G. David Felt

Sad as GM will now fall farther behind Hyundai Motors trilogy of auto brands and Tesla as they delay even more production of EVs. Seems a delay of 9 months will now happen before EV Power Train production begins. GM is delaying another major EV initiative (electrek.co)

This is Great News for EV battery production. Seems the Geothermal plant near Salton Sea in Calipatria, CA has proven to hold major lithium deposits. The site will now move forward to produce Lithium for North America allowing it to no longer rely on South America or Chinese Lithium sources according to the news story and government report. Study: Salton Sea has enough lithium to make more than 375 million EV batteries – Press Enterprise Long-awaited analysis shows this desert holds a gold mine of lithium: 'It’s pretty exciting how much is there' (thecooldown.com)

OUCH, this is going to hurt GM for sure and I now would not want to buy a 2024 GM truck. GM Stops Sales Of Some 2024 Chevy Silverado & GMC Sierra Trucks Over Splitting Roofs | Carscoops

Even with the infotainment guy giving his reason to not support Apple CarPlay or Android auto, I still do not buy his excuses. https://gmauthority.com/blog/2023/12/heres-the-real-reason-that-gm-is-dropping-apple-carplay-android-auto/

It will definitely be a hit for the Lexus faithful and anyone moving from Toyota to Lexus. Glad to see they have de-emphasized the Predator or as they call it Spindel grill. To me this does not say Luxury, but an odd duck in a luxury space. Will be interesting to see just how well it does. It is playing in a space that is clearly dominated by others and the Engine Specifications are on the low end what some luxury buyers will be expecting.

My understanding from hearing Cadillac is you would pronounce it Visssss Teak "Vistiq"

Another interesting read More expensive with less power: Cybertruck reservation holders reveal why they're reconsidering their purchases (msn.com)

Nice compliment to a solid styling EV lineup.

FYI: GM Says It's Ditching Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for Your Safety (motortrend.com) If you're going to lie, at least try to be halfway convincing, In my experience, Carplay is extremely reliable. I've used it in multiple vehicles (rentals, my trailblazer SS, Escalade which have 3rd party head units), and have experienced literally no issues. If there are issues using it in GM vehicles, ISTM that is on GM and is a massive self-own. They just admitted they want to develop the entire software stack themselves and, at the same time, have said they're not even competent enough to produce a reliable CarPlay/Android Auto interface when most of the work has already been done for them. End result is that GM could have seen the last of my money based on other OEMs that continue to support Android Auto / Apple CarPlay. Very cool read. Shady Car Dealers Are Going To Hate The FTC's New CARS Rule (msn.com)

Rivian, Kia, Hyundai and Genesis. Yes, I know they are working to start in Q2 U.S. Production, but I really think the GOV should have included everyone with a sliding scale over the next 18 to 24 months that if they did not start on U.S. production then they would lose every quarter a % of the rebate on their EVs till it was zero and at least it would allow instant rebates to get folks into EVs.

WOW, just when they could have really set off EV sales with the instant rebate starting January 1st 2024, come to find out the details bring this to only 10 EVs that qualify. Very Sad as what I am interested in is not on the list yet. I know both Kia/Hyundai/Genesis are planning to meet it with production later in 2024 as is Rivian, but it sucks that this will not help sales sooner. Just as they will require every year higher U.S. built components, I feel there should be a 100% credit to start and it phases out if you do not bring manufacturing online in the U.S. over the next 18 or 24 months. Only 10 Electric Car Models Will Qualify For Full Federal EV Tax Credit On January 1, 2024 - CleanTechnica

? And a service Nightmare. Mercedes has always pushed tech to the cutting edge and I love the color and the tech, but I suspect this could be a service nightmare in reliability as they really do not have much of a track record for hybirds.

In the Seattle office for the first time since pandemic started in 2020. Wow, they are really trying to get folks back in as the landlord built a very nice gym that is free, a juice bar that is free and updated the whole building. My last day back in February 2020 we had 2 EV charging parking spots and they were always full with people slacking each other to move EVs around to get charged. Today there is 12 dedicated stalls now.

