Drew Dowdell

Eh, I think 300 is enough for most people.

I'm referring to cash-flow specifically, but yes. They've survived on selling these credits for a while. But at the same time, Elon needs to know that as GM and FCA-Stellantis start moving to more BEVs, that source of funds is going to dry up and Telsa better be able to stand on its own.

So she might be able to get $8k-$9k out of it depending on its condition. Personally, I'd spend the $1500 to get an aftermarket reman battery put in and then call Carvana to come pick it up. They'll direct deposit the money straight into my checking account. Put the VIN into Carvana's website and lie about the battery status to get an idea on what they'll pay.

That is why all auto makers are looking to reduce BEV costs everywhere.

That's interesting, because when I visit NYC or LA, one of the things I loath most is getting in a beat to crap but still operating Prius V or Escape Hybrid. They take those things right up to their regulated mileage limit and it's not the batteries that kill them. My sister managed to kill her first year Escape Hybrid.... by running it out of oil. Every car has the potential for drivetrain issues. I'm seeing lately how Hyundai/Kia and FCA are having problems with their 2.4s and having to do engine replacements due to catastrophic oil loss. (Yes I know that particular 2.4 is related between all three companies). As for her Pruis, you can get a reconditioned battery for like $900 plus install. If the car doesn't have over 200k miles, it would be worth it to pay for the replacement and then just sell it for a few grand. Even a 175k mile Pruis is worth about $5k and a 100k can fetch $12k - $15k. So throwing away as much as $15k to save $1,500 doesn't seem to make much financial sense to me. And no car company is trying to shed the planned obsolescence. They've gone exactly the opposite direction even on regular ICE cars. Honda and Toyota are just as guilty of it as GM and Ford. Ford, when asked what the upgrade path was for owners with Sync who wanted to go to Sync3, the direct quote from the executive was "Buy a new car...". But batteries aren't going to be what kills high mileage EVs, just like it isn't what kills high mileage Hybrids. When I needed to repair the cruise control for my CR-V, all I needed was the small plastic disk the cruise linkage would tug on, but the only way to get the replacement part from Honda was buying the entire throttle body for about $800. I ended up fixing it with a Dremel and some zipties instead.

That wasn't what I was saying at all. You (and likely he) have preconceived notions regarding EVs and will dream up as many reasons for why they won't work for you as @Davidcan dream up reasons why he can't fit in the front seat of something. What I was saying was that if you wrote down his primary wishes in a vehicle (Good git'up, good economy, good reliability), an EV Equinox would suit his needs just fine. A 1.5T mid-range Equinox is just one QuietTuning away from being a sensory deprivation chamber as it is. Listening to that 1.5 making the sausage is not an experience improvement.

Your brother is exactly the type of consumer that, baring outside influences, would probably be suited to an EV just fine once cost and charging station network is addressed. I agree with you on the difference between the 1.5T and 2.0T, night and day... the 2.0T will easily break the front tires loose. And it's not hate... it's facing the reality of where the market is today. I knew when I bought my Avalanche I was most likely buying my last V8 ever, which is why I want to keep it forever. I may get one more round of ICEs in my driveway, but eventually I'll convert Albert first and then me (though the Avalanche will stay). I've never had the urge to shift my own gears, but I can and do appriciate the novelty of it. I just don't see it as a requirement for my day to day driving. My commute to work is already infuriating enough, 45 minutes to go 12 miles, that shifting manually would add no joy to the drive. The only thing I would point out as contrary to what you said is your insinuation that EVs can't leap off the line... they can and do. Not every EV is a Nissan Leaf. It wasn't the 2.0T that killed it for him, it was the bouncy ride. I told him that the 3.6 would be more to his liking as he drives a V6 Liberty now, but the ride is what killed it. He works from his car and also does trips home to NYC. He needs something more comfortable for being in all day. He's also very tall, so that's what killed the Bronco Sport for him. His dream car is the Defender, but that isn't in his budget right now. He likes the boxy look of his Liberty and is attracted to the Flex... so who knows what he'll end up with. I've found some MINT Ecoboost Flex Limiteds for him with like 15k miles for about $27k. If they pipe sound in for the 2.0T, I certainly didn't hear it. It was me who hated the sound. He hated the turbo-lag and lack of "Go!". I didn't drive it, but I'm sure I'd have hated it to. I have no patience for turbo-lag any longer.

