Drew Dowdell

I have that stuff but I doubt I’d go. Screams of poor planning to announce that later. And also inconsiderate since so many people not only don’t have that stuff but a bunch of us have put on Covid weight so the stuff we own my not fit anymore.

As I landed in Denver, I was thinking about the long weekend ahead of me. I came to town to help some friends in a bad situation, the trip sponsored partially by their family. As I perused the car rental lot, there were loads of new Nissan Frontiers, Toyota 4-Runners and Tacomas, and of course the rows of mini-vans. But tucked in the back with a sign on top that said, "I'm Electric!" was a 2022 Kia Niro EV. With a mind on my sponsor's costs and knowing I'd be spending a lot of time in granola-hippie Boulder, Colorado, I piled my luggage into the back and verified with the gate attendant that I did not need to return the vehicle "full". 2022 is the final model year for this version of the Niro as it is being restyled for 2023, though the powertrain is carrying over. Not much has changed since our other editor reviewed the 2019 Kia Niro EV and came away with the idea that it might be the first EV he could live with. I'm a bit more bougie than he is, but if it had some nicer materials in the cabin, I'd come away with a similar opinion. The Niro came well equipped with modern technology conveniences like adaptive cruise control, automatic braking, and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Kia's UVO Connect system is responsive and easy to use, though the search function for finding charging stations could use significant improvement. In the end I opted to download the ChargePoint app on my phone which can present itself as CarPlay app and help with navigating to the nearest charger. What impressed me most about the Niro EV was the powertrain. Even in Eco mode, the Niro is pretty quick. I prefer the high regenerative braking setting to use one-pedal control. It takes some getting used to, but once you do, you won't want to give it up. In sport mode, the Niro is shockingly quick. Keeping in mind that for all intents, this is a Kia economy car, someone slipped in V8-like low end torque. I ended up having to switch out of sport mode because I was smoking the front tires too often. As I crisscrossed the greater Denver region with a few trips from Denver to Boulder and points beyond, I racked up 329 miles. Living with the Niro, even without a home charger was still convenient. Even though I didn't need to charge at the time, while in downtown Denver, I parked and plugged in while joining friends for lunch at a Level 2 charger. The hour and sixteen minute the Niro spend nursing on electricity while I stuffed a burger in my face cost $1.92 (not counting the burger) and added 29 miles to my range. I spend the rest of the day on the road crunching up a lot of miles. The next day I had about 50 miles of range left, just enough to get me to Boulder comfortably. Once I arrived, I found a Level 3 charger at a local grocery store, plugged in, and went to have breakfast at one of my most favorite restaurants in the world. While I was eating, the Kia added 115 miles of range in 40 minutes for a cost of $13.06. As far as EV charging costs go, these prices aren't nearly as good as charging at home, but at 11c per mile for the Level 3 charger, it is still cheaper than all but the most efficient of hybrids and any gasoline powered vehicle. I spend my last day in the area driving through the mountains and using a lot of regenerative braking. On one particular run with judicious use of the one-pedal mode, I returned nearly 90 percent of the range to the batteries going downhill as I used to go uphill. Kia and Hyundai both have some pretty compelling EVs coming out in the next few months and years, but from the powertrain perspective, they've already built a car that nearly anyone could live with. View full article

I got my booster on November 30th because I was traveling to Colorado on the 3rd and they're having a bit of a breakout there. Felt like crap 24 hours later but then was back to normal by Thursday evening. The second dose hit me really hard and I was down for 5 days. The booster of Moderna is just a half a dose, so I'm guessing if I'd had a full dose it would have done the same thing again. I got my flu shot way back in October with no side effects to report. I already was working from home 2 - 3 days a week, but I'm raising that back to 3 - 4 days a week now. 75% because of the new variant, 15% because my commute has gotten even more hellish, and 10% because it is the holidays and we're really slow.

I am in the suburbs... I'm referring to the metro area.

