G. David Felt

HellBoy

So lets put this in perspective as our recently more than quiet MB fan used to talk about the quality of MB years ago and how it was worth $1,500. Back in 2006 when New the MB headlight assembly based on my memory was $1,500 and the Escalade then was $500. Now I look and see that the Escalade headlight assembly for my 2006 is $164 dollars give or take a dollar based on which GM parts web site you look at. So the Escalade headlight assembly has dropped by more than 50% over 14 years. So the MB headlight assembly is still about half price and 3 times more expensive than the Escalade assembly to replace. Yes you and @Robert Hall are correct that the bulbs are what you replace more often and my HID bulbs for the Escalade as I did just last year replace both to get full brightness back were $90.00 each. Looking at the GL450 I see they had Xenon lights not HID and as such those bulbs are $86 each.

Easy, considering how we all have complained at one time or another about the lack of Cadillac Luxury, it is nice and to be pointed out that they themselves is talking about it which has not happened in the past and so is looking to return to a true luxury competitor. Mercedes Benz has and always still seems to be buggy in electronics and expensive to repair. Example is that my Escalade head light to replace is $500 but Mercedes SUV is $1,500. That is a big difference for an SUV that is half the size and to me questionable quality over my Escalade that has been rock solid for the last 14 years. Two different posts, two different things to talk about, I did not pull them together and do not see it as a Bias, just pointing out what I see. Pretty much everyone here has talked about how BMW and MB are lease appliances due to cost of repairs after going off warranty.

Thanks for that info, what I found was what I posted on, did not see any articles about New Jersey going with an implementation goal of emissions reduction as my searches showed it joined California in that ban mandate. Did finally find this news story that correlates with you about the 80% reduction and that they are looking to still ban new ice auto sales by 2035. Will be interesting to see what happens. Will New Jersey be next to place a ban on gas vehicles? | EVANNEX Aftermarket Tesla Accessories

According to the Electrek web site, the Cadillac Lyriq will start at less than $60,000 as a luxury SUV to compete against Tesla. Cadillac unveils Lyriq electric crossover’s infotainment system as new EVs aim to compete with Tesla UX (electrek.co) I have to wonder if they mean $59,995 which is pretty common for GM to use to say they are underneath a certain price point. Reality, I expect this to be in the high $60,000's to a more common mid $70,000 range.

Cadillac EV News Cadillac released today the first actual info and images of the new LYRIQ interior dash and WOW very Luxurious! 33 inch display, Next generation HUD. People will get even more details and a look at the actual interior dash display at this January 2021 CES Show which last I checked is a virtual online show. Delivering-Electric-Luxury.mp4 Cadillac Looks Outside Automotive Industry to Deliver Next-Generation User Experience To quote the Cadillac Press Release at the link above: Visit GMExhibitZero.com starting Jan. 12 to learn more about Cadillac’s next generation displays. Cadillac-Looks-Outside-Automotive-Industry-to-Deliver-Next-Generation-User-Experience.mp4

Another state joins the ICE ban mandate. Massachusetts has stated new ICE auto's will not be allowed for sale starting in 2035. This will help the state meet their 2050 Decarbonization Road Map. Massachusetts is the 3rd state following New Jersey who also set 2035 as the last year for new ICE auto sales in the state which is also following California with their 2035 ban of all ICE related new auto's. Mass. to require all new cars sold to be electric by 2035 as part of climate-change measures - The Boston Globe Massachusetts to Ban Sale of New Gas-Powered Cars by 2035 (caranddriver.com)

Latest EV News Mercedes-Benz EQS Luxury EV car will have a full-dash Hyperscreen Interface. Considering that there are NO BUTTONS, touch screen dash, one has to wonder how expensive this will cost to repair / replace when a pixel goes out, area stops responding, etc. Cool Tech, but WOW, big single plane of glass for an interface is crazy IMHO. Mercedes-Benz EQS electric luxury car will debut full-dash Hyperscreen interface (greencarreports.com)

Excellent capture of the crazy moment in time and history now. Thanks for posting.

DeadPool

Yes in the Matrix they are! Love this story and all the pictures about the Luxury years of Flying in a Boeing 377 Stratocruiser! Who knew that it only held 100 people, had beds and had a social lounge along with made to order French food. Cool read for those that would love to live and fly in the 50's. Boeing Stratocruisers were retired in 1961 as they made way for the faster and more capacity of people and freight Boeing 707 and 737. Boeing 377 Stratocruiser: Pan Am's luxury era of overhead beds and caviar | CNN Travel

This was interesting, pretty cool, wonder if anyone will actually use a limo like this. Sadly they kept all the cheap plastic inside. Yes, Someone Really Made a Dodge Challenger Limousine With Quad Gullwing Doors (thedrive.com)

CentOS

Interesting story on the NHTSA write ups on Tesla and their poor fit n finish. The pictures are amazing as while Tesla has been known for their power trains and battery tech, their suspension along with everything else is very poor quality based on the images and complaints. These Repair Bulletins for Tesla's Quality Problems Are Downright Embarrassing—and Serious (thedrive.com)

Fake News! What Fake news source did you pull this from? Where is the hard GM link on this? I have posted before the GM released news from their site saying the BOLT EUV was to be on the new BEV3 platform and then BOLT would be updated to it also.

Peppercorn Pasta, Yummy ? Three-Pepper Cacio e Pepe Recipe - Liz Mervosh | Food & Wine (foodandwine.com)

Thanks @William Maley Great to hear from you, what you been doing and that you are doing your best like the rest of us to survive this crazy pandemic. Wishing you and your family all the best.

