G. David Felt

17 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

For what? To wear as a shoe? 

True, was a tight fit, but fun to test drive.  

11 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

Oh wow. A Niro?!?! What a great vehicle for mid-$30k. 

I don't know if it gets the full 7500 fed rebate, but the Mach-e starts at 40k. 

A Mach-e Premium starts at 43k -7500 = 35,500. 

Ionic 5 & 6 are in a similar boat. I'd assume the Kia versions are also the same or similar. 

There are good EVs out there for not a crazy amount of money but they're all on the smaller side. With the fed rebate, these fall in line with the likes of a Blazer that starts at 35,4k. 

Yes, Hyundai, Kia and Genesis EVs all get the full $7,500 rebate if you lease. This fall when production starts here in the US, then purchases will also get the full $7,500.

I always liked the Talon TSi AWD, was wanting to buy one, but life happens with a wife and kids.

1 hour ago, riviera74 said:

MId-$30K pricing is a little high for a KIA Niro EV.  At the same time, I would still rather see an EV like the Niro EV at about $27K, but a good start nonetheless.

Seems that with the EV5 and EV3 that Kia is planning to bring to market, we will see better EVs at cheaper prices. EV3 should be that mid $20K EV.

Good read, interesting info.

Hyundai Motor, Kia top Ford, GM in US EV sales with affordability (electrek.co)

2 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

Beautiful spring weather today.  Driving all 3 cars around.  

Time to have the driveway pressure washed, get all that black mold off and have a nice clean driveway. I will be doing that to mine once I finish my current projects.

I have the following Honda Motor based system. Would replace it with an Electric system if they had one, but seems the Electric pressure washing systems are behind the ICE systems. As such, this is the last ICE tool I have for the house other than my auto's.

BE PE-4013HWPSCOMZ-HWTB Professional 4000 PSI Gas - Cold Water Start Your Own Pressure Washing Business Kit w/ SS Frame, Comet Pump & Honda GX390 Engine (pressurewashersdirect.com)

1 hour ago, riviera74 said:

If Elon Musk got fired from Tesla, Tesla stock would rise 50% within one year.  Elon Musk is literally a boat anchor to shareholder value at Tesla and elsewhere.

OK, that is good.  Now if only EVs were cheap enough to replace a large chunk of the existing fleet of passenger vehicles in CA right now.  For the most part, brand new EVs are NOT CHEAP, and the median price of a new car is about $40K. The market is crying out for more affordable EVs if were are to reduce car-based pollution.

Agree, Fire Musk and see a considerable stock rise based on also getting a competent CEO that will run the company as a company.

Have you seen with the discounts you can get the Niro EV for $260 a month on Lease with the IRA rebate. Seems if you buy your looking at Mid-$30K price.

Hard facts that show EVs give us the clean air we all want.
We've been promised that EVs will lead to cleaner air. This Bay Area study just proved it - Fast Company

This is too funny.

'He Can't Even Tell He's An Idiot:' Elon Musk Furious As Ross Gerber Accuses Tesla CEO's 'Toxic' Behavior For 'Crappy' Q1 Sales And Demands Board Overhaul (UPDATED) (msn.com)

This is very cool news.

Electric Cars Pass Adoption Tipping Point in 31 Countries - Bloomberg

1 minute ago, ccap41 said:

I've never understood why fanboys care about fleet sales versus retail sales. Also, a decrease in 1.5% isn't like they've left the fleet sale market. 

Depreciation! 

Dominatrix

Very cool to see, happy GM is not the rental fleet bitch anymore.

DETROIT — General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) and its dealers increased retail sales by 6% year-over-year and delivered 594,233 vehicles in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2024, down 1.5% year-over-year due to lower fleet deliveries. GM continued its industry leadership in full-size pickup, full-size SUV and affordable small SUV sales, and its scaling of Ultium Platform EV production is on track.

U.S. Q1 Sales: Retail Deliveries Off to a Fast Start in 2024 (gm.com)

Cool a Compact Station Wagon has been confirmed to Motor1 along with pictures of the K4 Wagon. They can call it a hatchback or 5 door, but this is a compact station wagon.

The Kia K4 Hatchback Is Coming to the US (motor1.com)

Not sure where their pictures came from but are much sharper than Motor1 website.

The 2025 Kia K4 Wagon Is Coming to the US | The Drive

20 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

I just  recently saw this ... me and my smooth riding I.C.E. sedans ... and coupes, too.

