G. David Felt

1st generation parked next to 2nd generation Chevrolet Bolt @ Costco Been a interesting day as I saw a CADILLAC Allante today along with numerous Rivian R1T and Ford Lighting electric trucks.

If this story is true, very cool to have a Mini electric truck. https://electrek.co/2023/01/19/gm-mulls-compact-electric-pickup-truck-after-silverado-ev/

WOW, Yes, no needing to heat you up and make you sleepy on the bike. That would be a deal breaker for me too having the exhaust next to my inside thigh. I have to think that the bikes that have a cat but exhaust under the seat would be nice on a cold day to warm up the seat, but would long term make ya sleepy and on hot days would suck.

LOL, I hear and see Harleys daily due to my neighbor and his wife are Harly Riders every weekend and they have a huge group of them. Loud Noisy and many are always tweaking the bikes once they arrive at the house before they take off for a cruise somewhere. Yet before that cruise begins, it would seem that a good half a dozen riders have to address issues with their bikes first. I am glad that your friends do not seem to have any issues and you find them solid, I would love American bike makers to take the global crown on every front, sadly I just do not see Harley being that global crown right now. Only time will tell if they can survive and I hope that the American Bike industry does flourish, and this includes Livewire.

Where I bought my Yamaha PWCs they sell Harley too and I will say that a Yamaha bike is superior to a Harley. The dealership tows in far more Harleys than any other bike. I will agree to disagree with you as Harley still makes crap bikes from fit n finish to reliability IMHO. I am surprised as I missed the spin off as a subsidiary of Livewire by Harley. WOW, did not know this as this all happened during the Pandemic so I honestly did not look at stuff but found some very interesting new release from Harley Davidson. @Drew Dowdell We missed that Harley left Ford and went to GMC for their Harley Branded Trucks. FIRST HARLEY-DAVIDSON EDITION GMC PICKUP IN HISTORY INTRODUCED - Harley-Davidson Media Site (h-dmediakit.com) Livewire set records for the Pro Stock cirquit. HARLEY-DAVIDSON LIVEWIRE MOTORCYCLE SETS NEW WORLD RECORDS AT EV RACING EXHIBITION - Harley-Davidson Media Site (h-dmediakit.com) I see that May 10th 2021 Harley-Davidson created Livewire brand as a subsidiary of Harley-Davidson yet with its own stock on the NYSE. Harley-Davidson Launches LiveWire, the Electric Motorcycle Brand - Harley-Davidson Media Site (h-dmediakit.com) July 8th 2021 Livewire launches their first production bike. Introducing LiveWire ONE™, the first product from the all-electric LiveWire™ brand - Harley-Davidson Media Site (h-dmediakit.com) Liking the Livewire website. Electric Motorcycles | LiveWire LiveWire | News Back to Harley-Davidson, it is very interesting to see how much the company has changed in the last year. You used to have to find a custom bike shop to build you a tricycle Harley-Davidson for those that can no longer ride a normal two wheel bike. Harley-Davidson now builds 3 trike bikes for sale. Boomers have a new upgrade path. ? 2023 Trike Motorcycles | Harley-Davidson USA

Your response is a FAILURE, You bash American OEMs for releasing high end EVs first and then announce entry level EVs and Yet it is OK for Mercedes to start at the top end with expensive failed EGGs that only badge people are buying. Lacking in Style, Lacking in so many ways. GM will be eating up Market Share with 800V Ultium autos while Mercedes drags their feet in a 400V mess of pathetic EVs. Reviews by other sites of comparison show that the entry level and Mid level will be excellent for GM. 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV vs. Equinox EV: What’s the Difference? (motortrend.com) Chevrolet has updated their Equinox site so that it is very detailed on what each trim level and options are available including SuperCruise on the Equinox. The First-Ever All-Electric Chevy Equinox EV: Electric SUV (chevrolet.com) Available Fall 2023 Excellent story covering what the U.S. will get and what Canada will get at Launch. Chevrolet Equinox EV: Electric compact SUV heading to dealers this year (topelectricsuv.com) While there is info still missing due to Chevrolet not releasing all details yet, but a good comparison nonetheless. Compare Chevrolet Equinox vs Chevrolet Equinox EV | CarBuzz Where is Mercedes answer to this? The First-Ever Blazer EV: Electric SUV | Chevrolet Available Summer 2023 Excellent comparison of ICE to EV here and you can see that for a small premium the Blazer ICE RS FWD versus the Blazer EV RS RWD is a no brainer, take the EV over the ICE. Compare Chevrolet Blazer vs Chevrolet Blazer EV vs Chevrolet Blazer EV | CarBuzz Where is Mercedes Answer to this? End result is that Mercedes does not have an answer or production to support the full market other than a small production of expensive models which do not seem very popular as while I see a few on the lots, they are not selling here compared to Tesla, Hyundai, Kia, Ford, GM

@Drew Dowdell yes please, I would love a pre-launch preview

So then why is Mercedes bothering with low end EVs? Common Sense, if an Auto company wants to get everyone into EVs, then they have to make sure that the common blue collar human can afford an EV. Equinox achieves this. Where is Mercedes version?