Now that I have gone to work from home full time, I honestly cannot see giving up my 2hrs a day to go into an office when everything I do can be done remotely. Like you, I do like sleeping in till 5am rather than 4am when I would get up and get going to catch the bus into Seattle for my early concalls with Cork Ireland. I honestly see no value to having people go into an office versus Zoom and working at home. Cheaper for the companies and better work / Life balance for Employees. I think many companies will see the value in not having to provide commercial office space. Higher profits, lower costs for the company.

Down Voted as you went political here.

Wrong, GM has stated that the upcoming BOLT EUV will be on their new Ultium platform as the refresh of the BOLT will also move to that platform. Current 2020/2021 BOLTs are on the current platform. The EUV is NOT in production yet. GM clearly stated it will be on the new Ultium platform. Originally this new platform was to start being used on the BOLT/BOLT EUV in 2020 as a 2021 model but was delayed due to the pandemic. Current BOLTs on the lots are on the old platform. With that we also have the first look of the all new Headlights that will be on the 2022 BOLT EUV. GM Reveals New Ultium Batteries and a Flexible Global Platform to Rapidly Grow its EV Portfolio 2022-Bolt-EUV-Signature-Lighting-First-Look.mp4 Chevrolet Shares First Look at 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV Signature Lighting (gm.com)

You Nailed it my friend. I think what Robert is thinking of as I am also is Chevrolet and Ford that have both said they need EVs for the masses and GM at least has stated that the new EV platform that the BOLT, BOLT EUV will come on will help deliver the lower price points. Rumors have it that the BOLT EUV will take over current BOLT pricing and the update BOLT will drop in price, but again that is a Rumor and one we will have to wait on. I totally agree with you that we need EVs starting from $19,995 and on up for the masses.

VW EV News Due to sell out demand of the VW ID.4 1st Edition SUV for the US market, management has decided to add another batch of this auto for sale. This is VW first Global EV built on their all new MEB platform. ID.4 Electric SUV will start at $39,995 which will be available starting at the end of 2021 while the 1st edition ID.4 is now shipping to dealers for delivery to the early buyers who had reservations. 1st Edition started at $43,995. VW also has the ID.5 to 7 comping over the next 18 months. VW makes new batch of ID.4 1st Edition electric SUVs for the US - Electrek VW roadmap: Expect an electric Kombi in 2022, followed by electric mini cars (thedriven.io) As they say, Common Sense is NOT SO COMMON as I see in your own posts.

EV Charging News EVBox Group has announced that even with the Pandemic, they doubled their EV charging stations from 100,000 at the end of 2019 to 200,000 at the end of 2020 and planted 100,000 trees. In Q1 of 2021 EVBox will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. They have a focus and are on track to have 1 million charge ports up and operational by 2023. EVBox Group 2020 highlights EVBox Group platform, Everon, launched its new EV Charge App—a white label mobile app packed with useful features to help businesses attract EV drivers EVBox entered into new agreements with delighted customers and partners, such as Scania, Carrefour, The Mobility House, Solar, Severn Trent, Unilever, PSA Group, Flashparking, Momentum Groups and many more EVBox presented its new generation of DC fast charging solutions EVBox announced a new American manufacturing site in Libertyville EVBox delivered the first 20 DC fast chargers to customers in the state California The EVBox Lab Space officially opened, dedicated to flexible vehicle testing EVBox Group HQ moved to a new office space in Amsterdam EVBox optimized its supply chain to prepare for future growth Continuous investment in EVBox Group’s R&D department EVBox announced plans to become a public company via a business combination with TPG Pace Beneficial Finance and initial investors BlackRock, Inclusive Capital Partners, Neuberger Berman Funds, and Wellington Management EVBox Group consolidates its global leadership by reaching the milestone of 200,000 installed charge ports worldwide | EVBox Newsroom Rivian News Rivian had in 2019 raised $1.3 billion from Ford, Amazon and Cox Automotive group in funding. In 2020 they raised another $2.5 billion from existing investors and T. Rowe Price. Now in 2021, Rivian according to Bloomberg is planning on expanding way beyond their current single factory as they look to be a global player in personal and commercial auto's. What the exact amount is they are looking for is unknown at this time, but the early talks has Rivian valued at $25 Billion dollars. Ford by comparison currently is valued at $33 Billion. Going to be an interesting year. Rivian is closing in on more financing at massive $25 billion valuation - Electrek

EV Controller News Already we have seen talk of the Volvo EV's having bi-directional chargers and concepts from Japan and Korea as well as here in the US talking about the ability to have EVs give back to the grid if power was needed. Yet at the end of 2020 we still had single direction Power Controllers. January 5th 2020 Bel Power Solutions announced their new Bi-Directional on-board charger that will allow auto's hooked up to reverse the flow of power from the battery pack to what ever source is needed. This opens up a wide range of uses for the EVs battery power pack. Charged EVs | Bel Power Solutions announces bi-directional on-board charger - Charged EVs

EV news for the State of NY. NY is starting with $2.5 million to buy EV school buses and $16.4 million to buy EV public buses and charging infrastructure. This money is coming from the settlement that VW paid to NY under the Diesel gate scandal. Charged EVs | State of New York announces transit and school bus electrification initiatives - Charged EVs MOSFETs have been used in auto's, specifically ICE auto's for decades, but they have never had to deal with the power requirements of EVs. Nexperia has now tested and will take to production MOSFETs that can support 1 Billion cycles of high energy use. This will benefit for longer term life both existing ICE auto's but more importantly support the move to EVs where charging cycles and power across a wide range of voltage and temperatures will be needed. Charged EVs | Nexperia's new AEC-Q101 MOSFETs tested to 1 billion cycles - Charged EVs