G. David Felt

Road trips will always happen, and people will always need to recharge their EVs, as such, people will go to brand names and just not Tesla. As one who does many road trips, one never knows when one needs to use a bathroom, want a snack or drink and as the convenience of gas stations, converting them to charging stations will give options. Why would I or anyone else that are just blocks away from our local Jackson Shell Mart drive 2.8 miles to a Tesla Charging station if there are chargers at the Jackson Shell Station? Prices will be competitive; I do not see Tesla losing money to get people to only charge at their stations. Tesla has a subscription service for charging, this is no different than all the folks that have Shell credit cards, Mobil Credit Cards, Exxon Credit cards, the end result is convenience and folks will use what is convenient to them.

Have to totally agree that many CEOs that are demanding workers back to the Office are out of touch with reality of productivity and it would seem many have a huge vested interest in Commercial properties. With a 47.6% occupancy rate across the U.S. due to the Pandemic, there is much empty office space. Time to repurpose it into apartments and other uses beside office space. Elon Musk told workers to get off their ‘moral high horse’ — and get back to the office. Others say he’s sorely misguided. (msn.com)

2024 Buick Envision press release. 2024 Buick Envision First Look: Super Cruise Hands-Free Assistance Coming to Buick Nothing else really new for 2024 model year other than the Super Cruise feature.

50% charging network I would not expect from Tesla in 10 years. The oil companies and electric supply companies are not going to sit on the sideline and ignore this new energy boom by consumers. As Shell has already done over seas and I have posted about here. Shell Oil Corporation is the one to watch as they have been buying up EV charging station companies in Europe and Asia over the last few years and now here in the U.S. as they plan to add to their gas stations EV charging stations and expand by buying up existing companies. Shell USA, Inc. finalizes acquisition of Volta Inc., scaling up its U.S. public electric vehicle charging network | Shell United States Shell’s new EV smart charging service | Shell United States Shell Invests Heavily Into EV Charging Stations | U.S. News (usnews.com) Shell has jumped to be a major player in just a year with EV charging stations. I expect SHELL to do a much better job at keeping their charging stations online and reliable.

There have been stories posted about the difference between NACS and CCS1. Munro & Associates explain why Tesla’s NACS is superior to CCS [Video] - Drive Tesla (driveteslacanada.ca) Yet the biggest endorsement one can get is the Munro endorsement that shows the NACS is superior to the SAE CCS1/CCS2 standard that was developed. Seems the NACS port has the ability to be used for both home and commercial DC charging reducing the size of the port/charge cord. NACS has also been tested by Munro and surpasses the maximum charging power capability by supporting up to 1 MW (Megawatt) of power. CCS1 is rated at 350 kW (kilowatts) of power. Testing has proven that the CCS specification does not handle more than the rated power safely compared to the NACS. SAE is now saying they will deliver a new CCS specification that would surpass NACS. But like many things when a governing body is slow to respond, too little too late. While the NACS is not the standard that many recognize like the SAE CCS, the public voting with their wallets will end up stating what the standard will become and with NACS already surpassing the CCS, I see no reason why NACS will not become the standard.

All over the news, but the investments as I posted here by GM will keep making them profits as they transition to pure EV by 2035. Analysis: GM could reap billions by building combustion trucks and SUVs through 2035 | Reuters On the positive side, GM and Smasung SDI have moved forward with a new $3 Billion dollar battery plant to be built in New Carlisle, Indiana. GM, SDI will build $3 billion battery manufacturing plant in Indiana | Reuters This will be a 30 GWh battery plant building high-nickel prismatic and cylindrical battery cells for future EV products from GM with room for expansion. Just in the U.S., GM has under construction more battery capacity than Tesla. It will be interesting to see how the market is for EVs in 2025 as GM could replace Tesla as the leading EV builder and seller.

Just saw my first Genesis GV60 American built EV in White.

