G. David Felt

Running to Costco and saw this rate ride.

Ran to Fred Meyers to get some eggs and other stuff. Walking up saw this beauty, shifter on the dashboard.

Good News - Welcome back @knightfan26917 you are missed Bad News - Briefly, REALLY??????????? ?

Schmooze

WOW, and people complained about American autos in the 90's that had 30,000-mile maintenance that had to be done. Yet here Honda in the 2000's has the same crap. WOW.

1967 was a magical year for Ford Motor Co and their desire to dominate the 24hrs Lemans. Fords desire to dominate the 24 after being snubbed by Ferrari led to the ultimate auto competition. One that has gone down in history as the biggest loss for Ferrari, the biggest win for Ford Motor Co. From the onset, the attention to detail was exceptional for Team Ford. All this work ended up in producing a race car that has stuck in the dreams of many gearheads. The Ford GT Mk IV race car. Today we introduce you to the 2023 Ford GT Mk IV track-only model. Ford GT's highest-level of performance, handling and advanced technology due to the unique custom engine, transmission, aerodynamic design and chassis with longer wheelbase. Ford has learned so much since 1967 and with that, this 2023 Ford GT Mk IV features a specially engineered twin-turbo EcoBoost engine targeting more than 800 horsepower, race transmission, carbon fiber "long tail" body, plus Multimatic's Adaptive Spool Valve (ASV) suspension. This race car is now available to order, production will be limited to 67 hand-built supercars, a number to honor the original 1967 GT Mk IV race car. To quote the Ford Press Release: The new Ford GT Mk IV nods to the year that the original Mk IV won the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with just 67 of the hand-built supercars to be produced at Multimatic’s facility in Markham, Ontario. A new client application process (https://www.ford.com/performance/gt/mk-iv/) will begin for this $1.7M supercar (starting MSRP), with client selections confirmed in the first-quarter of 2023. Deliveries will begin in late spring 2023. As a race car that was built to dominate the global endurance race circuit of 1967, todays 2023 version is built to do the same. To quote Mark Ruchbrook, global director, Ford Performance Motorsports: “The original GT Mk IV held nothing back for max track performance, and the new Ford GT Mk IV brings it in the same way,” “With an even higher-level of motorsport engineering and performance, plus a completely new carbon fiber body that is functional and striking, the Mk IV is the ultimate sendoff of the third-generation supercar.” View full article

OUCH, talk about a big mess for these auto companies. U.S. agency opens safety probes into Honda, Jeep, Ram vehicles | Reuters QUOTE: The largest probe covers reports alleging a loss of power for more than 1.7 million U.S. 2018-2022 model year Honda CR-V and HR-V vehicles. Those reports said some drivers lost power at highway speeds without warning and some reported differential seal leaks resulting in rear differential lock-up as the cause. Some reports allege the rear lock-up caused the driveshaft to fracture while the vehicle was in motion resulting in the vehicle being towed.

WOW, Toyota is being avoided by their own public in Japan on EVs as unreliable. Deals are being made to just try and move what they are making now after the recall and Toyota is thinking of rebooting again their EV program. Writing is on the wall, Toyota will burn through cash to catch up to Tesla, and even then, I doubt they will be a leader as others are so far ahead of them now. Toyota slashes leasing fee for troubled EV to boost orders | The Japan Times

I am totally on board with this as I want to test drive and test fit myself in the auto and then without any pressure go home, review my choices and order up when I am ready. I see no problem with waiting to get my new auto and then trading in or selling myself my old one.

Be interesting to see what Boeing replaces the 747 with as their new focused freight plane.

Very cool, 2/3rds of Ford Dealerships want set pricing and have signed to invest the million dollars plus investment to be an EV dealership with demo auto's but everything built to order. Very different than current Ford ICE sales. Ford CEO wants to end haggling for electric cars — and two-thirds of dealers agree (msn.com)

Seems leading up to the big RAM EV Reveal at CES 2023.

I really like this electric station wagon. Hopefully Dodge does get it.

Seems Lordstown got a lifeline in the form of $170 Million to fund ongoing work plus build a new EV for FoxConn. Lordstown Motors and Foxconn Broaden Strategic Partnership | Lordstown Motors Corp.