With few exceptions, the majority of cars on the road have no excitement anymore. You think 350k Camry and another 400k RAV4 buyers a year care about their car making "vroom-vroom" noises from that oh so meaty 2.5 liter 4-cylinder? I went with my best friend to test drive some cars.... we looked at a 2-door Jeep Wrangler 2.0T, a Bronco Sport 2.0T, a 4-Runner (didn't like, didn't drive), and a Ford Flex. He hated the sound and feel of the 2.0Ts and really liked the V6 in the Flex.... why? because the Flex was quiet and had a lot of torque (not how he described the torque, but I knew what he meant). And that's what most people actually want... something not noisy, but still has instant low end torque. Price aside, I could get Albert a Model S Plaid+, plug it in for him for a few hours every Sunday, and functionally it would be no different than now when I take his 300C to Costco every Sunday to put gas in it. He'd never notice the difference. There are those of us who like the sound of an engine revving, but we are in an extreme minority. As soon as EVs come down in price relative to income and charging stations are wide spread, ICEs will become a niche vehicle. People just don't care. If they did, the Camry/Accord 4-cylinders would not have been best sellers for so many years. The Equinox/Terrain combo is something like the 6th or 7th best selling vehicle in the US right now and I'll tell you no one wants to hear that awful 1.5T doing its job. GM did a pretty good job at silencing it. You may not like it, but these are the factors that GM is working with.

That’s been known for years.

I still wonder how dealerships like that survived with like 5 cars in inventory.

Notice how Balth’s dissent is still up and how it differs in tone and lack of bigotry? Do better and maybe your posts will stay up. I do not allow transphobic comments on this site.

And I bet you still complained about interior room. Why couldn’t they just build the car to seat 13 seven foot basketball players ?!

Over the course of CES 2021, Cadillac dropped a few bombs upon the critics and car enthusiasts with their PAV Pod and eVTOL. However, they also unveiled their “EV Flagship” known as the Celestiq. Following the recent reveal of what would be Cadillac’s first electric vehicle, the Lyriq, in August of 2020, the Celestiq will be a hatchback while the Lyriq is an SUV. The Celestiq will be a four-seat hatchback with standard all-wheel drive. However, it will come with up and coming technology in its four-wheel steering, allowing it to make sharper and more precise turns. The vehicle will also come with transparent glass roof panels that each passenger can control to different levels of transparency, as well as a large LED display that stretches across the entire dashboard and personal screens for the rear passengers. The Celestiq will be powered by a 100-kWh battery pack allowing it to have a 300+ mile range but will most likely come with a six-figure price tag. However, Cadillac asserts that it will be bespoke and hand-built in the Detroit area and be completely customized for individual customers. So if you are looking for a 4-seat luxury hatchback EV, start saving up for the 2025 release. View full article

The 2021 Consumer Electronics Show was supposed to be held in Las Vegas from January 6th to January 9th. However, because of the pandemic affecting normalcy around the world, it was moved to solely online for the first time since its inception. Companies still came to show off and show off they did. Cadillac, in particular, unveiled two new products from its HALO portfolio: the PAV Pod (personal autonomous vehicle), or more commonly referred to as the “Toaster-Shaped Party Bus”, and the eVTOL aircraft (electric vertical take-off and landing), or more simply a personal flying vehicle. This party bus is seemingly a driverless limo for the more elegant nights with friends and/or family. The vehicle comes fully equipped with technology to make the drive as enjoyable as possible for the guests by using biometric sensors in each seat. These sensors read vital signs of the passengers, which is encroaching on Big Brother territory and adjusts a variety of settings such as heat, lighting, and humidity. However, if you wanted a different setting, the pod allows for voice control and hand gestures to change the experience, as well as snap some selfies along the way to the club. As Michael Simcoe, the VP of Global Design at GM, says, the PAV is a “social space for a group of friends or family to spend time together on their way to a destination.” This is quickly obvious by looking at the PAV as it comes without any windows. If one doesn’t feel like chatting, however, it sports a full-length see-through roof so that the sky and skyline can be seen instead. And in case this pod hasn’t screamed luxury at you already, it also comes with a virtual fireplace, in case you want to have that cozy feeling of home within a limo. The eVTOL is a four-rotor aircraft that is more similar to a personal aircraft, rather than a flying car. This is based on the images provided by GM showing an aircraft with room for only one passenger. However, this aircraft is no slouch with its 90-kWh battery allowing it to travel up to speeds of 56 mph. And with the way transportation technology is going, it will most likely be an autonomous aircraft, allowing you to get around the city quickly and easily. Cadillac is not the first company to dabble in the eVTOL industry as Airbus, and Uber, as well as others, have presented ideas of aerial transportation. As both the Vahana project from Airbus and the Elevate project from Uber have closed or been sold to outside companies, Cadillac is now the new entry into the industry, sparking new debate as to whether this might become a reality with a new competitor in the mix. These concepts might become a reality in the future, or they might just be another idea to put on the shelf. Only the future will tell. View full article