The last couple of weeks has seen a flurry of announcements in signing on with Tesla corporation around their charging stations and their NACS charging standard. First, let understand that the Tesla NACS was offered to the auto industry that snubbed it and went to the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) who developed the CCS1 connector that combined the standard J1772 connector with two high-speed charging pins. Currently the existing EVs other than Tesla and plugin Hybrids use this connector for Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 (DC fast charging). For those wanting to learn more about this you can read on it here: Combined Charging System - Wikipedia It looks like this: This same SAE governing body has come up with CCS2 for higher speed charging which is still a rather big bulky connection used in Europe. You can read about this at the above link also. With this charging interface of CCS1 in North America, CCS2 in Europe and China having their own proprietary interface you have the following for the existing 3 types that cover 80% of all EVs/Hybrids Globally. While Europe and China have rapidly built out their own charging stations and the only other option has been Tesla where Tesla Ships their EVs with CCS2 in Europe and their proprietary NACS in China along with an adapter for GB/T, North America has been left to the CCS1 standard that has been viewed as Bulky, and has had positive and negative views across Canada and the U.S. as depending on what region one is in, you can either have a good experience or a bad one, especially if the chargers are blocked by petro powered autos known as Icing or they have been damaged and not fixed leaving Tesla to be the only 12,000 strong charging stations across North America. Ford announced on May 25th 2023 that starting with the 2025 model year, all electric vehicles built for the North American market would change to the NACS charging interface. This is a Tesla standard that would allow all Ford Customers instant access to the 12,000 Tesla Charging stations and growing across North America in addition to the 10,000 plus BlueOval Charge Network. Musk has stated that all companies that sign on to support the NACS standard would have the same access and charge rate that Tesla customers have at their stations. Currently according to Tesla, charging stations contributed $9.96 Billion in revenue in 2022 and is expected to generate by 2025 over $25 billion a year annually. Back before SAE ever got involved, Tesla built their own charging stations with their own interface focusing on ease of use and comfort by the user. This NACS allows fast charging while making it easy to use. Tesla has been upgrading their charging stations from version 1 to the current highspeed version 4 using this NACS connector. So how does this connector compare to the CCS specification you might ask? Easy, the black image (NACS) shown below over the grey (CCS) image is the difference in size. For those in Europe that have an Older Tesla where they have the NACS port, they have to use an adapter to connect to the CCS2 plugs across Europe to charge. This puts considerable stress on the small NACS port from Tesla but looks like this. This gives an even better comparison to the electrical charging port standard differences. This understanding of the port differences brings us squarely to the question of this writeup, is the NACS plug the new North American Standard? One might just gather that it is when you have the following announcements to consider about supporting and changing over to the NACS standard. GM with their 2025 Model year EVs will move to the NACS port replacing the CCS1 port. Adapters will be needed for current EVs that have the CCS1 port to allow them to use Tesla stations. Thus giving us EVs for Everyone with NACS ports. Date June 8th 2023 - General Motors Doubles Down on Commitment to a Unified Charging Standard and Expands Charging Access to Tesla Supercharger Network (gm.com) GM's announcement has since been followed over the last four days by the following charging equipment companies that are moving forward with supporting the charging equipment with NACS charging cords replacing CCS1. EVgo Further Extends Fast Charging Network to Tesla Drivers Tritium Announces Support for NACS Connector | Tritium DCFC Limited (tritiumcharging.com) ChargePoint Will Soon Offer NACS Connector Options for Its Charging Solutions | ChargePoint Blink Charging Announces Final Design and Development of New EV DC Fast Charger with Dual-Port CCS and NACS Connectors at EVS36 : Blink Charging FLO Stations to Offer North American Charging Standard (NACS); Supports Broader Use The question to ask is who in the Legacy Auto industry will be next to change over? Hyundai / Kia / Genesis of Korea? VW/Audi/Porsche/BMW/Mercedes of Germany? What about the Japanese who are not only late to the EV market but have yet to launch anything in North America? Is the NACS plug the new standard moving forward ignoring the work done by the SAE group? Sound off on your thoughts on the EV charging standard. View full article

GM is investing in the next generation of Full Size Truck/SUV ICE while they work through the transition to EVs. GM Investing $632 Million in Fort Wayne Assembly for Future Truck Production GM Investing $500M+ in Arlington Assembly for Future SUVs

I would say that you then need to celebrate with a big pitcher of your favorite drink in the Hot Tub!!! ? Party at Roberts Place end of Month!!! ?

