EVs

[CaminoRacer]

Public charger reliability is definitely the biggest hassle. Companies install the chargers but don't maintain them.
Home chargers are way more reliable, most people never have an issue as long as they avoid the wish.com charging cables.

Also, all the apps are ridiculous, imagine if you needed a different app for each gas station. At least that station he mentioned took tap to pay.

[Morris Minor]

Seven minutes...

Here's an even longer one. Last night I wasted 45 minutes watching a single-charge drive-'til-it-dies challenge: Mercedes-Benz EQS, Mustang Mach-E, Tesla Model 3 LR, & a BMW iX. Pressed all my OCD buttons. "Umm it's late I need to go to bed, I'll watch the rest tomorrow." But stayed up & watched it all anyway.

https://youtu.be/dtP4FQckU40

[Morris Minor]

And some competition arrives. Initial capacity: 150,000 vehicles.

Vietnam EV maker VinFast gets permit to start construction on U.S. factory
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/17/vietnam-ev-maker-vinfast-gets-permit-to-start-construction-on-us-factory.html

[Laconian]

2o6 tried the car and wrote up a critical review that went viral in Vietnam.

[giant_mtb]

Buddy of mine (GM technician at the dealership) sent me a picture today of the dashboard of a car he was working on...a Bolt or Volt or whatever the full EV one is.

"Vehicle Power Reduced Due to Temperature"

...it was in the high 20s today. Relatively mild for February here. lol

[Eye of the Tiger]

Buddy of mine (GM technician at the dealership) sent me a picture today of the dashboard of a car he was working on...a Bolt or Volt or whatever the full EV one is.

"Vehicle Power Reduced Due to Temperature"

...it was in the high 20s today. Relatively mild for February here. lol

I thought batteries worked better cold, or whatever.

[giant_mtb]

I thought batteries worked better cold, or whatever.

Only the *ideal* amount of cold. Too much cold and you have to rub them warm in your hands like a pair of AA's to make your Walkman work.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Only the *ideal* amount of cold. Too much cold and you have to rub them warm in your hands like a pair of AA's to make your Walkman work.

Yeah, I should have said cool 

[CaminoRacer]

Buddy of mine (GM technician at the dealership) sent me a picture today of the dashboard of a car he was working on...a Bolt or Volt or whatever the full EV one is.

"Vehicle Power Reduced Due to Temperature"

...it was in the high 20s today. Relatively mild for February here. lol

Must have an issue with the battery conditioning system or something, like it's unable to warm it. Ours has been fine even around 0F

[giant_mtb]

Must have an issue with the battery conditioning system or something, like it's unable to warm it. Ours has been fine even around 0F

That was my guess as well. Regardless, quite the inconvenience on top of the already drastically reduced range in the cold.

[FoMoJo]

Best looking EV by far...

[CaminoRacer]

I'm impressed they fit an 83 kwh battery into it. 240 mile range and fast charging at 270 kw is pretty good. Great signs for the potential of future sports cars. It's expensive, but shows that they can still have the same good looks as ICE sports cars.

[r0tor]

Too bad it weighs a full 1,000 lbs more than the ICE version

[Morris Minor]

Too bad it weighs a full 1,000 lbs more than the ICE version

If there's an ICE version... there's a good chance this is an ICE platform hacked for look-we-can-do-EVs-too purposes.

[Morris Minor]

Who is dumb enough to buy a Q4 e-tron when you can get an ID4... same car for less money. Like GM sticking Buick & Caddy badges on Chevrolets back in the dark days.

[MrH]

Who is dumb enough to buy a Q4 e-tron when you can get an ID4... same car for less money. Like GM sticking Buick & Caddy badges on Chevrolets back in the dark days.

  I thought the Q4 e-tron was actually a pretty good deal.  Better NVH, better tech, better interior and exterior design for a small increase in price.

[CaminoRacer]

If there's an ICE version... there's a good chance this is an ICE platform hacked for look-we-can-do-EVs-too purposes.

Yes, that's why I think 84 kwh battery is impressive. Looks like it's a T shaped battery like the Chevy Volt had. Keeps the floor low and sporty, I love it.

[565]

https://youtu.be/YkcGoztVZiI

What an innovative "commercial".

[Laconian]

Great coding music. Lady's bladder is superhuman though.

[AutobahnSHO]

Great coding music. Lady's bladder is superhuman though.

[ChrisV]

I have mixed feelings

There aren't any affordable ones that are compelling though (aside from the Kona and Bolt if you like battle clad dodgeballs).

Hold up, I have a '23 Bolt EUV and lived with a 2020 Bolt for 3 years before that. WTF do you mean here? thery are great cars, much like a GTI or equivalent. Certainly not penalty boxes or "battle clad dodgeballs," Whatever TF that means.

Still though, if someone could make one that looks decent, gets out of its own way and doesn't cost $70K.................................

