David

I promise to point out the bad as well. I actually have hit one thing that is bizarre, their printed owner's manual if very much behind their software update interface, as such there are features that has no instructions on using. I get that the printing happens early, but even Kia Connect, their online presence does not cover some of the stuff that has been updated with the latest OTA update we got this week. Another weird issue is that when you setup the Kia Connect software on your smartphone and invite the wife in this case, it links your two accounts and as such the setting 1 and setting 2 for seat positions, mirrors, environment settings, etc. get merged and you have to unlink your accounts to then have individual settings. Again, nowhere documented. Kia Connect online community is a good thing as plenty of folks have posted in it to help each other out on how to do things since the existing documentation from the company is not there. I can see where this would be frustrating for a non-tech person to use the advanced features successfully. The EV otherwise drives like any other auto and the wife already did her first trip to the south end to deal with her side of the family and was very happy at the efficiency of the EV in power used. OTA process is very slick and smooth. You can do it at the time it prompts you, do it when you go to turn off the auto, it will process in the background after you shut off the EV or schedule a time to have the OTA applied. Have to say the Dealership experience has surpassed anything I have experienced in the shopping process at any other auto company. I have a Leasing/Buying an EV in 2024 story coming documenting the experience of getting this EV.

So did my first high speed charging at the Electrify America charging station near my house. Was very easy to use with the account on my phone. Pretty much, I backed into the open spot, plugged in the charging cable and then tapped my phone to the NFS point and it did the handshake and started charging. Since this station is near a Target, I went and did our grocery shopping while it charged, got back with a few minutes left on charging and then disconnected and drove away. Easy Peasy.

Back in December 2023 my wife mentioned to me that she was getting a little tired after 15 years of the Voom Voom Voom of her SS. The sound of the Borla factory exhaust was not what she wanted to hear in a daily driver. I had originally bought this in 2008 for her when after our kids had finished college, she wanted to fulfill her life dream of getting an advanced education. She started her college career driving our Escalade ESV to the University of Washington campus and finding that a full-size SUV was hard to park in the garages of compact parking spaces with minimal regular parking spaces. Let's put this all-in perspective, the Escalade ESV has 345hp, 380 lb.-ft of torque with V8, 14 mpg average, curb weight of 5,911lbs, 10 inches of ground clearance, 79.5 inches wide, 75 inches tall, 221.4 inches long and a wheelbase of 130 inches. A comfy road quiet auto that is just big but makes driving very comfortable. 0 to 60 mph of 6.2 seconds. I replaced it with a Trailblazer SS, Corvette inspired powertrain that makes 390hp, 400 lb.-ft of torque with V8, 12 mpg average, curb weight of 4,496lbs, 7.8-inch ground clearance, 74.7 inches wide, 67.8 inches tall, 191.8 inches long and a wheelbase of 113 inches. An auto designed for performance with a Borla exhaust that lets folks know you are here. 0 to 60 of 5.9 seconds. Kia EV9 Land AWD Long Range edition with relaxation package has 379hp, 516 lb.-ft of torque electric, 80 MPGe average, curb weight 5,886lbs, 7.8 inches of ground clearance, 77.9 inches wide, 70.1 inches tall, 197.1 inches long and a wheelbase of 122 inches. 0 to 60 of 4.4 seconds. Relaxation package adds heated and cooled seats to the second row along with calf leg support on both the first and second row seats allowing for lazy boy reclining comfort. The differences of the EV over the SS are as follows: 11hp less, 116 lb.-ft of torque more, 1,400 lbs. heavier, 3.2 inches wider, 2.3 inches taller, 5.6 inches longer, wheelbase is 9 inches longer along with 1.5 seconds faster. The EV comes with the following driving modes, eco, normal, sport, snow and custom. You can clearly tell that the suspension tightens up in Sport mode, much tighter than the SS ever was even though both had 20-inch rims with identical size tires. The longer wheelbase here allows the EV to still have a very comfortable ride while being spirited in driving, back in Normal mode, it rides on par with my Escalade that has magna ride. What does that give me, a more comfortable ride, roomy interior with space for 6 adults compared to a tight fit of 5 adults. The relaxation package which I did not realize it had till I was being taken over the auto after the deal closed is nice as it goes from just having the heat and cooling of the front seats to the middle row of seats having heat and cooling plus all 4 captain chairs have the lazy-boy approach of cafe support that comes up, chair will straighten out and give you a very comfy sleep capable setup. The wireless android auto is great, while the system has a high encryption security system, when you get in based on your fob you would have to punch in a pin to actually get the EV started, if you have Kia Connect on your smartphone and place it on the wireless charging pad, it will allow you to start the auto without having to enter your pin. I am pleasantly surprised on just how much bigger the interior is of the EV9 over Kia's Telluride which is very nice for an ICE auto as my son traded in his Jeep Grand Cherokee on one. They are pretty much the same width, length, height and ground clearance and yet the interior space is so much more on the EV9 especially behind the 3rd seat for storage. Yes, the EV9 has a Frunk and while some might consider it not useful, it is bigger than many out there but not as big as a Mach e. It can hold 44lbs @ 1.8 cubic feet of space. I am looking at what Kia recommends the ChargePoint+ 80amp hardwired Level 2 charger for my garage. This gives a 10% to 80% charge in 3hrs and 45 min. I will be trying at the end of the week the 110 Volt charger that came with the EV9. While I still have plenty to learn on this EV, I will say that I love the lighting of the auto inside, the layout of the dash is great. Turn signals have a circle that pops up on the dash showing you the side of your auto so you can make sure not to hit anything on the side. The 360-surround camera system is outstanding and clear, even in heavy rain, have ended up leaving it set to have the rear-view mirror run in camera mode all the time as it is better than a traditional mirror. Ask any and all questions, happy to answer them. For all pictures check out my gallery. DFELT First EV - 2024 Kia EV9 - Vehicles - Cheers & Gears (cheersandgears.com) View full article