You continue to INGORE FACTS!!! How many times do I have to point out that Hyundai is moving all EV production to the U.S. to take advantage of the IRA tax breaks! As such they even stated that sales would fall down before going up due to the time to ramp production of U.S. built auto's. Those numbers you post mean NOTHING to the informed person of shifting production. COMMON SENSE, people who want the EV will buy it no matter where it is produced, but for those that want the tax break from the IRA deal, they will buy only U.S. produced EVs. To QUOTE YOU, to get volume. Hyundai did this with crappy product at the start, 10 year warranties that are still here but now with far better quality and they have no problem taking market share from everyone even with losses. Hyundai/Kia/Genesis is a force you are greatly underestimating. I stick with the facts that as EV production ramps up in the U.S. Hyundai, KIA and Genesis will see strong sales and a Pony car will appeal to buyers at both the high end for ultimate performance, a Tesla Plaid Competitor as well as entry and mid level. @oldshurst442 is a perfect buyer for this as he has stated while his wife will drive an SUV, he hates them and only wants a car, so be it from a Korea, European, Japanese or U.S. name plate, he will wait till he find the EV car he likes. It could be this Pony Car or the possible Malibu replacement I also stated above, there is a market for all formats of EVs.

Mary Barra has sat down with Marketplace multiple times already during the Month of June 2023 and to clarify, she has stated to get humanity to all electric all the time is to skip Hybrids. Better for the planet, better for the consumers. GM CEO on reaching EV goal and charging stations - Marketplace The goal here is to be gasoline and diesel free by 2035 with the current plan to be producing 1 million EVs by 2025. This brings us to the whole point of this story on an Ultium BOLT and how Mary Barra is currently driving a BOLT. Here she has stated that she just took delivery of a LYRIQ and how GM is working fast to ramp up battery production and Ultium component production. At 9:40 minutes into the podcast here: GM All Electric, All the Time Podcast Mary states clearly that the current Chevrolet Bolt/Bolt EUV is generation 2 of their electric vehicles and that Ultium is the future with a 40% reduction in the cost of the battery packs alone as to why they will stop building it at the end of the 2023 calendar year. GM CEO goes on to state that people relate and understand what an auto is by the name of the auto and as such, the public will identify with a Chevrolet Equinox EV, BOLT EV and the BOLT EUV. The podcast interviewer for Marketplace asks Mary Barra on this and she answered as follows: Ryssdal: So why are you stopping making it? Barra: Because it’s our second-generation technology. The difference between our second generation and third generation, which is Ultium, is a 40% reduction in battery costs. And we’re leveraging the names of our vehicles that are well understood and known in industry. People, you know, who drive an Equinox today will understand what an Equinox EV, what that delivers to them. But, you know, Bolt is something that has built up a lot of loyalty and equity. So I can’t say more because I don’t discuss future product programs. But, you know, it was primarily a move from second generation to third generation. But that’s [an] important vehicle in our portfolio. Ryssdal: Nudge nudge, wink wink, I guess. So this brings up the case that the brand equity of the Bolt is worth having a generation 3 of the Bolt/Bolt EUV built. If we go with this thinking, then we move to where the Bolt slots in below the Equinox and we gain a ton of options. Electrek did a piece on what they believe a Ultium Bolt would look like and here is there take on that: Ultium will afford the Bolt to have decent charging speeds and other benefits as well. Let’s imagine what we’d get in a basic $25,000 Ultium Bolt: 51kWh battery – GM Ultium batteries tend to come in 50kWh increments Lyriq (102kWh, Hummer/Silverado 204kWh, etc). I imagine the base, $30K Equinox will have a ~51kWh battery and around 215 miles of range. With the Bolt’s smaller size, you might be able to get closer to 240 miles of range out of 51kWh. AWD option – GM showed us a small 30kW motor at the 2020 Battery Day that it said it could use to make any of its vehicles AWD. This wouldn’t necessarily be for performance so much as getting out of snow and mud and maybe adding some efficiency to offset the additional weight and electronics of the second motor. Of course GM could just add 2x150kW Bolt motors and get a 0-60 time in the low 3-second area and sell this for $50k and… just take my money. Charging speed will have to obviously be better than the current Bolt’s 54kW but with such a small battery, it will be hard to get it to 150kWh. Still, though if we’re talking about a $25K car, and I think anything over 100kW is acceptable. Efficiency – The Bolt is already one of the most efficient vehicles on the road but with an added Ultium heat pump, improved electronics, and motors, we could be looking at one of the most efficient EVs ever made. $25,000 without subsidizing? Interestingly, Barra in the interview said that the company could save 40% on the cost of batteries using Ultium vs the Bolts 2nd generation EV system. That means they could likely get to the Bolt’s current price point without having to subsidize anything. Of course Barra also said that GM wouldn’t be able to make a profit on sub $40,000 vehicles until 2030 so the ‘it is coming soon’ piece might be wishful thinking. Electrek’s Take Rejoice, fellow Bolt EV owners! Our favorite car isn’t dead, just going on hiatus. This kind of hidden message would imply that GM is not done with the BOLT name yet for Chevrolet. This also goes hand in hand with the fact that back in December 2022 Mark Russ stated in an Interview with GMAuthority that GM was developing an EV Sedan for the Chinese market, but it could also easily be for any market place globally. GM Working On Potential All-Electric Chevy Malibu Successor (gmauthority.com) Chevrolet shares more details about the FNR-XE Concept - ArenaEV End result is that we should not only see a third generation of the BOLT, but a Malibu replacement could very well happen in the next few years. What are your thoughts on the future of the BOLT and a possible Malibu EV? View full article

