G. David Felt

Honda has given us the first official look at the exterior and interior styling of the All-New Honda Prologue electric SUV that launches in North America in 2024. The Prologue is what Honda is calling a "Neo-Rugged" exterior and interior styling with ample interior space that enables one for adventure inside and outside the city limits. 2024 Honda Prologue Reveal-en-US_h264_aac_1280x720.mp4 As we get into looking at this Honda, keep in mind that Honda signed a joint agreement with GM to use their Ultium Platform for their Honda EV portfolio. As such, it will be interesting to compare and contrast this SUV with SUVs from GM. On top of this, the month of October Honda also has launched a CR-V Hybrid that Honda even says will be a Gateway vehicle to the Prologue. The Honda CR-V Hybrid will be focused in sales on short term leases in ZEV states to allow Honda to Transition hybrid customers to EVs. The Honda Prologue is the First for Honda's EV portfolio and will be on sale in 2024 North America wide. Prologue is to complement the Honda's light truck lineup, positioned alongside the Passport and above the CR-V, offering generous passenger and cargo space over the ICE autos. Masaki Sumimoto, design lead for the Color, Materials and Finish had the following to say: "Our goal was to create a clean harmony based on a rugged SUV image by coordinating the colors and materials to express neo-rugged design styling that’s familiar to our customers and uniquely Honda," To this end, Prologue upon release for sales will be available in an exclusive North Shore Pearl exterior color, inspired by the natural beauty of the Lake Tahoe area. The Prologue also pulled from the Honda e EV auto that was sold outside North America with the flowing front fascia, 21" standard wheels to give the SUV a capable and planted look. The natural beauty of fresh fallen snow on the surrounding mountain tops of the Lake Tahoe area was inspiration for the exclusive use of Charcoal and light grey interior colors. Prologue will keep the great outdoors open feeling by having a panoramic roof and yet showcase a tech-rich cabin with a standard fully digital 11" driver display and a 11.3" audio/connectivity display. Prologue details are as follows: Wheelbase - 121.8" (8 inches longer and 5 inches wider than a 2023 Honda CR-V) Overall length - 192" Width - 78.3" Height - 64.7" Wheel Diameter - 21" AWD available at launch This is the start of what Honda has stated is the "YEAR of the HONDA SUV" All-new models of the HR-V, CR-V and Pilot, play key roles in preparing for volume Honda EV sales that begin in 2024 with the Prologue per Honda's press release. Gary Robinson, vice president, automobile planning and strategy of America Honda stated the following: "We are not going to wait until 2024 to attract EV buyers, because we see a natural progression for a CR-V customer to Prologue with its slightly larger size, larger interior and capable handling," "We will support that transition now by putting smart strategies in place with the CR-V hybrid, that will enable our customers to transition to an EV." Honda made the following statement on their current and future sales plan. Honda’s research shows that hybrid-electric customers are among the first to move into full-electric products. Honda plans to increase the model mix of the 2023 CR-V to 50% hybrid sales and will offer customers of the CR-V hybrid a shorter term, two-year lease in ZEV states when that model comes to market in fall 2022. This will enable a customer in targeted markets to easily transition into a Prologue when the new EV launches in 2024. In this way, the company’s increasing hybrid sales volume will help grow a future EV customer base. More details on the Prologue will be released in the coming months with customers encouraged to sign up for updates at: 2024 Honda Prologue – Fully Electric SUV | Honda Honda Electrification Rollout Toward its global goal to achieve carbon neutrality for all products and corporate activities by 2050, Honda will introduce 30 new EVs globally by 2030, with a global sales volume of 2 million units. In North America, Honda has laid out an aggressive timeline of EV introductions based on three initial phases leading to 2030 and ultimately to 100% zero-emission automobile sales by 2040: 2024: Begin sales of the Honda Prologue, co-developed with GM 2026: Begin sales of Honda models based on Honda e:Architecture to be produced by Honda in North America. 2027: Begin sales of a new series of affordable EVs co-developed with GM, also produced by Honda in North America. Honda also recently announced an agreement to establish a joint venture to produce lithium-ion batteries in the U.S. to power Honda and Acura EV models for the North American market. View full article

This is one of the better documented stories on a Tesla S P85D, a 6-figure car that bricked itself while on the highway and just instant stopped from mid 2021. A Tesla Bricking Itself On The Highway Shows EVs Have A N Issue (jalopnik.com) Yet, I am also finding plenty of Tesla current stories on bricking after software update, ram failure, etc. It is across all 4 models even the Platinum have bricked. So Guess Tesla is not as rock solid as expected. OUCH, just found this, a class action lawsuit against Tesla. Seems Tesla is not willing to cover the cost of a failed OTA EMMC flash update. BRICKED TESLA - Is your Tesla Model X or S not working? If your main 17" screen is dead, you may have a case. Interesting, I think the fact that GM took this into account with a hard to get too yes based on the videos you posted @ccap41 switch to get a reset and the Hummer rolling where this option is not in the Tesla shows at least GM realized issues could happen and the need to get it to roll out of the way was much needed.