What's baking in the oven here is mostly looking good.  Mostly.

Captivating enough front end ... nicer than that of Camry. A little too heavy handed on the grille, at least for the base model.

Attractive enough side windows in the greenhouse with nice lower sculpting and beltline/flank rounding at the rear passenger doors, and quality looking door handles.

The exhaust area is handled nicely and the rear lights are sort of thin, jellybean-like, and anticlimactic.  Also, it does NOT want to be a '60s Plymouth Barracuda, a '70s Mustang Mach I from a James Bond movie, nor today's Buick Envista.  Big demerits for what could turn out to be a 2 volume vehicle.

Clean it up some ...

then "just do it."

You can see some Camaro in those headlights DNA. Would be a Nice Impala replacement or Malibu replacement as a 4-door sedan with haunches. 

WOW, If this is what BYD is delivering, then Tesla/Musk needs to be scared, such a superior EV to Tesla 3.

BYD Seal Test Drive, Review: Elon Musk's Lucky It's Not on Sale in US (businessinsider.com)

This just proves that Apple has the WRONG leadership and is going down.

A CEO can be one of three things:

• Hatchet CEO that cuts up a company and sells off the parts for a golden parachute
• Stagnant CEO- Current Apple, can run the business to keep making money but has no ability to see the future and lead it to new levels.
• Visionary CEO - One who can make money and steer the company to new worlds of product / money making.

Apple is failing and clearly people should be aware that some Chinese companies are pushing the future of tech in all things including EVs.

Xiaomi Just Showed Apple a Smartphone Maker Can Make an Electric Car (businessinsider.com)

I have to say that I am very excited by this potential competitor to the Cadillac EscaladeIQ.

Both Full size Luxury SUVs.

Interiors

Yes I know the Genesis is a concept and the suicide doors and flip chairs will not make it to production, but I do hope those chair designs do as they look very comfy and supportive.

I have to say that I really like the exterior styling of the Genesis even more than the Escalade.

So three major problems with this car, one, terrible Jellybean external shape, not impressed at all with the style.

Second is the buttonless dash having everything via a touch screen and rotary knob, terrible safety issue as your eyes will be off the road more than on trying to find the right option in the right menu.

Third is the center pack clearly cuts into valuable leg space based on their own picture.

This is a hard pass.

Great Masculine shape, really digging the style they did here.

2 hours ago, ccap41 said:

The 3 OR Y outsell all of Cadillac. Selling nearly 2 million a year is pretty much a sht ton when you can't get in one for under 50k. If your ONLY comparison to attempt to bring Tesla down is a cheap Chinese company, it's safe to say Tesla's are selling very well, better than any other electric vehicle. 

Also, just because BYD surpassed them in one quarter, doesn't mean Teslas aren't selling well. 

Again, just because you don't like Elon, doesn't mean people don't love his products. 

Considering a planet with 8 Billion and he sold almost 2 million cars, then he is covering .025% of the population compared to other auto companies. I think 2024 going into 2025 we will see other auto companies top Tesla.

1 hour ago, trinacriabob said:

Regarding Tesla - it's either love or hate with these vehicles.  A college friend I'll be seeing when in SoCal next month has 2 of them, and I'll probably be riding in both of them - one is his sleeker S model and I forgot which the other one (that his wife drives) is.  In certain places, people have a lot of disposable income and having a Tesla goes with the landscape.

Minimalist(ic) isn't necessarily bad.  We all remember the adage "less is more."  I'll vouch that the workmanship of the interior is good and I can also vouch that the overall look (including the centered everything on one display) is ugly.  I will say that EV motors are supposed to last a long time but the battery replacement is very expensive and the range is currently not that optimal.

I did not like the model Y I had for less than 1 day.  Also, its exterior is mostly ugly.  That's my opinion.

This isn't a discussion I want to get into.  I would much prefer a more user-friendly EV ... and not just yet.

- - - - -

What I was randomly going to say:

I'm not sure whether I'm in shock or still feeling surreal as to what happened in Baltimore.  At first, I thought a ship just hit something on a bridge.  Then I saw the footage and that's the surreal part ... the domino-like collapse of the entire structure and the size of the ship.  I remember having to figure out the forces of either tension or compression on each member of a truss-like structure when I was in school.   A group of us sat there for about 3 or 4 hours one night - with some Mountain Dew - to work that out.