@oldshurst442 @ccap41 Thought you guys would enjoy this. I am sadly not able to get the full press release from the GM China site, but have this on the first all-electric car for Chevrolet that will be out in 2025 for China. Chevy FNR-XE electric sedan concept takes Ultium to cars (greencarreports.com) General Motors Accelerates Rollout of Electric and Intelligent Connected Vehicles in China (gm.com) GM China Tech Day 2022 last week showed off the near production ready Chevrolet FNR-XE electric sedan built on the Ultium platform. I think it would sell well here in North America too.

Shorter length of the truck itself. No difference in hauling, but in America truckers do not seem to like tilting the cab forward to access the engine and work on it. This is why the Conventional is so popular here compared to the cab overs. The TV show BJ and the Bear was a Cabover Kenworth.

I found AGM batteries especially in cold weather to be superior for starting capabilities. I have them in all my auto's and love the added performance. AGM batteries are different from traditional, flooded lead-acid batteries. The batteries in a car need to provide powerful bursts of starting amps when the ignition switch is turned on. AGM batteries can provide high energy output and maintain that output for a longer period of time. They can be used to power electronics for an extended period of time, unlike the traditional flooded lead-acid battery that provides a short burst of energy. They are maintenance-free, they last longer, they provide more power, and they are safer. There are many factors to consider when choosing between lead-acid and AGM batteries. AGM batteries The batteries that you see in your car are called AGM batteries. They are absorbent glass mat (AGM) batteries. AGM batteries were invented in the 1950s by a Japanese inventor named Masaru Ibuki. He had developed a battery that was very different from traditional flooded batteries. AGM batteries are also known as sealed-lead batteries. These batteries were safer, more powerful, and they did not require constant maintenance. Now, these batteries are in demand around the world. AGM batteries are now found in many vehicles, such as motorcycles, ATVs, golf carts, boats, and even spacecraft. For starters, AGM batteries are easy to charge and maintain, as they don’t require any maintenance. There are two types of AGM batteries: AGM batteries with Lithium-ion cells, and AGM batteries with Nickel Metal Hydride cells. Advantages of AGM battery If you are looking for an alternative to standard 12-volt batteries, then you should buy AGM batteries. There are many advantages of using AGM batteries: They are maintenance-free. You won’t have to worry about charging or replacing your battery. You can keep your car or truck running all the time. You will be able to save money. It is cheaper to buy AGM batteries than to purchase conventional batteries. AGM batteries will not harm the environment. They do not pollute the air. AGM batteries can be used for longer periods of time. You can keep your car or truck running for hours on end. You may want to use them to start your car. You can make it easy to charge your AGM batteries. There are many battery chargers that you can use to recharge quickly. AGM batteries are more reliable than conventional batteries. They don’t need regular maintenance, and they will work just as well when you need them. They can withstand extreme temperatures. AGM batteries are environmentally friendly. You can dispose of them without harming the environment. AGM batteries also have an excellent deep cycle rating. This means you can use them over and over again. More details at the link below. Which Is Better For DC Power Source? AGM Battery vs Lead Acid (dcreservoir.com)

? Built to be Bad Ass on Road and Off!

As I posted, the Lyriq is sexy as hell in person. Cadillac has a hit on their hands, and I am excited to see additional models added. Last week GM and LG quietly let out this press release: Ultium Cells LLC Announces Plans to Pr... | Ultium Cells LLC GM is investing an additional $275 million to expand their Spring Hill battery plant to go from the current 35 GWh of battery production to 50 GWh of battery production by the end of next year to support the growing demand for EVs. This also will add 400 new jobs to the plant for a total of 1,700 employees building batteries. This expansion along with the other plants coming online will have GM producing 130 GWh plus of batteries for EVs. To quote Tesla: Tesla’s Gigafactory makes around 38 gigawatt-hours of batteries a year, and more than 400 gigawatt-hours of capacity is under construction in the U.S. Tesla expects to have all their battery production online by 2027. GM has also just announced additional capacity, nothing yet from Ford, but clearly the future is Electric.