That is so cool, I am sure the body felt wonderful after soaking in it for a good while. Bet your sister loved having her aches from arthritis taken away or at least diminished.

This is built on the same EV platform as the other EVs Hyundai Builds. They like GM has stated that EVs will allow a bigger diverse selection of autos at affordable prices. Yes everyone is starting at the high end of prices to recover R&D, but there is nothing to say that this will be a high priced 2 door car. I would say your applying ICE limitations of auto building to EVs which is wrong and I think Hyundai while seeing a place for a top performance Pony Car, will also realize they have a market for the entry and mid-level pony cars. This one I expect to come back and bite you in the ass as Hyundai has brought their EVs to market at much lower prices than others and are selling in decent volumes. I will have to slow down or stop by and snag a picture of the Doug's Hyundai as they have a ton of EVs delivered this week and so has a very nice selection to buy from.

@oldshurst442 Seems you are getting your wish for more cars, Hyundai has green lite this Pony Car and now they have released a teaser of an upcoming IONIQ 5 N edition, performance EV car. Yes Delorian used this original Pony car as inspiration for the Delorian. Hyundai had this press release photo.

Love this Video that Hyundai released on the 74. The video gives a great overview of the original Pony car and the new. Interesting that Hyundai clearly copied the Ford Mustang Bronco Horse. Video 1.mp4

Tesla is trying to get an exception to allow sales of the truck in Europe and yet Europe due to the pedestrian crash safety standards has the Cybertruck fail so is illegal to buy and drive in Europe. I expect Musk to loose this battle.

Cheap labor, will copy what Tesla built and sell it cheaper, no original idea here. They will probably sell a bunch at first then have sales fall off if the quality suffers worse than Tesla. No big surprise here into the troubles Tesla has had in building the Cyber truck. Leaked Tesla documents shed new light on why the Cybertruck is taking so long - The Verge

Lots to like, but why no indications on the chair or lumbar support dial, seems missing printing. I also am a bit surprised by the strong clicking noise on the levers which does not say luxury to me. I do like the two-tone interior look. Back of those chairs I can see looking so dirty and grimy in no time due to little kids shoes and others just not bothering to car. I do like the black grill treatment and the Cadillac brake calipers. Over all not a bad SUV, I can see Cadillac bringing it NA for a limited run.

China EV market is heating up and the latest home bred company to compete against Tesla has started to take pre-orders for their Tesla Y killer EV. They expect to sell 6 to 8 thousand a month. XPeng to start pre-sales of G6 SUV on Jun 9 - CnEVPost

Just saw my first LYRIQ in the wild here today and the folks driving it looked to be in their 40's, very happy looks on their face and it pulled away fast and strong. Was cool to see.

Saw a brand new IONIQ today and will say WOW, they are quiet and nice cars. Way too low for me to drive, but I like the quality of the car.

That is awesome Robert!!! So happy for you.