G. David Felt

Interesting to see how people seem to think there are no lower priced EVs when there are. The big issue is that most people do not want the base EVs, they want the fully loaded all the bells and whistles and as such, we are not seeing those sell. I agree that as the charging networks expand and prices come down, that we will see more adoption of the lower maintenance longer lasting EVs over the high maintenance ICE auto's. I also agree with you that the whole push for ICE auto's with 3 banger motors is a joke. Turbo all they want, the life of those engines are going to be short.

Duck Burger

Amazing how many spiders are out this year around my house. What Long Legs you have said the Spider to the Hopper!

Pinacol

Q: What is Covid-19 Really called? ? ? ? A:The Boomer Remover! I have convinced my grandma that the baby boomers are as dependent on technology as us. When she said " you millennials are so addicted to technology" I quickly glanced at her life support. That was the last time she said it.

Yes reality is complex and prices are high as most people focus on them, but there are EV options that cost less, but people want everything, they want all the bells and whistles as to why it seems humanity ignores the lower priced options. 2020 starting prices of on sale EVs from Edmunds. Prices before rebates https://www.edmunds.com/electric-car/articles/cheapest-electric-cars/ 2020 Mini Cooper SW - $30,750 2020 Nissan Leaf - $32,535 2020 Hyundai Ioniq - $34,000 2020 Chevrolet Bolt - $37,495 2020 Tesla Model 3 - $41,190 2019 BMW i3 - $45,445 2020 Jaguar i-Pace - $70,875 Plug-in Hybrids 2020 Hyundai Ioniq Plug-in - $26,300 2020 Toyota Prius Prime - $28,555 2020 Kia Niro Plug-in - $30,610 2020 Subaru Crosstek Plug-in - $36,155 These are the cheapest starting prices for the models and there are still more but not covering the higher priced models here. Edmunds did a good job for those looking for an EV.

Ran out to pickup lunch from Sparta's and saw this Cherry Datsun in the parking lot. Way better looking than anything on the Mercedes-Benz lot next door.

That is no different than an ICE auto especially during say a NJ or Texas ICE Storm and you have no access without chipping at the gas lid to get it open when you are out of gas and need to fill cause you did not fill it up the night before. Yes in places of harder winter weather there will always be challanges for EV or ICE. After all, if you get water in the tank you ICE Auto is not going to run very well a problem you never have to worry about with EV's. EV versus ICE Auto Revelations: REVELATION - ICE owners say they do not have range anxiety because of the sheer number of gas stations across the US. Even on some of the longest stretches of road you still can find a gas station within 150 miles of each other. Example is the I70 in Utah, one of the longest stretches of highway without gas service, 110 miles. On average, AAA states you can find a gas station every 50 miles in the US. If the gas stations also included EV chargers like what is happening in Europe, Fast DC chargers, an EV with even only a range of 100 miles could easily do a road trip, Sadly the gas industry has fought this as it would have disrupted the auto industry decades ago. Tesla has supercharging stations within 150 miles of 99% of the US Population and the Tesla's have far greater range than 100 miles. REVELATION - If you forget to fill up with gas, you in no better situation than an EV owner who forgot to plug in the night before at home and ends up leaving home in the morning with minimal charge. More than a CENTURY LATER, we still have people running out of gas all the time on the side of the road. So this is about Planning that is NOT attributable to the auto's range performance in any way. Range anxiety only happens when your on a road, 80 miles from the closest gas station or charging station and you only have 20 miles left of charge or gas. That is bad planning, even that excuse is no longer valid due to the number of Charging Stations including Tesla charge points available on all major highways. Statista says the US has 24,807 official charging stations as of March 3rd 2020 with 78,544 Charging outlets. This is also supported by our own U.S. Department of Energy. https://afdc.energy.gov/fuels/electricity_stations.html https://www.statista.com/statistics/416750/number-of-electric-vehicle-charging-stations-outlets-united-states/ We also have other source sites that break this data down for those of us that do not pay for the detailed access and publish it such as Electrek on how the stations break down across states. https://muchneeded.com/electric-vehicle-charging-network-statistics/ We also have options on how we charge which can be done so easily when we plan. REVELATION - IEA matches pretty much what Europe and Asia have stated that EV's / Plug-in Hybrids will rich critical mass by 2030 due to regulations and consumer preference in how ICE declines and EV's become the new standard. EV's cut CO2 emissions by Half even when you take into account Electricity produced by dirty energy means, AKA Coal, battery production compared to ICE auto's. Healthier air for all to breath and less noise pollution. https://www.iea.org/reports/global-ev-outlook-2019 Both Statistica and IBIS world report that the US has approximately 150,000 gas stations. Unable to get specific number as I do not have paid membership to either so can only go by their high level quote about their own report. Statistica says as of 2018 we have 273.6 million registered auto's. As such that means we have 1 gas station for every 1,824 auto's registered. Compared to the current 3,283,200 EV / PHEV auto's registered in the US. This would equate to 1 charging station for every 132 EV auto's. This would imply that it is easier to find a charging station than a gas station. So this cearly shows a 1 to 1,824 ratio for ICE and 1 to 132 ratio for EV. https://www.statista.com/statistics/183505/number-of-vehicles-in-the-united-states-since-1990/ https://www.statista.com/topics/4421/the-us-electric-vehicle-industry/ REVELATION - The median average range of an ICE auto is 412 miles which means that half of the auto's on the road cannot go 400 miles on a full tank of gas. This shows how impressive a 300 mile battery pack is for an EV. So what does all this mean? We are very close to a tipping point for the majority of auto buyers where ICE / gas will no longer be the pull one would expect and folks will be giving up their old way of thinking about range anxiety, charging stations concerns, stuck on the road with no power. After all AAA now comes to you with either gas or a charge to get you to the next station. Over all while most people do not really need 300 miles of range, we are at that point where people are not going to think about it and will just go with the low cost maintenance appliance to get from point A to B and back. Are we there yet? No but we will be in the next 5 years.

