are popping up like daisy's. Latest is a EV startup that began in 2018 and has not shown anything other than their web site. Hercules Electric Vehicles Home - Hercules Electric Vehicles (herculesev.com) 

Hercules Alpha pickup seems to be taking tech spec's from both GM and Rivian.

Their current web site states:

Bold designs, luxurious materials, elegant displays, and unsurpassed features with exemplary attention to detail provide a truly luxurious in-cab experience.

• 1000 HP 4-motor drive system

• 300+ miles EV range

• 0-60 MPH in 4 seconds

• Top Speed 120 MPH

• Advanced torque-vectoring AWD

• Superior Handling

• DC Fast Charge Standard

• Zero radius turning

• 12,500 Trailering Weight

• 2,500 lb. Payload

• 10,400 lb. GVWR

So you have a tank turn like Rivian, horsepower and torque like Hummer by GMC. They are taking reservations at $500 a pop for their Hercules Founders edition, but no info on what that is due to it being password protected.

Why bring this vaporware up you might ask? That would be due to the supposedly leaked talks Nissan is in with them to use their tech to offer a full size EV pickup. According to the story on Green Car Report, the Hercules truck that looks like a Nissan Titan would be using parts from Nissan to speed up development and manufacturing of their EV truck and in turn supply Nissan with a full size EV Titan.

We are living in interesting times for sure.

Report: Nissan and Detroit startup Hercules could pair up for electric truck (greencarreports.com)

[David]

Update from Lordstown Motors as they have secured Good Year Tires as the official tire of Lordstown Endurance Pickup Truck. Video of them testing at their E&D site.

 

[A Horse With No Name]

19 hours ago, David said:

Just went through the Configurator. Love the Forest Green exterior color and the Forest Edge interior. Some nice interior color options.

i DIDN'T KNOW THE CONFIGURATOR WAS AVAILABLE FOR NON DEPOSIT HOLDERS

 

About time to Bankrupt Fossil fuels. 

[A Horse With No Name]

Another interesting vintage car conversion. 

 

Look at the fabrication work on the streamliner being built later in the video, also interesting how long this car  has been in the hands of the owner. Be itneresting tos ee what he does with the car. 

[David]

3 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

i DIDN'T KNOW THE CONFIGURATOR WAS AVAILABLE FOR NON DEPOSIT HOLDERS

So configure up what you like and show us PLEASE!  

[A Horse With No Name]

13 hours ago, David said:

Update from Lordstown Motors as they have secured Good Year Tires as the official tire of Lordstown Endurance Pickup Truck. Video of them testing at their E&D site.

 

If the star wars storm troopers were ever going to have an official truck this would be the best option for them.