E-Ray is an awesome way to start getting both old and new fans to look at what is coming as GM moves to EVs for everything. Yes, I expect the ICE V8 Corvettes to go a long time being I do not expect the Corvette to end ICE production till GM phases out all ICE possibly as early as 2035. This Hybrid will help pay for the R&D of both cheaper and more expensive versions of EV Corvette.

So nothing electric, just all ICE. Hope they can deliver them with quality as I have never seen the Hogs actually stay up and running for long.

Yes, you bet she cooks, her pallet is amazing for flavor, and she does everything else when it is not on the grill other than my home-made Mac n Cheese. My wife is Korean, so you better believe that all the veggies, aka side dishes as well as so much more is her. I have am very sensitive to tomatoes as they just make me sick, but she learned how to make it from scratch and get it PH neutral so I can have Spaghetti. My Home Made Mac n Cheese: Wife made the BBQ Chicken Sandwiches on Brioche Buns. Did Hamburgers again tonight.

WOW, this is drop dead beautiful for a resto.

Cool, it will have a reduced size, lite weight Lithium-ion battery to handle start/stop functionality. For those that fit in the car, it should be a hoot to drive!

@surreal1272 Going to be a hoot to see how this does against the Italian cars and on the German Track as well as other tracks. I expect this to be class leading compared to all others. Course we already know that someone will say that other brands cars are RWD so you cannot compare it to them since it is AWD. LOL future goal post moving predicted. ?

Love the Green they chose for the Convertible Vet. Be cool to play with an actual configurator once it is up and online to see what all the options are.

OUCH, seems Ford is having an ugly month due to bad Airbags in the Maverick Pickup truck. Lawsuit Alert: The Ford Maverick in Hot Water (msn.com)

Course the Family does love my honey glazed spiral cut ham I do at Thanksgiving. The ham is bought from Business Costco. ? Who is Hungry now?

Agree that while FOGO and Novilhos are good, nothing beats my butter and garlic basted steaks, Korean Kalbi ribs or my Hamburgers. Butter Basted & Home-Grown Garlic Steaks. 1st photo is NY steak, second photo if File steak. Hamburgers, 1 cheese stuffed and the others smothered, cheese was Havarti. Love cooking air fried French fries. Korean Kalbi Ribs that I marinate and cook. Course if we are talking about home cooking, then nothing beats a good buttery pineapple upside down cake. Here are some boneless ribeye's I cooked in my cast iron skillet and clarified butter & Garlic basted. I have to say that I love the Premium USDA Choice steaks from Business costco that are in the individual wrap. This way I can use just what I need.

@trinacriabob @Robert Hall While there are like a half a dozen Brazilian Steakhouses that compete around me here in the Greater Seattle Area, these are the two that my family and I like best: FOGO de CHAO offers 14 different types of meat tableside if you go for the whole experience. They do offer a variety of other yummy meats too. Menu Detail - Fogo de Chão - US (fogodechao.com) FOGO is really good, but the tables are tight together. We actually prefer Novilhos Brazilian Steakhouse as it is far more spacious inside as it is not in Downtown Bellevue. Menus | Novilhos Steakhouse in Bellevue, WA Check out the pictures of the 15 different types of meats they bring you tableside. Menus | Novilhos Steakhouse in Bellevue, WA Screen grab from the link above of all the yummy meats to go with the awesome sides at the buffett area. Happy MLK Day if you get it off like I do for a Holiday!

@Drew Dowdell @oldshurst442 @ccap41 @surreal1272 @smk4565 Interesting news as Consumer Reports puts out their updated listing of Auto's. Only 1 Luxury SUV Ranks Among Consumer Reports' 10 Least Reliable Cars of 2022 (motorbiscuit.com) the least reliable car on the list was a luxury SUV, and that model was the 2022 Mercedes-Benz GLE. This luxury German SUV was redesigned recently, and unfortunately for Mercedes-Benz and its customers, that’s when the reliability issues came up. Before the redesign, the GLE was a fairly reliable car. Afterward, though, its reliability scores sank to the bottom. Only 1 American Car Brand Is on Consumer Reports Reliable Top 10 List (motorbiscuit.com) 10 Most reliable car brands for 2023 according to Consumer reports: Toyota Lexus BMW Mazda Honda Audi Subaru Acura Kia Lincoln American Brands Top Their German Rivals in Large SUVs for 2023 (motorbiscuit.com) 9 Best Luxury Large SUVs for 2022 and 2023 | U.S. News (usnews.com) 2023 Lincoln Navigator 2023 Cadillac Escalade 2023 Land Rover Range Rover 2023 BMW X7 2022 Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class 2023 Jeep Grand Wagoneer 2022 Mercedes-Benz G-Class 2023 Lexus LX 2023 Infiniti QX80 Thanks to that strong balance of features and specs, U.S. News ranked the Cadillac Escalade and Lincoln Navigator above German luxury SUVs such as the BMW X7 and the Mercedes-Benz GLS. Both the X7 and the GLS have an overall score of 8.3 out of 10, which shows that they’re not bad large luxury SUVs by any means. It’s just that they have slightly more issues than the Lincoln or the Caddy does. Interestingly enough, both the BMW and the Mercedes share a common problem, and it has to do with their infotainment systems. The X7 starts with a 14.9-inch touchscreen, while the GLS starts with a 12.3-inch touchscreen. The problems with these systems have to do with usability. The X7’s infotainment system has a learning curve, while the GLS’ infotainment system is reportedly “overwhelming.”