Seems Kia will have a faster model above the GT-Line EV9, expected to be over 600 HP and Torque. Kia is presenting a great plan. Kia CEO Investor Day Kia presents 2030 roadmap to become global sustainable mobility leader

Name: DFELT First EV - 2024 Kia EV9 Category: Vehicles Date Added: 2024-04-29 Submitter: David DFELT First EV - 2024 Kia EV9

Have to say this I totally agree with: Leasing is the best, most affordable way to get a quality new EV — here's why (thecooldown.com)

I have to say this is an interesting read and I align with what the editorial author is saying. Biden’s FTC just exposed one of the GOP and businesses’ biggest lies to workers (msn.com)

Interesting read, it does bring up a very important point, will the current CCS power walls work forward once everyone moves to NACS charge port? Does EV home-backup capability outmode the Tesla Powerwall? (greencarreports.com) Which Electric Cars Have Bidirectional Charging (V2L, V2G, V2H)? | Zecar | Resources | Lists

Very interesting as I am seeing more and more of these lists dominated by the Hyundai/Kia/Genesis product lines. Autotrader's Best New Cars of 2024 - Autotrader

I am not aware of travel cases for internal drives. Usually you have the drive and once you have made sure you own static electricity is discharged on your body, open the computer and unplug the power cable and data cable to the HD. Then you unscrew the screws holding the drive in. Put the drive into an Anti-Static bag and then usually into a box that has foam padding on all sides to protect the drive and then tape it up to close it. With both drives in their proper storage bags, you can then have both drives in between foam insulation for handling any dropping of the box, etc. Pack them in a box and tape shut, should then easily handle going through your carry on or checked in luggage. To ship a hard drive, you need to: Secure the hard drive in its original packaging or anti-static bag. If you don't have an anti-static bag, place the drive into a zipped freezer bag to prevent any moisture getting into the drive during transit. Sandwich the drive between foam or wrap it in bubble wrap to absorb any minor shocks. Put the hard drive in a padded shipping box. Close and seal the box. Label your package. Amazon.com : hard drive shipping box This is pretty much all you need.

Either a co-pilot first time landing or something truly went wrong on the plane.

Need some serious work. Reminds me of this article I read last night. https://www.drivingline.com/articles/the-cadillac-500-cubic-inch-v8-was-gms-last-classic-big-block/ I can see electric motors going the same route as ICE, getting bigger/more powerful but not as huge as the big block caddy days.

WOW, that is crazy, wonder what happened the first time as that was a hard bounce. Need a full inspection on that plane after that hit.

Usually one does not pull out a desktop HD to transport it but packs and moves the whole desktop computer. If you are wanting to remove the HD to transport it, you need to ensure it is in an Anti-static bag to prevent electrical discharge that can scramble the data in worse case scenario. Depending on size HD can weight from just a couple of OZ to 1lb. Question for you, are you just thinking of putting these HD into a new computer or just taking them over separate from the existing desktop system and installing them back in again? If your just thinking of transporting the desktop I would recommend keeping the drive in the desktop and packing the whole unit securely in a box with packing material for protection. If your wanting the data on the drives, I would recommend buying a proper USB drive, copy all the data off the drives and then you can wipe the drives and donate the computers to Goodwill for a tax write off.

Flavor is amazing over bland store bought veggies. Very cool, interesting tree, so slow growing then?

All done with the detail inside and out of the SS for the spring/summer season.

My wife gets starter trees for landscaping, and we use 5-gallon plant buckets that have the holes already, but you could use a normal 5-gallon bucket and drill some holes and put it in a planter plate to hold water to help with feeding. We always just use miracle grow soil and the trees are doing really well. We have a bunch of Leyland Cypress trees to be planted once I finish the yard retaining wall and new fence.

@ccap41 I downloaded the image and used Win11 photo editor to rotate the image and save it locally and then uploaded it to here.

Once you change the rotation, your saving it correct? If you rotate it and then post it, the original image is still being used with it in the wrong rotation. Usually you have to save it as a new image so capture the new rotation change. I agree that it is a pain in the butt when a phone camera does this. Great Job, cleaning the lenses are never easy and you did a great job. I am currently detailing my SS, will post pictures once I am done, but getting it cleaned inside and out, so started yesterday and almost done with the inside, still have the outside waxing to do.