Drew Dowdell

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!

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. View full article

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.

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.

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.

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.

The other sites are moving quite swiftly, and I've got a good sense of what will need to be done tomorrow. The only difference for C&G is that it's 200 times the size, so getting the file and the database zipped up and then moved takes a lot longer. The good news is that even the smaller sites are worlds faster.... This site software is chonky, so it will never be the fastest site out there (until the next major version at least), but it will be a lot faster than now.

We're going to have one more scheduled outage starting tomorrow morning for about 4 hours as we make one final jump to a stable server. I got us put back together, but we're held together with bubblegum and a wish at the moment. I'm moving some smaller sites first to get the process down before I move all 26 gigs of this beast.

Well.... that was painful. The new server we moved into in March went tits up. It was an extremely tedious process of rescuing the data. But we should be all good for now.

I configured them like for like. 10k was the base lease. But for 12k and $1,999 down 36 months, the rates are Ioniq 6 SEL $356 / Sonata SEL $355 / Sonata Hybrid SEL $426. Still easy math. Hyundai clearly wants you to only take a 2-year/10k lease on the Ioniq 6 because it is heavily subsidized down to $289 and 12k is $307.

This has been resolved.

There is a major outage at a data center in Northern Virginia due to a cooling system issue. This data center stores most of the images and some of the code for the site. I have been informed that the restoration of that data center could last as long as 4 p.m. on May 31st. The site will appear in a broken state until the data center is back online. Thank you for your patience. Click here if you'd like to follow the restoration status.

True for the Kia, not as true on Teslas. Once NACS and the IONNA charging network and Walmart Charging Network roll out, I expect to see a lot more competition on rates. EA and Chargpoint have non-Tesla drivers by the junk these days with rates because there's no real alternative. Once you put the purchasing power of Walmart and 6 of the major automotive manufacturers behind two competing networks, EA and Chargepoint will need to relent. On a recent Tesla trip, I got as low as 24 c/KwH at a supercharger. At those rates, even public charging is cheaper than fuel. As someone who worked in this industry, be very careful with this if you decide to go forward. The loans on the install are NOT transferable to new owners and often have early payoff charges. This can cause big headaches if you go to sell your property even 10 years down the road. Additionally, unless you're in an area with extreme utility rates like California, the solar cells don't add enough value to the home to cover the cost of the install, meaning you can potentially put yourself under water on the value of your home. I love the IDEA of solar, I hate what the financing structure has done with it. They make all their money on your loan, and very little on the installation and electricity sold. They might not even talk to you if you offered to pay cash for it. Unfortunately, it is likely that Tesla is going to end up saving that industry, too, because they're the only ones who don't structure the financing that way. There's a 2-3 year wait for them and they're focusing on only certain states.

There won't be any that are MSRP cheaper than an ICE, but with certain lease rates, there are several that are cheaper to lease then the equivalent ICE. Model Y versus BMW X3 is the first that comes to mind. Now we can quibble over which one has a nicer interior (The BMW) and build quality (The BMW), but Tesla doesn't try to charge you a subscription for heated seats and nickel and dime you for accessories like active cruise. These two are pretty close in terms of carrying capacity and price. The Teslas routinely lease better, that's why they are outselling BMW. The Kia EV9 is a 7/8ths sized Tahoe and it is lock-step price equivalent to a Tahoe all the way up the trim and options sheet. Is it a size equivalent to a Traverse? Sure, but it's got the power of the Tahoe, so the comparison gets murky. Several EVs have cheap lease deals right now. The Subaru Soltara, the Kia EV6, the Ioniq 5, and certain trims of the Ioniq 6 are just some examples. Right now, an Ioniq 6 SEL is $2k down and $289 for a 24-month lease. A Sonata SEL is $2k down and $348 for a 36-month lease, 24 isn't even an option. Sonata SEL Hybrid is $418/month - $2k down. A loaded Ioniq 6 Limited with $2k down is $442/m - 36 months. That's pretty easy math when one fill-up per month in the mid-range Sonata Hybrid puts you over the lease rate of a loaded Ioniq 6.

I hated it for what it wasn't... a comfortable luxury vehicle. But for what it was meant to be, it was fine. Besides, the Prologue is mostly GM tech and interior bits.

Of note, Rivian is rumored to be adding CarPlay and Android Auto on the R1 refresh.

GM. It is an incredibly consumer-hostile move they are taking with their stance on phone projection. This will probably swing me to the RAM electric when it's time. I still have a reservation, but I'm inclined to cancel it now.

Oh I'm going to blast them for that.