Drew Dowdell

42 minutes ago, G. David Felt said:

Anything to help the transition to EV is a good thing imho.

The Mustang Mach-E is on my watch list as a potential replacement for the 300C. My only hesitation is the lack of a heat pump, but I don't think that will be an issue for its primary duties.

38 minutes ago, G. David Felt said:

Hybrid could mean higher maintenance, be interesting to see with all the hybrids coming out how the maintenance cost plays out compared to ICE or BEV.

Both Mazda and Toyota have excellent maintenance costs. I don't expect there will be any meaningful difference over an ICE model. 

Many electric vehicle manufacturers have been aggressive with financing and lease deals lately. With new car interest rates at the highest level they have been for years, financing an electric vehicle is starting to become the most cost-effective way to get into a new vehicle. Adding fuel to that fire, Ford announced new financing incentives today for Mustang Mach-E and Ford F-150 Lightning. 

Mustang Mach-E

All 2023 and 2024 Mustang Mach-E models can be financed for 0% interest up to 72 months if you have excellent credit. If you prefer to lease, a new $7,500 Red Carpet lease cash bonus is available from Ford until September 30th, along with a new 24-month lease option for those with commitment issues. An additional $600 off is available until September 9th if you pick one from dealer stock.

The 2024 Mustang Mach-E gained range and charging speed, now up to 320 miles on rear-wheel drive cars. If you don't mind being a year behind with ten fewer miles of range, your dealer may be motivated to slash the price of leftover 2023 Mach-Es a bit further for you with another $2,000 off when financed. However, we suspect the dealership can find room for discounts even if you lease. Remember that the Mach-E no longer qualifies for tax credits as of January 1, 2024.

F-150 Lightning

On the F-150 Lightning, 2023 models are available at the same 0% for 72 months, while 2024 models can be had for 0% for 60 months or 1.9% for 72 months, and most trims of the F-150 Lightning qualify for the $7,500 tax credit. A 24-month lease option is available; however, without the $7,500 bonus cash that the Mach-E features, it isn't a good deal. With Ford being the number two electric vehicle manufacturer in the United States behind Tesla, Tesla owners can snag an additional $1,000 conquest bonus. 

E-Transit

The Ford Transit is the most popular work van in the country, so incentives are slim.  However, if you are in the market and can find a leftover 2023 Ford E-Transit on the lots, Ford is offering 0% interest for 60 months plus $7,500 bonus cash. Just keep in mind that Ford enhanced the E-Transit for 2024 and you will be limited to a range of 126 miles rather than the 159 miles of the updated model. 

All three of Ford's current electric vehicle offerings are compatible with most of the Tesla Supercharger network, though you will need to use a complimentary Tesla adaptor provided by Ford. Ford access to the Tesla network is transparent with plug-and-go available through Ford's BlueOval charging network. 

It will be interesting to see if other manufacturers follow suit with new electric vehicle incentives of their own.

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Today, Mazda announced that the Mazda CX-50 crossover would gain a hybrid powertrain in addition to the naturally aspirated 2.5-liter and turbo-charged 2.5-liter Skyactive-G engine lineup. This new hybrid powertrain, courtesy of Toyota, mates a 2.5-liter four-cylinder with three electric motors and a 1.5 kWh battery, and is estimated to achieve 38 mpg combined on regular fuel, though the EPA has yet to have its say. That's a substantial jump up from the 24 city / 30 highway / 27 combined the based gasoline model achieves. Mazda claims this could save drivers $575 a year in fuel costs and increase driving range by more than 100 miles. The system uses an integrated hybrid transmission and eAWD combined produce 219 horsepower and 163 lb-ft of torque. Mazda says the CX-50 Hybrid is rated for up to 1,500 lbs of towing capacity. 

All hybrid models will receive a subtly restyled front facia, unique wheels, and a new optional red leather interior. The base CX-50 Hybrid Prefered starts at $35,390 (including a $1,420 destination charge) and comes with 17-inch wheels, a 10.3-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Alexa built-in, wireless phone charging, 8-speaker stereo, heated front seats, and a power tailgate. That equates to a $2,320 upcharge when selecting the hybrid powertrain. Moving up to the Premium trim costs $38,820 after destination and adds black roof rails, leather seating, a panoramic sunroof, an upgraded 12-speaker Bose system, and active cruise control with stop-and-go capability. The top-of-the-line CX-50 Hybrid Premium Plus stickers for $41,470 after destination charge, which upgrades the wheels to 19-inch, adds a powered front passenger seat, memory seat for the driver, cooled front seats, and a heads-up display.