Good Luck Drew, I hope you have minimal side effects. Most are not having any issues with the Flu Vaccine and Latest Booster this time around.

IKEA has a XMAS smorgasboard? Never heard of it or seen it. This is offered in their small restaurant?

GM is making good progress on their battery production sites. Newsroom New | Technology Focused | Ultium Cells LLC

Tesla has some real competition on their hands and Hyundai has stepped up their game to make me say Check to Tesla. Musk better focus on running the company and not his mouth. Hyundai IONIQ 6 Relieves Range Anxiety with 614 Kilometers Per Charge - Hyundai Newsroom The Ioniq 6 is here to challenge the Tesla 3 and they have long range covered. Like Tesla, the RWD car has a 614 kilometers per charge range equal to 382 miles per their press release. I noticed that in rereading the press release, Hyundai says all their EVs on the E-GMP platform gives their entire product line an 800V ultra-fast charging of 10% to 80% in 18 minutes. Without any additional components or adapters, the EVs can also work at 400V meaning they can maximize the speed of a Tesla Super Charger. Tesla currently only supports the following: Super Chargers V1 and V2 up to 150 kW Super Chargers V3 up to 250 kW charging Kia/Hyundai current charging support CCS is 800V or 350 kW charging 400V is for backwards compatibility with Superchargers. Seems according to testing V3 barely saves 2 minutes over V1 & 2 charging at 150 kW versus 250 kW. No way one can go back and re-engineer an update to make Tesla compatible with 800V charging spec. As such as Chevrolet moves the Bolt and Bolt EUV onto a Ultium platform if they keep the auto alive once Equinox comes out, Tesla is going to have a hard time charging a premium for a slow boat to China charge. At this point, Tesla is behind the industry as everyone else has signed on to the CCS 800V spec. If your wanting to know more about the CCS charging standard, read here: Combined Charging System (CCS) - OpenECU | Embedded Control by Dana

This year, the auto industry is seeing a wide range of battery investments from all players into various college startups from new denser versions of traditional Lithium-ion batteries to solid-state lithium batteries. GM and OneD Battery Sciences have signed a joint research development agreement focused on the potential use of OneD's silicon nanotechnology in GM's Ultium battery cells to drive increased energy density for long range and reduced cost. GM Ventures and Volta Energy Technologies participated in a joint Series C funding round, which raised $25 million for OneD funding. What is this joint research agreement about one would ask and the answer is SINANODE platform. The SINANODE platform is OneD's new Lithium-ion cell technology that uses silicon to significantly increase battery density. Silicon is well known to store 10 times more energy than graphite. OneD's technology is in adding more silicon onto the anode battery cells by fusing silicon nanowires into EV-grade graphite. This increase in energy density can open the door to smaller, lighter, more efficient battery packs that could achieve higher driving range at a lower cost. Example is the GMC Hummer Ultium Battery pack: Current Battery pack: 220 kWh in size with a usable 200 kWh weighing 2,923 lbs from 24 modules, 24 cells each for a total of 576 pouch cells in a battery pack that fills the complete underside between all four tires for an estimated 350 miles of range. OneD's SINANODE Battery pack estimate: Existing battery pack size and configuration would mean a 2,200 kWh battery pack, with a range of 3,500 miles at a weight of 2,923 lbs. Reduced to the same output would give you a 22kWh battery pack at 293 lbs for 350 miles. Yet with such a weight reduction, one could expect to get a few more miles out of the battery pack then. GM has designed the Ultium platform to be very flexible and as such, the collaboration with OneD will focus on this advancement in EV range, performance and cost allowing GM to scale to more than one million EV production by 2025. One Ultium cell production plant has begun production of cells in Ohio, with 3 more plants to come online by early 2023. What is this silicon nanowires technology? Per OneD Battery Sciences CEO Vincent Pluvinage: “We believe that the winners of the EV race will be those who can effectively add more silicon to the battery cell, in a way that doesn’t disrupt existing supply chains and processes,” OneD has been working on this technology of Silicon Nanowires for 15 years that has led to over 240 granted patents. This has enabled OneD's business model to focus on licensing the SINANODE technology to industry partners like GM for faster scaling of manufacturing at a lower cost. The current funding will allow OneD to further SINANODE R&D plus move forward with a full pilot production line to provide OEMs and battery manufacturers like LG and Samsung the ability to incorporate the integration of this technology into existing production lines in manufacturing pouch cell for various sized battery packs. Check out the website for even more details of this EV battery technology. OneD Battery Sciences SINANODE Per OneD's own website, Silicon Simplified. Silicon nanowire-infused (SiNW) graphite is the centerpiece of SINANODE's Silicon Technology Platform which also includes a fully developed manufacturing process/scale-up plan and flexible cell design options. SINANODE delivers: Tripled energy capacity of the anode Faster charging speeds Greater Power Reduced graphite Lower cost per kWh Reduced carbon footprint Currently before this silicon solution, the expansion and breakage of silicon limited the amount used to an extremely small percentage with only modest performance gains. SINANODE silicon nanowire technology is according to OneD the only silicon solution that meets the technical and economic challenges to insert large quantities of silicon efficiently allowing the creation of high-performance battery cells for all levels of EVs from High-performance to affordable efficient subcompacts. Check out more details on the SINANODE web page: SINANODE - OneD Battery Sciences (onedsinanode.com) View full article

