G. David Felt

Excellent read on the pros and cons of an 800V system. Why 800V High Voltage System makes more sense for EVs? - Wheels On Roll After reading this, it tends to imply that an auto company that is not building 800V EVs is due to NOT having the required components in place for production due to the need for higher quality SIC and GaN MOSFET inverters. Why 800V High Voltage System makes more sense for EVs? - Wheels On Roll

After reading the insideev review of the EQS SUV, I would have to tell people to hold off on buying a Mercedes and if they wanted an EV now, buy Kia, Hyundai, Ford, Audi, VW, Porsche or BMW if they want a full 800V charging system. Yes GM is also in the system, but at this time only the GMC Hummer is 800V and not readily available. BOLT is a 350V system equal to Tesla. This makes me wonder if the Chevrolet Equinox will replace the BOLT or if Chevrolet will go with a BOLT on the Ultium platform down the road. ?

One of the first EQS SUV reviews out and I have to say I laughed at the excuses Mercedes gave for this EV only having a 400V electrical system. They were also quick to point out that the next generation system will be a 800V system that will come out in 2024 for all EVs globally then. This tells me Mercedes is not ready unlike Porsche, Audi, BMW and American and Korean auto companies that are currently building to the 800V specification of charging. 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV First Drive: Commodious, Luxurious, Capable (insideevs.com) Interesting ?

This makes me dislike Tesla even more. This move to cheapen the auto and take away features temporarily till they can make the features work with cameras only reinforces me not willing to touch a Tesla as I think this is a gamble by Tesla to increase profits at the risk of human life. Tesla bets on cameras, drops ultrasonic sensors, pauses some features (greencarreports.com)

A random Bricking is not like the early days of ICE when you had to crank and hope you could turn over your motor. One could say if that was the case, then fck it, I stay with a horse. ? I have seen more and more Hondas broken down on the side of the road, so who knows. Yes you would think a very conservative auto company like Honda would not allow it's EV to Brick, but then sadly their current Hybrids have been broken down in places I never thought I would see them. Time will tell and I suspect the Bricking issue will be resolved by the time Blazer, Equinox come out. I honestly have searched and not found a single Bricking issue for the Chevrolet Bolt.

Yes, but then maybe since I grew up working on auto's, I took it as convoluted but still a process for a new era of a new auto, first of its kind for GM. I honestly do not think it was top of the list for the engineers which we have seen for ICE autos with some of the head scratching what the hell was engineering thinking when they put this filter here or required this stuff removed to do a supposedly basic maintenance. I think at this early of a stage, bricking is an expected possible issue for all EVs as we move to everything electric and drive by wire. I am sure as they make more and hit various issues, engineering will say DOH, why did we not think of it at the start, but not everything can be caught at the start of a Revolution. Be interesting to see what Honda does about this in their Ultium based SUV.

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.