G. David Felt

Calazone I finish my left over Pizza for dinner tonight!

Exactly what everyone was saying just before WWI and WWII. Interesting.

G. David Felt - Staff Writer Alternative Energy - www.cheersandgears.com Nissan Leaf 2.0 Beta! Seems while Nissan has talked in fuzzy grey circles about version 2.0, finally some details are coming out as well as the capture of the Mules running around or as we like to call in the Tech Industry, BETA Baby! So with this ugly heavily wrapped black nose (Full Photos Here) from Motor Authority, we can clearly see that version 2.0 is based on the IDS concept. In fact as multiple various other auto web sites report it really does have some clear connections to Nissans Micra which was launched at the 2016 Paris Motor Show. Nissan Micra Clearly the Floating roof is to stay but a more common look and feel much like what the Chevy Volt did from Version 1.0 to 2.0. Nissan seems to want to have the Leaf just blend in with the rest of the family. According to Green Car Report, at the annual Nissan Meeting 18 month ago, Nissan showed off their Advanced R&D EV with a 60kWh battery pack good for about 250 miles. According to their story they state that today's 30 kWh battery pack in the Leaf good for 107 miles is being replaced with two options expected to be 40 kWh and 60 kWh size which they say should produce about 140 and 220 miles.These two batteries fit into the same space as the old 30 kWh battery pack. Much like every other auto company, Nissan has been saying that their auto on the highway will self drive plus much more. Yet like any Beta, no firm list of what all will be included or optioned until the auto is released. Interesting is that The Guardian post a story that states where Exxonmobil and other oil companies say that oil and coal can handle the electricity needs of the world well past 2050 needs to rethink as dropping prices of EV's and Solar panels could make the growth of Fossil fuels neutralized by 2020. This report goes on to state that the market share gain of solar power and clean cars was the cause for the collapse of the coal mining industry in the US and Europe. The continued growth of Solar, Wind, thermal and the final acceptance with long range EV's is making people think twice about burning fossil fuels. This report is also predicting that EV's will make up 35% of all road transportation by 2035 and 2/3 rds by 2050 which would displace 25 million barrels of oil per day. End result is getting climate change to stop changing in regards to temps rising and help the ecosystem balance out sooner. End result, cleaner air, healthier planet, quiet auto's and long range for the Nissan Leaf 2.0. My one question is who many people do they think will continue to buy an EV with such a short range battery? I question how many 40 kWh battery pack Leaf 2.0 will actually get built versus the 60 kWh 220 mile range battery enabled Leaf.

G. David Felt - Staff Writer Alternative Energy - www.cheersandgears.com Bollinger Motors, Worlds First EV Off-Road & On-Road Sport Truck! Bollinger Motors, What and who are they? Bollinger Motors just recently turned on their web site, but have been in business since 2014 flying under the radar as they prep their roll out for later this year of their new Sport Truck EV. According to their mission statement: " We are engineering the world’s first all-electric off-road and on-road sport utility truck. By designing the truck from the ground up, we are creating a unique vehicle capable of exceptional off-road performance, combined with never-before-seen utility features. The all-electric, dual-motor drivetrain creates best-in-class horsepower and torque. All-wheel drive and 50/50 weight distribution provide unbeatable traction, and the suspension delivers best-in-class ground clearance. The end result is the perfect truck for work and play. " From their web site, it appears to be a dual motor AWD truck with a motor on each axle for optimized power to weight distribution. They have an impressive group of folks with a diverse skill set that should make this happen. Will they be able to compete with the big auto companies or survive to be the next Tesla of EV's? Who knows, they have staked out an interesting area that no one else has chosen. The Full Size truck market. Will be watching this new Auto Startup with interest to see if they can deliver what the US loves to consume. Trucks as an EV!

G. David Felt - Staff Writer Alternative Energy - www.cheersandgears.com GM CEO Mary Barra states BOLT will be platform for complete series of EVs! This is exciting to see in this interview that Road/Show posted with GM CEO Mary Barra who was excited to talk about the BOLT and was asked about a Hybrid or EV Camero and she says anything is possible. This was based on the interviewer asking her thoughts about the Hybrid announcement by FORD of the mustang. They also talked about Hybrid trucks in California and Fords announcements of other EV's and Hybrids. Much more on Crossovers / SUVs etc. They also talk about Cadillac subscription service. Pretty good interview only 4:46 min long. Currently driving an XT5. Road/Show chat with GM CEO Mary Barra

Don't count your chickens before the eggs hatch as review list after review list seems to show that the American and Asian Crossovers beat your Jag's and German versions! http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/cars-trucks/rankings/Affordable-Crossover-SUVs/ Consumer Reports list has a few from BMW, but nothing from your MB. https://www.kbb.com/top-consumer-rated-cars/crossover/2016/#survey C&D is the one exception where you mostly only see American and German crossovers in the Luxury segment but then only Asian and American in all the other crossover segments and size. http://www.caranddriver.com/best-suvs-crossovers Edmunds has a couple UK / German but mostly based on sales Asian and American Crossovers own it. https://www.edmunds.com/suv/buying-guide/ When you get Crossover sales broken down, the top 15 crossovers sales other than the lone VW model is all Asian / American according to C&D. http://www.caranddriver.com/flipbook/practical-matters-every-compact-crossover-suv-ranked-from-worst-to-best So sales based, Germany is small fry's and best for reliability, sales and luxury again Germany does not fully hit it either. I am especially suprised by the lack of MB showing up in so many ranking reports. BMW is there but MB seems to have not cracked the lists and the one thing I pick up is reliability / quality of their cutting edge tech is the main reason. This might expalin why MB does lead in one area and that is they are the most leased auto company world wide. Guess no one wants to deal with it after the warranty runs out.