For those interested in EV component development, News has been busy with new items: Charged EVs | Solenoid fundamentals: magnetic latching solenoids for EVs - Charged EVs On-off solenoids are the simplest. When power is applied, the solenoid will pull in or push out, depending on the design. The inclusion of a spring or other external force will cause the solenoid to return to its original position when power is removed. A proportional control solenoid works in much the same way except that the plunger will move a distance that is proportional to the current applied to the coil. If 50% of the designed maximum current is applied, the plunger will move 50% of its stroke length. While these types of solenoids have a place in automotive applications, they both require the constant application of power to hold a position once actuated. This can make them less than ideal for the needs of EVs in applications where the solenoid must hold a position for an extended period. Latching solenoids have an advantage over these other two designs, making them a great option for EV applications. They use only a short power pulse to change state and do not need constant power to maintain a given position. Latching solenoids come in two major types: the single-fire release latching actuator and the bistable latching solenoid. Charged EVs | Rincon Power launches new 600 A, 1,000 V manual battery disconnect - Charged EVs “Our 600A HVBD Battery Disconnect offers an attractive solution for physically isolating high-voltage systems while allowing for a visual indication that the switch is turned OFF,” said Markus Beck, Rincon Power’s VP of Sales. “The HVBD series has been successfully implemented in a wide range of applications including electric buses, off-road equipment, electric marine and a wide range of high-voltage battery systems.” Consider the above switch a safety switch for mechanics working on an EV or emergency services protecting the people responding to a crash. Charged EVs | Billions of bucks for US battery plants announced in 2022 - Charged EVs According to the Center for Automotive Research (via the Wall Street Journal), automakers announced plans to invest some $22 billion in battery plants in the US in 2022 (plus another 11 big ones for auto assembly facilities). Atlas Public Policy (via NPR) puts the figure at $73 billion for US battery plants in 2022. And that’s just in the US in 2022. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence calculates that, globally, almost $300 billion of investment has been announced in new battery gigafactories since 2019. Charged EVs | Researchers develop cobalt-free cathodes using hydrothermal synthesis - Charged EVs Researchers at the DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have developed a new method for producing cathodes for lithium-ion batteries by relying on hydrothermal synthesis, which eliminates the need to use cobalt, making the process quicker, less wasteful and less toxic. Cool thing also is the above new process changes the multi-day process of creating a cathode to a 12hr process.

Audi had two press releases that are Interesting, Sold 1.61 Million autos world wide in 2022 and of that 118,000 were EVs, a 44% increase over 2020. Audi delivers over 100,000 electric models in 2022 – despite challenging environment | Audi MediaCenter (audi-mediacenter.com) Then Audi has moved up their time table, ICE auto's will stop production in 2029 rather than 2033 and rather than 2030 for the start of releasing EVs only, they will move this to 2026 when only new models that are released will be EVs. After 2026, ICE auto's will be produced as is for select markets as they phase them out over 3 years from 2026 to 2029. Audi Presents Plan for the Production of the Future | Audi MediaCenter (audi-mediacenter.com)

Interesting read on battery cost for EVs and while Battery cell costs actually rose in 2022 7%, the overall cost have dropped 89% in 2022 dollars from 2008 to now. DOE: In 2022 money, EV battery costs have kept falling (greencarreports.com)

I agree that it is very cool to see Hyundai doing decent upgrades by model year allowing the comfort of the customers used to clear differences to still be there as people move forward with new auto purchases. Yes, Luxury is a rather Fluid term these days it would seem. I agree, I have seen more and more negative comments on review boards about the Mercedes lineup and the cheapening of the interiors for the price they charge. Some have said it seems that the German brands in some cases are replicating what American brands did in the 80's/90's with cheapness for the sake of profits. I agree the interior is nice on the Jeep Compass but based on coworkers who bought and have had engine problems, I would stay far away. The 2023 Lincoln Aviator was a surprise to me and it sent me looking for why with this being the clearest explanation. It has underwhelming fuel economy, and while it looks more significant from the outside, owners report cramped head space in the cabin. If you are looking for a more reliable option, check out the 2022 Audi Q7. Consumer Reports Least Reliable SUVs for 2023, What to Buy Instead (motorbiscuit.com)

Yes in many threads we have had the whole debate about names and the double standard applied to certain German brands and now they are doing an about face. No big surprise here. ?