Pittsburgh has gotten undrivable. Between the constant lane closures and 50% of drivers that have brain stem activity that would get a turnip removed from life support, it is utterly impossible to get somewhere quickly. When planning to go somewhere, add 50% - 100% to your time estimate. Of course, the bus and trolley service can't pick up the slack because they're utterly inept as well. It's not even the full holiday season yet.

Stick to the rivers and the lakes that you’re used to

Thank you! ? it was that charm that really sold me on it. The charm extends to the inside as well. This is from last year clearly, but it's what I have on hand.

Musk is in the business to make money. Hertz is buying 100k of his cars which is more than his production can currently handle on top of the general consumer rate. Hertz isn’t getting a discount (Musk said so himself). He has zero incentive to lower prices even if his costs went to zero. But more than likely, his costs are going up just like everyone else’s are and he’s just able to respond faster than GM and Ford because he doesn’t have the archaic dealership model to deal with.

His point was that it’s not listed in the 2022 lineup That’s simply a supply and demand issue. Tesla is selling every vehicle they can build. It would be bad business to lower prices when people will pay a premium for them. All this will do is increase financial incentive to recycle old ones even more.

I am shocked as it was supposed to have been canceled... but yes, I just configured a 2022 on the website. It looks like the front fascia even got a very mild freshening.

So go out with a mask (or don’t, you can probably still get candy with that mug) and trick or treat your neighbors. ?

I got two of the big bags at Costco. We don’t generally get a large number of trick-or-treaters but we instruct them to take a handful.

Not me, but not starting a new thread. All decorated for fall. (Finally)

Largely my assessment as well. I would own one along side my Avalanche and commute in it on all but snowy days.

I drove the Grand Wagoneer 2 weeks ago. It’s good on paper but not execution

I found a local '96 FWB with 65k miles in near museum quality for $15k.... Albert would murder me, but at least he'd have a car to transport the body in.

You are correct about the volt powertrain. The CT6 PHEV used some Bolt components but not the entire powertrain. The transmission was a significantly redesigned concept derived from the 2-Mode hybrid found in the Escalade/Yukon/Tahoe hybrid. It was effectively a 4 mode version and drove like a weird combo of an 8-speed auto and a CVT. And the engine would come on and off as needed, sometimes in a way completely unrelated to the actions of the car. It took some getting used to to drive. It was capable of full EV driving but unlike the Volt, the 2.0T could help out when call on. They weren’t the fastest cars out there and their engine characteristics were weird, but they could scoot pretty good when you wanted them to… plus tons of low end torque. The Volt (and rebadged Ampera) and ELR were entirely electric propulsion. There was some controversy at launch because at speeds above 80mph the volt transmission would lock to the generator/motor because their rpm was about the same and they gained some efficiency from it. Jalopnik made a huge stink about it saying the Volt was just a hybrid and not an EV because of this. no, the Fisker Karma just used the GM 4-cylinder. The rest of the setup was all Fisker.

They did that…sorta. The CT6 Plug In had the Volt battery pack in a different shape, the 2.0t as the gas engine, and an entirely unique transmission that was a combination of a 4 speed auto and 2 CVTs. It could travel at highway speeds in completely electric mode for about 35ish miles. It had all the Volt modes of city, mountains, conserve, and sport.

What is the reason for the re-name? Were they acquired or merged?

Thanks! I just downloaded the maps! I'm feeling a Karen Walker cough coming on.

I'm sitting at a light last night on the motorcycle. A few guys on Harleys pull up next to me, revving their engines and being loud and obnoxious. One of them leans over to me and says "You ain't got pipes, but you can do this too!" and revs his engine. Me with my innocent face on... "Oh.. thanks... no need.. my bike actually runs fine." Light changes green and I'm off before he can reply.

What is this tour? Sounds like something I'd like to do either on the bike or in the Toronado.

An interesting mix today I’m going to be posting more to the Cheersandgears Instagram, so follow there if you aren’t already. https://www.instagram.com/cheersandgears/

That first iteration in STS trim and in black was gorgeous!