I so could see the Chevrolet Nomad Concept as an EV. The Forgotten Chevy Nomad Concept We Wish Made It To Production (slashgear.com)

Welcome to learning about EC Power, a team of researchers from Penn State that started in 2011 as a lithium-ion battery modeling software company. The need for real data to validate battery use in EVs led this team to build a small prototyping facility focused on software development. During this manufacturing process and testing of cells for model validation, EC Power realized that temperature is everything to a lithium-ion cell. Modern EVs from Tesla, GM, VW, Ford, Kia, and Hyundai all have a fast-charging option in that when you select this mode, it preps the battery to a certain temperature to ensure maximum speed of the battery pack. EC Power wondered if there was a better way to control the temperature rapidly, efficiently and precisely without having to run a prep software program to prepare the battery for fast charging. Tesla can take from 15 minutes to 30 minutes plus to precondition their battery pack for supercharging or what the rest of the industry calls fast charging. EC Power created, patented, and is now going into production to prove thermal modulation. After selling their AutoLion software, EC Power has focused exclusively on developing the increased possibilities that thermal modulation can provide. What is Thermal Modulation? EC Power Answer - Thermal Modulation Cell Technology (TMCT) heats cells from the inside out. By heating inside out, not outside in as current EVs from around the world does, Lithium-ion cell achieve thermal modulation rates >60 times faster than current EVs thermal management can achieve. EC Power believes the major barrier to widespread EV adoption is the performance loss of battery packs in cold weather. The colder the weather, the more loss in range. Currently, all EV OEMs use some form of air or liquid conditioning of the battery pack. While this works, it also draws a significant amount of battery power to make this battery thermal optimization work. EC Power has tested and proven that by adding TMCT to conventional Li-ion cells, they have demonstrated that nominal performance is regained in less than a minute, even starting from -50 °C that some areas of the globe reach during normal wintertime. Extreme fast charging is recognized as a crucial feature needed for broad EV adoption. Additionally, fast charging enables the use of smaller battery packs, saving resources and lowering off-the-lot cost for auto companies. The Department of Energy has a funding program that specifically called for extreme fast charging technology where 200 miles of range is added to the battery pack within 10 minutes for at least 500 consistent charging cycles. Lithium-ion cells can be safely charged at specific speeds based on the temperature of the cell. Inside cold cells lithium ions simply move more slowly, increasing the risk for battery degradation and slow charging. This is called by some in the industry as a stuck lithium cell increasing early degradation and possible fires where one sees a lithium-ion battery pack catch on fire and consistently restart burning after having been put out. EC Power has pointed out that the global EV OEMs have implemented a clever external heating system to regulate the battery pack of an EV to enable what EC Power calls fast(ish) charging. This preconditioning or pre-battery preparation can take form 20 to 45 minutes. The large the battery pack, the longer the time to precondition the battery pack for optimum charging speed. EC Power has proven in actual testing of real-world lithium-ion cells that their TMCT can make a cell reach maximum safe fast charging temperatures within 30 seconds. EC Power latest press release states that a third-party evaluated their TMCT Lithium-ion cells for their ability to meet the DOE's extreme fast charging requirement's goal. This third-party company stated that EC Power cells were the only product to EXCEED the DOE's standard of 500 consistent Extreme fast charging with only a 10% or less loss of capacity. EC Power Lithium-ion cells still had ~90% of their capacity after 1200 extreme fast charging cycles and >90% capacity remaining after 2,500 fast charging cycles of 10 minutes for 200 miles of range. A major question that this brings up is How does TMCT fit into existing battery cell production? Lithium-ion cell manufacturing is a cutthroat business, tight cost margins, high cost of recalls and not surprising the resistance by OEMs to implement new technology. EC Power states that TMCT technology is manufactured using conventional existing equipment. As they stated at the start of the article, think of lithium-ion cells as books and TMCT is a bookmark, only 10 times thinner, a bookmark that turbocharges the book per EC Power. Solid-state and lithium-metal batteries have great potential for greater energy density, cheaper manufacturing and enhanced safety over today's conventional Lithium-Ion liquid battery cells. One of the things that change with these newer batteries is higher operating temperatures according to EC Power to achieve these new power performance and safe fast charging. EC Power sees no other technology or battery company that can heat lithium cells as efficiently, evenly and quickly as thermal modulation. EC Power sees an exciting battery technology future as they contribute to the battery future. A future of EVs that have a 200- or 400-mile range battery pack that charges in 10 or 20 minutes, no different than today's ICE autos. PENN STATE RESEARCH POST EC Power team believes that OEMs could switch from a 150kWh battery pack to a 50kWh battery pack using TMCT eliminating range anxiety. View full article

Happy B-day @riviera74

I totally agree as a little two store family chain here called Sparta's Makes amazing pizza. Will pay more and eat theirs any day over Domino's. Welcome to Sparta’s Pizza & Spaghetti House | Best Pizza in Lynnwood (spartaspizza.com) Yet I do have to say that it is cool that they are going all EVs over the next couple years with GM Bolt.