Thank you for this post of yours every year. Happy, healthy, and Safe New Year to you @bobo

Yeah, it was intense. That was about 3 minutes of burning. The heat was so intense that plastic pieces of a light fixture in the next room melted. it melted the window frame. Brand new window too, put them in back in October. its been an intense day. I just changed my dressings about 30 minutes ago. The left hand isn’t too bad and will heal quickly. The right hand is pretty bad and from my palm to the tip of my thumb is going to be a problem. the nurse told me that burns get worse over time and the next 48 hours (from 10:30 this morning) will be the worst of it. Thanks all for the well wishes.

I’m using one of my “my site, my rules” tokens to say: Fuck off 2020! If you haven’t done so recently, please take this post as a reminder to check your fire extinguishers, buy more to keep around the house, and check all of your smoke alarms. I had a house fire today and it all happened in under 3 minutes. I saved my house but I got 2nd degree burns on my hands and spent the morning in the ER. A stray broken match head ignited my shower curtain and destroyed my bathroom. Albert had a robe hanging in there and it refused to stay out even after multiple hits with a fire extinguisher. I managed to grab it and fling it into the tub and finally got it doused with water. At some point the heat shattered a glass doorknob and I apparently stepped on it and cut my foot. I bled all over the bathroom floor and into the rest of the house. Hope you all have a great holiday and stay safe.

Congrats @balthazaron the truck order! Happy Christmas everyone, and I hope a healthy and prosperous 2021. We had a white Christmas here with 3 inches falling overnight and another 3 - 4 inches falling until this afternoon. I've already been out with the snow blower and it made quick work of the driveway any my neighbors driveway. Since I wasn't going through 10 - 12 inches of snow this time the battery did all of mine and the neighbors with 60% battery left over. When I was done, I threw one battery on the charger and set an alarm for myself for one hour and then went down and swapped batteries. I like how low maintenance this thing is going to be.

The only issue with Jeep was w few years ago when you could stand on a Jeep lot and nearly every model with a Jeep badge was designed by a different company. You'd have the Wrangler harking back to AMC/Chrysler days, the Grand Cherokee with its heavy Daimler influence, the Cherokee by Fiat, and depending on the year the Compass could be Fiat or old DCX/Mitsubishi, and your choice of Renegade (Fiat) or Patriot (DCX/Mitsubishi). So durability/reliability was very very model and year specific.

When I was assembling the snow blower the other night, I looked up and was eye height with the installer's label on the water tank. It was installed in 1994.... hence the question.

It defenitely had enough power. The one I got was only rated for 8" deep max and we got 10-12 here. I was still able to do most of my driveway and my neighbor's driveway on a single charge. I did run out of battery before I finished my driveway, but again I was going through snow deeper than it was rated for and I covered enough ground to park 6 or 7 cars. The batteries charge in an hour or less, but I only have a single charger for now, so total charge time is 2 hours. Not related to the power train... it gets stuck on every minor imperfection in concrete where my old one would just slide over it.

@balthazar and @A Horse With No Name what’s the expected life of a water heater and should it be proactively replaced if it is well over that age but otherwise functioning normally?

I have not found any significant improvement in quality in the Icons over Trico NeoForms that justify the Icons being 3 to 4 times the price.