If the hybrid is too much of a price increase for you, the naturally aspirated 2.5 is up 1 mpg over the 2024 model, now at 25 city / 31 highway / 28 combined.

The 2025 CX-50 gasoline models will arrive at dealerships next month, while the hybrid will join the lineup later in 2024.

Trims:

CX-50 2.5 S Select - $31,720

CX-50 2.5 S Preferred - $33,070

CX-50 Hybrid Preferred - $35,390

CX-50 2.5 S Premium - $35,420

CX-50 Hybrid Premium - $38,820

CX-50 2.5 S Premium Plus - $38,920

CX-50 Hybrid Premium Plus - $41,470

CX-50 2.5 Turbo Meridian Edition - $42,220

CX-50 2.5 Turbo Premium - $42,720

CX-50 2.5 Turbo Premium Plus - $44,720

* all prices include $1,420 destination

Engines:

2.5-Liter Naturally Aspirated w/ 6-speed automatic - 187 Horsepower / 185 lb-ft of torque - EPA Estimated 25 city / 31 highway / 28 combined (87 octane)
2.5-Liter Turbocharged w/ 6-speed automatic - 265 horsepower / 320 lb-ft of torque - EPA Estimated 23 city / 29 highway / 25 combined (91 octane)
2.5-Liter Turbocharged w/ 6-speed automatic - 227 horsepower / 310 lb-ft of torque - EPA Estimated 23 city / 29 highway / 25 combined (87 octane)
2.5-Liter Hybrid eAWD w/ eCVT - 219 horsepower / 163 lb-ft of torque - EPA Estimated 30 city / 37 highway / 38 combined (87 octane)

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Fisker announced yesterday that they would recall more than 11,000 units of their Fisker Ocean SUV worldwide due to a potential failure in the communications link of the battery management system.

Fisker stated that the cabin water pump can lose communication with the local system bus, causing the battery management system to go into limp home mode.

Quote

Fisker is launching a Voluntary Safety Recall Campaign to address a potentialsafety concern affecting all Fisker Ocean vehicles. This recall focuses on a potential issue with the cabin electric water pump. In these vehicles, a problem has been identified with the High Voltage Battery Management System (BMS) limp mode, which is designed to limit battery power to 8.5 kW. This limp mode is activated when there is a communication loss on the vehicle’s Local Interconnect Network 6 (LIN6) bus. The root cause of this communication loss is a failure in the cabin electric water pump (EWP_H). To ensure the safety and reliability of its vehicles, Fisker is proactively addressing this issue through this recall campaign.

Fisker will replace the water pumps free of charge.

This is the fourth recall issued on the Fisker Ocean since its release around June of 2023.

Fisker filed for bankruptcy in June 2024 after burning through cash to bring the Fisker Ocean to market.  A series of component and distribution network delays slowed the rollout to customers. A series of highly negative reviews regarding the vehicle's software further dampened consumer interest.

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It took me most of the day because I'm not a coder, but the newsletter is now fixed.  That should be the last stumbling block down!

Today, Nissan revealed the updated 2025 Nissan Rogue and introduced a new trim to the lineup called Rock Creek. Now, before you get out your overlanding gear, the Rock Creek is a rugged appearance package. Like many outdoorsy crossovers in this segment, the Rogue Rock Creek is probably best limited to compacted dirt trails. The Rock Creek comes with 235/65R17 Falken Wild Peak all-terrain tires, Hill Descent Control, a tubular roof rack, updated facia with red accents, and water-repellent leatherette seats. Additionally, the updated HD Intelligent Around View Monitor that all Rogues get for 2025 also includes an Off-Road View that can operate at speeds up to 12 miles per hour to help maneuver around obstacles. 

A premium package for Rock Creek further adds a wireless phone charging mat, heated steering wheel, power passenger seat, motion-activated power liftgate, auto-dimming rearview mirror, and interior accent lighting. Rock Creek will be available in four colors: Everest White, Super Black, Boulder Gray, and Baja Storm.

For 2025, optional on SL and Platinum, Rogue can be equipped with an updated ProPILOT Assist, now at version 2.1. This version allows drivers to take their hands off the wheel on single-lane highways while remaining attentive to their driving surroundings. With the available technology package, the 3D Intelligent Around View Monitor gains two additional camera angles: Front Wide View, which allows drivers to "see through" pillars and parked cars, and Invisible Hood View, which shows footage from underneath the vehicle.

