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Drew Dowdell

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Everything posted by Drew Dowdell

  1. That's the very definition of moving the goal posts.
  2. Clearly they're aiming for Chinese volume. Buicks average buyer age in the US has been falling for years. Cadillac will get EVs also.
  3. The levels of autonomous car describe how capable a vehicle is in self driving. Level 5 (I believe) is fully automatic.
  4. Yeah, I think they were directed to China first. Because we need the change to happen sooner rather than later.
  5. Then I would ask if you've read the article William posted that we're commenting on.... 100 years ago, those roads didn't exist. It took federal subsidies to create them. Eventually, possibly in your and my lifetime, everyone will be driving EVs except for a few old dotards who keep a gas powered Toronado in the garage.
  6. @ccap41 - The point that @surreal1272 and I are making here is that driving has been subsidized by taxpayers for decades.... So while I can't speak for him, I'm a little confused as to why you protest this particular subsidy that is, in the grand scheme of things, very small. If you're against all subsidies, that's a perfectly valid position to have. Just understand the full gravity of what comes with that position with regards to traditional cars.
  7. Heck, just raise the gas tax to the point where the highway trust fund is fully funded.... No one would flinch at an extra 25 cents a gallon these days.... no one would even notice it.
  8. China and Cadillac are no-brainers for increasing EV offerings. They have the biggest potential in China where it will be legislated and they can charge a premium for them here in the US. If Buick wants a good play-book for the US, they really need to look at Volvo.
  9. Tesla will run out of credits first, followed by GM. Nissan has to be on that list somewhere too. I do not know how close they are. Why is subsidizing 57% of someone's road use okay, but not 20% of someone's vehicle purchase? Putting it another way; If you're so worried about tax credits on EVs, why aren't you worried that we haven't raised the gas tax from 18.4 cents per gallon to 43 cents per gallon.... a 133.7% increase in the gas tax?
  10. Why not just let the 200k vehicle credit run its course? Our gas taxes only cover 43% of the highway budget. I work from home most days now so my contribution to the highway fund via gas taxes is very minimal.... my income taxes are subsidizing your driving whether you buy an EV or not and I'm okay with that because that's how civil society works.
  11. There were practically no changes for the 2018s. They're just using up parts at this point.
  12. And this is why I was thinking you were trolling or deliberately being obtuse. Tax credits = higher sales Higher sales = better economies of scale = lower costs per unit. The Leaf only has a 107 mile range - Batteries cost per KwH - KwH = range - Bolt has more than double the range No one here, or anywhere, is saying that we all deserve to drive EVs - don't use fallacies. The Credit is there to get more EVs onto the market to drive more demand for the infrastructure to be built so that more EVs can get on to the market at a lower cost in the future.
  13. The tax credit makes the vehicle more affordable for a broader audience. That means it increases sales for the companies and it helps with the financial justification for investment into the infrastructure. Superior technology is also usually more expensive technology. If this tax credit goes away, expect EV sales to crater and Tesla to possibly go under. The removal of the tax credit turns the Bolt from a $30k car into a $37,500 car.... base. Even with the credit, GM is likely losing money on each one sold. These are very long term investments for 10 - 20 years into the future.
  14. This. For what he wants to drive, I defer to him on picking out a car. I present him with options based on his criteria and he can pick from them. Last night he said to me "I'm not getting a used car.". And that's where I corrected him. Whatever we get will be a CPO or used with a good warranty.
  15. That's actually pretty low for the oldest truck on the market. The 2018's are the last year for this generation of Ram, so I would expect incentives to be high.
  16. That's kinda what this article is talking about. Excessive leasing is starting to hurt them at the back end of the transaction. They are writing artificially cheap leases and then when the lease is done, the asset it worth less than what the lease was written for even at full retail. However, they are finding themselves unable to stop because they've hooked those customers on the crack of cheap leases. If they adjusted their leases for reality, lease prices would go up and sedan sales would drop even further than they already have.
  17. I'm not sure if you're intentionally trolling or are actually missing the nuance of what I said. Infrastructure is more than just charging stations, though yes, those also need to increase. There is also the infrastructure in lithium mines, battery construction, electric motor construction. GM is geared up today to build millions of 4-cylinder engines world wide... but they'll only build maybe a hundred thousand electric motors for EVs this year. (Bolt, Volt, CT6 PHEV, eAssist). It's not easy to quickly turn an engine manufacturing plant into a motor manufacturing plant. The subsidies need to continue in order to make the technology available to a wider audience. That wider audience will drive demand for infrastructure higher. The pump still needs to be primed for a while.
  18. I drove from Pittsburgh to NY to Pittsburgh earlier this week. It shouldn't be surprising to me that people are idiots on the road, but on the first leg of that trip I wanted to nuke the whole east coast. I can't imagine the idiots who can barely operate a Corolla operating a flying drone car...
  19. No, there is still not enough infrastructure to start widespread adoption yet.
  20. Changing a technology like this requires investment. There won't be chargers without EV demand and there won't be EV demand without chargers. It's a chicken and egg problem. Also, until any of these things hits large scale, there won't be economies of scale and the price won't come down. The Federal government started the EV credits to help prime the pump and lower costs until the price comes down. Lest we forget, the government paid for a whole bunch of paved roads 100 years ago to enable vehicle traffic. Prior to that, roads between cities were largely dirt paths with mud axel deep. It wasn't "The Market" that paved those roads.
  21. This is the new bubble and I'm right there with you. I've been in my house 15 years and I've paid it down so much that there are used mid-range luxury cars out there that exceed the outstanding balance on my mortgage.
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Drew
Editor-in-Chief

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