I honestly have a ton of respect for the Engineering divisions that have built the motors, controllers, battery pack and the leadership Tesla employees have given in moving the auto industry forward. I really hope that the Board wakes up, stops rubber stamping a narcissistic CEO and brings in a professional to build Tesla beyond this crazy startup phase.

I see your looking at vehicles which I did not look at, I looked at new inventory which only shows the Mercedes-EQ option and under it EQS, so for inventory it is off from the Vehicles. Thanks,

I would give you that as correct, but Mercedes USA does not even list the EQB as a model. That is pretty bad, they have had plenty of time to have updated the website that the EQB is a model you can buy or pre-order.

True, while I have not heard of any Mach-e or Lightings bricking themselves, I have heard of plenty of other issues. But so has Rivian and Tesla, so the early stage is always hard, but hopefully next year will be smooth especially as GM and Ford ramp up their EV inventory and models.

@ccap41 I did not think to check Autotrader for the EQB. One would think Mercedes if really vested in the EVs would have their website current with models and inventory. The EQB is as ugly as the rest of the family. Interesting is why does the local Mercedes dealership website not show this model or inventory but Autotrader does for the EV. That I find very interesting and telling of Mercedes upper management and lack of commitment to their EVs when the company website and dealership websites do not show it as an available model.

Yes low prices will allow more to move to EVs. Wrong, Mercedes has only the EQS sedan at dealerships. There is NO EQB or EQS SUV at least here on the west coast as the dealerships show none in inventory. They do have pre-orders that are being taken along with the EQE SUV that is supposed to be on dealership lots by the end of this year. I also just checked the mbusa.com website and for new vehicles, the only available inventory is for the EQS sedan. Even if I go by class there is no EQB listed on their website and again as I stated above, pre-orders are being taken, but while Mercedes has stated fall 2022 for importing the EQB into the U.S., there seems to not be any actually here yet. Maybe the parts shortage is to blame. Again, Tesla has had 3 years to ramp up production of both auto and battery packs. Kia/Hyundai started this year in Korea building for a global market. 36,000 year to date for 2022 sales here is great compared to what GM and others have done in their first year. Yes, they are losing their tax credit as to why they are moving production to the U.S. next year. This is even better than the initial actual deliveries of the Mach-e for their first year.

I understand that they are two different EVs. Yet the first even for Tesla had plenty of issues once you get it out of a controlled Engineering environment. Heck we have seen that even with ICE autos that had issues. Some are willing to be first in having the auto, others like me will wait to work out the kinks first. I suspect that the Hummer is a way to work out the kinks before the Chevrolet Silverado, Equinox and Blazer EV go into production.

True, there are plenty of challenges for all OEMs right now as they enter into the EV world. Tesla is the leader, but I will be surprised if by the end of 2023 they still are especially with how well Kia/Hyundai has been doing. GM/Ford should have paid attention to the details like Kia/Hyundai did for their EVs. I admit that the dealership experience even at Kia/Hyundai has been up and down like everyone else. Some Dealerships are all in on EV and others hate em. So, this will still be a problem I believe over this decade during the transition. I expect more dealerships to get in line with the OEMs once they have like you said 30 to 50 alternative EVs available to sell and customers look at going EV. GM family of EVs all include a 220V charger installed in one's garage or you get a charging card for the first 3 years if you are in an Apartment or condo and have no way to have the charger. Pretty much anywhere you are, the world is in a catch up with charging for EVs. We Took Australia’s Cheapest EV on a 1,000km Road Trip and We Have Some Thoughts (msn.com) While this story is interesting, I do have to shake my head at the person. It does prove that not all charging is fast or working and also there is much for the public to learn about to ensure that they can be successful with an EV. I rented an electric car for a 4-day road trip. I spent more time charging it than I did sleeping. | Fox Business I will say that I think GM is right in having this FYI website for EVs. GM EV Live | Virtual Showroom