I can so see an EV Ute, EV CUV's, So many options of what Opel could do as an EV auto company. Buick Regal AWD EV! As I have said in many other threads, I truly believe there is great potential for a Mini Pickup Truck EV that inner city folks and city park departments would love to buy.

That would Rock! This would give a solid competitor to Tesla and GM access to a bigger rang of EV much faster I think or I at least hope.

Pizza! I had the meat lovers for dinner last night from Papa Murphy's. $9 Large deal!

Feel like a T-Rex today after my killer arm workout yesterday. I can barely lift them so now T-Rex Arms Baby!

Where is my V edition Escalade ESV? I am Waiting!

Cool, to be expected, Interesting read was in the comment section on how many people recognize their performance credentials and feel Cadillac is ready for this to build sales.

Very cool details and smart, finance to have a low payment and pay more so if life happens and you need to pay less you can. How dark is the tint you are doing?

G. David Felt - Staff Writer Alternative Energy - www.cheersandgears.com Senior Republican Group led by James A. Baker III calls for Carbon Tax! This just hit the NY times in their Science section. Per their story two former Secretary of State (James A. Baker III & George P. Shultz) and a former secretary of the Treasury ( Henry M. Paulson Jr.) has proposed a free-market principles based carbon tax policy. This new policy is to be delivered to the White House today Feb 15th to VP Mike Pence, Jared Kushner, Gary D Cohn and Ivanka Trump. Interesting in that the interview by the NY times states that Mr. Baker says even Ronald Reagan would approve of this policy. They also state that Exxon Mobil is in support of this Carbon Tax policy. Interesting is that this is a carbon tax on the fossil fuel point of entry into the economy rather than a tax paid at the pump. It is very interesting to read their take on this climate change policy of Carbon Tax. Be more interesting after it is presented to Trump, the House and the Senate on what they have to say and get the deep details on the policy to see if it really makes sense. Enjoy the full read at: NY Times Story

G. David Felt - Staff Writer Alternative Energy - www.cheersandgears.com Honda Clarity Kicks Advertising into High Gear! While on YouTube I discovered a whole new crop of videos to help sell the Honda Clarity Hydrogen auto. Interesting that they went again to PES a video man that has a reputation for stop motion commercials. This time they went with kids singing and the heads one has to figure represent the hydrogen molecules in the tank. Honda YouTube Additional commercials also made by PES for Honda's big push of the Clarity Hydrogen auto: As one follows the links from YouTube for the Honda Clarity it is amazing to see all the other videos too such as the one below on how a fuel cell works. As I learned from the RoadShow video, the Clarity is in essence an EV with a Hydrogen Generator to give you a 366 mile range. What I was surprised by is that both the Toyota Mirai and this clarity are lease only auto's with a stated value of $60,000 more or less and free hydrogen for the first 3 years. Makes one wonder WHY, WHY would you want such an UGLY auto with such a high monthly lease cost when there are far better options out there. I love my alternative auto's and EV's are rocking it more and more, so for an energy upside down auto, do we really need these? One Positive is that this is the first time I actually like the dash and the tablet interface for the auto with proper sized buttons to control everything else. Want to know more about Hydrogen Auto's, this is a great video that covers what some think is the future for the auto industry.

Agree, Compliance for now, but to survive like you said SMK, they need a 4 door 5 person EV version like the BOLT.

I agree with your FCA is over capacity and bringing back Alfa was I think Sergios way to appease the Italian Unions and add jobs but in essence he has made the company worse as he was short sighted and did not think it out long term. If he had used the addition of Chrysler to build up existing product lines and then bring in a quality product rather than the crap Fiat stuff he would have done much better. Sergio's EGO is writing checks he cannot cash!

Peas

Back on Topic, This is an interesting thought about PSA and GM. We could see the start of consolidation and hopefully a clean up of the over capacity in Europe.

Nice ride, so glad your happy with this and your yaris tale is at an end. Happy Driving.

I agree, a 2 seat EV will have limited appeal and the car is too small to really have a longer range like the Bolt. This will be a compliance auto for MB to use against their low MPG products till they come out with actual EV's in their higher product line and then I suspect we will see Smart Car eventually die.

With all the Auto's on Gas getting better MPG than Manual, this is the one time I am actually confused as this is ass backward from what Diesel with Auto is getting elsewhere. I am truly confused how the Auto is worse than the Manual. Makes one wonder!

Beans

No, as I reported when I posted my cover of this that Car2Go is moving to using CLA and GLA due to customer request.

^^^^^ I agree, who can Photoshop this for us and cut off the space between the rear wheels and the tail light. That would be interesting to see.