?I wonder how many they will really sell; will it even be enough to justify the R&D that went into the manual tranny. I just do not see many people really wanting a manual.

Very cool that the spring hill battery plant is finally in production. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ultium-cells_oneultiumteam-activity-7138602727139377153-FoIx

Not totally in agreement with CR on this. I feel there is some bias in their reporting.

Jeeps lie about a reliable V6 when there are so many issues with the engine when hitting 100,000 miles has soured our family on Jeep. My son is negotiating right now to trade his in after spending over $5K to fix the blown head gaskets and leaking water pump into the engine so it at least runs right on a new SUV, and it WILL NOT be a Jeep. Rather than fix all the engine problems for the V6 that is used in far more than just Jeep by Stellantis, they are now facing many lawsuits and have dumped it for a straight 6. Stellantis brands are off the purchase list for good in my household. Right now, I would take a Hyundai/Kia/Genesis over Jeep/Ram/Dodge/Chrysler and all the European name plates that Stellantis owns.

Same here, for me going from Seattle WA to the greater LA area to visit relatives/family. I am totally covered in all the spots I usually stop to eat, refuel, take a break, etc. The next few years will be great for the EV road trip getting easier and easier.

Have to say that this is AWESOME. Pointing out the fact that many folks who are against EVs always point out slow charging. Public charging needs to always be the fastest possible IMHO. The fact that these companies are coming together to have 350kW fast charging for road trips is a great start to add to the NACS Supercharging stations and others. I am very hopeful that this will drive EV adoption as with the new year the instant rebate credit will help folks reduce costs immediately at the dealership.

Interesting read: Electric vehicles are better than gas-powered cars in winter—here’s why | Ars Technica I have come to realize that those that attack EVs tend to not understand the technology or the whole supply chain and the changes that happen. Knowledge is power.

Is it really an individual's responsibility to clean up a mess or more a move to get the humanity mass to change habits for a better healthier planet? Right now, Individual's do cause their own share of greenhouse gas, but as has been shown, if you can remove those gases to more focal places like a battery assembly plant, earth mineral production, etc. you can also focus the remove of large amounts of greenhouse gases in set locations. Then we also have the fact that cleaner cities, less noise pollution, no toxic diesel particulates in the cities, etc. To me that means better/cleaner living standard. But to each their own in how they approach this.

I find this story very interesting. ‘Dirtier to build but cleaner to drive’: This is how many miles you need to drive an EV to reduce its carbon footprint, study finds - MarketWatch The 'dirtier to build' articles are pretty much always FUD imho since they always scrupulously take into account energy requirements (and related fossil fuel impacts) of refining battery materials, but somehow conveniently omit the same impacts for mining/transporting/manufacturing the equivalent parts of a gas auto. Not to mention that the batteries are not suddenly useless after they've been aged out of EV use, they can be repurposed for use in home energy storage applications, whereas an EOL gas auto is pretty much entirely scrap. And even if a case can be made for 'dirtier to build' it still omits that the supposed pollution is all generated in a few strictly defined locations (power plants, mines and factories) where measures can more easily be taken to corral and mitigate said pollution, whereas gas autos are roving around spraying it everywhere.

Here is the full press release on this: The Best Get Better: Meet Chevrolet’s New 2025 Tahoe and Suburban @riviera74 As per the details at the end of the chart, the weight of the Passengers, cargo and options/accessories may reduce the amount you can tow. Suburban has more interior room than the Tahoe and as such tow's less due to the increased number of passengers / cargo. Interesting observation, Suburban can have 2nd and 3rd row bench seats, but Tahoe has captain seats 2nd row only with bench seat for the 3rd row, so less people capacity. Pretty much, you can probably tow more with the suburban if you have less people/cargo.

Very interesting video @Drew Dowdell Do you know if Tesla requires some sort of subscription to Tesla to allow the 360 degree cameras to record what is going on with the vehicle the way GM is requiring Subscription to On-Star to allow recording use via the Camera's? Having the look at these two colors in their high-res pictures, I will take the Lakeshore Blue Metallic over the Cypress Grey.

Totally agree with Trinacriabob stated, @riviera74 wishing you a belated B-Day. Hope you had a great day with friends and or family.