Rogue S, SV, and Rock Creek feature an 8-inch touchscreen with standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, while SL and Platinum move up to a 12.3-inch touchscreen with Google Built-in and wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. 

Powering all 2025 Nissan Rogues is a 1.5-liter variable compression turbocharged 4-cylinder (VC-Turbo) that produces 201 horsepower and 225 lb-ft of torque mated to Nissan's XTronic CVT. The engine continuously adjusts its compression ratio to optimize for power or efficiency depending on driving conditions. The Nissan Rogue lays claim to the best-in-class gasoline-powered fuel efficiency rating. 

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Lucid filed a report with the NHTSA on July 1st, issuing an over-the-air recall for 2022 - 2023 Lucid Air sedans.

According to the report, the over-the-air update was sent on June 24, 2024 and owners will receive an additional notification in the mail after August 15th. 

Lucid reports that the High Voltage Interlock Software could disconnect the contacts while the vehicle is in motion, causing a complete loss of drive power.  The issue affects roughly 5,251 vehicles. 

Complaints about he Lucid Air on the NHTSA database matching this description date back to at least September 2022.

Quote

2022 Lucid Air suffered a total loss of power without any warning at approximately 10 PM on July 29, 2023, while driving 65+ mph on the Jersey Turnpike. The car’s dashboard suddenly flashed “System Failure” and immediately started to decelerate. I had approximately 30 seconds to weave across 2 lanes of high speed traffic as the car steadily lost speed and fortunately there was a shoulder just wide enough for the car before it totally stopped forward progress. 

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On 4/9/2024 at 2:43 PM, surreal1272 said:

The only pics I have of the interior of any of mine. This was taken in 2008, about four months after I moved to AZ and then had to sell it (was not made for the off road driving to my job at the time lol). Of course, like about every car I have owned, I swapped the factory stereo out. Had a really nice Panasonic head unit plus I had a six piece set of Infinity Kappa Speakers and one 10" JL Audio W6 Subwoofer (powered by a Directed D mono block amp) in the car. Sounded so damn good in there and I wanted to pull the speakers before I sold it but they were required to stay in for me to make the sale lol. Such is life sometimes.

Remember when that was a thing when manufacturers were porting the HVAC through ducts in the doors?  GM did that on few models like the Bonneville and Aurora.. Probably some other

Check out the forum card list. I finally finished all of it. Every brand has their logo and an example car, and if you scroll down to the social and tech sections, those have been updated too.

In the next couple of weeks we will be restarting our weekly newsletter. You'll know it's coming when I've got about a week's worth of news posted.  Beyond the backlog of news I need to catch up on, I have a 3 page list of OpEds to produce and at least 10 reviews to write. It's going to be a fun summer. 

I've created a new birthday cake and will put it in the e-mail for members' birthdays tomorrow.

The garage will need to be rebuilt before the next major upgrade of the software sometime next year. If you have pictures you'd like to save from there, please do.  There will be several warnings before I disable it.  The vendor that wrote the software went out of business and won't be producing the update for the next big version. 

34 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

Not today...was seeing it yesterday w/ clicking on notifications links. 

Okay, I haven't seen it happen on my end, and I was on a good bit yesterday. 

On 7/1/2024 at 11:23 AM, Robert Hall said:

It hangs occasionally for me when clicking on links.

Is that still happening?

2 hours ago, Guest T180 said:

Meant to quote you. Trying this again. Do you happen to have information what what dealership Zone 07 Dealer Code 753 is and maybe any pictures? It's for a 1964 Pontiac Grand Prix purchased in late 1963.

Thanks!

@balthazar has not visited us in quite a while. I'm unsure he will answer. 

If you haven't watched it, you should definitely check out Person of Interest (only available on Amazon Prime currently, with ads).   The series started in 2011ish and run until 2016.  But you'd think it was from today with all of the AI talk.  If you're a Plex user and want to be friends on their, DM me and we can friend each other and you can stream from my Plex box.

Happy Birthday @Robert Hall!

2 hours ago, G. David Felt said:

Kia own battery group has conflicting info on charging and maximum usage compared to their auto site.

That's likely the difference between the marketing people's wishful thinking and the engineering people's reality. While energy densities may vary between NMCs, the basic chemical reactions do not. All NMC batteries will have similar degradation profiles within the margin of error of different charging and usage profiles. Much of this particular battery chemistry advancement is done unless some headline breakthrough comes about. 