Even the $25k Bolt has no problem being the quickest car off the light. 200 hp and 266 lb ft of torque delivered INSTANTLY with zero waiting makes it actually quicker and more responsive than most hot hatches over the last few decades. 0-60 is a bit off as they have been limited off the line due to max torque being delivered at 0 rpm, but from 10 mph, they are quicker than a GTI or MINI Cooper S (and defintley quicker than my MINI Cooper JCW with 208 hp and 198 lb ft of torque). You really need to drive a car like this, not just "magazine race" them in your head.

Since a few of you may not venture into my thread on it: an autocrossing Bolt, my '20 and my new one (edit, I don't know what happened to the last pic, which got stretched...):

[heelntoe]

Who is dumb enough to buy a Q4 e-tron when you can get an ID4... same car for less money. Like GM sticking Buick & Caddy badges on Chevrolets back in the dark days.

For me, the main appeal was getting away from VW's awful HVAC and infotainment systems. Out local Audi dealer only had one Q4 eTron allocated and a large waiting list, so we passed on that.

[heelntoe]

Hold up, I have a '23 Bolt EUV and lived with a 2020 Bolt for 3 years before that. WTF do you mean here? thery are great cars, much like a GTI or equivalent. Certainly not penalty boxes or "battle clad dodgeballs," Whatever TF that means.

Even the $25k Bolt has no problem being the quickest car off the light. 200 hp and 266 lb ft of torque delivered INSTANTLY with zero waiting makes it actually quicker and more responsive than most hot hatches over the last few decades. 0-60 is a bit off as they have been limited off the line due to max torque being delivered at 0 rpm, but from 10 mph, they are quicker than a GTI or MINI Cooper S (and defintley quicker than my MINI Cooper JCW with 208 hp and 198 lb ft of torque). You really need to drive a car like this, not just "magazine race" them in your head.

Since a few of you may not venture into my thread on it: an autocrossing Bolt, my '20 and my new one (edit, I don't know what happened to the last pic, which got stretched...):

I don't think Sporty is on the 'spin anymore, but you're right, I've been enjoying the heck out of our Bolt EV. Even at highway speeds, the car surges forward with a prod of the throttle!

The only issue - and I knew this going in - is it's slow DCFC rate. Now that it's getting a little warmer out, though, I'm hoping to be able to make it to DC and back to Delaware on a single charge.

We have a Tesla Model Y on order, but I'm finding it hard to part with the Bolt.

[FoMoJo]

I don't get it, but it must appeal to some, the sound that is.  Not a bad looking design though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-GbC7F1xcw

[Eye of the Tiger]

No. It should make pew pew laser sounds

[Morris Minor]

So it's really just to be obnoxious, like a Harley fatfuck?

[ChrisV]

Interesting. My state of MD has introduced a bill (2023 HB 834 - Electric Vehicle Charging Reliability Act) that aims to put into place regulations about charging stations reliability:

"FOR the purpose of requiring the Public Service Commission to expand the EV Pilot 4 Program to allow participating electric companies to install EV charging stations in multifamily dwellings in underserved communities; requiring an electric company operating an EV charging network to ensure the EV charging stations in the EV charging network have a certain minimum annual uptime; requiring an electric company operating an EV charging network to be subject to certain reporting requirements; requiring the Commission to require an electric company participating in the EV Pilot Program to maintain an adequate number of staff to monitor, assess, and repair certain EV charging stations; and generally relating to electric vehicle charging infrastructure."

http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2023RS/bills/hb/hb0834f.pdf

If this passes and other states do the same it could make it necessary for EV charging companies like EVGo or Electrify America to maintain their stations to a much higher standard.

[Laconian]

The Federal Highway Administration has a proposal for minimum performance requirements:
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2022-12704/p-121

Section 680.116(b) also proposes a minimum annual uptime requirement of greater than 97 percent for the charging ports. Comments from the RFI indicated that a minimum uptime requirement is highly desired both from a government and a consumer perspective. Comments also indicated that minimum uptime requirements currently in place for existing EV chargers can range from not specifying a number to requiring 95-99 percent uptime. The FHWA proposes an uptime requirement of at least 97 percent in an effort to provide a reliable national network for EV charging. The FHWA proposes to require that uptime be available as a dataset submitted quarterly (see § 680.112(b)(2)(iii)) and retained for historical review (see § 680.114(a)(4)).

Uptime is calculated for the time when a charger's hardware and software are both online and available for use, or in use, and the charging port successfully dispenses electricity as expected. For the purposes of the required minimum uptime calculation, FHWA proposes that charging port uptime must be calculated on a quarterly basis for the previous 12 months. Charging port uptime percentage would be calculated using the equation μ= ((8760−(T_outage−T_excluded))/8760) × 100 where μ = port uptime percentage, T_outage = total hours of outage in previous year, and where T_excluded = total hours of outage in previous year for reasons outside the charging station operator's control, such as electric utility service interruptions, internet or cellular service provider interruptions, and outages caused by the vehicles, provided that the Charging Station Operator can demonstrate that the charging port would otherwise be operational.

[Laconian]

Exciting EXTREME winter weather shots! AWD DEFINITELY NEEDED

[Eye of the Tiger]

Wow, did you get stuck?