Yes, but even on my company Slack channel for social-autos it is amazing to see people post how fed up they are with Tesla. The sales process to repairs under warranty. Clearly Tesla needs a Leader who can focus on the business and communicate with out bringing in their own personal agenda. Elon Musk’s Antics Turn Owners and Would-Be Buyers Against Tesla (yahoo.com) As I posted this in Random, will now also post it here. People are holding off and waiting for other OEMs. Tesla might have the backlog on sales, but I would question just how well they will do in 2023 as other OEMs get both battery capacity and auto production online in quantity. We have also see plenty of posts by people for Mach-e that they liked it over Tesla, missed a few things Tesla did, but over all fit n finish to driving was superior in many ways. Now we have plenty of reports by past Tesla owners who have bought the Kia/Hyundai twins and say it is the new standard. I am willing to bet this time next year, Tesla will not be in the same position it is today. Like with Politicians, the public is fed up and with Musk, this is becoming very clear, the public is getting fed up and the love of Tesla is being affected.

Thanks for posting. Part of what you get for being the first for the new tech. Always will find things that the real world will break. It will only make it better as they improve the Hummer.

So again you do not look at the big picture. The Kia and Hyundai only just this year started production and sales. The EV credit being up in the air for those not produced here, sales are solid. Tesla is not all that and I have posted about this before as Musk is an Idiot in thinking he can speak the trash out of his mouth and not affect the company. Many are turned off from Tesla. On top of this is Tesla always being 3 to 5 years late in actually delivering product and this year the company even said they have no interest in producing a cheaper model at this time. Then add in that NO ONE has brought on massive battery capacity yet and are just starting production. VW also only started local production this year to make more ID EVs. You have a perfect Chicken and Egg issue here where companies are working to bring online both production of EVs and Battery capacity. Once all gets up to speed and any component shortages which even Tesla has been affected by are ironed out and then we will see true competition. Wait and see before you speak the same trash that Tesla is it and Musk is god crap. Your FAILED Mercedes has NOT Delivered on The Best or Nothing in the EV industry. Currently Next to NOTHING! No the EQS is not a Volume production auto for the masses, EQE only last month started production here in the U.S. and is not even to dealerships yet. EQB is not even here and struggling to get going in Europe and Asia. What is the Excuse for Mercedes Failure?

Interesting read and I have to agree with much of what is stated. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-antics-turn-owners-080036228.html

I find it interesting that you can find and read stories about International Harvester being brought to market by VW as a serious Off-road EV product in SUV and Truck Form. VW's International Harvester Scout will reportedly be a true off-roader | Autoblog They always show images like this from the story above. Which on one hand says they are coping the general look of the Rivian R1T and R1S, but then I also see some of the Atlas Tanoak truck too. It will be interesting if we ever actually see a Scout for sale in the U.S. The best info I can find is this New Startup venture by VW to focus on a true off-road company that will build and sell the Scout in SUV and Truck form. Global Volkswagen Group strengthens leadership to advance NEW AUTO strategy in North America - Volkswagen US Media Site (vw.com) Here they say prototypes will be revealed in 2023 with production starting 2026. The Scout Brand is Coming Back as a Rugged Electric Vehicle (newsweek.com) 2026 Scout electric truck (pickup): Everything we know (topelectricsuv.com)

Yes, this is a common side affect with the booster and flu this year. Moderna seems to be worse than Pfizer, not sure why when they are both using the same MNRA vaccine technology, but it is. Strange that you are getting it from the Pfizer side, but not uncommon for some. Rest and sleep, it will pass fast.

Agree that the whole Quirky to be Quirky is over for most buyers and that Kia and Hyundai choose to stay close to their current styling. I feel for GM, they started the Style of the EV on their ICE and the EV is the next generation of it. Much like how Cadillac started with Arts & Science style and evolved that before the blah current design of the CUV/SUV. I do like the new style of the LYRIQ EVs. Will be interesting to see how things evolve this decade as the auto industry moves into EVs and air streaming for battery efficiency plays out.

Seems Chevrolet is ramping up the marketing of their EVs. An Electrifying Future For Everyone | Chevrolet Family Photo of the current products coming out by 2023. Reese Witherspoon is the new Voice of Buick! An Electrifying Future Ahead | Discover Buick Check out the cool info on current ICE auto's and their EVs to come.

At the same time, give an EV style and it will sell well, just look at the success that the Kia and Hyundai EVs are having. Out of all the German brands, VW is Blah, Mercedes is Blah, BMW is butt ugly, Audi is the only one with a style that is nice and fits in with the ICE family. That same approach can win and that is why I think the Chevrolet EVs will do well. Be interesting to see what else Ford brings out and Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep/Ram as well as Buick/GMC. We know the style of Cadillac. Will be an interesting rest of this decade to see how the EV wars play out.