Of course, all that goes out the windows on vehicles with LFP batteries, which are only standard range Teslas at the moment.  But Ford and others will be using LFP for the next generation of low(er) cost EVs they plan to release. With LFPs, you can pretty much do whatever you want with regard to charging. They don't degrade from L3 charging as NMC batteries can. They don't mind being at 100% for extended periods. However, they don't have the energy density for long-range installations, so they'll likely end up being used in lighter and cheaper vehicles to counteract the range deficiency. 

To maintain the same range, an LFP in the Kia EV9 would need to be roughly 30% larger, and there likely isn't room for it. 

So, two things:

1. Consistently charging to 100% on fast charging is where most of the damage happens. He is slow charging at home, so this isn't an issue.

2. Holding the vehicle at 100% for extended periods of more than a few days also causes damage.  If the vehicle gets L2 charged to 100% overnight and then is used for commuting every day, there are very few negative effects.

That said, two other things:

1. Letting the battery go towards zero is good for the battery and the software calibration.  It won't harm things if you don't, but doing so keeps your range estimates accurate.

2. Those with short commutes do not need to charge daily on long-range EVs like this. Yes, it's neat that you can start every day at 100%, but each charge cycle is still a cycle, and there is an upper, though undefined, limit on the number of charge cycles the battery will take.  Taking a more ICE-like approach of only charging when needed will extend battery longevity. Plugging it in only every few days when the SOC gets to ~20% is fine. Of course, if you know you have a longer trip coming, fill it up ahead of time just like you would with a gas car.

Rivian and Volkswagen have announced a joint venture initially worth $ 1 billion to create the next generation of software-defined vehicles for both companies. Future investments and loans adding up to an additional $4 billion will occur in 2025 and 2026. 

The venture will be equally owned and controlled by both companies to lower the cost per vehicle of both companies' vehicles. Rivian will contribute its electrical propulsion and battery expertise and license its software to the joint venture. The move gives Volkswagen access to Rivian's current EV propulsion designs to accelerate the rollout of VW Group vehicles.

Rivian points out that this agreement does not cover areas such as chassis or non-propulsion-related component design. This means that the VW group's upcoming Scout brand will not feature badge-engineered Rivians.

The investment will provide Rivian with some much-needed cash as it builds a new production facility in Georgia and gears up for the production of the Rivian R2 and Rivian R3.

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2 hours ago, regfootball said:

The 25 Equinox should have been offered with a plug in hybrid or even a plain hybrid

I’m 99% sure it’s coming, just not officially announced. It might be a 2026 model. They’ve already developed the powertrain for the China market and with Barra’s reversal on PHEVs in the US, it seems logical to not waste development dollars.

5 hours ago, regfootball said:

I had seen first of the new traverses about 4 weeks ago but forgot to load pictures here . Lot trolling just now. The equinox EV is here now , not sure why we have the Blazer EV then since they are about the same interior size. Silverado EV in work truck trim sure looks meh. 
 

the new traverses here I’ve seen have been front drive only, explains why they haven’t sold yet. Anyone here is snow country will look to get AWD.

The new Traverses make me double take as I think they are a Tahoe at first but then something in the back of my brain will click and say "WRONG".

The difference between Equinox EV and Blazer EV is range, performance, and sportiness. 

How is it running for everyone so far?  It seems a lot snappier to me. 

1 hour ago, trinacriabob said:

They are indeed tiny and, also, many times the jacuzzi is out of order.

They also have issues with tables.  If in the room, who wants to be at a desk facing a wall while on their laptop?  Some hotels smartly have tables or desks perpendicular to the wall.

Also, they have cocktail tables in any public room.  They want you to buy drinks and not have your laptop open.  At some lower price points, tables of any kind are scarce as they want to make damn sure the clientele is not in the public spaces - "out of sight, out of mind."

Ugh, and most of the Marriott properties use glass tops on their desks, meaning I have to go find some magazine or something to use as a mouse pad since optical mice don't work on those.  

16 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

Recurring random thought:

Hotels almost always have crappy fitness centers / fitness rooms

As a swimmer, I concur.  The pools are so tiny I can't even get one stroke in before the end of the pool.  I'm 6 - 10 strokes per breath, which means I breathe as little as once per 25 yards. Most of the hotel pools are no more than 5 yards.  

And we're done. Four hours exactly. 

I need a break from the computer for a bit, but lots more to come.