I don't believe I've been on that bridge since it's on the outer beltway, but it's numbered as part of the U.S. interstate system.  From looking at the map, it is the major bridge on the entrance to/exit from Baltimore Harbor.  I hope they find the 6 individuals who were working on it fixing potholes in the middle of the night who fell down with the bridge.  The ship giving a mayday is what allowed them to shut down both approaches to the bridge just in time.  

The weird thing is that it happened on March 26.  IIRC, the deliberate (domino-like) implosion of the reinforced concrete Kingdome in Seattle happened on March 26, 2000 (no rain that day) and people were sitting on slopes overlooking downtown to see that happen.  But that's how it is with planned implosions.  I went there that morning and have photos of the Kingdome's last day somewhere.

https://www.seahawks.com/video/kingdome-implosion-hd

It was indeed March 26, 2000.  I was one of the few who liked the Kingdome.

You and I are two peas in a pod as I also was up on a hill watching the implosion and thinking what a waste as it was a great building. I love the Kingdome and hate the new stadium. 

Agree it was surreal to see the ship hit the support pillar and the whole building just collapse. Be interesting to see what replaces it as today bridges built like that are not allowed due to the exact nature of how it collapsed. 

Yes, Tesla is a love or hate and the minimalist approach is not for everyone. I honestly have to agree with the comment @smk4565 I believe made that the touch screen only will be the future of cheap autos and switches and buttons will be the higher end autos.

Interesting times we live in for sure.

Decent upgrade to the aging 2024 model. Nice to see they are reducing costs of the curved screen in the EVs by pushing it out across the Hyundai Family and into Kia.

The one thing I do not like is all the Chrome. 🤢 🤮

9 hours ago, ccap41 said:

Yeah, but they're not the only ones who are almost exclusively an SUV manufacturer. Lincoln has gone ONLY SUV. Most companies sell so many more SUVs than cars that that's where their investments lie. Most people don't want cars anymore. 

I know you hate Elon and therefore hate his vehicles, but they sell a sht ton of Model 3's and Y's. Apparently, a lot of people are perfectly fine with the minimalist interiors of them. The 3 has been on sale since 2017 and the minimalist interior has not slowed them down one bit. 

Yes I hate Elon, but I would not say he is selling a Shit ton of Model 3's and Y's when compared to other auto companies.

Charted: Tesla's Global Sales By Model and Year (2016–2023) (visualcapitalist.com)

From Q2 2016 to Q3 2023 official numbers globally

Model S - 254,283

Model X - 269,136

Model 3 - 2,165,187

Model Y - 2,162,119

302,000 model Y for Q3 2023

117,074 model 3 for Q3 2023

Compared to other auto companies it is not much, yes for pure EV it is allot, but then BYD has surpassed them in Q4 of 2023.

Top All-Electric Car OEMs By Sales In Q4 And 2023: Tesla Vs. BYD (insideevs.com)

Q4 2023 Tesla - 484,507 EVs globally

Q4 2023 BYD - 526,409 EVs globally

2023 (Full Year) International: Worldwide Car Sales - Car Sales Statistics (best-selling-cars.com)

Would not say Tesla sold a shit ton of autos when they have been surpassed by the Chinese and the Koreans are creeping up on Tesla. 2024 is going to be a very interesting year for auto sales, especially EVs.

So true and why I feel Tesla has peaked in regard to big growth, they will have continued much slower growth, but the Minimalist interior is the death of any auto and especially Tesla as long as they continue to think people will look at menu's, sub-menus, etc.

Europe's 2026 new rules requiring a set of default buttons/switches to get 5-star safety rating will force Tesla to change or relegate them to a lower tier auto company.

Aston Martin designer says Tesla 'pisses off' its customers with this flaw (msn.com)

Love the Genesis Neolun purple interior, that is just awesome.

WOW, crazy info on this fire issue for recalled autos.

Park outside! More than 72K cars in Massachusetts recalled due to fire risk, report says | Watch (msn.com)

2 hours ago, ccap41 said:

Sorry, wasn't*

I saw every CT6 built and imported here from China sold fast. I think the cost of building and exporting was not what GM wanted for profit level and did the stupid thing of walking away as reviews are all positive on the car. Sales have always been positive, I think GM due to the idiot leadership that moved Cadillac to New York and tried to make it a clone of the Germans was the wrong leader for Cadillac.