Panasonic has announced today their 5yr plan for the battery cells they supply Tesla and any other company that purchases the Panasonic battery cells. Currently Panasonic has started production of their new 2170 battery cell and set two mile stones for enhancing the battery cell. 5 years from now, Panasonic will have increased battery density by 20% as the 2170 will start off 5% more density than the prior battery cell. Panasonic also will be going cobalt free by then if not sooner. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-panasonic-tesla-exclusive/exclusive-panasonic-aims-to-boost-energy-density-in-tesla-batteries-by-20-executive-idUSKCN24V1GB

Unique

Deals, Deals and more Deals.

One would assume they have tested for this since that seems a logical QA test case in development be it an auto or any other product.

Salmon berry

Gooseberry

For less techy people I can understand your view point. Like the Cadillac ELR, it was a button on the fob that would pop open the sealed charging port. I would expect that here too but also GM has already stated with their new Nervous system that is more powerful than many super computers, over air updates with complete Phone App control of your auto. I expect you to be able to program based on what GM has already stated the auto to handle all 4 seasons. You can set or choose if you need heat, AC, Heated seats or cooled as well as heated steering wheel, etc. The future is phone apps to customize your EV for the region you live in.

Diesel is DEAD at BMW. They have stated they are killing it off. https://www.motor1.com/news/436740/bwm-says-goodbye-quad-turbo/ Keeping the old Dinosaurs alive by dropping prices is what Toyota is doing for the Tundra 4Runner and Land Cruiser. https://www.motor1.com/news/436635/toyota-off-road-model-pricing/ Interesting story that the F-150 SVT Lighting truck might come back in 2021. https://www.motor1.com/news/436572/ford-f-150-svt-rendering/

Kia Soul was a Compliance EV and nothing similar with the Kona EV, Kona EV / Niro EV use the same bits and the updated Kia Soul EV that is not coming here also uses the same Kona Bits. InsideEVs did a good job covering the compliance EV and how it will change. https://insideevs.com/news/336974/new-kia-soul-ev-to-ride-on-kona-platform-go-186-miles-per-charge/

NOT!!!

Chocolate!

EXT

Dunkin Donuts will close 800 stores due to pandemic. ? https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/dunkin-to-close-800-us-stores-as-pandemic-hurts-sales/ar-BB17nLND?ocid=msedgntp

Hertz is still an ongoing bankruptcy issue and has to repay $650 million to debt holder while selling off 200,000 used auto's by Dec 31st 2020 per this story. https://jalopnik.com/hertz-has-until-the-end-of-the-year-to-clear-out-almost-1844543558

LordsTown Motors has released their first video of the test mule truck Endurance. Showing it off as a working mans truck. Very cool to see actual working prototypes / mules. Like everyone else, due to the Pandemic, the production / release to preorder folks will start Summer 2021. Per their news release, the LordsTown pickup truck Endurance will have the following specifications at this time: Base Price $52,500 Safety Rating (Front, Side, Rollover) 5/5/4 ADAS-LDW, AEB, Rear Cross Traffic Alert Software, OTA (Over the Air Updates) Fault Monitoring - OTA real time EV Range (EPA cycle) 250+ miles Charging time (95% SOC, Level 2-7kW AC/Level 3 DC): 10hrs / .5 to 1.5hrs Off-board power for tools and accessory (stationary) 120B, 30 amp) Seating Capacity - 5 Towing Capacity - 7,500 lbs Drivetrain layout - 4 hub electric motors Brakes Front/Rear: Custom in hub motor brakes with regen Wheels: 20" Horsepower Peak 600 HP Electric Power Steering Assist Top Speed (software Governed): 80 mph Gradeability at GVW - 30% Warranty - 3yr bumper to bumper, 8 year battery warranty.

SRT

Latest sneak peek of the charging area on this upcoming EV.